Frozen Pasta

Yesterday I got another taste of what Marbella life is like; my host parents and I went my Rotary counsellor Linda's home to discuss my stay here in Spain. Linda is about 60, and is married adult children. Her home is much different from mine, where my house is simple in its beauty, Linda's home is decorated in many different colors; art pieces, rugs, and flowers everywhere! Unlike my host home, her house has a pool and many up to date appliances. Both she and her husband speak English (they are originally from Finland, I believe) and are incredibly kind. Ana starts work this week, so I will spend a couple of days with Linda at her home :).

After meeting with Linda, my host parents and I went to the supermarket to do the week's shopping. By far the weirdest thing I saw was the frozen pasta -- I had always considered pasta to be one of the easiest things to cook, but apparently it isn't easy/fast enough for some of the people here... Lol. Everything else in the store was mostly recognizable - they have a larger variety of meats but less fresh fruits and vegetables than California.

On a much darker note, the sky here is filled with ashes - everything smells and tastes of smoke. The fires are getting much closer, and the neighborhood next to ours has been called to evacuate. Many of the roads into the mountains are closing, and some of the people in our neighborhood have taken their pets and valuables with them to a safer location. Ana and I are still at the house, Salvador is at work. There is a constant noise of helicopters and planes overhead carrying water to the fires and the sirens of emergency vehicles on the roads. Ana does not seem to think we will need to evacuate, but I am uncertain as to what exactly is going on. I really wish I knew more Spanish right now -- it would be calming to understand more of the situation!! At the moment, though, I am safe and I trust Ana to do what is right.

Love from Marbella,
Shona

Fitting In

I'm finally settling into life in Marbella; staying up late and waking up late, eating a big lunch and smaller dinner, going out with friends until after dark... it's starting to get easier to feel at home here.

I was warned that it can take months to meet and make friends, but I am lucky in that I have already found some people who I think I can call friends. The people in Spain are mostly very nice, and they welcome me into their lives without a second thought. Spending so much time listening and conversing in Spanish has helped my speaking skills very much. I know so much more Spanish now than I did when I stepped onto the plane -- it is amazing how quickly you can learn when you are immersed in the language. That is no to say that I speak Spanish very well, but I understand quite a bit and can say enough to get my thoughts across (most of the time). Also, English is a mandatory class in Spain's public high schools, so all the teenagers know at least a little English. I find it much easier to try out my Spanish when I am around friends, rather than my host parents. My host parents switch right to English whenever they don't understand what I am trying to say in Spanish, and expect me to do the same. My friends are more helpful with the Spanish and patiently wait for me to figure out what I am trying to say. Also, they will correct me if my Spanish is wrong, unlike my host parents who just go along with what I am saying, or they switch to English.

Today I was invited to my host Rotary club's lunch meeting, which takes place every Wednesday at 2:00 PM in a very nice restaurant. The food - salad, salmon and mashed potatoes, and cream puffs -- was excellent and the people are very friendly. I am lucky, I think, to have a good host club!

I can feel my English skills rapidly disappearing. For some reason that I cannot explain I add an accent and am less grammatically correct when I speak in English to the people here. Hopefully my writing is still okay (?) haha.

I hope this blog is living up to expectations -- if there is anything that anyone is curious about, comment, send me a message on facebook or email, or ask my parents to mention it to me -- I would be happy to answer anyone's questions!

Love from Marbella,
Shona

Nuevo Vida

It is amazing to me how different and similar two places can be. For example, in Marbella, the weather is very similar to Pleasanton, but there is no air-conditioning. Seeing things I recognize often remind me of home, which can be both a comfort and a sad reminder of what I have left behind. Whenever that happens, I try to focus on all the amazing new things around me. One of my favorite things so far is the incredible colors all over Marbella; the center of the old town, especially, is full of color -- brightly painted buildings, clothes, foods, and plants are everywhere!

Yesterday I went to the beach for the first time - my host mom, dad, grandma, and great aunt and I spent hours sitting on the beach, in the water (which is much colder than I expected, apparently it gets much warmer around September), and walking up and down the shore. When we came back home we watched a movie - it was originally filmed in German but was over-voiced in Spanish. I had a hard time following the story and ended up falling asleep half way through.

