For the entire month of January, I've been taking a rapidly paced grammar and speaking class from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. every day. The main purpose of this "intensive month" is to advance our speaking skills as quickly as possible so we'll be ready when the "real" semester starts on Feb. 11. Today we had our final exam, and tomorrow is officially the last day of class before holiday.
Pablo and me
Family life is going well, too. It's fun to hear about other peoples' host families and compare. Most of my peers are living with older women who may have a grown child living with her. Not many of the families have young children, and I am really happy that I was placed with a family who does. Pablo, the ten-year-old is fun to play with, and I like helping him with his homework, especially his English homework. It's been great seeing how much of a "normal" family this is, even though I don't always understand what they're saying to each other. No matter the language spoken, however, it's clear when the mother is telling Pablo he needs to eat his vegetables or sit up straight, or when the father is making jokes at the dinner table. And I really don't mind being the only student in the house. It's nice having my own room and bathroom!
The lifestyle here is really different than what I'm used to, but I think that's mainly because I only have school four hours a day at an atypical time, and I haven't really established a daily routine yet. When the real semester starts, I'm sure it'll take a little while to get used to yet another change, but at least then I'll have a steady schedule.
Probably the biggest cultural difference is how the Spanish organize their day. It suits me well though, since I like getting up not very late and yet still knowing I will not only have time to take a nap in the afternoon, but that I will practically be expected to! Stores don't open until 10 a.m., close for lunch around 2 p.m., and reopen from 5 - 9 p.m.
Of all the differences to which I'm becoming accustomed, I've especially enjoyed occasionally watching TV here. The shows rarely have commercials, but when they do, the advertisements are extremely long; literally ten to twelve minutes of solid commercials. Some of which I've seen in the US, but the voices are now Spanish, of course. TV shows and movies, even if originally from the US, just look different on Spanish TV for some reason. It's hard to describe, but it's as if a bright curtain between the viewers and the actors has been removed, and everything looks more like it was videotaped on a home recorder. It's not bad, just different.
Madrid and northern Spain were covered by snow last week, but not even flurries have fallen here lately. It's apparently not common for it to snow in Granada, but the surrounding Sierra Nevada mountains are snow-capped right now, and it's so beautiful to look down a street here, and over the buildings in the distance see the massive mountain range encircling the city. I've never seen anything like it.
No trip to the Alhambra yet, but looking up the hill right above our school we can see one of its towers. I didn't realize how big it is! There's a group tour planned for us next week, so I will be around to finally make it to the old fortress.
Other than the lack of easily accessible Internet that we Americans think we require for survival, I am have adapted quite easily to the lifestyle here!
"normal" - a wonderful idea to interrogate! Whose "norms?"
ReplyDeleteYou've compiled a lot of good information already toward talking about cultural norms in Spain. (Are those long commercials similar to or different from our US infomercials?) Will be interesting to see how these compare to the norms of your culture!