Querida Taylor, Mi Cari...

     I'm just going to skip writing about school today. It was pretty uneventful. I studied lots of Spanish and wrote lots of Spanish and ate an amazing cheese bocadillo. Yep that's it. I took the bus home after school after meeting Mitchell and talking to him for a little bit about his day before we both depart for our bus stops. This week Mitch and I agreed to speak in Spanish together. Actually, every week during the week is castellano and on the weekends, English. I get so sidetracked...could I ever be a writer? I would have people all over the place and I mean this is just about my life. Can you imagine if I tried to come up with a story and then try to have people understand what is going on in my head? Now, back to my day...once I got home I climbed the stairs and saw a letter lying on my desk from Aunt Bevie, Taylor, and Morgan. Three letters! They were all fabulous. Taylor told me that she checks my blog everyday and that I need to keep up with it. So this is for you Tay. My cousin, my sister. I love you, and I miss you so much. I'll be writing you soon my loveeee :)
     Today it was only Alberto, Enrique, Mile, and I at lunch. We had  rice with chicken and peppers. It was so good. Mile is such a fabulous cook. During lunch Enrique asked me how many letters I've received this year because it seems as though I am always getting them. Hahaha. It's true, I do have quite a few (thanks to everyone who writes me!!!) and then he asked how many people I write to and I honestly don't even know. Quite a few. I think I sent out about 35-40 Christmas cards. Dios mio. But there is something so special about receiving a hand written letter, or a postcard. It shows that a person went out of their way to make something more personal. I like that.
     After lunch I grabbed my bathing suit, cap (it's required...I have a big head and it's so hard for me to put it on), and flip flops and headed for the indoor pool in Zuasti. It was so nice. There were only about 5 people in the pool the total time I was there. While there I did laps which were actually tiring and then sat in the hot tub before going into the sauna. I had such a relaxing time there. I was all by myself and it felt good to think quietly...I mean I have the chance to do this often (school), but it was different for some reason. My mind felt clear when I left.
      Once I arrived back home I had a three hour skype date with Tess. It was like we were just hanging out, which was incredibly nice. I mean talking about random things until your ear falls off is what best friends are for, right? Tessie and I had a great time. After we said goodbye I headed down stairs to make dinner (frozen pizzas...score) since my host parents are gone for the night. Alberto, Julia, and I ate and then I showered. Now, here I am, in between episodes of Sex and the City, which has become my latest obsession. I swear, I am not like this in the states. I usually don't watch this much TV...pero bueno, no pasa nada, verdad? Espero que si.
     It's time for bed now. I have to make sure I get up on time because I have to make sure my siblings are up on time too. I am la jefa while my host parents are away. Hahaha. Buenas noches! Besos. I love you Tay! P.S. When I see your face, there's not a thing that I would change, 'cause girl you're amazing just the way you are.

Madrid!

