Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Adjusting to My New Schedule

There has been lots of adjusting to my new schedule in Alcalá. Now that I have a routine, I figured it was time for a day in the life...

You think you know, but you have no idea. This is the story of Robby in Spain.

8:00- The alarm begins to whisper at me, barely waking me from the incredibly pleasant slumber that I was enjoying. This isn´t like at home when the alarm wakes up both my neighbors and the dog three buildings away, the ole Wal-Mart travel clock does just enough to wake me up with brutal annoyance! I proceed to drag my half asleep body to the bathroom to shower. Aaron is a better person than I am (as if that was in question) and gets up at 7:30 such that we can both shower. Everyone should be saying a blessing for Aaron right now.

8:22- MaMa makes us ¨coffee¨each morning with some muffins from the store. Why ¨coffee¨? I was spoiled as a child and my parents always made real coffee. This followed me to college where I make real coffee, my sister makes real coffee, and Starbucks makes real coffee. This ¨coffee¨is warm milk in a cup and a can of instant café on the table. If this taste doesn´t wake you up, literally nothing will, seriously.

8:31- Out the door on the way to the Universidad, these walks are a huge double edged sword. I really enjoy the morning walk and seeing everyone out, yet walking 25-30 minutes to class everyday is a definite adjustment. I drove to class at OU and walked maybe 3 minutes from the parking lot! This is, as previously discussed, a huge cultural difference and it has been a definite adjustment not being able to jump in the car!

9:02- Class starts. I really have enjoyed both classes, both are largely discussion based...

13:30- Classes end and we begin the trek back to the Apartment. Yes, this means that I am not eating until 2:00 in the afternoon. Talk about an adjustment, especially since I am a eating-all-the-time kind of person. A quick note on the cuisine: MaMa cooks three meals a day for us, and they all have been quite good. Everything from fish to pasta to soup, but it has all been good. I am extremely greatful. There are many students that are eating out alot, but thanks to MaMa, I am saving lots of money that I can spend on souvenirs for my mom (or something like that...).

14:40- Once again, beginning the treak back to school (yes, I am walking ALOT!) to appease all of my masses of fans with a new blog entry and to work on school work. Another huge adjustment for me has been not having 24-hour internet/television access. At home, checking email, weather, scores, er, everything is quite literally just a click away! Or better yet, no matter where I am the iPhone is a constant source of information. Having to walk the 25-30 minutes back to school to get on the computer, and having no access on the weekends has definitely been a difference!

17:00- Usually Aaron and I spend this time being Spanish and sit in the plaza and read, drink café, and people watch. Again, this is something that is totally different! At 6 or 7 in the evening, families in America are just finishing dinner and are sitting on their, um, bottoms, and watching television. It couldn´t be more different. Everyone is out walking or in the plaza playing, relaxing, talking. It is brilliant!


18:15- Time to head back to the Apartment for dinner! As you have figured out, we eat really late, and, as a result, everyone stays up later here. Can you imagine your parents, or there parents, staying up until 11 or 12 on a regular basis?? Exaclty.

The rest of the night depends. Most nights we have just gone and read for class the next morning. One night we went out and met a bunch of people from our group to hang out!

Isn´t life in Spain exciting!!


My desk and such in the Apartment...

My bed and nightstand. No that is not a standard OU issued XL twin, it is a Spanish XS twin!!

2 comments:

Kristina said...

sounds like MaMa is taking good care of you! she will forgive a trip to madrid for starbucks! thanks for sharing your life!

Rhonda said...

Hug MaMa for me! Tell her I am praying for her. I love getting to read about your day. One of your fans-- MOM