¡Felíz FDOC!
- Brooklynn Cooper
- Jan 9, 2018
- 3 min read
Well helloooooo! It's only been two days but it feels like so long because there's so much to tell! First of all, today was my first day of class (see: FDOC), but let me fill you in on some things that happened yesterday.
Yesterday we had orientation for exchange students, and there are a LOT of us. According to Wikipedia, UNAV has 681 international students, which doesn't necessarily mean exchange students, because a lot of people from different countries are enrolled here full-time. But just in the School of Communication, where I'm studying, there were about 30 of us, and not just from the US either. There were students from Germany and France, and later I met people from Croatia, China, Kenya and other places! I arrived at school about an hour early just to walk around and familiarize myself, and the first thing I made sure I found in my building was the bathroom. Look at how cool these sinks are!
We all ate lunch together, which was the highlight of my day because it was the first time I could really talk to people my age since being here. I love living with Soco, but one downside to not having student roommates is not getting a headstart on making friends. The girls I've become acquainted with are all from the US (Boston), but hopefully soon I'll make friends with some Spanish-speaking students!
After orientation, I went to the grocery store in my neighborhood (it's literally a 3 minute walk from my apartment!) and bought enough food to make breakfast and pack my lunch until I figure out what the meal plans are like at school. Believe it or not, this was super exciting for me because I went by myself and got everything I needed. Here's a selfie I took in the elevator on the way home to commemorate my happiness.
Now for today! On Tuesdays I only have one class, so I'm only at school for a little under two hours. Here's a video I took on campus while walking to the bus stop on the way back home. Tomorrow I'll take one near the building where most of my classes are in because the architecture is really cool and there's a big open plaza that's probably nice to hang out around when the weather is comfortable.
Speaking of the bus, boy have I had a time with that! If you've been keeping up thus far, you know Soco and I took the bus together a few days ago so I'd know how to get to school, which I do. My problem is getting back because the bus goes a slightly different route, and a lot of the houses and streets in my neighborhood look the same, so I still haven't figured out how to recognize my stop on the way home. Yesterday a nice lady who got off at the same stop as me walked with me until I got to a place I recognized. After I dropped my stuff off at the apartment, I decided it would be a good idea to take a walk in hopes to familiarize myself a bit more with the neighborhood so I could recognize the bus stop. However, I STILL got off at the wrong stop today. I actually think today I was farther away than I was yesterday, but luckily everyone in Zizur Mayor is incredibly nice. This man who had been walking his dog behind me for awhile finally asked if I was looking for a specific place (I guess it's easy to tell I'm not from here), and he walked with me and told me which stop I should get off at. He also told me that my Spanish was really good for someone who had only been here for five days! I know it's going to take awhile to adjust, but for the sake of my feet I hope I recognize my bus stop soon. At least I'm getting to know my neighbors!
That's it for today--all the extra walking on top of the jetlag has tired this North Carolinian out, and an afternoon nap is much needed.
One thing I learned today: Apparently Hulu only allows streaming in the United States. I was going to watch Everybody Hates Chris last night before I went to bed, but Hulu told me no :( I've been watching Spanish TV since I've been here (a lot of which is just American shows dubbed over with Spanish), but after awhile I need something familiar from home! Luckily YouTube is universal!
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