Ham???? The snowstorms of salt my host mom puts in her cooking?
So much ham!
Back to finishing up catching up...
Throughout unpacking, Pilar came in and out of my room, giving me things like towels, showing things in the bathroom, and talking about general living things. In Spanish, unlike English, there are subject pronouns (i think that's what they are called??) and specific verb conjugations for addressing others more formally. Because of what I was taught in school, I assumed I should use usted with my host mom because I just met her and she's older than me. She caught on the minute we started chatting int he apartment. I started my sentence with usted and she cut me off and asked who I was talking about. I said I was talking about her. And she said, "Why do you use usted with me? I am not old. I am the same age as your mother. Would you address you mother as an old person? We are like family, and I want you to address me like you would your own mom." She of course said this nicely, but with a tone that said don't mess with me. She talked abotu her family. She's divorce, but I think it was a while ago, maybe when Tania was little. Her ex lives in Florida. Pilar has three daughters, Eva (30, married, 2 girls), Paula (28, married, the one she calls fat), and Tania (20, works in a gift store, doesn't go to university).
After my freakout and finishing unpacking, I sat with Pilar while she made la cena. I offered to help, but she said no, that I should sit and that cooking is for her. Normally I wouldn't eat with them for dinner, but because this was the first meal I would have with the family, I ate with them. She is a fabulous cook, but I think that is kind of a standard here. All of the other people in the program say that they have great food, but I like eating and seeing what Pilar makes because she does it so easily! And she's very relaxed like it's nothing. She made a very Spanish dish, la tortilla, which is a like a big flat cake of eggs, potatoes, onions, and not much else. Simple, but sooooo good! I had tortilla in the hotel, and it was not very good. The eggs in Pilar's were a little runny, and it had so much flavor! Yum! And she made little chicken wings and a salad. Looking back on this now, it was probably unusual for them to have this for dinner because it was a lot! I chatted with her until dinner, and we (tried) to talk about different things. Basic, but new for me! My Spanish was so bad that day. I was SOOO tired. She joked that all she was saying was "sabes? sabes?" asking me if I understood her. She is very sweet. And then I asked her how many students had she hosted, and she said I am the fifth. And she kept talking about this girl Julia... Could it be my friend, Julie? So I asked if she new if she was from Skidmore, or her last name, and then she pulled out a packet of all the info on each of her students, and there was Julie!! She was the first student Pilar hosted, which says a lot about Julie since Pilar continued to have more students stay in her home. Pilar spoke very highly of Julie and her personality. It was nice to have a common thing to talk about my first night.
We, Pilar, Tania and I, ate dinner, which was yum yum yummy! I was trying to be as polite and well mannered as I could, but eating little chicken wings is hard with a knife and fork! They teased me for eating with a knife and fork, and I laughed and then started eating with my hands. Tania and her mom are very informal. Then I tried explaining that in the US, people eat little chicken wings, but they are called buffalo wings. They thought that was funny.
Pilar's daughter, Paula, was to return with her husband from a trip to Istanbul. I think around 10. We had dinner at 9. Paula gave me the dos besos, but then Vincente put his hand out and shook mine and introduced himself in English and laughed. They both are goofy and chatty and love to laugh. They offered me Turkish treats. Later, my host mother's boyfriend came over, Miguel. He is poquito creepy. He is from el campo, the countryside. He's completely bald, except for his black eyebrows. He doesn't have a face that made me want to give him the dos besos, but I forced myself to to make a good impression. He seems very gruff. Whatever! He can only come over on weekends though because it takes him an hour to get here, and he runs a farm. After that, I spent time with the family, talking about Paula and Vincente's trip. The only thing was Paula and Vincente tried to speak in English with me because they were trying to be nice, but it was so difficult to understand anyone with both languages flying around. It was interesting hearing Paula's take on being in Turkey after hearing things from my sister, Christina. Finally I excused myself because I was falling asleep with my eyes open. I took a shower and passed out on my bed.
OK!!! Day one in Alcala documented! I feel these first few days are crucial because they mark my transition into Spanish culture. I don't care if you're bored.
Besos!
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