The beginnings with a great family and the end of a great season

After re-packing the ridiculous amount of clothes I have, I set off from the hotel and moved in with my host family today. I couldn’t be happier! Pepo and Ana, a couple who are in their mid or late forties, live in an apartment about fifteen minutes walking from school. They have two kids: Cristina, who is currently studying medicine for a semester in Italy, and Gonzalo, a sixteen year old boy with a striking resemblance to my brother (personality, not looks). There is also another student living in the house from a different program. I was worried at first only because I had requested to live by myself but Annie is extremely nice and helpful and we are only speaking Spanish to each other. Oh and they also have a dog, Caña. And she’s nothing like the roof dog we had in Ayacucho, thank god. We had a delicious and late lunch at 4:00 (typical on a Saturday in Madrid) consisting of soup, potatoes and garbanzo beans, and five kinds of meat. Having such a huge meal can only be followed by one thing: a siesta. Ah, to be Spanish…

I made it my personal quest to find a bar playing the Seahawks game that evening. Donned in my jersey, I walked the streets of El Sol (the center of the city) with Rebecca and Laura searching for Americans, a big screen with NFL Network, or both. We found an Irish Pub playing all the playoff games and to my chagrin (and Rebecca’s delight) the other Americans in there were from Wisconsin. To save myself the painful process of remembering the game, let’s just say I enjoyed my beer and we left after the 3rd quarter. Thanks for a good run anyways, ‘Hawks.