Meeting Our Families!

WE MEET OUR FAMILIES TODAY! Waking up, I couldn't believe we were leaving our hotel in Madrid and going to Valladolid to live with our families, or in my case, a Mama and her little dog.

Once we all finished breakfast and got all of our stuff downstairs to the lobby (luggage and all), our bus driver looked at us like we were crazy! There was no way all of our luggage was going to fit on that bus. Dr. H ended up having to rent a truck to drive to Valladolid in order to fit all of our stuff and us. I couldn't believe some people actually had 5 pieces of luggage! I felt good that I managed to fit everything into one suitcase and one backpack. Thank you Linda for teaching me how to pack light :)

Well since it was going to take a while for Dr. H to get the truck, a few of us wandered to find some food. We went to a bake shop, where I wanted to get a cheese croissant. They actually didn't have any, but I asked the lady (in Spanish!) if they did, and she said she would take care of it. I was really proud of myself asking in Spanish, and I hope that by the end of this trip I will look back and laugh because it will seem like such a simple thing to do to ask such a simple question. One can hope.

Back on the bus, once everything was loaded, it took about 2 1/2 hours to get to Valladolid. I don't think it really hit me that we were separating from everyone and going to be on our own with our Mamas until that moment I got off the bus, and was greeted by Maria, who kissed me on both cheeks and said "Vamos!"

Our apartment is so cute! We were greeted by her little dog Mel,

who was so excited to see us! We went down a little hallway, and turned the corner where we passed her bedroom, a bathroom, the kitchen, a small bedroom, then the living room. Our bedroom is off of the living room, and is a decent size! We each have a bed, and share a wardrobe that easily fit the clothes I brought.

(Emily, in our room)

Maria is so cute, too! She is about 50, and works with elderly for a living. This actually gives me hope that she will have patience to deal with my lack of Spanish. She let us know over lunch (in all Spanish, of course - she doesn't speak English) that she is diabetic, so we will be getting lots of veggies (yay!). I'm not sure yet how I'm going to tell her I don't eat certain meats, but I guess I'll see how things go.

She went to work, so Emily (my roommate) and I spend the afternoon unpacking, napping, and familiarizing ourselves with the house. Maria seems somewhat of an artist - the entire house had paintings and framed pressed flowers that were signed by her. And she loves plants... the balcony is covered and full of flowers and plants!

After dinner, which was some sort of meat that looked like Spam-ham (now this is where I get worried about the food...), we showed her pictures of our family and friends from home, and Maria pulled out an atlas and asked us to show her where we are from and where we go to school. It was so cute - she wrote our names on her map where each of our families live, and she also circled Cal Poly.

Definitely an interesting and overwhelming day. Can't believe this is going to be my life for the next 3 months.