Embracing Spanish Life

I've been here less than a week and I've already found out that there's a lot of great things about the way Spaniards live. Daily siestas, food, family, the language, futból, more futból. Did I mention fútbol? They are definitely as crazy as everyone says. Last night, I watched the second half of the Real Madrid and Madrid Atlético game with my host parents. My host mom really likes Madrid Atlético. Unfortunately for her, Real Madrid came back from a 1-0 deficit to tie the game, and then scored three more goals in overtime. I learned some new words watching the game, too! If you were wondering, pelota is ball (which I knew, but had forgotten) and prórroga is overtime. Today, I went to see the local team, Real Racing, play, which was quite an experience. Spaniards really love their fútbol. Before the game, the fans lined up on either side of the street as the team buses entered. They had noise makers, flags, scarves, and flares and were all singing, chanting, and jumping as the players arrived at the stadium. Then, once we were inside the stadium, they were really, really loud about every single play. They made sure the refs knew when they didn't like a call, and would sing and chant during much of the game. It was definitely a different experience than Spartan Stadium. We could bring bags, umbrellas, cameras, noise makers, and probably pretty much anything we wanted. Even though the stadium was much smaller and more rudimentary, I think the fans were just as loud.
Some pictures of the game:

Flares inside the stadium...how is that allowed? 

Much of Spain is Catholic, but not many Spaniards actually practice. However, there are churches everywhere. I tried to find the Church of the Annunciation for Mass today, but instead found another church before I got there. They were already most of the way through mass, though. I then found two other churches and stumbled upon another only two blocks from my house, but it is brick and doesn't really look like the other churches here. I couldn't really understand much of what they were saying, but luckily, the structure of the Mass is the same no matter where you are, so I was able to understand what was going on. I know I learned the basic prayers in Spanish class in high school, so I should probably brush up on them.
I have gotten used to eating at 9pm or later now (I ate at 7:30 last week because mi madre had to go visit her mother in the hospital and I wasn't even hungry because it was so early), and take a siesta when I can. Unfortunately, I have class at 3:15pm, which is prime siesta time. All of the stores are closed from 1:30 or 2 to at least 4:30 or 5. So never plan on doing anything during that time. This weekend, my host parents' grandchildren were over, but since they are 2 and 4, they didn't really understand who I was or why I was there. I tried telling them that I am living here for two months, but they just told me that I don't. But I did appreciate their simple words, and mi madre has given me some of their books to read like a comic book version of Don Quixote. We have a lot of free time here during the week, so books will be great! And keep me thinking in Spanish, since I find that when I talk or read a lot in English, it is harder to switch back to Spanish.

¿Pueden comer las cabezas?

Since it was our first weekend in Spain, and we didn't really have our feet on the ground until Wednesday, most of us chose not to try to put together a trip to Madrid or Barcelona or any other city for the weekend. However, three of us did find our way to Comillas, a small city to the west of Santander famous for El Capricho, one of Gaudí's first houses. We figured out the bus system (sort of) and went over the hills to Comillas. We arrived in time for lunch and had our first taste of El Menu Del Día, which is something practically every restaurant offers and consists of a first and second course, bread, a beverage, and dessert for a relatively low price considering all of the food you get. I chose Paella for my first course and Chipirones Encebollados for my second course, which was a sauce with squid and onions served with rice. Both were really, really good. The paella was served with the biggest shrimp I have ever seen on top and they still had their shells, eyes, and legs. We weren't really sure how to eat them, but assumed that we just peeled them down the way they are sold in America. When the waiter took the plate full of shrimp legs and heads, we asked, "¿Pueden comer las cabezas?" since we still weren't sure we were eating them correctly. For the record, you don't eat the heads, even in Spain. For dessert, we all got quesada, which is a dessert typical in Cantabria, the state or province (not really sure what it is technically called) that Santander is in.

Paella-my new favorite food!

After lunch, we set out for El Capricho. We were able to go in all of the rooms in the house as well as the balconies and grounds. It was one of Gaudí's first houses and was really neat. The outside had bricks and many tiles with sunflowers and leaves on them.

El Capricho

From there, we walked up to the Palacio, but it was closed for siesta, and since it was Saturday, it didn't reopen, so we just took pictures. It was on top of a hill, so we had a good view of the city.

El Palacio

We continued walking toward Universidad Pontifica, but it too was closed because it was Saturday, which was unfortunate since it looked really neat. We walked along the road that goes along the coast and had great views of the cliffs. We ended up walking a lot yesterday, but it was a very relaxing way to spend the day after such a busy week. By the time we boarded the bus to go home, we were exhausted!

the ocean!

It's hard to believe that I have only been in Spain for a couple of days. It seems like much longer! I left Monday afternoon and arrived in Santander, Spain at about 11am Spain time on Tuesday--but not without a mad dash through the Madrid airport first. Luckily, since there was a large group of us coming from Madrid, they held the connecting flight to Santander by about 30 minutes so that we could all board.
Upon arriving in Santander, we picked up our luggage and headed to our school, the UIMP (Universidad Internacional de Menéndez Pelayo), where we met our host families. I will be spending the next eight weeks with an older couple who love being a host family and have been hosting MSU students for 15 years! They are very patient with me when I don't understand what they are saying, which is very appreciated. However, I have probably agreed to several things that I didn't know I was agreeing to (when you don't know what else to say, you usually end up just saying "si" or "vale", which means "okay").
Today, we had our first day of classes. I am taking a media and conversation course, a literature class, and a Spanish culture course. All of them seem like they will be interesting, especially with the enthusiastic professors!
Tonight, we had a tour of Palacio de Magdalena, a beautiful palace overlooking the bay, and also visited the Faro de Cabo Mayor, a lighthouse on a cliff. Then we made our way to El Centro, the downtown area, and visited what I'm sure will be our first of many heladerías (ice cream shops). It was delicious and the MSU Dairy Store ice cream has some new competition!

This is the view off of the coast. Santander is very hilly and there are mountains very close to the city.  

All in all, it's been a great, albeit busy, first two days. 

¡Buenos noches!