Hola, All!
Since I last wrote, it´s been nothing but good stuff happening here! Saturday afternoon a new friend and I walked to a store, sometimes in the rain, bought some veggies and frozen chicken and went back to the bed and breakfast to cook it. The people at this b&b were so nice and helpful. Plus, I met at least 6 other students who were/are attending CPI (Spanish) schools. This particular program has a school in 3 different cities. On Sunday morning we were picked up at the b&b around 9:30 and taken directly to the house where we are now living. That trip lasted about 4 hours. I am living with a grandma, Virginia, who looks younger than her 70 yrs. She has a small two bedroom place above her son´s house, but you can only get to it by climbing the outside metal stairs. One of the other students, Kerry, is living 2 doors down. Another student, Alison, is living in an apt this week. After spending some time with our families, Kerry, Alison, and I walked to a new super-mercado to buy some fresh fruits and veggies. The walk back was interesting in that not only were we carrying a bag of groceries but we also had to climb this hugh hill. Well, we are in the mountains. The thing that I was not ready for is that it gets dark here by 6:30! By 8:30 I was ready for bed but knew that it was way too early to retire.
This morning I met Kerry at 6:45 to walk to the school, a mere 5 minutes away. We were given a written test to take, then given an oral test at which time we were asked what our objectives were. I said that I wanted to be able to speak and understand Spanish better, plus thought it might be advantageous in my next job. When my name was called, I went with an instuctor and found out that I am the only student in his class. This is great! He is a really good teacher and asked me all kinds of questions about my life, so that I would have to converse in Spanish. And, he even complimented me on my knowledge and pronunciation! Tonight I have to review a lot of verbs plus I have 3 pages of homework. All in all, I´ve met wonderful people and am learning alot.
Love you, Chao for now, Dawnie
Has Virginia given you gallo pinto yet? We had that at every meal - I think it is like their national food (maybe sort of like tortillas are to Mexicans?) I really liked it and have a recipe our guide's mother gave him to give to us.
ReplyDeleteYour calves will be wonderfully "ripped" after climbing the outside steps to your apt and also going up and down those hills!!
Glad to hear all is going so well. We sent loving energy your way tonight. Make your friends talk to you in Spanish!
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