Week 1.

Language

Last year in my English class we had to read and analyze a story about a Chinese family that immigrated to the United States to start a new life. Story short, the kids learn English soon after starting school, and the father at work. The stay at home mom, however, never really learns because she doesn't have to use it often. The point of the story is that people viewed the mom as dumb because she didn't talk much, but in reality, the mom wasn't dumb- her head was full of insight, it was just that she didn't have the words to express them.

Right now, that's me. I'm like the Chinese woman in the story. I understand much more than I can speak, so I listen to all these conversations, and I want to contribute, but much of the time I don't know how to express what I want to say, and you have no idea how annoying that can be.

It's true, though, that I'm doing much better than I ever would have thought. Even on day one with my family, I was appalled at how much I understood what they were saying. My biggest problem then was their accents. In school in the U.S. we learn Mexican Spanish, but here, though it's basically the same, some words are different than in Mexican Spanish, and the accent is different so some words don't sound like I previously thought they did.

Thankfully, now I'm over that problem. I'm now used to a 'z' sounding like a 'th' for example. Now it's vocabulary. My Spanish vocabulary is not very extended, so that's my biggest problem now. I'm finding myself always looking up simple words like 'cherry' or 'bowl' - words that are just so automatic in English, but in Spanish, I don't even know where to start.

Also, verb tenses. I don't know them all yet, but it's easier to get around. Sometimes I'll just say something like 'to eat, but in the future' instead of 'I will eat'.

But- everyday I understand more and more, and I'm learning new words everyday, so I'm getting along just fine. School starts on Wednesday, so that should help a lot because I'll be reading and writing and talking more. God, I can't wait for English class, though.

Life

Before I got here, I thought that life would be fairly similar to that in the United States. But no. Not. At. All.

Difference #1: Transportation. My family doesn't own a car. It was weird at first not just hopping into a car when you need to go somewhere, but actually it's not that bad. Between the city bus and the metro (subway), it's so easy to get anywhere. I prefer the metro though, because it's so easy, and so efficient- no stop lights, no pedestrians, no dumb drivers, just go. And one comes every four minutes, just boom, boom, boom. And actually, I'm kind of glad my family doesn't have a car. Drivers here are a little scary, and I don't think they understand the concept of lanes of traffic. Everyone is just in a big mush down the road half the time, and roundabouts are the worst.

Difference #2: Food. Prepackaged, manufactured, artificial flavors and colors? Ha, good luck. The only thing like that I've had since I've been here? Coke. Every day we buy fresh bread from the bread store. Fresh fruit and vegetables from the fruit and vegetable store. Fresh ham from the ham store. Fresh fish from the fish store. Etc. And the only thing we've bought from a supermarket? Coke.

Difference #3: Meals. I knew before I got here that the meal schedule is way different. More or less it's breakfast at 9, lunch at 3, and dinner at 10. But the bigger difference the formality of mealtimes. Every meal means tablecloth, setting the table with plates and glasses, and knives on the right, and forks on the left, and cloth napkins to put on your lap, and the whole family sitting down together to eat. A fend for yourself dinner? Not gonna happen. Also dinner is very social. As much as we eat lunch or dinner as just a family, we eat with friends or family or neighbors, either here or at their houses.

Difference #4: Television. First of all, they just don't watch TV much in general. The only thing I've watched on TV since I've been here is the movie United 93, which was on 9/11. My host brother, Mateo, watches a Disney Channel show here and there, and it's so weird to listen to because the voices are different. I didn't think Hannah Montana's voice could get any more annoying...
Difference #5: Computers. For the most part I've only used my computer for 3 things- sync my phone with iTunes, upload my pictures, and this- writing on my blog. We have wifi here (though they pronounce it as 'weefee') but again, it's just a lifestyle thing- it's not something they use often, except for stuff like their work. Also, my school doesn't have computers in the classrooms.

Difference #6: School. I haven't started school yet, but today I had to attend a presentation sort of event at the school for an hour, and so although I don't know all the differences yet, I know a couple. The teachers change classrooms, not the students. I have classes with the same kids everyday, and when English class ends, and Spanish class starts, the English teacher leaves, and the Spanish teacher comes in. You can have tobacco products at school. You can't smoke inside the buildings, but you can have cigarettes, and you can smoke outside. Grades are out of 10 instead of letters, and your grade counts mostly on tests and not little stuff like homework.

Difference #7: Chores. What I have to do- Make my bed, keep my room clean, help set the table, and help do dishes. That's it. We have a maid come every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and she does the rest- all the laundry, sweeping, cleaning the bathrooms, etc. This is definitely one of my favorite changes. Unfortunately, though, for those of you that know Rita's story, we don't have a Bimby.

Difference #8: The Only Difference I Can't Stand. Almost everyone smokes here. My family doesn't, and I think they're the only exception. When we landed in Madrid, and entered the airport we experienced an instantaneous smell of cigarette smoke, and one of the other AFS kids sarcastically said "Mhmmm. The smell of Spain." At first I felt claustrophobic because smoke is everywhere, but I'm starting to get used to it. I keep thinking that from this year, I might as well be a lifetime smoker. It's terrible. And I don't think I've met a single kid my age yet that doesn't smoke.

My Name

No one here can properly pronounce the 'j' sound, and therefore no one can pronounce my name very well. So the other day we were having lunch, and we had another family over, and everyone went around the table to see who could say 'Jake' the best. They were getting a little better, until it got to Mateo's friend who said 'Shrek!' I still laugh everytime that moment pops into my head.

Berta, my host sister, is in the United States right now studying abroad with AFS, so I've taken her place, like Rita has taken mine. Berta's friends have really taken me under their wings, and they've been taking me places, showing me around the city, for which I'm so appreciative. We had a mini AFS orientation yesterday, and some of the other AFS kids have been a little bored because school hasn't started yet, so they haven't really made friends. So anyway, I'm really happy they want to get to know me, and that they want to do stuff with me, they've all been really welcoming and nice to me.

So anyways, they of course can't really pronounce my name very well either, some can better than others, but still, no. Spanish is different than English in that things are either masculine or feminine, and generally, things that end in the letter 'a' are feminine, and things that end in 'o' are masculine. And since I'm taking place of Berta, they're calling me Berto (the masculine form of Berta). I think it's hilarious, and hey, at least they can pronounce it.

Other Tidbits

Other little random things that are different that I've noticed.

• I've had to I'm still trying to learn how to eat french fries with a fork.
• Pieces of paper are a longer and skinnier, not 8.5 by 11.
• Before cooking, you wash your hands in the bathroom sink, not the kitchen sink.
• Decks of cards have 40 cards, the suits are different, no ace, the jack is the same as the 8, the knight (not queen) is the same as the 9, and the king is the same as the 10.
• I don't understand money here. You can get a Denny's style breakfast with pancakes, eggs, bacon, french fries, and coke for 3€, but I haven't seen a pair of Levi's for less than 100€.
• Here, numbers are written differently. For example: 1,500.00 is written 1.500,00 - for some reason the commas and periods are switched. 
• They don't understand the word Coke. It's Coca-Cola. Diet Coke? It's called Coca-Cola Light.

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