Tag: host family

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Week One is Done! – Anna

I arrived here in Villanueva exactly a week ago and the time has flown by! Since being here I have been speaking so much Spanish and meeting lots of people. Yesterday I was invited to my host brother’s girlfriends’s house in the country for lunch and swimming. When I got there I realized it was more of a party than a lunch. I was overwhelmed at first but it ended up being really fun. We ate tortilla española with spinach and pasta and lounged by the pool. It was hot outside and the pool felt so good!  Later on that day I tried caracoles for the first time and they were pretty good! Although they may be a bit of an acquired taste they are really fun to eat! My host mom told me that they’re best while they’re hot so you have to eat them really fast. Everyone here seems to love them. I also saw the procession of Corpus Christi with my host mom, Rafi, and her friends. I really enjoyed listening to the band that was playing. It was a lovely way to end the day!

Outside of Villanueva, I went to Córdoba on Saturday with the other interns. My favorite part was the Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos. It only cost 2.50 euros to get in with my international student card and from the top you could see most of Córdoba. I really liked how the gardens were full of bushes shaped like pottery and castles. When we were standing in line to get into the Alcazar, I saw someone wearing a t-shirt from my high school and then Vivian, one of the other interns, yelled “Colorado” to get there attention. Turns out, a tour group from my high school was in Spain for their Spanish class! I even saw Sra. Bouchta, my old Spanish teacher from high school. I gave her a big hug and we talked for a little while. It was such a coincidence! After the Alcazar, we went to the Mezquita and I spent an hour and a half walking around and looking at all the tiny details in the architecture. It was the second time I had visited the Mezquita and it was even more beautiful than I remember.

After spending a week here, I am looking forward to starting teaching classes next week and to continue practicing my Spanish. I feel so excited and grateful to be here and I can already tell that this time is going to go by really fast! 

¡Hasta luego!

Anna

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Getting Started – Ahliaa

Hello Everyone!

I have only been in Spain for a couple of days now and I have already done a lot of new and exciting things! Just in my first day, I made it through the airport and train station without getting lost, rode a super fast train from Atocha station to Pedroches, and got to see the parade for the last day of Romería. My second day was full of observing classes at Academia Manhattan, eating at some of the local cafes and restaurants, and seeing new parts of the city.

Villanueva de Córdoba is beautiful! From the roof of my host family’s home, I can see the whole pueblo. It is even more beautiful during the sunset! My host parents, Sebastian and Anna, are super friendly and really funny. They showed me some of the best places around and always make sure that I’m not hungry. They have been helping me improve my Spanish speaking skills by having long conversations with me and encouraging me to say full sentences (rather than just “Sí”). They let me take my time and stop me from using Google Translate. Once they understand what I am trying to say, they correct any grammar or conjugation mistakes. Through all of this, I’m sure my speaking and listening skills are going to improve greatly!

Sebastian and Anna also run a little clothing store and they seem to know everyone who walks in! I think it is nice that everyone in town knows one another and are super friendly. Hopefully I can also meet more of the residents (especially when I start teaching some classes).

One thing that I have noticed is how late dinner can be. Last night, I ate dinner at 10:00 pm (22:00), but in America, dinner is usually at 6:00 pm (18:00). Even though there is a four hour difference, I don’t get too hungry since the meal sizes for lunch are very large. It also helps that everything is delicious! The siesta is also a new experience that I have to get used to. I love the idea of a midday nap, especially if it means cooling down when it is way too hot, but having all of the shops close down can be difficult. Hopefully I will learn to work around that since I have an entire summer left to go!

I can’t wait for the many new things I will get to try while I am here and am especially ready to start exploring Spain!

Ahliaa

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Blog Post # 1 – Joanne

Gooooood afternoon, friends! Joanne, here, from SPAIN (woot woot)!

After a stressful day of spending an entire day at the airport, getting lost in Atocha station, and almost missing my train to Pedroches, I am HERE. It is currently June 7th, my third day here in Villanueva and so far I am having the time of my flippin’ life.

