One Month

Hello hello hello

It has been a long time since I have posted, and lot of that has to do with me being very busy, having internet at sporadic times of the day, and being a little bit lazy. 

  The past couple weeks have been good. Kind of uneventful, but good. I went to Sevilla last weekend, which was very fun. We (Juan, Mila, and myself) stayed with Mila's nephews, a pair of triplets who have lived together in Sevilla for 4 years. Joaquin, Salvador, and Angel, are crazy and so much fun! They all speak very quickly and all kind of look alike, so that was a challenge on its own. We were in Sevilla because a friend of Juan's wrote a book about post war Yugoslavia and was presenting it in an old abandoned hat factory. Sevilla is beautiful, even though it rained the whole weekend.

School is ok. I am in the equivalent of a freshman class, which is kind of lame, but the classes are easier and it was the only room they had at the school. I am the oldest person in the class by almost 2 years, but whatever. My classmates are all AMAZED that I am from San Francisco. They huddle around me and ask me questions almost all of the time. And almost all of the students want to practice their "English" as well. This is how the conversation usually goes.   

"I can espeik englis."

"Vale, pero, solo espanol porque yo quiero aprendir espanol." 

"Yeees, but I can espeik englis. luk--do you, do you, ummmm, how do you say...."

And so on and so forth. But its all in good fun. All of my teachers are very nice and understanding, except for one, my Chemistry teacher. The first time I turned in my homework, she gave it back to me and said "Madre mia! You need help, what you have here is not Spanish, and it is not expectable." I was kind of in shock but honestly, who cares that much. Of COURSE I can't do Chemistry homework in SPANISH in a way that makes sense. I have been here for one month. So suck it. 

I think the strangest thing about school is the half hour break we have at 11. If you are over 18, you can get a pass to leave campus. I don't know how, but I got one, which is quite nice. So, the first time I went off campus (meaning outside of the green gate that locks the students in), I was SO surprised to see my teachers smoking. It was the strangest thing ever, coming from Marin, where teachers have posters hanging in their room about the dangers of smoking. 

What else? If you want a letter, please send me your address......

But yes, things are going really well for me at this point in time, but I still can't wrap my head around the idea that I am going to be living here for 8 more months!

OH YEA! Here is a funny story. Many classmates have asked me if I believe in G-D, and I just say yes so I don' t have to explain myself any further. The question that follows is "are you catholic, Protestant....." And I then say, No, I am a Jew. But I say Jew like huee, in Spanish accent, and STILL get looks of confusion. And when they still don't understand, I say hannukah, candles, killers of Jesus (just kidding). But, once they finally understand, the usual response is " I have never met a huee before." and then a long awkward silence. 

hahahaa

xoxo. 

10,000 Leagues Under the Sea...or something.

Last night was crazy. Why? Pull up a chair and let me tell you.

Mila, Juan, and I decided to have dinner (and then spend the night) at Mila´s parents ¨campo¨(a large piece of land with many houses, animals, people, gardens), so we brought two large pizzas at around 10:00 pm for dinner. Mila has 12 other brothers and sisters, and every weekend, they all take turns spending the night to be with their parents. This weekend, it was Pili´s turn, and we joined in the fun. It had been raining off and on all day, and the wind had been VERY strong. As we drove over the the campo, we saw lightening in the distance, but didn´t think twice about it. Dinner was something in itself. Mila´s dad, Joaquin, is missing all of his teeth, speaks very quickly, often with food in his mouth, and likes to tell jokes. He also couldn´t understand why I am a vegetarian. So, mix all of that together, and you get me, very confused and a little bit concerned. But, basically as dinner ended, at around midnight, Joaquin told me that tomorrow I would be eating ham. I think not.

So, off we go to bed. Mila, Juan, Violeta, Pili, and Thomas (a nephew visiting from Greece). As we walk to the house we will be staying at, the wind picks up, and oh man-- it is so so so strong. The house we are staying in is quite nice and cozy. Pili gets one bedroom, Mila and Juan get the other, Thomas gets the couch, and I get a mattress on the floor with a mountain of blankets. We all stayed up and talked for a while, and turn off the lights at around 1:00. As soon as the lights go out, holy mother of god, the storm began.

