After a much needed orientation in Madrid, it was time to relocate to Oviedo!
Early Sunday morning, we had breakfast in the hotel and loaded our suitcases into the bus. It was a bittersweet departure because I’d be leaving such a beautiful city, but I was excited to finally meet my homestay family and start classes in Oviedo. The drive from Madrid to Oviedo was about 5 hours, most of which I spent sleeping! The city we were headed to was far past the mountains in Spain, so there were lots of beautiful sites on the way.
Upon arriving in Oviedo, I looked out the window to see all the host families patiently waiting in the park beside the campus. I had barely gotten off the bus when my host mom tapped me on the shoulder and gave me the warmest hug. Although my Spanish-speaking skills were shaky, I tried my best to form a few greeting phases and make a great first impression. For the first time since arriving in Spain, I would be separated from my friends and left alone to live in a new environment. Initially, it was hard speaking solely Spanish to my host mom because it took me a while to form sentences and she didn’t understand English at all. However, from her experience in hosting previous students, she was very patient.
The following day, we had to meet around 11am for orientation at the University of Oviedo. There were a lot of other students from other parts of the United States there, and a few from other countries too. We heard advice and greetings from the directors and faculty of the university before heading to the Milan campus, where we would have our classes for the next month. The basic schedule consisted of a three hour Spanish class taught by a professor from the University of Oviedo followed by an afternoon class held by a Temple professor. Based on my requirements for graduation, I decided to take Mosaics II with Temple. Other students had the choice of taking Hispanic Readings or Cultures of Spain. The classes only have about 8-10 students in it, which I love because we can all participate in such a small setting.
In my mosaics class, outside of the required texts and assignments, we take trips to local museums. The purpose of going is to gather information for our final project, and last Friday, we took our first trip to the Archaeological Museum of Oviedo. This museum was so interesting due to the artifacts found in the region dating back to pre-historic times. I took lots of pictures of the various exhibitions in hopes that one of them will relate to the topic I will choose for my final project.
Today, I am heading down to Gijon to hang out on the beach with my friends and shop a little. Gijon is a small city located on the northern shores of Spain and it has two beaches, La Playa de Poniente and Playa de San Lorenzo. The stores in Spain tend to open in the late afternoons; rather than in America, where they’re open in the morning. Nonetheless, I am excited for whatever is in store for our journey.