My first week in Spain

Hola from Malaga!!

It has been an amazing first week.  Firstly, my host family is FABULOUS!!  They welcomed me at the airport last week with the most beautiful bouquet of flowers--and it has been a dream ever since!!  We arrived at their beautiful home, and they introduced me to their Spanish Water Dog..Bullness--what a sweetie!!  Then, they opened their wonderful home to me.  

I have a large bedroom on the second floor with a full bath all to my self!!  The view is of the local mountains.  The tutoring is a mix of informal chatter at meals, to formal lessons with each person several days a week!  During the day, I am free to look around, hike, practice Kung Fu, read, and generally enjoy myself.  The work is in the evenings..but it is really not work--it is fun!!

The first week was quite fun because it was a holiday--so I got to do lots of things with the family.  This week, it is back to work, so I am pretty much on my own, although the father works 24 hour shifts, so he will be around a bit more because he has many days off to compensate for his long shifts--he is a fireman.

It was also a great weekend because it was the daughter's birthday.  She had 3 birthday partie so that she could accomodate neighbourhood friends and parents, school friends and the family--not a bad idea because we got to eat 3 birthday cakes!!!

I had a chance to explore Malaga, and I took the hop on hop off bus to get around the city.  It was lovely, although the rain was a little bit of a damper--it rains everyday, and it has been cold--they assure me that sun will come out!!  I also have found my way to the mountain path--the village is in the mountains, so it is close.  Each day I hike there, and climb as far as I can in preparation for the El Camino Trail in April.  Attached are some pictures to give you the flavor of the place.

I am really enjoying the food, and am learning some wonderful Spanish dishes that I sure you will enjoy.

Downtown Malaga

An old cathedral in the center of Malaga being restored into condos.

Old street.

I could hardly believe that they had a Decathlon here--the home store is in Xiamen.  I went there and bought some terrific hiking boots for my trip.

Of course, the bull ring--holds 14,000 people and is the main attraction in the summer.

A big old hotel in the center of town.

Yes, Flamenco Guitar at a tourist site--the guy was pretty darn good.

Home of Picasso--this building is where he was born--there was also a gallery and museum that I went to--very interesting.

My first day hiking!!

The view from the mountain path.

Family birthday celebration.

Father and daughter eating the special birthday breakfast with the special Spanish treat!!

The school friends enjoying the special breakfast after the sleep over!!