   Okay everyone, let's go back to March 1st!!! I'm sorry, but I'm not going to be too detailed about the trip since most of my memories consist of inside jokes with my friends and all the little things that make life fun. While in Madrid, we went to Starbucks to fulfill Becca's six month craving. I ordered a caramel machiatto and was in heaven. MOre than 8 oz of coffee at one time? This was near insanity in Spain. In that same day we saw El Prado museum with some of the most famous works of art in Spain. I loved it. I saw Las Meninas finally! I swear we studied that painting for years in Spanish class with Senora B. We also went to Parque Retiro. It was really beautiful. That night a few of us went to T.G.I. Friday's for an all American dinner. It was fabulous. We ordered the appetizer sampler and got to have a little bit of everything. Our waiter, Bruce, was from Hawaii and he showed us a good time. Haha. After dinner we headed back to the hostel, showered, and headed for bed. Mitch and I were in a separate room than everyone else, so we got the chance to meet Simon, a German visiting family in Madrid. We talked to him for a really long time that night and it was hysterical because he was the exact opposite of Tabea. He contradicted everything she had told us about Germany. He also told me that I had an accent like a girl from "the land." This meant a Southern accent hahah. He told Mitchell like he sounded like he was from Scotland. I was perfectly okay with all of this because he was attractive. And it was funny. The next morning in Madrid we woke up and got breakfast at McDonald's (yes, we were hitting up all of the American restaurants in Madrid while we could...it was a bit ridiculous) then headed straight to El Reina Sofia, another art museum. While waiting in line, I saw my mimi-me. A little girl (in the picture above) looks just how I looked when I was that age. It was crazy! So I was creeper and I got a picture of her. I couldn't get over it. Now, back to El Reina Sofia, this had the works of Picasso, including La Guernica, which depicts Picasso's view of the Spanish Civil War...also the painting that got him kicked out of Spain. No big deal. It was a huge painting. I was really excited to see it. After seeing what we could in the museum we headed back to the hostel. On the way back we spotted a Dunkin' Coffee (same as Dunkin' Donuts) and Mitchell and Becca decided to order some coffee while Elle and Mariel kept going on towards the hostel. The rest of us waited for them. Turns out Dunkin' Coffee likes to take their sweet old time...after 15-20 minutes they finally finished making two cups of coffee and we could be on our way. We were really pressed for time at this point and had book it back to the hostel because Mitchell had the keys to our room which we need ed to check out of by 12. Towards the end it looked as if we weren't going to make it, so I grabbed the keys from Mitchell and started running down the Gran Via in Madrid. As I was running Nat asked if I had the keys and I threw my fist up in the air and at that moment I felt as if I was in the Amazing Race, or something special like that. It was a nice moment...but I got over it quickly and focused on not getting hit by cars. In the end, we made it on time and were not charged any extra...thank goodness. We then took the metro and met up with all of the other exchange students in the bus station. :)

Cheeseeee!

      Last night I got myself all dressed up and then rode into the city with Aurora. I dropped my things off at the Pamplona apartment and then headed out the door towards Doner Kebab to meet the gang (is it just me or did I totally just pull a Fred from Scooby-Doo?). Once I go there I put my order in for French fries along with everyone else. We hung out there for hours and it felt great. We laughed so much. As always. I have to say that my favorite part of Rob's that night was when Tabea said, "Okay. I'm ready to start this auction." She had mentioned something earlier to us all on facebook about selling some of her things to make money (she likes to spend it...so last week she gave me her wallet to keep track of. I am her accountant) but I wasn't expecting her to sell it to us. She starts pulling items out of her Mary Poppins bag and giving all the benefits about each item and then we would ask, "Then why are you selling this Tabs?" Hahaha. My favorite item up for sale had to be the little Christmas tree that had a USB attached so that you could plug it into your computer and watch the pretty lights glow. She said it made for a nice night light. Oh Tabby Cat. I of course bought a bracelet and a pair of earrings from her. Athena took home an entire pile of stuff. Mostly jewelry.
     After our time at Rob's we headed to the plaza del castillo to hang out and enjoy the warm weather. Athena and I were still hungry so we made everyone come with us to a cafe so we could get some tortilla de patata before the last cafe closed. We then finally headed to la trave to start our night of dancing. We ran into my host sister there and her friends along with the American girls. It was a fun time. Around 3:15 we left the trave and walked to Marengo, our favorite club. We stayed there until 5:30. It was a truly fabulous night. I'm going to miss this so much. I just love the music they play here and all of the dancing. I love it so much! I finally got home around 6 and then went straight to bed (after brushing my teeth of course).
     This morning I woke up around 12. I had had plans to go to San Sebastian for the day with Julia and some of the American girls and then meet my friend Andrew there (he lives there) but the girls decided that they were not going anymore. They headed out the door with Aurora back to Zuasti. At this point I had decided to call Andrew to see if it was worth it to make the trip up there for the day and he told me that the weather wasn't looking too great and since it's Sunday we would be stuck outside for hours in the rain. Haha. So en fin, I didn't go. But as I am on the phone with Andrew I thought, "I need to find Aurora and go back to Zuasti." I am then running around the apartment gathering all of my things and then I spot it: the cheese that Aurora had cut up for my bocadillo for the bus ride. I grabbed a paper towel and wrapped it around the cheese and ran out the door. Poor Andrew had to hear this crazy conversation that I had (mostly) with myself as I ran out the door calling for Aurora. I thankfully found her and she about died when she saw the cheese.
     This is what my life is like. All the time. Especially in the U.S. It keeps life interesting, so I'm not complaining. Once I was in the car we finally made it to our other home and I've been relaxing all day. It's been a lazy Sunday. I even napped! That never happens. We turned the clocks ahead last night so the world is back on balance. That's nice. It's 8:36 and it's still light out. Well everyone, I had a wonderful weekend although my feet may be thinking otherwise (8 hours in heels, you know...ha I'm so stupid sometimes).

