Alcalá de Henares

Alcalá de Henares

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Feliz Cumpleaños!!!

Today my host family invited me to my grandpa's 89th birthday party!  I'm used to a large family, so I figured that I would be able to handle myself minus the whole language barrier.  My family walked to the restaurant, about 25 minutes away, got a little lost, but the weather was wonderful so I didn't mind.  Sunny and warm.  It's starting to feel like Spring here and I love it!


When we got there, we had to go around and give everyone besos.  It was a little awkward kissing people on the cheek whom I have never met before, but when in Spain, do as the Spaniards do?  So besos for everyone.  We sat at a large people and I did a head count and there were 18 people there.  I sat between my two host sisters and had them explain some of the menu to me.  I had some type of puree soup, which was good until I found something crunchy in it, mixed salad with olive oil and vinegar, and steak.  The meal was good but very very filling.  And of course there was bread to go around!  For dessert, we had a traditional Spanish cake and gelato!  What a day!


The funniest part of my experience was the Grandma.  She kept asking me what I thought of the family, and my host sister would reply for me and say that I thought the family was wonderful and stupendous, which I did think that.  But I had to tell the Grandma at least 3 more times how beautiful and stupendous her family was.  Overall, it was a very noisy and fun celebration.  


When we were leaving, I learned another important lesson that may not necessarily apply to me but important nonetheless.  In Spain, they park wherever they want and hitting another car backing out is no big deal.  For example, an older gentleman was backing out and hit another car, denting it a good deal.  He then drove off.  Then my host dad's brother also hit the same car and I guess this is normal here?  But today was really fun and I'm glad that they invited me because it's always interesting to see how families interact other than your own, especially when they are speaking an entirely different language.  Well that's all for now.  Besos for everyone back home while I'm at it!

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