1/14/09 cont...

So, I was really nervous when it came time for me to meet my host family. I kept wondering what they would be like, and if they would like me or not. Well, needless to say, it was nothing to be nervous about. My madre´s name is Aurelia and my padre´s name is Antonio. They are sooo nice, and they pretty much love me forever. They are so easy to talk to. They live in a nice set of apartments too. Right when we got inside, a little dog popped out. Lola, a yorkshire terrier, wearing a little dog sweater. She is the cutest thing ever! I put my stuff on my bed, and my madre asked if I wanted anything. She made us café con leche with galletas (like graham crackers), and we watched her telenovela. She put a shawl around me cuz she assumed I was cold. After we finished, I started to unpack. She came in and offered to help, but I was fine. She commented on how skinny I am and grabbed my waist. I also have a grandma and a great grandma that also live in the house, as well as an annoying bird named Lorenzo that I want to kill. The house is always freezing. They complain about it being cold, but barely turn the heat on. I´ve gotten used to it for the most part. It is hard to get used to the eating times. Lunch time is from 2 to 4, and then dinner is from 8 to 10:30. Also the verb comer and the noun comida are used for lunch, and then cenar/cena is used for dinner. I have done a good amount of shopping and walking around the city. I have gotten lost sooo many times, but Amy and I always seem to find our way back home. It´s actually a great learning experience, because we pretty much familiarized ourselves with practically the whole city. On Monday (1/12), we toured the campus of the University of Alicante. It is a pretty big campus, and it´s easy to get lost...been there, done that, bought the t shirt. But it is such a beautiful campus filled with palm trees and orange trees! It is also surrounded by huge mountain peaks. It is so cool to see scenery like that.