¡vale! ¡vale!

vale: OK! fine! all right!

the first day i was here, i heard this word nonstop. I had no idea it was so popular. it's kinda like the usa "like". i mean like, totally. during conversations, i would respond with "ok" (in a spanish accent, of course). i thought that was acceptable. it is in some other countries. but that first night the dad told me to say "vale" en vez de "ok". so now i'm saying "vale" all the time. vale.

the weather has been mostly cloudy since i got here-they say it's unusual. but i think that in a few days it will clear up. i hope so, because i mostly brought summery clothes. but when i find myself wishing it were sunny and warmer, i remember that it's an oven in tennessee. i guess it's not so bad here, afterall.

let's see, what would you guys like to know. well, the food. the food tastes very different. ok, moving on...:P but seriously, a lot of olive oil and salt are used. and lots of fish. i think that my stomach is rebelling to the food because it hasn't had anything similar to what it's used to. i had some green tea today, thinking "how could anyone go wrong with green tea?" but lo and behold, it was hardly green tea. it had a bean-ish flavour. i think that i'll make a run to the store soon and buy some danon yogurt (i saw some today!) and maybe nutella. just some comfort foods for my soul :)

i have yet to take pictures of the town. last night was the perfect opportunity, but i didn't take my camera with me. and i do hate to feel like a tourist. speaking of which, while i was at the train station, an older man was talking to me and thought i was from argentina. didn't he even hear my american accent and butchered use of spanish? 


the family i'm staying with is "real" nice. the parents, rubén and ximena, are both from colombia. they have been in spain for about 10 or 11 years though. they have two boys, daniel (4) and pablo (3), and a little girl, sofia (8 weeks?). they don't know any english, which is good. i guess. last night i had to watch part of casablanca because i just wanted to hear english! aah, rick's new york accent and sam's jolly voice sounded like music. 


vale, i hate rambling. ciao!