No tienen Cheddar Queso!!

So, last night I learned something absolutely horrible...

They. Don't. Have. Cheddar. Cheese. Here.

I just might keel over from shock.

Having grown up on Tillamook cheddar cheese and good french bread, the thought of having to go a year without cheddar cheese is just a little terrifying. Right now I'm craving it more than anything, especially since the bread here is amazing, and would go with it so so so SO well. aaargh!

*sigh*

Well, anyway...

A few days ago I met Soraia (the girl who's room I'm sleeping in while she's in Colorado for the year)'s friends. They are all really nice, and speak english well enough that if I don't know a word in spanish, I can ask them, and they'll tell me what it is. This works well, because I don't have to stop the conversation to consult my electronic translator. They told me I actually speak spanish pretty well. I also found something out that makes me feel better. Apparently everyone in the family I'm staying with has a very thick Portugese accent, which is why I don't understand them. Even my new friends told me that they can't always understand the parents. Suddenly I didn't feel so bad about my spanish skills, since (for the most part) I can understand and carry on a conversation with Soraia's friends.

The food here is ok, but I definitely miss my mom's cooking. haha. Last night I smelled something really good, and then about 15 mins. later Isabel called me to dinner. When I came out of my room, I was suddenly assaulted by the very potent smell of fish. Ugh. When I went into the dining room, there was a platter of about 8 or 9 fish, that looked like they could still be alive, if they weren't missing their heads. To say the least, my appetite wasn't what it had been, say, 30 seconds before. For those of you who don't know, I cannot stand fish. Just the smell makes me nauseous. It turns out the yummy smell 15 minutes before was the spaghetti Isabel had heated up for Lidia and me...
I made myself eat the spaghetti, so that the family wouldn't worry, plus I didn't want to make them feel bad by letting them know their fish was making me feel sick. Apparently it worked, because they didn't say anything.

During dinner, the family asked me how to say things in English, like fish, or "to eat", or wine. After dinner, Isabel tried to demonstrate how little English she knew, by saying "thank you"... Instead, it came out F*** you! I started laughing really hard, and Isabel asked me what she had said. I whispered to her what she had said (in Spanish) and she started laughing really hard. Tiberio asked what Isabel had said, and he guessed correctly, saying it in Spanish. I told him that, yes, that's what she'd said. Lidia was there for the whole thing, and when she realized what her mother had said, she started saying it over and over, in English!...so now she knows how to say F*** you in English. awesome. But it was actually really funny, and we were all laughing really hard.

I'm having a blast, and my cold is almost totally gone.

Lots of Love!
Gwen