According to my host dad, families in Marbella traditionally spend Sunday at the beach and then go home and cook Paella together, which is exactly what my host family did! Paella is delicious - I was surprised that one of the ingredients is yellow food coloring (traditionally used saffron), it adds no flavor but is an important part of the dish.

Today I was much more quiet than usual - I didn't sleep much last night because of jetlag and therefore don't really have the energy to attempt spanish conversation. My host parents tend to speak to me in English more than I expected - sometimes it is frustrating when they speak only in English. I find it most helpful when they talk slowly in spanish, then I can ask them to explain in english the words I don't know (I haven't quite figured out how to explain this to them).

I'm beginning to settle into my life here, but can't help but miss life in California (especially when its very hot with no air conditioning!) I miss everyone at home very much!!!

Love from Marbella,
Shona

To Live will be an Awfully Big Adventure

When I was a little girl, I used to dream about flying away to NeverNeverLand with Peter Pan. I would often be conflicted in my dreams, trying to decide between adventures and the safety of my parents and my home. Yesterday morning, I made the decision to leave my parents, my friends, and my home and left on my very own adventure.

The early decision-making process was relatively simple: did I want to go live in a foreign country? yes! did I want to learn another language? yes! did I want to meet new people? yes! But when it actually came down to saying goodbye, I was in total denial of my departure. As I walked towards security and my parents and siblings told me they loved me and would miss me, it was difficult to hold back the tears. 

My flight was the easy part; I could focus my energy on keeping myself safe and getting to where I needed to be. Landing in Malaga was at first intimidating but turned out to be uncomplicated. Granted, I was quite worried when my phone didn't get any service and Ana and Salvador were nowhere to be seen. The five minutes of waiting for them, not knowing what I would do if they didn't show up, were incredibly nerve-wracking. But when they finally arrived, all was well. We got in the car, and I was treated to the exquisite scenery of Malaga and Marbella on our 25 mile drive to their home.

I don't know if it is visible from Google Earth, but right across the highway from my house is a giant CocaCola Can. My neighborhood is beautiful, with many white or brightly colored homes. Blue tile, which reminds me of the Pacific Palisades, where my grandparent's live, is everywhere, especially in my house. There is a garden which wraps around the entire house, with many cherry tomatoes that remind me of home. Most of the plants here are very similar to those in California - fig trees, tomato plants, squash, melon, pumpkins, mint, lemon trees. I have a medium sized room, with a bed, desk, and large closet (yay!) plus my own bathroom (!!).

Sitting down for some breakfast (here consisting mostly of coffee and biscuits) I started to tear up. It finally hit me that I was going to be living here for a whole year, and would be away from my family for so long. As excited as I was, my exhaustion, stress, and homesickness overtook me for the first time.  I felt terrible for Ana and Salvador - they welcomed me into their home and were so nice, and all I could do was cry. 

After I had unpacked and showered, Ana and I went into central Marbella. WOW. So many colors decorate the walls, streets, and shops. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. Part of the town is centered around an old Islamic castle that was built in the 11th century. Many of the buildings which are now Catholic churches were originally mosques. To accompany the history and culture, however, there are the tourists. Germans, Italians, British, Russian; it's hard to tell where the natives are! 

For lunch, Ana and I had tapas at a restaurant downtown; meatballs, tuna salad, pork in a tomato sause, and a potato pie sort of thing. It was all delicious!

When we got back home, Ana wanted me to take a nap. I slept for a couple of hours, then we went to the animal shelter where she volunteers. I was incredibly homesick seeing all the dogs, and had a difficult time holding back tears the whole time we were there. Then we came back home, had a delicious pasta with olives, tomatoes, and anchovies (I didn't like the anchovies very much). Portion sizes here are really big - Ana was worried I didn't like the food but I was so full that I couldn't eat it all. Not sure what to do in that situation :/. 

At some point, I will start taking pictures and putting them on Facebook.

Hope everyone at home is doing good. I miss you all very much!

Love from Marbella,

Shona