Mi habitación

As expected, today was, to put it nicely: chill. It was also, to put it more accurately: boring. 

The highlights of my day were talking to Colin, and then about 30 minutes later talking to Jon, Ashley, Max, and Chandler! The boys were pretty confused about why Tia was talking to them from the computer. They found a thing that looked like a remote and tried to change the channel... not sure how I feel about that. haha they were so cute though! They blew me kisses, Chandler sang his "ABC's" for me, and Max pointed to his nose, ear, eye, etc. when I asked them where they were. And when Jon or Ashley would say "Where's Tia?" They would point to the screen and say "Dare!" It was sooo good to see them and hear their voices!

Earlier this afternoon, my host mom/madre knocked on my door, checking on me. When I opened the door, she started asking me questions like "Are you okay? Are you bored? Are you happy?" And I assured her I was fine. I think she was worried about me. haha then she showed me some letters that previous American students sent her after staying here. It was sweet that she kept the letters--in a folder in her dining room cabinet; and that she remembered their names and told me about them. It showed me that she truly cares about the students who stay here with her! After showing me these letters, she made lunch for me. She made me sit down while she prepared me a salad (which had EVERYTHING on it) about twice the size of the other ones (since my roommate was on a field trip, she gave me extra salad!). The main entree was kinda like chicken wing soup, with carrots and onions. Not my favorite... 

But just now for dinner we had french fries, ketchup, and what I at first thought was a fish stick/patty. Then I thought it was chicken cordon bleu, then I found out that it was basically fried ham and cheese! It was a pretty good break from the more unusual food we've been eating. 

Okay, as promised, I will take you on a tour of my room (here they use the Spanish word "habitación" for room...) First, the view from the doorway:

This view also shows the size of the room: Just wide enough for a desk and a bed!

This vanity/shelf thing is between my bed and closet, along the right wall. 

My closet and clothes! It's kind of hard to believe that this stuff weighed 49.5 pounds in my suitcase.
It doesn't seem like much! (Some clothes are also in those drawers though.)

The window above my bed! 

View from my window to the right: a pretty typical street corner.

View from my window down to the street: businesses/shops on the bottom floor
(in this case, a "frutería", a "joyería, "and a "clínica dental"--fruit shop, jewelry store, dental clinic),
and apartments above!

So there it is! It's just the right size for me (especially after living in OU dorms--no hay problema). Although it is quite a bit louder than I'm used to, with traffic and pedestrians so close outside my window. (And because the windows are always open--at the top, near the ceiling that is.) I will eventually give a tour of the rest of the apartment, too. The kitchen is especially unexpected...

Also, here's a fun fact: in Spanish-speaking countries (and maybe a similar structure in Europe as a whole, too), the ground floor is called the "planta baja", and what we would call the 2nd floor is actually called the 1st. So, we live on the "segundo piso" (second floor), but I'm actually 3 stories up! Interesting, right? I learned that in high school Spanish, but hadn't remembered it until coming to Spain and seeing it for myself!
Okay, stay tuned for tomorrow's post! Should be pretty good, since I'll be spending the day in Madrid! So excited for all the pictures I will be taking... better charge my camera to prepare! Hasta mañana.