Experiencing Jerez

When I first got here I'm not gonna lie but I was a little disappointed with my surroundings. Only because all I saw were busy streets, lots of trash, and the constant smell of cigarettes. Today though, my host mother and sister and I went on a walk all around the shopping parts of Jerez where there are no cars and lots of beautiful statues and buildings. I'm basically in love with that part of Jerez and I can't wait to go back. My favorite parts of touring the city were the reactions they gave when I told them that the stores they love here were not in fact in the U.S. While touring the city we ran into one of my host mother's cousins (I think) and we spent about an hour standing in the middle of the street talking to her. I found that quite interesting because from my experiences in America the most any two people talk to each other is about 10 minutes tops. Especially if they just see each other on the street. Usually in America we just smile and wave when we see a friend but here they went through a long intense conversation right there in the middle of the street. I'm not sure if this is common but it sure was different.



Unfortunately I'm not able to start school tomorrow like I'd planned. I don't really know why yet but it has something to do with my local coordinator. While you probably think I'm thrilled I actually really want to start school. I'm ready to start making friends and experiencing everything Jerez has to offer. As I've said before it's hard not being able to hang out with anyone. Staying in the house all day has just made me homesick and I'm tired of feeling homesick.



One thing I've found interesting about this particular family that I'm staying with is the fact that unlike what everyone has been telling me, I've yet to experience the long family dinners where everyone sits at the table and shares big meals for hours and hours. So far, I've had basically the opposite experience. There are no set meal times. Whenever I say that I'm hungry the mother asks me what I want and just points at things until I nod my head. I think the mother is getting a little worried about me though cause I've only been eating one or two meals a day and I basically just drink tons of water. This is because the heat is always making me thirsty causing me to drink like 5 times more water than the rest of the family. I'm not really sure why I haven't been eating. I'm just never hungry. It's not because the food is bad because it's not. The bread here is absolutely amazing. (Ben if you're reading this it's better than the bread at canels! Plus there's unlimited olive oil!)



While I know I've only been in Spain for a few days now here's some things I'm already starting to miss (besides the obvious friends and family)
-My bed (my new bed doesn't fit me..it's too short..)
-American television
-Lemonade
-Ice Cream (not Gelato I mean like the fake ice cream you can only get in America)
-Playing guitar/singing (I'm afraid I'm going to annoy them and I still haven't figured out when/how to ask them)
-Swimming (If I don't swim soon I'm going to go crazy.)



Anyway even though those are all things that I miss I'm slowly learning to adapt to my new situation. Hopefully once I start school I'll start to be able to create a routine thus allowing me to call this place home.
-Libby