Excursions!

      This week has been an extremely busy one for me. There is a group of girls from Cleveland here in Pamplona. There got here a week ago and they're staying until Wednesday. During the day they go one little trips and Natalie, Tabea, and I decided to join them. We didn't go to too many exciting places, but we didn't have to go to school and we had a great time. On Monday we toured Pamplona and saw the government building and the bull ring. It was nice because the three of us knew these places like the back of our hand but we have never been in them before. We had the chance to see some interesting things here that we see every day but don't really know that much about. We had some time to do some shopping so I bought a fabulous spring coat that I am in love with. It's khaki and has brown buttons and a belt! I love it!
     On Tuesday we went to a dessert. It was raining and it was cold, so we didn't stay long. One of the James Bond movies was filmed there although I'm not sure which. To be honest I've never really watched any one them. Hahaha. There are quite a few movies that I have yet to see. After the dessert we went to a pueblo and ate lunch and then headed back to Pamplona. We had a lot of extra time, so the bus driver took us to La Morea, the mall. I got some really good deals (surprise, surprise) and bought a scarf for 1 E and a shirt/dress thing for 5 E. The dress is about 4 sizes too big, but with a belt I can work it. :P
     On Wednesday we unfortunately had to go to school. Once we were there we received good new though: there was a field trip to the theatre for Latin! The play was kind of dreadful to sit through, but it was still much better than class. The theatre itself was very beautiful. It felt nice to be back in one again. The field trip ended and we had to go back to San Cernin for one more class: Literature. One of our classmates, Cristina, was presenting on Pablo Neruda and Walt Whitman. My two favorite poets!!!! They had me read one of Whitman's 3 page long poems out loud in English. I mean to get all deep on all of you, but I felt like soul had been awakened a little bit. My passion for poetry was relit. I also really enjoy reading out loud. I always wanted to be called on to read in class, not here of course, but in the states, si. I left school feeling very happy. Very. very happy. Neruda and Whitman in 40 minutes?! I mean seriously!
     On Thursday we started up with the excursions once again and loaded the bus to depart for the adventure park. The adventure park was my favorite part of the entire week. We had harnesses on and we made our way from tree to tree by going through different obstacles in the air. Now we all know that I am not the star athlete by any means, but this, like DDR, was a surprise talent of mine. I felt so comfortable and one girl commented, "Have you ever done this before? You are flying!" Okay, that smug moment is now over. In the afternoon we went to another pueblo and saw a witch museum. It was just like the Salem Witch Trials only 80 years earlier. We then walked down to a beautiful cave where the "witches" supposedly went to have affairs with the devil. I found it al very interesting. And sad.
     On Friday we went to Olite and saw a castle that was built in the 1300s. It was very old and very simple. There was not much detail, but it was still really cool to see a castle. For those of you that live in Alliance, I think Glamorgan Castle wins! I can't wait to see some of the castles in France. I bet they are beautiful. After school I came home for lunch and then relaxed. In the evening I met Mitchell and we sat on the city walls and talked for two hours. It was gorgeous outside last night. I then came to the Pamplona apartment for dinner and then went back to Zuasti with my host dad and brother.
      I woke up this morning and caught the 11:25 bus into Pamplona, and now I'm at the apartment. I think we'll eat lunch here today and then I might go to San Sebastian with the Americans. I haven't decided yet. Tonight I'm going out dancing to Merengo! I can't wait. It should be fun! I haven't been dancing in two weeks. Hahah. Withdrawal! I still have yet to blog about the trip...but I will get there someday soon. I promise. It's just that I am so busy all of the time now. It's crazy. I love my life so much! Besos! Good luck to the cast and crew of Once Upon A Mattress in their last two performances!! Go see it at MHS tonight and tomorrow afternoon!!!

