I have only been in this beautiful country for a couple of days and it already feels like home. While time seems to pass here faster than the speed of light, I can certainly say that I am thoroughly enjoying every second. Upon arrival at the airport I was greeted by Ana, our extremely helpful and awesome program director. From there we traveled through Asturias’ rolling hills and lush countryside’s to the home in which I would be residing with my homestay parents. After the salutations were said and done I was given time to unpack, snack and then we were on our way to explore the city of Oviedo. As we walked my homestay parents were kind enough to explain the different customs and practices of the city (like siestas <3) and the important buildings and zones of the city. This tour was not only interesting, but provided me with familiar places that would serve as landmarks in the case that I got lost.
Needless to say, I have gotten lost…A LOT. But in my opinion that’s all a part of the fun of studying abroad and I am becoming better at navigating the city every day. Other things that I am quickly adjusting to include: the meal timetable, the length of showers and the use of electricity. The meal timetable has taken some getting used to because although we still have three primary meals, lunch and dinner are typically a lot later. Lunch is generally served at 15:00 while dinner is generally served around 21:00! :0 I felt that the standard length of time for a shower was noteworthy because anything over 5 minutes is considered maleducado; and don’t even think about taking two a day! However, neither of these are problem with a little planning beforehand. Finally, the use of electricity was definitely a wakeup call. Similar to excessive water usage, using too much electricity or unnecessary electricity is looked down upon and one should use sunlight or lamps whenever possible. I really appreciate these new restrictions because they have served as a constant reminder that in the States we are definitely using too many/much of our resources unnecessarily, and we should do our part to keep this world as clean as possible.