Day 5 - Home Sweet Home... plus Aliens.

19 October 2011
Day 5
Home Sweet Home


Initial Impressions: Eww 9 am is early too. This classroom is tiny. Ooo Lizard... ooo lizard again... oooo, aw he ran away. I hate dance. AUGH!!!! It smells like plastic in here... ALIENS! OMFG ITS ALIENS!!!  Eeeeiii I'm an Alien! But really!! My google translate is down.... and my web browser automatically searches things in spanish... *cry*

My school :D

Today was my first official day of classes and moving into my new place.  First, let me say that I really do love school, and I realize it every time I start a new "semester".  Also, I'd like to live here and keep attending CEPE until I get the complete degree, so if you family reading this blog wanna support me while I'm here... (nudge nudge- haha).

Okay, well first class is Monday - Friday like I thought but my second class, Salsa is only on Monday (yay!!), and my third class Traditional Dance is Monday - Friday as well.  In my first class, Spanish we have a really diverse group of people.
There are 9 students: 1 Finland, 1Ukraine, 1 Kenya, 1 China, 2 Japanese, 2 Korean, and myself.  The teacher is awesome, the students are fun and I really like the people I've met so far.  I even got homework, which I did immediately, and the next 20 pages of the book.... (See, I knew this class was too easy).  Next class is Traditional Dance (ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww).  Turns out we have to buy dance shoes, which leads to my field trip and first foray onto the Metro (subway) tomorrow. Also, I have no rhythm. At all. And I can't clap, snap, pat my head, cross my arms, and talk. It's terrible. I'm not sure if I want to quit the class or stick it out and see... It's this morbid curiosity I have of poking something with a stick until it rears up and eats my face off. That's how I feel about dance. (Now picture zombies, in dance shoes, tapping a rhythm as they chase people enunciating 'brains, brains'--- got it? That's what I'm seeing.)

More of my school

Aaahhh well after classes, and exchanging phone numbers to meet up tomorrow (yay! I can make friends in real life!).  I caught a cab and went back to my hostel to grab my luggage (adios awesome hostel!).  Took the same cab back to my new apartment, which I still love every time I walk into my room.  I wanted to fill out the paper work, but the land lady was meeting with the newest house mate (apparently there are 6 or 7 of us!) so I had to wait around till it was my turn.  The newest one is a girl who speaks French... and that's about it. I don't know where she is from yet, but she moves in Sunday.  I finally got to my paperwork/contract - Except it's in Spanish.... so having no dictionary, I did the best I could to translate, signed and got my keys (this could end badly...).  I headed upstairs and unpacked, while unpacking the housekeeper came upstairs to explain she will change my sheets (and I think clean the bathroom?) once a week. She also told me that she is not my maid and will not pick up or do my laundry.... (Granted that was completely in Spanish but I'm 99.9% certain that don't be a slob, I'm not your mother and clean up after yourself is universal).  I was assigned a cabinet shelf (which I can not reach) and a shelf in the fridge to myself (yay!) and I decided to fill said shelves.

y mas

I drew myself a handy-dandy map (I was mumbling notebook, 'Blue's Clues?'). My map shows me how to get to my house to school, to Walmart, to the bank, and to Burger King (I was hungry and it was close).  I spent a gazillion sounding pesos on food - which wasn't as much as I was freaking out about and had to wait for a cab. Apparently this Walmart doesn't have the fancy taxi waiting spots... So as I was waiting this lady came up with her groceries and was chatting me up... having no clue what she was saying and my 'smile and nod' plan backfiring I said 'Lo siento, hablo muy pequito espanol'. To which we sorta spoke to each other in a smattering of Spanish and English - me Spanish, her English (lol).  She was super friendly, and telling me to be careful, total mother-hen role going on.  She pointed out on the cabs what to look for and took over telling the driver where to find my place.  As I was loading my groceries in the trunk (and that damn bottle of wine I can't open because I don't have a wine opener *PANIC*) she told me, "I speak a little English, but my sister is fluent. We live close, if you ever need anything, anything at all please please call me and be safe." and she gave me her phone number.... CRAZY! These people are so freaking nice, and friendly, and helpful, and I'm becoming suspicious....*o.0*...

aaaannndddd more

Well after that I came home to unpack and spoke a bit with another house mate, a man from Brazil working on his Masters... and I met briefly, a young Korean(?) woman who spoke no English who is also living here.  Since my room smells like plastic swimming pool (It's a new shower curtain and floor mat they put in), I also bought this yummy smelling apple cinnamon candle.... and I'm still glaring at that bottle of wine.





And this has pretty much been my day. It doesn't sound as awesome or as epic as normal because I was actually busy and not getting lost or stuck in some kind of crazy mayhem... (disappointed, I am -inner yoda!-)... but I've got photos of my school AND my new place... and a lizard... Don't judge!

Okay, I'm exhausted and getting weird. AUGH!!! as I'm finishing this blog some vehicle thing with a huge megaphone drove into our street shouting something hard to understand... I thought I was getting abducted by aliens... or my neighbor has weird taste in robot voiced videos....  Apparently its political propoganda or someone selling stuff off the vehicle... like food.... Holy crap... I almost can't believe my first thought was that I was potentially going to get abducted by aliens... then of the cops.... wow... yes, Bed time.

"I'm an alien.............. woah oh, I'm an alien........... blah blah blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah"

HOLY CRAP STING HAD HAIR?!?!?!

ITS SOOOO GREEN

This was just pretty :)

LIZARD!!!!!!!!!! 

                                                   

                                                            Look at how vibrant!!

My room :)

Its so freaking spacious compared to the hostel

My dresser, smells like pine *sniff, sniff*

My very... vibrant... bathroom BUT HUGE!

View of room from hall

View from bathroom window, there's a soccer court!!!

My 'patio' outside my door (or the roof of the land lady's house)