Anyway, I've been in Toledo for just a little over a week. Everything is going pretty well so far-- mostly as I would have expected it to go. In some ways, it feels like I've been here for longer than a week. Maybe that's because I already had a familiarity with the city when I got here, I already knew some people, and I knew my way around. So, comparatively, I am further along than a week would allow in most cases. I'm really glad that I was able to stay at the Fundación for the first few days. People remembered me, (or at least, they knew my name), so despite arriving alone, I didn't feel so lonely. Everyone was super helpful as well. Reception was there to answer all of my questions about buses, maps, and taxis, (and even helped me carry my stuff to the plaza when I was moving out!). And Miguel has pretty much been my hero. He helped me find my private lessons and my piso, and on top of it all, he's been so encouraging, and I always feel so much better about things after I talk to him. So, basically, I am super thankful for having spent last summer here, and for the friends and acquaintances that I made. It has made this process so much easier than I could have hoped for.
Also, I would just like to state that I have never been a teacher in any capacity. I'm new to the whole thing, so I feel like I'm just diving into the deep end with no swimmies. I really had no idea what to expect when I walked into the school yesterday. I was admittedly a bit awkward and quiet (surprising?), but with time, I'm sure I'll be more comfortable and sociable.
Anyway, the students, who were about 12-14 years old, asked me tons of questions in their best English(/Spanish mixture), some of which included:
What is your favorite planet?
Do you like paella / cocido?
Do you like Japan?
Do you know Justin Beiber?
What are you going to wear on Halloween?
And, most importantly, Do you speak espanish?
The Spanish question was the toughest. I am not supposed to let them know that I speak Spanish. This could be tricky. One girl asked, "Then how do you communicate in Spain?" (Which, honestly, is a very good question to ask, though she did need help figuring out the word 'communicate'.) But I didn't quite know how to answer. I looked to Cristina for guidance and finally answered, "I can understand a little bit of Spanish, but I cannot speak it." Hopefully they won't catch on!
In the teacher's lounge, I met about 30 new people, (19 of whose names I have probably already forgotten), and about 60 kisses on the cheek. Nothing says "Bienvenidos!" like a bombardment of besitos. Everyone seems really friendly and pretty laid back. I am excited to get to know the teachers better. Some of them speak a lot of English very well, and some don't. For the ones that do, I try to speak English with them as much as they can. For the ones that don't, I speak Spanish. I think that I probably caught a lot of people off-guard by how much Spanish I knew. I was showered with compliments about my Spanish, which, let's face it, I LOVE to hear! So, despite my feelings about my Spanish, it's good to know that I am easily understood by others, and that I can successfully carry out intelligible conversations in my second language.
The only downside to having all of these Spaniards think that you know so much Spanish is that they proceed to talk to you like you actually do know that much Spanish. I think that means that my days of being coached through conversations are over! I can't decide if that is a good thing or a bad thing. I feel like I understand about 75% of what goes on in most conversations, (sometimes less, a lot less) but I still find it hard to join a conversation if I don't know what's actually going on. Heck, it's hard for me to insert myself into conversations when I do know what's going on, in my native language even. So that is just something that I will need to work on, but I'm excited for it.
Things do seem to be working out well here. Of course, I still have my fair share of lonely moments and confusion. I think that living in this apartment is going to be the most difficult, but ultimately beneficial experience. I don't really know how everything works here in the piso, and I feel dumb asking so many questions, but hopefully I'll start to get the hang of things soon. And I'm still kind of intimidated here. But, as everyone has told me... poco a poco, little by little, things will work themselves out.
I did laundry today, for the first time. The machine is TINY. I mean.... it's really small. I put in a tiny load, but the machine was running for over an hour. I thought I must have done it wrong. When the clothes were done, I was surprised that they were actually clean. And, of course, there is no dryer, so I had to hang the clothes from the line outside of the kitchen window. However, I have never actually hung clothes on a line, so I felt like an idiot when I had to ask how it worked. But oh well, I just keep telling myself that I'll be a better person for all of this!
I didn't go out last night, and I haven't been out yet today. I feel lame. I think I'm just going to go for a little walk. That always seems to help (especially when you run into people you know on the streets!).
Sorry that is a boring post. But, whatever!
Hopefully I'll have better stories to share in the near future!
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