Getting used to things...

I wrote this last night since I couldn't sleep... just a few little comments
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So, today Merche took me to the office of international relations, and they gave me a bunch of papers and a map…. Which I desperately needed. Oviedo seems like a big city to me, but I know for most of you it is just a town. I guess I’m just used to smaller places. Everything is tall, every store has apartments above it, but everything is also very uniform in height. Merche told me this is because there is a rule in place in the entire city that one cannot built anything that disrupts the "paisaje"… which roughly means landscape, or rather the view of the landscape.

The people here are very proud of their city and they also take a lot of pride in their cleanliness. According to Merche, Oviedo is the cleanest city in Europe. I’ve read this elsewhere before, but I imagine this title is up for debate. Either way, I decided just to be impressed rather than challenge her claim. I will say however, there is not a spec of trash to be seen on the streets. This is probably because there are trash cans ever 20ft or so all along the street, so I suppose there isn’t much excuse. Some of the trash cans on the street are even divided into sections for recycling. Apparently everyone here recycles everything, even oils, all on their own free will. All of the buses run on biofuel too.

Merche seems to be having fun helping me "desaprender mexicano" (unlearn Mexican)… It seems that my vocabulary is very Mexican and South American according to people here, and sometimes the words just plain don’t work because they have completely different meanings. I am already starting to understand everyone a lot better, but my speaking still needs a lot of work. I think it is mostly because I am nervous though to be honest, and I haven’t learned how to think on my feet in Spanish to keep up with a fast-paced conversation… and boy do they talk fast. I suppose I am used to professors in the U.S, who know that Spanish is not my first language, and so they enunciate a lot and talk very clearly. Here, nobody is showing me any mercy.

Merche LOVES to talk. The only problem is, sometimes I can’t get a word in edgewise! Sometimes I just resort to interrupting her, which she doesn’t seem to mind. Maybe that’s just how they do things here. I mean, I was listening to her go on and on and on, meanwhile her dinner getting colder and colder, talking about her mp3 player (which is ridiculously cool, by the way… it is a good bit smaller than mine and has an external speaker and 2 headphone jacks so people can share, and a colored video screen like an ipod to watch movies.)… anyway, being the polite American that I am, I was patiently waiting and finally I realized that every time I waited to make a comment, the subject pretty much always changed somehow and the moment is gone… because they just never stop talking. Part of me wonders if this is why she enjoys taking in international students so much... to have someone new to talk to who doesn't know all of her stories!

I am grateful however, because it has been really great practice, and the family is always very eager to talk to me. Pedro (the father) is very intelligent and boy, does he know his history. He has been telling me all sorts of stories of Spanish history and he just goes on for hours. To be honest, sometimes I get a little bored (and tired… Toby is absolutely right, concentrating on a new language 24 hours a day really does suck the energy out of you), but I still sit patiently and listen, trying to understand everything. Shh, don’t tell anyone, but I think I might actually be starting to appreciate some of those Spanish lit classes that Dr. Panford (or as Jay and I call him, The Pan Man) taught that Tech made me take, because I was able to follow the history a lot better since I was already familiar with a few names and major events.

For the most part I’ve been doing just fine today, just a few random words here and there that I haven’t come across before… like plums. Somehow, plums never came up in conversation before. Merce (the mother) makes her own jellies and jams from fresh fruit, which are DELICIOUS! This morning I was greeted with a table set just for me with toast, and a whole array of home made jellies for me to try out. I need to look up a few of the flavors, because to be honest, I don’t know what they were, but I know they were delicious. There was orange, strawberry, plum… and a couple others. She makes other types too like pear and apple, but I’ll have to try those out another day.

They always have a bowl of fresh fruit available because Merce goes to the market several times a week. The fruit here is REALLY good too… especially those oranges straight from Valencia, and I’ve really enjoyed the pears.

When the exchange program told me that meals were included, I figured that it was a matter of me eating off of whatever was in the kitchen or whatever the family made for dinner. Little did I know that this meant that I have my own personal cook more or less. Merce is an excellent cook, and she is very proud of it too. She definitely aims to please. She is super paranoid that I don’t like something, or that something will make me sick, or that I need more food, or whatever, but thus far everything has been pretty good honestly. Plus, the family eats lunch together more or less, but dinner is a lot more laid back, as Spaniards pretty much snack around most of the day and eat "dinner" around 9 or 10 at night… just something small.

So, Merce made me "dinner" and I was thinking that the family was going to sit at the table and eat. However, I was presented with a table with new table cloth, fine china (made in Oviedo), table set, the works, all just for me. Pedro even gave me a glass of red wine from one of the local wineries to try out. I'm not a huge fan of wine, but it was pretty good.

All of the plates and such seem very formal to me, but then again, I’m used to college life where you settle for something that is at least clean… who cares about matching, right? When Merce asked me if I’d like some coffee since she was making some, I was expecting just a casual coffee mug or something because we were watching a soccer game (Real Madrid and Rome) on TV in the living room… but no, she busts out the fine china yet again. I was reminded of that British TV show "Are You Being Served?" where Hyacinth’s neighbor is always really nervous around the fine china and usually ends up dropping something because she’s shaking so much.

The elevators are all really, really small. I can think of a few Americans that wouldn’t fit in there by themselves, much less with other people. There is definitely no such thing as personal space in those things, even for just two people. It was quite a task to fit myself, my bags, and Merche in the same elevator when I arrived from the airport.

I have a cell phone now, because Merche insisted that it was very important that they have a way to contact me in case I get lost or something, and also everyone really relies on you having one. For those of you who are not familiar with SIM cards, basically you can unlock a phone and just buy your own card and use it with whatever carrier. Well, there is more to it, but that is the simple version. Merche had a couple of old phones lying around so she gave me one of those and I just had to buy a card which was only a few euros.

I got a plan where calls to other Vodafone users up to 60 minutes only count as 1 minute as far as charges go… and my family all use Vodafone of course, and it is one of the more popular networks in the area. You can change plans at any time, there’s no contract, completely pay as you go. Also, I can recharge it anywhere really… Merche recharged her card at the grocery store when we were checking out! She wanted to buy me some Honey Nut Cheerios so that I would feel more at home, but the grocery store didn’t have them so she got me some Special K with. Everyone is so sweet here.

Well, I have to wake up early so I am going to wrap this up. Until next time!