First it was the lightening, flashing very two minutes, then the thunder (a great rumbling roar that shook the house), and the wind, whipping away at the olive tree outside the windows. Then, suddenly, the rain. Oh man. It was CRAZY. This lasted for a long time, and I would drift off to sleep and SUDDENLY a bang would wake me up. The power of nature is amazing. At around 5:00, I heard water dripping, but I didn´t think twice about it. Not at all. At 5:30, I saw a figure creep toward me, and in a FLASH of lightening, I saw it was Mila. I used my cellphone as a flashlight and we tried to turn on the lights, but guess what....yep, the electricity went out. So we searched for a lighter (luckily Thomas is a smoker) and lit a candle. There was water. Inside the house. Dripping from doorframes. Getting the tips of my blankets wet. I stood up, and followed Mila to the door, where she ran outside, with a plastic cover over her head to grab the mop.

So, yes. I held the candle as Mila mopped up the house. This is, once again, at 5:30 am. Thomas and Pili stayed asleep. How, I really don´t know. After placing dishes under the leaking doorframes, we blew out the candle and went to sleep. The storm was still raging. At around 6:30, there was total silence. It just ended. And I then slept until about 9:00 am.

As I went outside to survey the damage (not much, luckily) I saw Mila´s mom collecting snails in a large bucket. She grabbed my arm and explained that these snails would be cooked with rice. Not for you, she exclaimed, but for me. I eat meat. You don´t.

After breakfast (we went out) Mila´s mother told me with a huge smile "at my house, we always have fun. always"

Oh wait! I forgot to mention that as we unlocked the car to go to the restaurant, the half of the car was flooded as well.

lots of love,
violeta

A smile!!

Helllllooooooo.

well, well, well, it has been a long time since I have had internet, and let me tell you, A LOT has changed. Meaning, I have a brand new Spanish family!! YAY! and guess who is my new Spanish madre? None-other than Mila herself. Yep, thats right. I have just moved in with Mila and her novio Juan. That means, that I have moved cities and schools. That also means that I don´t have school until monday! A mini vacation!

Switching families was a terribly stressing experience. There was SO MUCH miscommunication and honestly, no communication at all and it made everyones life a million times harder. I don´t think that Rebecca and Joe have slept a full night over a week. Yep. That is how it has been for a very long time. Do I feel guilty for leaving Fini and her family behind? Yes. Jew guilt courses through my veins with a vengeance. I feel bad that I wasn´t strong enough to live with them. I feel bad that I left so suddenly and without explination. and I feel bad because I thought I was different person. Oh well. I don´t like thinking about it, so I am not going to. And the first two hours with my new host family has been full of smiles and laughs. I made the right decision.

Today is Tuesday. I moved out of the Romera Rueda household on Thursday night. So where did I stay? With a woman named Marisa, a person who is especially called upon for "emergencies" with families. Marisa is a fun, bubbly, and very happening young Spanish woman who loves to dance the Salsa and who works at a phone store. Staying with her was fun and showed me what its like to be the loser roommate who is always home, reading. But it was fun. The best part of living with her was this-- Monday morning (I went to bed before she got home at 12 30) and when I got up at 7 for school, the toilet seat was up. hmmmmmm. Then as I brushed my teeth, I heard a man talking. WHAT! I lingered in the hallway, trying to get a glimps of this (possible) guy, but he didn´t show, so I thought it was the T.V. or something. Then, as I was making toast for breakfast, I heard coughing and then the door closed. Then silence. WHAT? When I got home from school, I asked Marisa ¿Hay un chica en la casa este noche? the response was simply ¨Si"
¡Que suave...! I said again, hoping to get some details. "Es mi novio Raul. Did he bother you this morning? I asked him to leave without talking to you.....¨ And that was that.

So, here I am. Happy, healthy (but putting on pounds!), and s-l-o-w-l-y learning Spanish. I have joined a gym and start taking Pilates three times a week very soon. The food here is good, the OLIVES. OH MY GOD. They are so good. I could eat a whole jar without stopping. The food is very rich, and often lacks in lots of spice or flavors. But all is well. My favorite part of Spain is the way the day is set up. Things open at 9, close at 2:30 for everyone to go home and eat and sleep and then open again at 6:00 until 11. Its quite nice. What else? oh yes, here is my address. for real this time. I PROMISE.

Violet Elson
Adva/Alameda
Solano 2, 3-E
Chiclana de la Frontera, Cadiz, Spain
11130

xoxox
I will post photos of the beaches here ASAP.