Kathryn
Simison, '11
El Primer Día
The eleven-hour
train ride is slowly coming to an end. What am I doing? Am I ready to live in
Spain? Will I like my host parents? My host sisters? My host dog? Will they
like me?
I keep staring out the window,
practicing ways to introduce myself in Spanish. What will I say after that?
What if they ask me something I don't understand?
No more practicing. The train stops. This is
it. La Coruña… for a year.
The
other Holy Cross girls and I form an assembly line to get our twelve pieces of
luggage off the train. I'm on the receiving end and out of the corner of my eye
I see our three host families, our university director, and our housing
coordinator. I pretend I don't see them, but that doesn't stop them from coming
closer. Then I hear, "Hola, Soy Ignacio." I can't put the introduction off
anymore. I turn and see a tall, very thin, grey haired man with a welcoming
smile, just like in the pictures. He has two little girls in tow, my
hermanitas, wearing matching outfits and smiling from ear to ear. My host mom
is the first to hug me and give me the traditional dos besos.
The first few moments pass so quickly.
—¿Qué tal el viaje?
Me: Bien.
—¿Estás cansada?
Me:
Sí.
—Pues, no te preocupes.
Vamos ahora a casa. Joba, Estamos tan felices de conocerte por fin. Llevamos
meses esperando este momento y ya ves que las niñas están
nerviosísmas porque ahora tienen a su hermana mayor.
Me: WHAT?
I nervously hug my friends goodbye and we are separated.
I get in the car with my host family and
realize I am now on my own. No English. Oh, my god. Where did the past eleven
years of Spanish go? I cannot form words. I go to talk, but nervously stop
because my hermanitas are staring.
After
what seems like hours, we arrive at a beautiful yellow building. There is no
elevator and I have two over-packed bags with many unnecessary items. I walk up
three flights of stairs with my host family to my new home for the year. The
anticipation is killing me.
The piso is old,
just like my house. My bedroom is small, but cute. Every inch is wallpapered
with pink flowers and the bedspread matches. I see a small white desk, a lamp,
a chair, a dresser, a closet, and a random curtain that covers a door to
nowhere. There is no window. I suddenly feel claustrophobic.
I anxiously begin unpacking just to have
something to do and partially to avoid having to make conversation. My
hermanitas watch me through the keyhole until I tell them to come in. They sit
on the floor and watch me… This is a little awkward, but at least I don't
have to speak.
They ask to if they can show
me around the house. On the other end of the piso is a kitchen, dining room,
and living room, all decorated beautifully. I wish I could express to them how
much I like everything, but all I can say is "Me gusta mucho."
The bathroom is most interesting. The shower
confuses me because the shower head faces out of the shower. I'm pretty sure
when I turn it on tomorrow water is going to splash all over the floor. There
are odd shaped sponges and hundred of products everywhere. Wait a minute, how
do you say 'sponge' in Spanish? I'll ask tomorrow. And what is that thing next
to the toilet that looks like a water fountain. A bidet? Do they really use
those in Spain? Weird. I'm not expected to use it, right?
Amongst the many product-filled shelves I
notice an empty space. I don't want to be ambitious and put my stuff on it, but
I think it's for me. For now, I'll just brush my teeth and wash my face while
my host sisters continue to stare at me. They hand me a new towel that they
bought for me; a new white towel. I hate white towels.
I highly doubt I'll be able to sleep. There
is so much to say about how I feel. I could write for hours and not even get it
all out. Scared. Preocupada. Curious. Curiosa. Excited. Emocionada. Happy.
Contenta. Yeah, contenta.
I can't believe
I'm here.
This is the primer día of
the best year of my life.
Buenas noches.
¡Jopelines!… The dog just came in
and peed on the floor in my room.
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