Villanueva de Córdoba is a very small city with approximately 8,774 people; it is adorned by beautiful architecture which I have had the pleasure of looking at on my way to the Academia. Caty, my host mother, is a very sweet and caring lady and has been showing me around the pueblo. From what I have noticed, everyone is very kind and greets each other with two cheek kisses (~so euro~). SPEAKING OF MY HOST FAMILY, everyone is so nice and funny! Because they speak a very limited amount of English (and my Spanish is… improving) our communication oscillates between hand gestures and Google Translate. It is a fantastic system.

My host family also has a dog, PEPITO! He is very cute and I have been playing with him regularly. He is a very charismatic pup and is fond of belly rubs. I like him a lot.

After spending the first day catching up on some sleep, I had my first day at the Academia. Lucy, my supervisor, gave me a tour of the place and we reviewed the summer schedule together. Because of the Trinity Exams that are taking place today and the “feria chica” happening this weekend, there isn’t a lot of work to do yet. However, today I helped with the review session for students taking the B2 exam by working on the conversation section with them. I was very impressed by their fluency and how well they discussed the social dilemmas of Spain in English.

After the review session, my new friend Vivian and I walked around the town and checked out a small cafe called Churreria El Lagarto (lol, lizard). And let me tell you, this cafe has THE BEST café de leche I have ever had. After catching up with Vivian and doing some work, it was time for lunch and the siesta and I walked back home where Caty was waiting for me with huevos y patatas. Again, we communicated using hand gestures and GoogleTranslate. It is still very funny.

In the middle of lunch, my host brother Fernando and his friends walked in and I got to meet them all for the first time! But it was slightly awkward because I didn’t know that boys in Spain did the cheek kiss greeting to girls so when they all leaned in I was like, “Oh! Uhhhh, hola…. *kiss kiss*” Yeahhhh, awkward. But, noted! (Just confirmed with Lucy, it is common for everybody to do the cheek-kiss thing regardless of gender/sexuality).

Now, I am here back at the Academia to do some work before I meet with the examiner to go over what students need the most improvement on and what parts of the exam went well. Then, I will be working alongside Lucy by assisting a C1 class (the most advanced). Yay!

Thanks for reading, friends!

Hasta pronto,

Joanne

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Welcome to Villanueva! – Ashley

Hello everyone! This is currently my second week in Villanueva de Cordoba and so far, I have enjoyed every second of it. Before jumping on a plane and coming to Spain, I was still trying to map out in my head how I would arrive to my destination in under 24 hours without knowing a single person in the country. I had to get to Boston’s (Logan) International Airport, land in Madrid (Barajas) airport seven hours later, take a bus with six stops to the train station, wait at the train station for over three hours, get onto a train for two hours which would make a stop in Villanueva de Córdoba, where I would finally meet my host family. Thankfully, the thought of it ended up being more overwhelming then the traveling experience. I arrived to be embraced with a warm hug from my host mom Rafi and host sister Tere and all my nerves simply went away.

Upon my arrival on Monday 4th, I was brought to the Academia Manhattan, which is a fifteen-minute walk from Rafi’s house where I met Lucy, Elizabeth, and Christine. On Tuesday 5th, I had my first session with children who ranged from ages of 3 and 4 years old. The children practiced introducing themselves and were then asked questions that pertained to food. My second session was with a group of high schoolers who were preparing for their entrance exams for College.

During my walk to the Academia I have been exploring new paths and photographing buildings and objects I find interesting. I have taken multiple photos that I think are unique to Villanueva. For example, there is a house that has sea shells for pots and being that it is the first time I’m seeing such object I find that to be very creative.

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I have gotten accustomed to taking the siestas, because back home I do not tend to nap during the day. I have also only now experienced watching the news or other television shows during lunch and dinner time which is also a custom I am not familiar with. When eating back home or in college we tend to talk about our day, future plans, or random table conversations, but watching television is usually only done when alone or maybe during special events i.e. American football games. Thus far, I have enjoyed my stay with my sweet family, and I am looking forward to meeting more people from Villanueva, and the students from the Academia.

-Ashley Aviles