Home Sweet Home

     Today we moved back to Zuasti! I went to school, came home and ate lunch with Aurora and Julia, and then we left the Pamplona apartment and headed for home. The kitchen was being remodeled...that's the reason we stayed in Pamplona for almost 2 months. It was definitely worth it. The kitchen is absolutely amazing. It is so modern. I feel like there are a million secrets in there. I go to the cabinets to search for silver wear and I come across so many secret drawers filled with everything else. It took me awhile to eat dinner tonight....I had to do some real searching...and it's not helpful to ask because no one else knows where anything is either. It's so funny.
     Once I got home I talked to my parents, Tess, and Brandi. I then unpacked forever. I have so much stuff. I've accumulated mass amounts of mementos in the past six months, some of them rather large. I am not looking forward to the flight back home. It's going to be pretty uncomfortable. I may have to wear half my sweaters and my boots on the plane in July. No big deal. Hahaha. Once I unpacked almost everything I ate dinner, once again with Julia and Aurora. I heated up some empanadas from last night. They were very yummy, I must say. I finished dinner with my usual yogurt and honey and then climbed the stairs to finally finish the unpacking. Once that task was crossed off the list I moved to the bathroom and showered and unpacked. Having a bathroom to yourself is such a great luxury. It will never get old. I can take as long as I want and put my things wherever I want them and it's just simply fabulous.
     It feels so nice to be back in Zuasti. I feel like I am at home again. It's wonderful. I look forward to start baking again. I think I'll make brownies tomorrow. A girl from Cleveland is coming to stay with us for the next week or so on an exchange with the school. There are 25 girls coming from Cleveland to Pamplona because the Pamplona girls went to Cleveland in August and now...well you understand. I'm very excited because of all the places in the U.S. they are from Cleveland...coincidence? Irony? All of the above? We were talking about her (Maggie) coming the other night at dinner and I asked what the girls did while the host sisters went to school and my family told me that they go on excursions during the days. This is the point where I became excited and chimed in, "That's so cool! I wanna go!" My host mother took this seriously and asked the director if Tabs, Nat, and I could join in on the fun (of missing school primarily). Good news: it's a go! And it's only 25 Euros. We get to miss school the entire week and see all of these amazing places. I'm so excited. It's going to be fabulous. Not to mention that we get to meet new people. What more could we ask for?
     I need to be headed to bed soon. I'm going to the airport with Aurora and Julia to get Maggie early in the morning. I'm so excited! Goodnight everyone. Have a great weekend! Besos.

Ehh...

     Today has been a pretty blah day so far. I debated writing about it...but I'll write in hopes to please my mother. She gets angry with me when I don't blog. Love you mommy. School was okay, because it was Thursday, my favorite day. After school I came home and then left with my host parents to eat lunch at the same place we did yesterday. I was not a fan of el munu today. We had vegetables and then this fried meat with cheese in it and I just didn't care for it much. The strawberries and whipped cream that Aurora and I ate for dessert, though, were delicious. After lunch I walked home and got on my computer and watched the first 10 minutes of Glee. That's all the farther I got then because the wifi was being so slow. Sometimes Mr. Thomson just does not cooperate. I don't know what I ever did to him. Do I expect too much? Perhaps. I then climbed the stairs to my room and began packing. I managed to fit all the clothes I brought here in one suitcase. I think that's impressive because it's almost all of the clothes that I brought with me to Spain. AND that's with out the extension thingy on the suitcase. Just fabulous. I packed all of my other "things" in the other suitcase and now I'm ready to go. I'm bittersweet about moving back to Zuasti. I'll be happy to have my bathroom again and functioning internet, but I love how close I am to everything here. It's so nice. And today at lunch Enrique said that the internet was not working today in Zuasti....this worries me a little bit, but everything will work out. I thought that I wouldn't have internet at all here and everything was semi-fine. Haha. After packing I came back down to the bottom of the stairs and since I gave him a little break, Mr. Thomson is working wonderfully again. I am watching Glee and it is amazing. Kurt and Blaine are finally together!! It makes me so happy. New Directions is singing a song that they wrote about Losers and I feel that I fit in really well with the message...since you know, I'm a total choir/musical/show choir nerd. Love itt. Me encanta.  Now it's time to finish Glee and then eat dinner I suppose. I hope we have tortilla de patata tonight. I'm really in the mood for that. Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone! (They don't really celebrate it here...I wore green...with about 10 other students in the grade...haha) Besos!

