Hello Everybody!!!!
I've been in Mataró for a little over a month now and I absolutely love it here! It's a place of beauty, friendship, and patriotism. It's a city in which everything is beautiful and has significance. However, the people are, by far, my favorite.
Mataró:
The people I meet are extremely friendly. When you leave a shop you say a warm Adéu (goodbye) to the clerk . For example, when we went to the fruit stand for the first time, my host mom explained to the elderly women running the shop that I was from America and was going to be staying with them for the duration of the year. She then started picking up fruit and handing it to me to try! (Raw figs are basically the best thing ever! Who knew?)
The weather here is hot and sunny one minute and rainy the next. Now that it is fall I am told there will be many rainy days. I love how the beach is only a short walk away here. In reality, everything is just a short walk away I guess!
The few things that I do here currently include choir. I hope to take a dance class, but this will have to wait. I think the options are hip hop and flamenco. Why not right? Choir is fun though... I am in the choir at a local theater and will be part of a musical this spring. Also, I am in the school choir and they will be taking 2 trips to other parts of Spain that I will hopefully get to participate in!
Luckily, Barcelona is just a short drive or train ride away and I have been in a few times already! It is truely and incredible city! The history is amazing! I'm sure I will write more about it later...
Family:
I live with a family of women. My poor host dad! (No really though, he's a good sport.)I have 3 sisters now and they are all hilarious, loud, and full of energy. The eldest is Aina who is 14 yrs old. Next there is Alba, who is 11, and finally Queralt who is the baby of the family. She is 7 yrs old. My host mom and dad are Núria and Carles. We are always singing something or talking louder than necessary. We are always learning something too. For example, I will ask, "How do you say this in Castellano (castilian spanish) and then Català?" then, they will ask what it is in English. It's always funny when we try to pronounce things in each others language!
They are also a family who seems to know everyone in Mataró and we often run into many of their friends while out and about. I love it here though and it already feels a lot like home!
Random story number 1: My host mom has now started calling my host dad Mary Poppins without his knowledge. Why? Well for starters, my host dad is basically a well-oiled machine. He is always the one who knows exactly what everyone's schedule looks like and always goes to pick whoever needs to be picked up at the proper time and place, and he does all the laundry (whites/colors) because my host mom accidentaly washed new shirts with other clothes turning everything blue... 20 yrs ago! He also makes sure everyone always has everything they need for school/activities/ or AFS, he makes pati sandwhiches every single school/work day for the 6 of us, he wakes us all up for school in the morning, and makes lunch for my host sister Aina and I everyday that we are home for lunch!!! So basically, my host mom jokingly says that all he needs is an umbrella and a wig(he's bald) and he could be Mary Poppins with no extra effort! (Don't tell him this though ;D)
Catalunya:
As most of you already know, I'm participating in an intercultural program which includes spending my junior year abroad. However, you may not know that the culture in Catalunya is a mix of two similar, yet very different worlds.
Here in Catalunya people most often speak Catalán as their first language. Still, Castellano is also spoken fluently by almost any native. For example, my school is taught entirely in Català, but I have friends who actually speak Castellano at home. (Everybody speaks to me in Castellano still because I am a hopeless cause with Català!) Yet, I am learning two languages at the same time... this is sometimes very difficult. I will mix up my languages and often speak half in one and half in the other. My pronounciation is also hilarious sometimes, usually this is with my Català since it's sometimes pronounced with more of a french accent and sometimes with more of a spanish accent. Then, there are other times where it sounds like neither of these!
If you have any questions about my life here or things that you are just curious about just ask!!
*Also, if my English is wrong... you'll have to forgive me!
