little girl, foreign country

Hola amigas!
Okay, I'm going to try and keep y'all updated on this little girl in a foreign country but I haven't blogged since Xanga so this may be interesting.

First encounter
Before I left for Madrid, Spain I wasn't nervous at all. I just figured, hell it's only a few weeks what's the worst that could happen to me. Well when I got on the flight from Dallas to Madrid my self confidence did not. Immediately I realize I am not only the only blonde but also the only one who speaks English. It seems like everyone is yelling in spanish and I am left completely lost sitting in my aisle seat with fear stamped on my face. The gentleman beside must see the fear stamp or maybe it's just my hair but he asks me in Spanish if I speak Spanish as soon as he sits beside me. Shit... I know what to say, I know exactly how to say I speak little Spanish but NOTHING comes out of my mouth instead tears start to gather in the back of eyes. I wave my hand and mumble and then he starts speaking more Spanish! Shit, shit, shit! I realize by his hand gestures that he wants me to switch seats with his wife in the row behind us and I jump up offering it to her just to avoid the conversation even though my neck is screaming, Dont take the middle seat!! I can't say that to him in Spanish so I give in. The 9 hour flight then seems like eternity since I can't sleep but thank goodness when I land my self confidence must have arrived too because I become determined to use my Spanish and make the best out of the trip. I'd love to say that since my first encounter with real Spaniards I haven't had another melt down but we got lost on the first day when it was getting dark outside so that was fun.

Mi Familia
Originally I was told I would be living with one girl from the states around my age, a 60 year old woman and her sister's grandson who is 23. One out of the three were correct and unfortunately I don't live with a smoking hot 23 year old spaniard like I imagined and there are 3 other roommates not just one. My host mother's name is Dama and she defines the word host perfectly. She cooks us 2 surprisingly very good meals a day, washes our clothes once a week and makes sure we are always taken care of. So there has to be a catch, right? She speaks ZERO English. zero. Thankfully she speaks with her hands and there are three other girls who speak Spanish better than I do to answer her questions before I have to mumble off my poor excuse for Spanish. When we sit around the dinner table it's usually her talking and all of us just nodding our heads saying Si Si even though you can tell clearly by our faces we aren't exactly sure what she is even talking about.

The 5 of us all live in an apartment on the 7th floor, which I can almost positively state, is in the ghetto. The first clue was when she gave us a set of 4 keys to get into the apartment and each of them had specific instruction on how to use to be able to get in and out of the complex.

Instructions

    First, you use the biggest key for the outside gate. Second, you use the smallest key to get into your building inside the gate. Third, after you've taken the elevator (made for two small children) up to the 7th floor, you will take the long skinny key, put it into the top hole of the door with the side with the small nick on the right THEN turn the key four times to your right. Finally, you take the medium size key stick it the hole below the door knob turn to the right once and then a little to the right again (don't turn the door knob though!) and push the door open while the key is turned in it. PHEW! Now once you get inside you have to repeat steps 3 and 4 in order to lock the door. I think you're in luck Dad there is no way I am going to get kidnapped with that kind of system, it took me 2 days to learn it. 

I will try to keep y'all updated but there is barely anytime with all the class, siestas, fiestas, fiestas and siestas. Until next time! Adios! (which actually means go with God, who knew?!)