Hello from Córdoba! I have arrived and settled into what I think will be a very comfortable life here. From what I have seen so far, I love this city and I think it is the perfect size for me. I wish I could show you all in person how lovely the old parts of the city are. The streets are tiny and cobblestone, there are orange trees everywhere and oranges that have fallen into the streets, and I can’t wait till spring arrives and flowers add to the beauty.
My school is in the old section of the city, but my piso (flat) is not. I live just across a park from the center of the city in a modern area called Cuidad Jardin. A lot of other Preshco students are also in this area and we can all very easily get to school and everywhere else. Everything is walking distance.
Saturday morning our train arrived before the sun had even risen. Our host families were all there at the station ready to meet us. I am living with a 37-year-old single mom named Pilar Rodriguez, and her five-year-old son, Pablo (aka Pablito). As I mentioned earlier, I am living in the same homestay as another student in my program, Viola. Upon our arrival, Pilar was there to meet us at the train station, but Pablo had spent the night at a friend’s so we did not meet him until later. I really like Pilar a lot. She is really nice and understanding of when we do not understand her, which can be pretty funny. She speaks a little English, but she definitely does not speak English with us. And she doesn’t want us to speak English together either. But it is funny to be because she does not say “Español, Español,” she says “Speak Spanish.” The first day with her I felt like I was being really quiet, but slowly I am finding myself talking more though I probably sound like a complete fool with incorrect verb tenses and awkward pauses. Oh well. When Pilar picked us up we gathered our things and walked to her apartment. She lives very close to the train station, which I can only imagine will be very helpful when I travel! The apartment is simple and pretty small, but Viola and I each have plenty of space. We have our own rooms and I must say that the streak of luck I have had with housing continued when we picked out of a hat and I got the bigger of the two rooms. It is cozy and I really like it. (Pictures/Video to come.)
After unpacking, we got breakfast with Pilar. Breakfast in Spain is very different than the breakfast I am used to: our first day it consisted of a toasted roll with olive oil and café con leche. That is all. It was great though. And yes, you read correctly, I drank coffee. I have now had coffee the past four days in a row and haven’t had tea. The lack of tea is kind of terrible, but the coffee has been good with lots of milk and sugar. Sugar packets hear are three times the size of ones at home. Clearly they like their coffee sweetened. After breakfast we walked around and got to see some of the city. The key that Pilar had made for me didn’t work, so we went to get a new one. Afterwards Pilar showed us to our school and walked us around the sites of the old part of the city, including the courtyard of the Mezquita. After the sites, we accompanied Pilar to the market complete with different stands for fruits, vegetables, meat, and seafood. It was a very different way to shop than I am used to, but pretty cool. One thing I did notice there was that I felt like a giant. People seem to be shorter in Spain and I towered over many.
The first day in the city was a pretty lazy day. Viola and I hung around the house watching bad American movies that had been dubbed. I am talking true lifetimes movies here. Why anyone would talk the time to translate them and bring them to another part of the world is besides me, but I do actually think they were more entertaining in Spanish then they would have been for me in English. Before dinner, Pablo came home and we got to meet him. He is absolutely adorable and a pretty well behaved kid, though he will certainly keep the home lively. While Viola was in her room, Pablo spent a great deal of time showing me his video games and teaching me how to use them. He is eager to share, has the greatest laugh, and smiles with wonderful dimples. Last night, Viola and I gave our gifts to Pilar and Pablo. I gave Pablo “Goodnight Moon” in Spanish, a version of “The Cat in the Hat” in both English and Spanish, and a Thomas the Tank Engine coloring book. I think he really enjoyed them and he was eager to begin coloring with Thomas. It also ended up being perfect that I got the bilingual Dr. Seuss because Pablo is learning English in school. He knows how to answer a few select questions. “Pablo, what is your name?” “My name is Pablo.” “And where are you from?” “I am from Spain.” “And where do you live?” “I live in Córdoba.” It’s adorable. As hard as it is to talk to Pilar in Spanish, it is even harder to understand to Pablo, but his English was pretty well pronounced. Of course it is easier to understand what is familiar.
For all of you at home who know that I eat a lot, apparently this is false. Pilar has decided that Viola and I don’t eat enough. Her food is great and I feel like I have been stuffing myself, but her serving are sooo big. Pablo barely eats, so she jokes that she has to tell him to eat and then tell us the same. It is like eating every meal at Grandma’s house, always being offered more. Other people are encountering similar circumstances in their homestays as well. On Sunday, Viola and I walked around and explored the city with a bunch of our friends and we spoke at length about our different living situations. Everyone seems really happy with their host families.
Today, Monday, marked the beginning of academics. While we have not exactly started classes, we have preview classes this week. I went to three different classes today and think that I am going to take a class on the Spanish song in the twentieth century. This means that as part of class I will also be participating in the University of Córdoba PRESHCO Choir. The Choir director seems great and I am getting pretty excited about. I wasn’t sure I was going to do it when it was extracurricular, but now that it can be a part of my class time, I am definitely doing it. I will have more to say about academics later when I have actually really started classes.
That is all for now. I hope all is well and would love to hear from all of you! Now that I have updated you, give me updates on your lives.
Adios
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