¡Hola! I’ve been in Toledo for just over a week, but it feels like I’ve been here a lifetime. I have trouble even thinking about what to write in this blog since there’s so much to include. To start, let me share how I was thrown directly into Spanish culture. After arriving in Toledo, I was handed to my host family and sent home with them. After arriving home, we immediately sat down for dinner in front of Spain’s first game at the World Cup. My “padres”, Pilar and Salvador, are 73 and 75 years old but cheered like they were 25. This was a great introduction for me because I love “fútbol” and had a topic to discuss with my new parents. At first, I was terrified to talk to my padres and only responded in short, nervous answers. I quickly realized that this was ridiculous because my padres were willing to listen to me struggle and clarify things I didn’t understand. This helped me to trust myself to speak Spanish.
Over this week, the biggest improvement I’ve made in my speaking abilities is simply having the confidence to speak. I’ve learned that I’m going to make mistakes; I’m going to forget words, conjugate verbs wrong, and generally sound like an idiot on occasion. However, I know that this is the only way I am ever going to improve. I only speak Spanish when I go to stores and have found that most of the natives can understand me just fine. Even when they speak English to me because they can tell I’m American, I try to respond in Spanish anyway. My comprehension has also gotten much better. Even if I still have trouble speaking, I have almost no issue understanding people anymore. This is a product of being around Spanish all day. My friends, teachers, and padres are forcing me to assimilate. Finally, I’ve really enjoyed learning all the quirks of the Spanish tongue. In just a week, I’ve learned the regional words for “bathroom” and “team” while learning to add a lisp when I pronounce “c’s” and “z’s”.
During my first week, I’ve used my class breaks to explore Toledo with my friends. It truly is an amazing city. The streets and buildings have essentially not changed for over 400 years. As a history major, I feel like I’m in paradise. In one week I’ve been in a thousand-year-old mosque, seen world-class paintings, and gotten to know this incredible city. The food is delicious and the sangria isn’t too bad either.
This past weekend, my friends and I traveled to Madrid to see La Ciudad Real. This was a completely different experience from Toledo. Toledo is like living in a history museum. Madrid is more like living in New York. Still, it was a great experience to travel to a big Spanish city and get a taste of the more hectic urban life. We split up our time, going to historic sites like the Prado and El Palacio Real on some days and then heading to the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu another.
I can’t wait to keep learning, living, and falling in love with this country. ¡Hasta luego!