Little Spanish Updates #2

I have already checked out from Hostal Penelope, and now am at my new home. It is in Camino de Ronda, of the major roads in Granada. I met mi señora, and she´s a very nice lady named Encarnacion who cooks well. In fact, she would not like it if we don´t eat her food! I say “we”, because I have two housemates from Kansas City, US, Amanda and Ashley. They´re both living in the same room while I have my own. Anyway, knowing them makes me realise that I am very different from them. For example, both of them brought two huge suitcases each with another smaller bag. My one lone suitcase is only half of one of their suitcases! It´s crazy. They brought so many clothes and so many other things (3 hairbrushes, anyone?). Amanda loves drinking and wants to get drunk, while Ashley´s not like that. I also realise that their world is just consisting of the US, and that they don´t know so many things. Oh well. That´s all I will say for now. I will like them!

My suitcase has arrived!!! It went straight to the hostel in Calle Navas, so the owner called me up and told me that I could go and pick it up. So I did, and everything´s intact, except that my Bible is a bit torn and squashed. OH well. I´m thankful it´s found! Praise God!

On Monday I went to my school for the test, and it was pretty hard, but I did quite okay. They put me in Intermediate class, which is what I wanted! Inicio would be humiliating, while Superior would be too hard. Yay . I also met other people from other countries, which was great. There´s this Chinese girl from China who speaks Español pretty well, and I managed to converse with her! Haha. I´m learning, and it´s going well. ¡Mi español será muy bien en un mes!

I think, after this trip, I will have adopted a really thick skin because of all the embarrassing moments I have to go through. Which is a good thing, isn´t it?

Also, I think that I am going through so many “realisations” when I´m here. For example, I have also realised that my two American housemates have got it so easy for them because their teacher from their university is here to help them, while I have to slug it out myself. I am not complaining about that, trust me, coz I think I learn so much more, but they are complaining about everything, which is so bizarre.

Tambien (which is the Spanish word for also), I have realised that the Spanish way of speaking is very loud and expressive, so even though it may seem like they´re mad or angry, they aren´t. Mi señora en mi casa, Encarnacion, made me and my two housemates think that she´s mad or angry with us, but she actually isn´t. Amanda and Ashley´s teacher told them that after they told her about their worries regarding making Encarna mad. Thank God she isn´t, though she may seem so!

One of my classes, Civilizacion y cultura hispanoamericana [12 to 1pm], will only start next Monday even though it is supposed to start this week. We don´t know why, but I´m not complaining. Haha.

My second class is Civilizacion y cultura españa [1:15pm to 2:15pm], and it´s great! My class has only 8 people, and mi profesora is very nice. She´s not condescending, and speaks slowly enough for us all to understand her. Out of the 8 people, 6 are Americans, and I´m the only Asian (as usual). The last person is a guy from Puerto Rico.

My last class is Español nivel Intermedio [5 to 7pm], and there are about 14 students in that class. Mi profesora is nice too, thank God. She is understanding, knowing that our Spanish is not all that great. But once again, I´m the only Asian (and, this need not be said again, the only Malaysian in the whole of Granada now) in the class. The rest of them are from the US! Ahhhhhhhhh. CLM is being flooded with Americans. Where are the people from other countries??? And of course, I am looked at like an alien who *surprises of surprises* speak English! I´m getting so sick of it.

Granada is not a big state in the province of Andalucia, and almost everyone here walks around the center of Granada. (To go to the outskirts, of course you need to drive or take a bus or taxi.) It´s so fun to see Spanish moms pushing prams with their children in them, and I like to peek inside and see the cute babies. I think babies are adorable haha. Also, many of them love walking their dogs around, which is very uncommon for me since not many Malaysians do that. The dogs are adorable too!

One question: Is it uncommon for Americans to brush their teeth in the morning before breakfast? Coz my two housemates have not done so for the past few days, and I´m finding that reaaaaaaaally weird. The toilet is very near my room, so I will know whenever someone uses it.