Days 2/3 in España

Day 2
I woke up at 11am to a tapping on the door of my room. The day started off with breakfast in the cute little kitchen! I had a spanish version of cocoa puffs with non-refridgerated milk, which wasn´t bad actually. After breakfast we drove at least an hour into the green mountains. I fell asleep on the way there, of course, but once we arrived it was hard to fall asleep again. It was so beautiful because there was an old cathedral next to a waterfall. It was there to remember the history of Asturias. We went through a cave in the mountain to the tomb of the king who conquered Asturias and they I drank from the waterfall. I couldn´t fully understand what they were saying, so my retelling of it sounds kind of vague. I took a lot of pictures though! Next we went out for lunch in a village. They brought out a whole platter of cheeses- I was in heaven!! Unfortunately, they were very strong and started to make me sick after eating a lot of it. I also had a steak at this large lunch, and dinner wasn´t until nine at night. For dinner I had fish and salad. By the end of the day, I felt sick from eating so much, especially since the flavors were new to me.

Day 3
The more time I spend here, the more comfortable I am. I´m beginning to understand their customs. A big one I´ve noticed is greeting someone with a kiss on each cheek. Also, there are many more smokers, and the restaurants are overwhelming with the smell of it. Today I went to a museum about the coal mines in Asturias. Asturias is known for it´s large coal mining industry. It was pretty interesting and we took a guided tour through a pretend mine. For lunch we went to another restaurant, where I tried "sidra" (cider) and octopus! The cider was good, but kind of strong because of the small amount of alcohol in it. They pour it a special way, above their heads, into the glass and your supposed to gulp it down fast. I did not like the octopus, but I´m very glad I tried it. Later, Marta and I went out to the discos and I got to see my American friends. This is where all the kids our age go out on Friday nights in Spain, so I got to meet her friends also. It was fun because I had the chance to be with my friends, but also not fun because it was hot and filled with smoke. We arrived home around 10pm- just in time for dinner! I had MORE steak, but it was so good with the flavoring on it. I wonder if I´ll have meat or fish tomorrow, hmmm?¿? uuuugh.

Day One in Spain

Well, I´m officially in Spain! The flight over here was brutal because it was so long. Because it was a night flight, we all tried to sleep but it was impossible. I may´ve fallen asleep for a little while but only in quick dozes. We could tell everyone was overtired because we would laugh so hard at things that weren´t even funny. When it finally reached time for our one hour flight from Madrid to Oviedo I crashed and I don´t even remember taking off. My host family is nice, they make an effort to learn english as I learn spanish, and the mom is a good cook! The downside was the lasting effects of the awful plane trip. I did not feel well at all today, partially because of no sleep and also because of the time change. Overall, it was a very overwhelming day and not really one of my best memories. I´m hoping I will fall into a regular sleep routine and the rest of my time here will be amazing!