My first full week in Toledo

Monday, January 18^th - Thursday, January 21^st: First week of classes

To be honest, the first week of classes for me was very overwhelming and difficult. I feel as if I am still adjusting and trying to get comfortable here. I found it funny because on Thursday, I attended an optional 30 minute class called “Project Iceberg” taught by one of the program coordinators, and the girls in the class were at stage 2 – or at the low end of the happiness meter, whereas the boys were still at the high end of the happiness meter. The program coordinator said that us “feeling down” is completely normal, and that it will get better soon, it is all part of the experience!

Here is a list of the classes I am taking. They are all in Spanish of course! I think for the most part, I am going to like them all. I have class Monday – Thursday, and I don’t start until 12:55 p.m. every day! In the mornings, I will spend my time catching up on sleep if needed, doing homework, visiting a coffee shop in Toledo, and anything else I need to catch up on! Also on Wednesday mornings starting in February, I will start volunteering at a school and helping in a classroom as part of my service learning class! I am looking forward to getting into a routine soon.

Introduction to the Studies of Hispanic Linguistics

The Cultural Heritage of Spain

Master Painters of Spain

Service-Learning and the Immigrant Experience in Spain

After a tough week, I decided to go to the chocolate store and buy these special cookies in a special box as a little reward to myself. I wanted to share some of my cookies with my host family, so when I got home I explained to them that I bought these as a “gift for myself” to say “good job Sarah you finished your first week of classes!” and they laughed at me when I explained this to them. I shared some with them though and it was a fun evening.

Also, before I returned home on Thursday, I met up with a girl who lives in Toledo and is studying English. Her name is Maria, and she is seventeen years old, so it is her last year of high school and then she is going to study medicine in a university – she is very intelligent for pursuing English and medicine at the same time! Jackie, my buddy from home who went on this program last semester, also met up with Maria while she was here! How this time works is that for half the time, Maria and I talk in Spanish, and for the other half, we talk in English! It is a good way for each of us to practice the language we are learning to a native speaker! So we just walked around the plaza and talked for an hour, and it was really fun! Maria’s English is very impressive (she is definitely better at English than I am at Spanish haha!)

Friday, January 22^nd: Excursion to Madrid

On Friday, our school group took a trip to Madrid! All the students met at the Fundación at 10 a.m. and then left for Madrid on an hour bus ride.

The first thing we did when we arrived to Madrid was drive around in the bus a little while a tour guide talked on the loud speaker about what we were seeing outside of our windows. Then, we went to the Museo Del Prado where we walked around with a tour guide who explained to us various paintings in the museum. We weren’t able to take pictures while we were inside the museum, but I got excited and snapped a selfie of myself with what I called the “heary thingy” that we put up to our ears throughout the time we were walking through the museum so we could hear what the tour guide was saying.

After the museum, we went to the buffet restaurant for lunch. We were all very hungry! Here is a picture of my plate. It was a little bit of everything and filled me up good!

After lunch, we had free time to explore until the bus left for Toledo at 6 p.m. Myself and two other students just walked around and followed signs to the major attractions. Here is what we were able to see during our free time!

Jardines de Sabatini and the Palacio Real! Looking at the Palacio Real was my favorite part!

La Catedral de la Almudena

Plaza Mayor – there was a lot going on in the streets while we were there. There were many people dressed up as characters, it was a little strange – I spotted Pooh Bear!

Plaza de España

Madrid is very different than Toledo with its big city feel and tall buildings. I liked visiting Madrid, and I plan on returning during my time here, but I am glad to call Toledo my home for the next three months. Toledo is a quaint town with a more antique feel. I am glad Madrid is easy to get to so I can have the big city feel when I want it too!

Lastly, I saw at least three Starbucks during my time in Madrid! I got a latte before we left for Toledo, got to love my Starbucks!

Until next time,

Sarah Hess