Nuevacita

Today at the verduleria, the cashier asked me if I had any smaller bills. I had no idea what he was asking because the whole concept is kind of vague to me in English, so I definitely was not understanding his castellano. He made a joke about British pounds and then asked me where I'm from. I told him and he said, "Nuevacita?" Are you pretty new?

Yeah. It's been a month since I left home, three weeks since I left the States, and a little over two weeks since I left my traveling community. I still feel pretty nuevacita. But I would like to highlight a few little moments in the last couple weeks that have made me feel a little more at home.

I've done laundry twice. Almost half of my clothes smell different now! We have a washing machine so it's pretty easy. Once the clothes are washed, you have to put them in a little spinner thing that basically does a really intense spin cycle and gets most of the water out. Then it's straight to the clothesline! Thankfully we have had more sunny days than rainy days.

I have figured out my bus route to work! It is about 40 minutes once I get on the correct bus. But it is only one bus the whole way, so that's nice. Eventually I will probably read a book on the bus, but for now I'm okay with memorizing what is outside the windows.

I've been mistaken for an Argentine a few times already. Always before I speak and usually when I'm wearing my hip new glasses. The other day when I was walking home from the grocery store, a woman stopped me to ask for directions. As soon as I opened my mouth and said I did not know where the bus terminal was, she said, "Sos una turista!" and laughed a lot. I did not explain to her that I am a little more than a tourist and that's why I had this loaf of bread and backpack full of groceries. It was just nice to blend in.

A few of the older people from my church gave me a ride home from church last night. It was a little rainy and dark, so they told me to ride with them. It seems kind of insignificant, but it meant a lot to me. It's nice to be taken care of and I think I just missed riding in a car.

I'm getting the hang of using a gas stove. It was scary at first to light the burner, but I'm kind of a pro now. I haven't lit the oven yet. That one really scares me. But I bought ingredients for chocolate chip cookies, so I'm going to have to get over that fear soon. I'm learning about cooking with mostly all raw ingredients. It seemed daunting at first, but I've had small victories. I bought a butternut squash last week and made squash pancakes all week. They were delicious and I felt like a chef.

Obviously I've had less graceful moments, like eating all the chocolate I bought for the week in one night, and tripping over the cobblestone sidewalk literally every time I leave the house. But right now I feel like I'm going to be okay. Every day I learn a little bit more. Eventually I might even feel pretty comfortable.