My Birthday: Take Four.

      I'm going to talk about the present until I am back in Zuasti (which is Friday). The stories from the trip can wait a little bit longer! I used my time wisely in school and made an outline of what I did for those 11 days. I hope it pays off. Today school went by pretty quickly. Tuesdays make Wednesdays seem like a breeze for me. During school today I wrote my English composition about beavers. We had to write a "contribution" (don't ask me...) about an animal that is in our country. So yes, I chose the beaver. Their teeth are just so damn impressive! I actually just used to draw these really cute beavers in school and then Korey would add one of those pin-wheel hats...you know...we were cool...In English class today we talked all about St. Patrick's Day since it's tomorrow. My teacher is Irish, so that's fun. I need to remember to wear my only green shirt tomorrow. I don't have much green for some reason. I find myself with this dilemma every year. I usually work it out though. No worries. Haha. Later in the day, during Latin, Tabea, Natalie, and I were called into the hallway. We were interviewed for the school newspaper. The girl just asked us about our exchanges. She was super nice. I then went back to my classroom to finish working on my post cards! I'm so productive. Once I finished those, it was time for Literature. Tabea and I found out today that we have to prepare a presentation for Tuesday about our trip. She wants history of each place we went, pictures, and maps. Woah crazy. I have to do something? Haha. This will be good for me. Two weeks with no school has turned me into the laziest student alive. I never thought that would be me. I remember always being so frustrated with the slackers in school in the states. Now I understand. There are just more important things in life. Like post cards and journal writing and playing hangman with Tabs.
      After school I walked home and found out that we were eating out today. We all walked to a restaurant and I ate spaghetti, fish, and strawberries with whipped cream. It was very yummy. Aurora and I then walked home and I went to my computer to check facebook and my email...to see if anything important was going on. At five o'clock I met my friends at the bus station and then we bought a birthday cake for me. The plan was to go to Rob's (Doner Kebab) but it was closed. We were in shock. Rob's is never closed! Not even on Sunday mornings! We were sad and then decided to go to the bocateria. We love their sandwiches!! I ordered a strawberry milkshake and we ate cake and talked about all the vacations we have ahead of us and how much we love our lives. Hahaha. This is a bit of an exaggeration, by the way. I got to wear my princess birthday crown and sparkly shirt that my mom sent to me for my birthday. It said that I must wear it on my birthday so I hope this is okay. Today was my fourth birthday celebration. Another exchange student from San Sebastian, Andrew, has the same birthday as me so we decided on the trip that we should celebrate on March 4th, 5th, and 6th. You know, just because. It's funny because it actually worked. People would buy us things and tell us, "Well it's your birthday." We did not object. The Pamplonians told me tonight that we can just keep celebrating my birthday for the rest of the year. So in April we're celebrating my one-twelf birthday! I love my friends. Anyways, I'm trying to shake this cold so I better get some sleep. I did not sleep enough (hardly at all) on the trip and lost my singing voice completely. I was so sad when the opportunity of singing in a Roman amphetheatre presented itself and I couldn't sing. I did rap 96, 000 from In the Heights though. So I ramble way too much. Goodnight everyone. And since it's almost midnight, Happy St. Patrick's Day!! Besos.

The Time of My Life.

     I am having the time of my life here. I can't explain how happy I am in my life right now. This trip was 10 of the best days of y life. I had so much fun...I don't have time to write in detail right now about my trip, but I will shortly. I'm moving back to Zuasti at the end of the week where I'll have internet access at all times. Hoorayyy. I can't wait to post pictures and tell you all all about my trip! I've seen so many things and most importantly have created memories that will last a lifetime with the best friends a girl could ask for. And the best part is that it's just the beginning. I have so much to look forward to in the next few months. Coming to Spain was the best decision I've ever made. Me encantaaaa mi vida. Besos!