School in Spain

I’ve been a little busy, and it’s been a while since I’ve blogged :/. So, to compensate, this post is nice and long, and has some pictures of Altea.



I’ve made it through the first full week of school! Overall, I’m really enjoying everything. In Spain, kids begin to choose their career path as early as age 15, when they decide if they’d rather study math/science or history/literature for the rest of high school. Because I’m in my last year of high school and have chosen the humanities route, none of my classes involve math or science!! For those of you who know me well, this is a major benefit. This year, I am studying: Philosophy, Castilian, Universal Literature, English, History of Art, Economics, French, and History of Spain. I am interested in all of my classes, and the teachers seem nice. Also, I much prefer waking up at 7 with a 4 minute walk to school, instead of last year’s waking up at 6 for a 25 minute drive :).


Lots of people have asked me if all my classes would be in Spanish, and I’ve said “yes.” However, the true answer should be, “not really.” The city in which I’m living is located in the Valencian region, which has two official languages: castellano (Spanish) and valenciano. Valenciano is incredibly similar to Spanish and French, but it is in fact a language, not a dialect. Although everyone speaks castellano, street signs are written in valenciano. Also, school is taught in both languages… this means that some of my teachers prefer to speak and castellano, while others teach in valenciano. Thus, about half my classes are in Spanish, and the other half are in valenciano.
Examples: old town; sp: pueblo antiguo; val: poble antic
name: nombre, nom
what’s your name; cómo te llamas; com et dius


Valenciano is similar enough that I will understand it once I’m fluent in Spanish, but it’s different enough that I can only understand 30% of it right now.


Aside from that, school isn’t very hard, and I’ll be completely fine once I can understand everything. Yes, I’m making friends, but it’s been a major adjustment moving from a school of 2,800 kids to one of 400. My last year’s junior class had 742 students; my senior class in Spain has less than 40!

Here are some pictures from around Altea:

The view from my bedroom window, facing away from the sea

10 Observations about Altea

1. Everything happens later. During weekends, breakfast is at 10-11, lunch is at 2-3, and dinner is at 9:30-10:30.

2. ½ of the town is Spanish, and ½ are tourists, specifically British tourists who are easily distinguishable by their sunburns and excess pounds (both money and weight).


3. There is a beautiful plaza (say: platha) full of cobblestones and outdoor restaurants right next to the old church that has a wonderful view of the sea.


4. Everything is smaller: houses, cars, streets, stores…


5. People actually do take siestas after lunch. Fantastic invention.


6. Surprisingly, the “th” accent doesn’t bother me at all, but it is proving to be incredibly difficult to imitate. Only soft “c” and “z” sounds are pronounced “th”, but I either want to say it all with an “s”: “Si, soy de Valencia,” or say it all with a “th”: “Thi, thoy de Valenthia.” I generally revert back to the Mexican pronunciation (s) so that people won’t think I have a lithp.


7. Cities with “al” in their name (Altea, Alicante) have some sort of a Moorish background


8. It is common for house doors to have one big doorknob in the center. This, combined with large meals and generally shorter people, makes me feel like I’m living in Hobbiton. Awesome!


9. When you meet someone, you air-kiss first the right cheek and then the left, except if you’re a boy meeting a boy, and then it’s a handshake or something.


10. I love it here.

My First Full Day in Spain!

Yesterday was fantastic. My luggage did not get lost, and my host family met me at the airport. Our hour long drive from Alicante to Altea was not awkward in the least; they are very welcoming and kind, and I was able to understand most of what they said to me. Right now, I understand and can speak with about 75% perfection, which is much better than I was expecting. My four years of Spanish have paid off! On the other hand, I have not yet attempted to use the ‘vosotros’ form, nor have I tried speaking with the Castilian “th’ accent. So far, my fear that life with the host family would be awkward has not come true. My host sister Maria (17) took me around Altea, and, Andres (6) told me all about different animals, especially bats. Our (translated) conversation went like this:


Andres: and this is the vampire bat… and this is the tubular nosed bat… and this bat is so ugly that it doesn’t have a name…
Me: Andres, why do you like bats so much?
Andres: Porque de Batman!

So cute. For my exchange, the location and host family could not be more perfect.

The Beginning

Well, after a year of preparation and extra classes, I am finally in Spain! Right now, I am sitting in the Madrid International Airport waiting to board my last flight to Alicante.          
              

These past few weeks and months have been a blur; it was surreal to realize that I wouldn’t see my family, home and friends for 9 months, or ever come back to Mission Viejo High School. Sad thoughts, but for me, this experience in Spain will be more than worth the separation. So, after a fantastic goodbye party, I left at 5 am for LAX and have been traveling since then.

I’m a little nervous about having to speak solely in Spanish, especially during the first few months, but I’m feeling a little better about it after having met Graciela. She’s an Argentinean woman I met on the plane who speaks no English. We talked in Spanish for about 20 minutes, and in the middle of the conversation, I suddenly realized that, although no English had been spoken, I was able to understand and respond very quickly, with few mistakes. I think after a month, I’ll be completely fine in everyday conversation.
Right now, before seeing Altea and before meeting my host family, I am feeling mostly excited, but very tired and a little nervous as well. Although my host family and I have communicated through facebook and email, we know very little about each other. I really hope that this year will be a fantastic experience for both the family and for me, and I am so thankful for this wonderful opportunity.

As of now, my goals for this exchange are:
-to become fluent in Spanish
-to live like a local, not a tourist
-to make great friends
-to become more independent


We’ll see how it goes.


My biggest fears are:
-that I will have no friends in school
-that I will be unable to understand the schoolwork
-that life with my host family will be very awkward


As the year goes on, I’ll address, evaluate, and possibly change these goals and fears. Wish me luck!


**I really did write this in the airport, but I didn’t have internet connection to upload it until my 2nd day :)