Letters from Abroad

Dear Patch,

It’s been two months?!? Time is flying! I can’t believe that my exchange is 1/5 over already, but it’s been a great 1/5. I’ve gotten into groove of things, and life here seems pretty normal to me now. That doesn’t mean it’s boring (it’s not), but just that I’m not shocked when I realize that I’m living in Spain. Last month was a lot of introducing new things I found to be different, and this month, I’d like to focus a little bit more on my daily life here.

First off, language-wise I’m improving. Woo-hoo! People no longer have to speak extra slowly when they’re talking to me, and I can understand other people’s conversations maybe even when they don’t want me to. The teachers don’t seem to talk as fast (I know it’s me that changed, not them) and even though class isn’t always fun, at least I understand what’s going on! I’ve added a picture of my classroom so you can see where I spend a lot of my time [picture 1].

Outside of school, life is pretty fun! I joined the girls soccer team at my school [2], which not only allows me to stay active, but I’ve also made some more friends that like soccer as well. On the weekend, other than playing in soccer games, I’ve gotten to do some pretty cool things.

One weekend, I got to go visit Bilbao and see the beautiful architecture that is the Guggenheim Museum [3]. There’s also a gigantic puppy made of flowers that sits in front of the museum [4]. And by gigantic I mean more than one story high. Of course, I took my camera and I captured some beautiful pictures, because the city is gorgeous, especially at night [5-7].

Another weekend, I went on a 19 km (11.8 mile) hike to the top of Andarto with an amazing view at 1010m (3313 ft) [8-10]. It took the most of the day, but it was definitely worth it. I got to take a picture with my flag at the top [11], and also walked by some horses and cows on the way [12-13]. I’ve also done a 9 km hike to the summit of the tallest mountain in Basque Country, Gorbeia, which stands at 1482 m (4862 ft) [14]. We left the house just as the sun was coming up, and seeing the valley blanketed with fog and barely lit with orange sunlight was magical [15]. By the time I got to the top, it was quite sunny, but it was so windy that I thought I would lose my flag [16]. The view was breathtaking, and I was able to see Vitoria on one side, Bilbao and the Ocean on the Atlantic side of Spain on the other, and the beautiful mountainous land of País Vasco in between. Just as a reference, Vitoria and Bilbao are about 40 miles apart, so it would be like hiking to the top of the Ridge and being able to see Pleasanton on one side and San Fransisco and the Pacific on the other (and the Bay Area in between of course).

Recently, I got to spend a weekend in Madrid, where I took over 300 pictures in 2 days. Other than walking around the beautiful city and taking in the architecture, the history, and the ambiance [17-20], I went to a museum and saw the art of Edward Munch (painter of the famous The Scream [21]). I never considered myself an art person, but I really enjoyed it. I also got to take a self-guided tour of Bernabéu, the Real Madrid Soccer Stadium [22-23]. It took about 2 hours, and in addition to sitting in the stands like you would at a game, I got to learn about the history of the team, visit their Hall of Fame and their “Sensations Room”, which is like a big hallway with current players’ jerseys and gigantic screens with virtual players warming up for a game. I also got to see the locker rooms, and walk through the player’s tunnel, sit on the bench (which really consisted of big cushiony seats not unlike those of a luxury car), visit their press room, and I even got to take a picture with virtual Cristiano Ronaldo. At the end, I ended up buying a pin with the Real Madrid logo for my RYE blazer [24]. And sadly, since I didn’t go to any Rotary events this month, that’s the only new pin I have this month.

Regarding food, I covered a lot last month, so this time I don’t have as much. I’ve gotten the chance to eat some more paella [25-26], which seems to get prettier every time I have it. Tortilla de patatas is a running favorite of mine, and I get to have it pretty regularly, which is pretty great. While in Madrid, I had churros con chocolate for breakfast [27]. We have churros in California, but instead of being covered in cinnamon and sugar, churros here don’t have anything on them, and you dip them in chocolate. I love the churros in California, but churros here are quite tasty as well. And they’re for breakfast!

One difference I noticed but forgot to mention last month is the abundance of cigarettes here. It seems like every other person you walk by on the street smokes. It’s even common for high schoolers to smoke. Of course, it’s not allowed during school, but many of my classmates have a pack of cigarettes and a lighter in the backpack for later. Although no one in my host family smokes, which I am really grateful for.

In addition, I feel as though the dogs have really accepted and gotten used to having me around. I say this because they greet me at the door wagging their tails and waiting to be petted, even when there’s someone else home, and the bigger dog, who used to bark when I opened my door in the morning now lays quietly in her bed and waits for me to say good morning.

As well as me learning more and more about the culture here, I am also constantly sharing about both the American and Japanese cultures (for those who don’t know me too well, I’m half Japanese). In the past few weeks, I’ve made both brownies and pancakes for my host family, which they loved, and I’m constantly asked about what aspects of life are similar to those in the U.S.. In English class, I did a small presentation about what life is like back in California, and towards the end, when I was asked if I speak any other languages, I mentioned Japanese. This got the whole class excited, and I spent the rest of the period writing people’s names in Japanese.

In my computer science class, we have been doing presentations about different topics related to computers, whether it’s about the history, the parts, or how they work. The teacher asked me and a partner to present (in English) about the differences (technology-wise) between the U.S. and Spain. How convenient that I live next to Silicon Valley, the technological capital of the world! The presentation is next week, so wish me luck!

Until next time,
Nagisa

P.S. If there is anything specific you’d like me to talk about in next month’s article, feel free to leave a comment. I’m open to any new ideas. : )