Well, here I am, in my homestay. First of all, I don’t have Internet, so my blog posts may become more sparse. The miraculous fact that I am able to post now is because I wrote this entry in a Word Document and am transferring it to my blog in the CRLA, which has wireless. I did this because my host mom bid me buenas noches at 8:45 last night. 8:45! While I would have welcomed this last week in Las Cruces, tomorrow I get to sleep in until the leisurely hour of 6:45. So I have a bit of time to kill.
The journey here was not easy. In fact, it was a travel day to rival my journey from Boston to Costa Rica! While that took 11 hours, this took...11 hours. Although what better way to say adios to everyone we’ve been with 24/7 in the same building for a week than to be on a bus with them for the entire day? Ok, so our group is still going to see each other EVERY DAY for class and hang out at lunch/in the evenings, but now there will be a strange segment of time where we won’t constantly be all up in each other’s business.
I’m excited for the university experience of the next few weeks (although an intensive Spanish course of 5 hours of Spanish class a day is a bit off from typical), but I will miss the camp-like experience with a bunch of bio nerds and the beauty of the botanical gardens. Until we meet again, Las Cruces...
So, about the trip. We boarded the bus at 7:30 am, and a couple of hours of interrupted slumber later, had lunch at a restaurant (I had spaghetti. I love the abundance of fruits and vegetables here at every meal, but damn I miss carbs). A little while later, as we’re peacefully listening to Disney remixes, the bus broke down. Conveniently, the bus decided to break down near a soda (small restaurante/store), and we got some drinks, paid for by the bus company!
Might I add that was my only coffee cup of the day. I’m adjusting!
A second bus came along to rescue us, and we made it back to the CRLA around 5:30 pm. The process of dropping us off one by one at our homestays then ensued.
So, about my homestay! Here’s my room:
My host mom, Amalia, is a retired teacher, and her husband is a businessman. She introduced me as Anya Price-como-Precio, or Anya Price, dueña de "Price-Mart" (owner of Price-Mart) which is really cute. They’re in their 60’s and have two daughters and grandchildren. The husband is quiet, but Amalia talks to me (not too fast, thankfully). She showed me around the neighborhood, including the bus stops for CRLA and her camino secreto (secret walkway) to get to the OTS building. I met one of the grandchildren, Ella, last night. She talks so fast! And, from what I can gather, very wittily too, for an eight-year-old.
The transition to total Spanish has been eased by the few occasional interactions we’ve had with people in San Vito, but whew it’s surprisingly mentally taxing to talk, even when I know what to say. I managed to ask some questions, and I found out that they’ve hosted a student from Needham before! (Needham is an almost-neighbor of Natick – small world)
Hasta luego,
Anya
P.S. here's my room from Las Cruces, per parental request:
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