After a long two weeks since arriving from Spain, I feel like I have learned a month of life here. We arrived on a Saturday and stayed at the Covadonga hotel, after which we met Ana B. who took us out to lunch. We then were given a small orientation and a tour of Oviedo. I would love to break down some of the topics which I believe will make this blog shorter and more precise in relation to the things which are unique about Oviedo, Spain.
Food: The first thing we did when we got here was eat and we ate a lot. Apparently, Spanish people eat three course lunches and they are not light. The first lunch we had with Ana B. was a 5 courses, and dinners are usually two! Although breakfast is light here, the foods are mostly fried and heavy. Paella is so far my favorite because I love seafood. The good thing which I have noticed is that seafood is relatively cheap here, and the food varies. Another interesting thing about Spain is that their coffee and tea are not as nearly strong as those back home, they are also served in little espresso shots. Many people here also eat ham, and bread with everything they serve. Sidra is the ultimate signature drink here, and it seems like there is more restaurants and cafes here than anything else!
The town: Oviedo itself is such a livable city, with very nice apartments, mostly, and walking distance to everything. At first it was a struggle to navigate because everything is so crowded and all looks the same, but after a week we got everything down and now it feels like home. Another good thing about Oviedo is that is close to other towns such as Gijon, Aviles, and Salinas. All can be reached by bus within 20-30 minutes by bus and all have beautiful beaches.
Living with a host family: I thought it would be a lot different but I feel very at home here. I have my own room, with two beds, a closet, hangers and all that jazz. My host mom is the best! Her name is Isabel and she always talks about life with me. This is great also because we have to do it all in Spanish. I also like having space here because my host mom works. She cooks all my meals and does my laundry regularly. Everything feels like living at home. I even met her Daughter Maria and got some great advice about places to go in Madrid!
The fiesta life: The lifestyle is also a lot different. For one, I take naps because keeping up with the time schedule here gets exhausting. We are always exploring and doing something. School starts at 10 and goes on until 1pm. During this time, we take a break. Our professors are the best, especially Bea! She is the happiest person and makes you want to learn about Spain and the language. I definitely feel like always talking in Spanish is helping me learn more. Then we have lunch around 2 which usually includes 3 courses, and even coffee. Then there is a siesta, which is assisted with the Percianas, or window shutters. After that, there is much time to kill here because dinner isn’t until around 10 pm. After that we go out and explore the city. There are many historical sites in Oviedo, such as the cathedral and many wonderful parks! My favorite is the Parque Invierno because it is a runner’s dream with many hills and obstacles for a great workout. As far as our favorite hangout spot, it is definitely Siempre Campa, because you can get pretty much anything there. My favorite appetizer to get at restaurants is the patatas con 3 salsas. Aeoli sauce is the bomb! When going out here, people stay up all night, until dawn. Not only that, but there are so many more bars and clubs in such a small place that I don’t think Orlando can compete. It seems like culturally, people generally enjoy socializing and going out more. For example, banks are only open until 2pm!
The trips we have taken so far: When I first arrived we explored the city of Gijon which was wonderful and later on we took an excursion with Ana B. In this excursion we toured museums, Roman ruins and the beach. Not only this we went on top of a cliff which overlooked the whole city, and reminded me a little of Italy. Next we explored the city of Aviles, during which we walked for over half an hour to find the nearest beach. To our surprise we found it and it was the most beautiful beach ever. The beaches here tend to be full of cliffs and surfers, and this one in particular had many cliffs which were walkable. No shame, I had two desserts at once. Other than visiting these places, we also had the chance to explore Oviedo and the different restaurants and shops around. We found the mall, and the shopping center and they even had Sephora! The best thing is that there are at least like 5 Zaras here and they are all amazing! Another place I got to visit was a beach called Espasa, which was my favorite because it had the tallest cliffs and the most beautiful view of the beach on one side, and the mountains on the other. Another place which was the most rewarding was climbing the hill to reach a Jesus Statue on top of a very steep hill in Oviedo. I can’t recall he name, but it took us over an hour climbing uphill to reach it, but the view was definitely worth it. I would consider that hike again considering it was the best exercise of my life! Other than that we are heading to Barcelona this weekend to explore the city!
I could write on forever about the different things which have happened since I have arrived here, but the thing which I love the most is the life which Oviedo has! It lives through the people and every day is a new adventure and a new person which you can meet. Looking forward to sharing more adventures!
The pictures below show some of the excursions we went to. The first and second are in Gijon overlooking the whole city from a cliff. The second one is with our group from Rollins! The other is the view of the town near the Espasa beach!!
