Thankfully we didn´t have to meet until 11:30am this time. We all got to sleep in a little bit, although I still got up around 8:30am so I could shower and get packed. I´m pretty sure everything fit better this time... which was a good thing!
At 11:30 we all met in the lobby. The elevators here are SO tiny, so only one of us can fit in at a time with our luggage. For some of the girls, I was shocked that they could fit themselves and their luggage in! I felt bad for the rest of the people at the hotel... There was one couple that was trying to get down the elevator, but each time it opened on their floor, one of us was there occupying it! We were all talking in the lobby and realized that each of us had passed the couple. The poor people!
Once everyone was down in the lobby, Jauma put us all in cabs and sent us on our way to another plaza where the bus was going to pick us up. By now, all of us are realizing that the transportating in this program sucks. But it was about to get worse. I was in a taxi with 2 other girls and there was another taxi with 3 more behind us. Well, my taxi and the one behind us dropped us off across the street from where we needed to be. So there went all six of us... lugging our giant suitcases across a busy street. I´m pretty sure we got some weird looks. At one point, my duffel bag flipped over, and I couldn´t stop to fix it in the middle of the street, so I had to lug it the rest of the way across upside down. That was fun. Not. THEN... as we were crossing the next part of the street, we saw our group heading over to the bus. We were all about to scream, "WAITTTTTTT!!!!" when we realized we could see the bus. We walked over to the bus and were basically the last ones. When we walked up, we realized that there wasn´t room under the bus for all of our luggage. So some of it rode on the bus with us. At one point we turned a corner pretty fast and a bunch of it went flying towards the door. It was actually kinda funny. But also unbelievable at the same time. How could they NOT anticipate that our suitcases were going to be huge?? We are here for 3 1\2 months and there are 16 of us! I mean, really!
Moving on... We arrived in Toledo and went straight to the school (the "Fundación" as we call it). We checked in, got our family (or dorm) information and then ate lunch. For those of us in homestays, we sat in the cafeteria for an hour and a half (until 3:30pm) when our tour of the building started. We got a brief tour of the halls and then around 4:15pm got to meet our families for the first time. It was so nerve-wracking waiting on the staircase for the lady to call our names. Fortunately, I didn't have to wait too long before mine was called. I walked down the stairs (heart pounding) and saw my mom, dad and sister (that sounds so weird to say...) waiting for me at the bottom. We all greeted each other and then walked into another room to chat for a few minutes. Then we got my duffel bag and backpack and then headed to my new home for the next 3 1/2 months.
Getting there was a lot easier than I thought. While my family does not have a car, my mom's parents do. So they picked us up from the Fundación and away we went. They live in an apartment not too far from the Fundación. My street is called "Avenida de Ámerica" (go figure... lol). They live on the 2nd floor (3rd by our standards, remember) and it is very nice. Once I was settled, we all sat around (including the grandparents) and talked for awhile. They all agree that with some small changes (or "corrections" as they call it), no one would ever know I wasn't Spanish! The funny part is that by "corrections" they mean by accent; I need to learn how to use the "th" sound when I talk. For example, I was trying to say the word for makeup (maquillaje) and they made me say it over and over until I got it right! It was really funny :) They are always sure to correct my grammar when I make a mistake, too, which I really appreciate. If it were anyone else at home (so beware guys...), it would piss me off. But here, I know I struggle, so any help I can get is appreciated. We also Skyped my mom and dad in the US! It was so funny because everyone wanted to meet them. Given that they don't speak much Spanish (my mom more than my dad), I was playing interpreter. I'd forgotten what that felt like! Eventually my mom made me dinner. I'm hoping this was just last night because it was my first night, but she made me dinner and then I ate by myself in the kitchen. Maybe customs are different in Spain, but it was weird for me because I am used to family dinners. Hopefully I'll get some of those before I leave.
After dinner, I got to show everyone some pictures from home. It was very strange to show them my "normal, U.S." life. They did seem to enjoy seeing how I live at home, though, so all was good :) I stayed up for a bit and watched TV, then headed to bed after another long day.
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