Granada week 2 a.k.a. first week of internships. I started this week off completely nervous. I still didn´t have a working phone so if I were to get lost, I would have no way of knowing I was, and I had no way of contacting anyone outside of wifi. To add to the nerves of getting lost on my first day or even first week of work, I was really nervous about the fact that I was going to work at a business in Spain without knowing Spanish. And on top of that all, I was even more nervous because I didn´t know what to expect. Yeah we all toured here but they gave us a tour of everything so I wasn´t sure what part of it I would be in so I didn´t know what to expect. Good news though, I didn´t get lost on that first day because Monica came with me to make sure I didn´t get lost. I did however get lost on the third day because apparently I got on the wrong bus even though I am pretty sure it said SN2... oh well haha. Oh and here´s some good news, communication is not an issue at work because for the most part I can understand what they´re saying, and if I don´t understand we do a little game of charades until I can figure it out. I actually think they enjoy having me here because it gives a lot of them the opportunity to practice their english.
This week has been fun though. I´ve put lettering on shirts, folded shirts, and was even given a nice warm homemade empanada one day (which was amazing! It tasted like chicken pot pie!). Everyone here is so nice and patient with me and work with me until I completely understand what to do or what they are saying.
A couple things I have learned this week is how to put the lettering on t-shirts, how to use an embroidery machine, how to bind books, and how to "properly" fold clothes. I mean I knew how to fold before, but not the way retail stores fold so it was interesting to learn that.
A couple big cultural experiences I had this week was really becoming familiar with how the bus system works. Now that I am "on my own" and have a functioning GPS I can see for myself how to get around and not have to rely on others for directions because before I would basically just follow everyone because I had no idea how to get to places because my google maps didnt work. So learning myself how the busses work was interesting because I am from Maine and there aren´t really bus systems around so that was definitely a cultural experience for me. Another big cultural experience was the food I had. Monica is great because she makes traditional Spanish food which is awesome because I wouldnt want to come all the way to Spain and eat food I could get back home. I tried jambon serrano which was really good, jambon flavored chips which were interesting to say the least.... I wasn´t a fan but I figured I had to try them since they´re so popular here. I also had empanadas, and delicious chicken and pineapple tacos. They were so good!
Week 2 and I´m still having fun and learning and experiencing new things and I couldn´t be more grateful for this experience and I cannot wait to see what these next 3 weeks has to offer!
