La Semana Dos

Language classes started this week and well, they do not call them Intensive Language classes for nothing. Two 2-hour sessions per day and we race through the textbooks and workbooks. We already had our first test this past Friday, which was much harder than I thought it was going to be. Necesito to start thinking in Spanish so I can speak and write sentences better!!

In the midst of trying to rapidly learn Spanish I've been trying to get out and see the city a little more and hang out with all of the other students. Tuesday was actually the busiest day I think I have ever had in my life. First of all, I will never get used to having to get up at 6:45/7 am for class. Then being at the university until 2, I rode the bus home grabbed my things and took the 30 minute walk into town to meet the students to climb the mountain to see the Santa Barbara Castle. I was EXHAUSTED. For some reason I didnt actually think we would be hiking the mountain, but we did. And well, we all know I'm not much of a hiker.

On Wednesday a few of us went bowling, which was borderline one of the most American experiences since I've been here. It one of those mega bowling alleys with the arcade games and the girl at the counter spoke better English than I do. I'm not complaining though. However, I will complain that lost terribly with a solid 63 points.

Food has been great so far! I love eating big lunches and then taking a nap. Yesterday I had hamball soup- well, its not called that--and it was great. Then we had a crawfish dish for dinner. I've had ribs, steak, salads, soups, etc. Muy bien. I feel a bit awkward taking pictures of the food at the dinner table so that is why there have not been any food pictures yet. Actually, I havent taken many pictures at all yet! I have to get on that.

Last night mi madre had her brother and wife and niece over. The little niece is adorable. She is two years old and adopted from Ethiopia. We speak the same level of Spanish, so coloring with her was very easy. We also played Wii bowling and Chema kicked my butt. No one knew how he was winning so much because every time he would bowl he would spin around and jump, but he got a strike or a spare almost every frame!

Weekends are lazy days, so I absolutely love them. I might venture out to the centro comercial and go shopping a little bit, just so I feel like I accomplished something, you know. :)