Let's rewind to Saturday morning. All of us girl exchangers woke up at Elle's around ten. Tabea said she wanted a really good breakfast and Elle said that she had pancake mix from home and a dozen of eggs in her host parent's fridge. Elle made the pancake while I dealt with the eggs. I attempted to make my first dippy egg in Spain and it was a complete failure. The pans was not non-stick so I melted butter on it...I don't think this was the problem though. The problem was that the spatula was round. It confused me. Needless to say, I turned my wanna be dippy egg into a scrambled one. Still delicious. Then we made the rest of the eggs scrambled. They were so good. We ate croissants with jelly and drank orange juice. It was a fun time. Once we cleaned up our mess in the kitchen we all got dressed and headed to the bus stop. Once we reached Pamplona we got off in the center of the city and headed home.
I walked home and got on my computer for a bit and then ate lunch with my family. We had mashed potatoes! They had some kind of meat with them and it was so delicious. They tasted like something my Grandma Toussant makes. So wonderful. After lunch I actually took a little nap and then got my things ready and met Natalie at the school. We headed over to Athena's house to get ready with all the girls before going dancing. We got ready and had a blast and then met up with Mitchell and Rebecca before heading to McDonald's. I didn't buy anything. But I stole some fries from Natalie, but Mitchell paid for them, so I stole some fries from Mitchell and they were yummy. Not that I miss McDonald's. I just like the salty french fries. They're pretty fabulous. We went dancing and had a good time. I love dancing. To end the night, Natalie spent the night and she fell right asleep. I had to spend some time with my computer before I could make that happen.
This morning Nat and I woke up around 10:15 and ate our Nougat Pillows. After getting ready she headed home and I went to church. I love church but it always makes me cry. I'm just emotional now, what can I say? I came home from church and was extremely lazy until we left for lunch at the grandparent's house. Lunch was nice. Grandpa didn't eat with u today because he wanted to watch TV haha. He's a pretty cool guy.
I came home and gave a surprise call to Korey on her cell phone. I love doing this!! It took her a little while to figure out it was me. It's so much fun. We talked for quite awhile about life and her birthday. It was so nice!!! I then skyped with my family and then Aunt Bevie, Taylor, and Morgan. Such a nice skype day. I miss them all so much, but it becomes easier with each new day.
I'm starting to feel more like a part of the family. I set the table before each meal now and it's my week for dishes. Maite and I clean our bathroom together too. Lately I've had a bit of a cold. My nose is congested and I have a really bad cough. My throat doesn't really hurt but I'm coughing like crazy. Merche asks me every day if it's getting better and I think it is so I always say yes. Tonight in my room was coughing quite a bit so she gave me medicine at dinner to take tonight and tomorrow. She is so sweet. After dinner I did the dishes and right now I'm watching House with my family. I'm getting pretty tired though so I'll have to get some sleep soon.
Tomorrow I'm headed to the police station to pick up my student card. I'm meeting Diana there, a girl from El Salvador that I met there the last time I turned in all my paperwork. We're facebook friends and she asked if I wanted to meet and of course I said "of course!" Haha. I'm excited to see her again! Tomorrow is the start of another great week. So goodnight everyone. Besos! Oh and congrats Dukes!!! Os quiero!
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Friday, November 5, 2010
Slumber Party!
Right now I'm at another exchanger's house in her basement along with the other exchange students. It's 1:25 am so the boy already took the bus home. We all met in town and took the bus to the Elle's house. Once we got here we started making pizzas and we all ate and marveled over the fact that Elle's house has four floors and a basement. A basement. I had no idea these even existed in Spain. Cool! After eating we all gathered on the couch and watched The Hangover. This movie will never get old. It is so outrageous but so funny. We all laughed the entire time. Since Matt and Mitchell left we've just been hanging out. It feels so American. It feels so easy...like we've been friends for years...It's great.
School today was long. After school I talked to my parents to make sure that my dad's surgery went alright and it went great. It was a five minute procedure and he's doing great now. Such great news! Even the small things have so much more weight when I'm here. Everything that happens in my life is so much more emphasized here. I have to figure things out and deal with so much on my own. I like it.
Now it's time to change into pajamas and just talk before we all fall asleep. Am I really in Spain right now? I think I've walked back into an American Friday night...It feels a little bizarre at the moment...but I like it. Goodnight everyone. Enjoy your evening! Besos!
School today was long. After school I talked to my parents to make sure that my dad's surgery went alright and it went great. It was a five minute procedure and he's doing great now. Such great news! Even the small things have so much more weight when I'm here. Everything that happens in my life is so much more emphasized here. I have to figure things out and deal with so much on my own. I like it.
Now it's time to change into pajamas and just talk before we all fall asleep. Am I really in Spain right now? I think I've walked back into an American Friday night...It feels a little bizarre at the moment...but I like it. Goodnight everyone. Enjoy your evening! Besos!
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Did That Really Just Happen?
Just a normal day. The sun is shining, the sky is blue and all is well with the world. My iPod is on and my feet are carrying me to my house after a long day at school. I'm in a very good mood...just walking...just listening to my music when a women walks in front of me. She is probably 30 or 40 years old and was dressed very Bohemian. Her hair was choppy-and I'm not discriminating or judging but she was looking rough. The lady walks past me and then turns around one moment later and spits at me. That right. She spit at me. Then she started yelling something that I couldn't understand and was walking angrily in the opposite direction ripping up papers and yelling.
