First Impressions: New family & new home

Thoughts on my new home: it's small and clean!  The apartment is a 15 minutes walk from the center of Salamanca, or La Plaza Mayor. When my host dad and I pulled up on the curb my first day, I was surprised to see how fancy the outside of the building was.  Surrounded by a pastry store and a clothing store, and across the street from a small park, it appeared to be an upscale apartment complex.  To get into the building, we had to unlock a great big wooden and metal double door push it in.  This led us to an entryway, leading to a long hallway with white, shiny marble floors, lined with mailboxes.  Nobody lives on the first floor, which is normal.

After lugging my 3 suitcases inside, Felix, my host dad, helped me shove all my suitcases into a tiny elevator (which I made the mistake of trying to get into to ride up), then we walked up the stairs and met my suitcases at the top.  I was greeted by my host mom, Montse, who kissed me on both cheeks, teased me for bringing so many clothes, and while I unpacked, rattled off house rules and expectations in Spanish. I think I got most of it, but it was very overwhelming! Her family has hosted over 20 students the past decade, so I'm definitely one of many. Her daughter, who has a bedroom next to mines,  lives at her high school during the week, so I won't see her very much.

I'm sharing my room with another DU student, Gail, who has been here for a month doing an intensive language program.  We'll be sharing this tiny, yellow bedroom for the next 3 months!  Between the two of us, we have one bookshelf, a shoe cubby, and a chest to hang our clothes with drawers underneath.  I'm not sure how I managed to cram all my clothes into my half of the closet and my single drawer, but I did it! (All my winter clothes stayed in my suitcase.) We're also sharing a small bathroom, where I have a little bit of space underneath the sink to stuff my makeup bag and facewash.

This, I think, will be my biggest challenge for the next year; small living spaces. I can't just throw my clothes on a the floor or on my bed or cram them into a drawer; we're expected to keep a clean room, and plus there's just not room!  My host mom is very efficient and tidy. No space in this apartment is wasted, and nobody in her family has more than they need. It's quite opposite the American culture, where most families have garages, attics, or storage units dedicated to their extra stuff.  I know my room back in Vermont is crammed with clothes, old binders, books---you name it, it's there! Perhaps this is will teach me to only own what I really need!

New room! (notice the portrait of Jesus on the cross above our beds; a good indicator of the Catholic influence here):

Bit of wall deco, to feel more at home: