Home Away From Home

I spent most of the weekend in Mérida (other than a short day trip yesterday) and I really feel like I'm starting to settle in here. Since arriving, I've encountered a variety of situations- in some cases, the people I interacted with were very welcoming; other times, not so much. The past few days though, I've experience a lot of hospitality, so I wanted to share...

Jess and I in Plaza de Constitución during our day trip to Almendralejo. 

Scenario 1: The lunch with teachers from my school (that I mentioned in my last entry) went great! We meet at a restaurant called El Castuó, near some of the Roman monuments on the edge of town. We got several raciones (platters, more or less) to share. They were excited about introducing me to some new dishes. Everyone was very nice to me even though I ended up doing a lot more listening than talking because my Spanish is kind of rough. A couple of the teachers have kids visiting/studying in the US! Although a few of the teachers know English, most of them happened to be at the other end of the table; however, my tutor was very helpful in explaining things to me when needed. (I finally learned the difference between jamón iberico & jamón serrano!) I prefer to use my Spanish anyway, even when it means I miss certain parts of the convo.  They talk quickly most of the time, but one of the teachers told me I knew a lot (of Spanish), which is the best compliment anyone can give me right now. They said they will invite me to come with them when they go out again :) ...oh, I can't forget to mention that when the check came, they didn't let me pay a cent!

One of our raciones had 2 types of chorizo & 2 other types of jamón- all very tasty!

Scenario 2: I went to a church service for the first time since being here, and the congregation was extremely friendly! Several people introduced themselves to me while waiting for the service to start. They seemed enthusiastic to get to know me, and asked lots of questions such as what's my name, where am I from, how long will I be here, when did I arrive, what am I doing here, do I go to a similar church back home, how did I find out about the church, where I live in Mérida, etc. That might sound a bit overwhelming, but every person did not ask every question, though I probably answered each of those at least twice this morning. I had not been sure what to expect beforehand, and actually thought there was a good chance no one would talk to me- turned out quite the opposite! They also introduced me to another American auxiliar, Angela, who had attended the previous week. She then introduced me to more of the congregation whom she remembered from her previous visit. (I had been wanting to find a church since I usually attend one back home, and just found out the exact time and location for this one yesterday afternoon. I will definitely be back on the weekends I'm not traveling!)

Scenario 3: Walking home from lunch today, I passed one of my primary students on the street. She said hi & that she was looking forward to seeing me in school tomorrow. So cute! ...although I did have to explain to her that I will be teaching at a secondary school this week and will only see her class every other week.

Another friendly face from this weekend.

Us auxiliares are sharing a bit of our own hospitality with each other too! Our potluck dinner on Friday was fantastic! There was plenty (or possibly too much) food and lots of good conversation (and in Spanish as often as possible)! The dinner was at our piso, and it was the first time my flatmates and I had  the group over to our place. It was fun to host & we hope to do something similar again soon :)

Sorry to be behind on pictures again, but the potluck photo is only on my flatmate's camera
...so for now, here's one from the Cáceres orientation- Jessa, Edward, me, Sophie

We have also begun discussing travel plans for our first long weekend at the end of the month! Nothing is finalized, but I am leaning towards País Vasco in Northern Spain. If anyone has advice on things to see and do there (Bilbao & San Sebastián), please share!