Yo Hablo Español?

I really only came to Spain with that one question, and Saturday, when I arrived, I found out. The story of getting to Alicante was long and tiring- 3 flights, 17 hours of travel, 1 exploding Dr. Pepper, 2 delayed flights, and one lost (and then found) suitcase. The highlight of my day came when I got into a cab, exhausted, to make my way from the airport to my orientation hotel. I was able to have an entire ride of conversation with my cab driver, in my broken Spanish and his broken English. We talked about the US, Spain, Politics, and at the end he wanted to show me pictures of Spain. I loved being able to communicate with him though we had few words in common.

Orientation was orientation. Met the others in my program, had good Spanish food, and got a really good introduction to the city and what the next 4 months would be like. On Sunday, I met my host family and moved into their apartment. It is a really nice place, I have a nice room with two beds, a desk, and a nice closet. From my window, I look out on the gardens of the Diputación Provincial (headquarters of Alicante Provincial Council) and can see the top of the Castillo de Santa Bárbara. The location is very good, I am close to the center of the city, my bus stop, and only a short walk from the city.

View from my room of the Diputación Provincial gardens.

The Diputación Provincial at night from our living room

I found an answer to my original question about the time mi madre, Claudia, mi padre, Jaime, and I walked out of the orientation hotel. Yo hablo Español? Si, un poco. I really never realized how much Spanish I knew until I was thrown into a situation where Spanish was my only option. And I survived. I am certainly not good, my host father said my verbs need some work, but we are making it through the basics. 


I know this post is a getting a little long and is a little late, but finding internet was a whole other story! Look for more posts about school and Alicante soon!


Hasta luego!
Kelsey