Okay, WHAT?! Perhaps she is a gypsy? I was so scared at first. I couldn't believe what had just happened...I continued walking and then just started to laugh. She has to be insane, right? Who spits at a happy girl listening to music on her way home from school? And let's be honest...I look like a Spaniard. No one here thinks I'm from America until I speak. I'm glad I have this memory though.
School is becoming very routine. Nothing out of the ordinary happened today, but we learned some interesting things in History of Art. Today we studied the churches along the way of the Camino de Santiago. For those of you unfamiliar with this, it is a pilgrimage that can start from various places in France and Northern Spain. Pamplona is one of the first stops on the pilgrimage and the travelers continue to the West to the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. It's amazing! The churches were absolutely beautiful and it's great to be studying something that is happening right before my eyes. There are signs all over the city pointing the pilgrims in the right direction and almost every day I see adventurous travelers with backpacks and great hiking boots making their way to the West. I talk to them sometimes. That's always fun.
Some differences in the kitchen: EVERYTHING is smaller. That's just about it.
I had theatre tonight and that was fun. Natalie and I just watched while they practiced their parts (we have parts too but they are small and towards the end....thank goodness!) until the director decided she wanted us to be guards. We had no idea what to do and we laughed the entire time. We had to hold the lead guy back as he was fighting to escape our arms. He said we were strong. Everyone laughed. I walked home without any spit attacks. Maybe the lady was just working on mastering the art of being a camel.That and the devil combined. I swear I say the eyes of Satan. Scary.
I'm home now just waiting for dinner time. It's 10:12. I'm hungry!!! Oh and I had nutella today for lunch! Yum. I'm going to bed early tonight and getting a good night's sleep. I need it. Buenas noches. Besos!
Okay, WHAT?! Perhaps she is a gypsy? I was so scared at first. I couldn't believe what had just happened...I continued walking and then just started to laugh. She has to be insane, right? Who spits at a happy girl listening to music on her way home from school? And let's be honest...I look like a Spaniard. No one here thinks I'm from America until I speak. I'm glad I have this memory though.
School is becoming very routine. Nothing out of the ordinary happened today, but we learned some interesting things in History of Art. Today we studied the churches along the way of the Camino de Santiago. For those of you unfamiliar with this, it is a pilgrimage that can start from various places in France and Northern Spain. Pamplona is one of the first stops on the pilgrimage and the travelers continue to the West to the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. It's amazing! The churches were absolutely beautiful and it's great to be studying something that is happening right before my eyes. There are signs all over the city pointing the pilgrims in the right direction and almost every day I see adventurous travelers with backpacks and great hiking boots making their way to the West. I talk to them sometimes. That's always fun.
Some differences in the kitchen: EVERYTHING is smaller. That's just about it.
I had theatre tonight and that was fun. Natalie and I just watched while they practiced their parts (we have parts too but they are small and towards the end....thank goodness!) until the director decided she wanted us to be guards. We had no idea what to do and we laughed the entire time. We had to hold the lead guy back as he was fighting to escape our arms. He said we were strong. Everyone laughed. I walked home without any spit attacks. Maybe the lady was just working on mastering the art of being a camel.That and the devil combined. I swear I say the eyes of Satan. Scary.
I'm home now just waiting for dinner time. It's 10:12. I'm hungry!!! Oh and I had nutella today for lunch! Yum. I'm going to bed early tonight and getting a good night's sleep. I need it. Buenas noches. Besos!
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
To Be or Not To Be.
We just finished Hamlet today in Literature class. Everyone in the class always had a part since there are only eight of us. I an say that my reading has improved. The only problem is that when I am reading I'm not focusing on comprehension. I put all my effort into my accent and reading fluidly. I'm so glad that I read this last year or I would not have a clue. The vocabulary is so difficult. I have to look up so many words that it's just exhausting. I remember last year in Mr. Shlotis' class we got to act out the ending. I was Queen Gertrude then so I got to fake a death and everything. I fell to the floor and then John Bichsel starting kicking me because Tyler Shankel told him to. I couldn't move because I was dead so it was actually pretty funny. I really miss that class!
School today was the norm again. Language class was so incredibly long. It's times like these when you wonder if time is really consistent. I paid attention in History. Today Victoria actually wrote notes on the board so I became excited. I thought perhaps I could actually understand and study for a test, but...her handwriting is awful and the board was filled with abbreviations!!! How am I supposed to understand them in a foreign language?! So I picked up Harry Potter. Hogwarts was much more appealing than Isabel II. I am about halfway through Harry Potter now and I am enjoying my time while I read it now. I look forward to reading in Spanish!!! This is HUGE.
I'm sorry to do this, but I have to mention beef salad yet again. It was on my sandwich today. It's just too hard to tell Merche that it makes me want to puke just thinking of it. 1. It's so late when she actually gets home from work and classes and Tai Chi that I kind of forget about it. 2. How the hell am I supposed to explain this? Just tell her that I really gate it? I mean it's the only thing that I really don't like. I love almost everything else...so I can just deal with it right? Yes. So today I went to the little shop across the street and bought what looked liked a zebra cake!
So let's try to forget the one thing I hate and move on to one thing that I love: My dinner the past two nights! So last night my salad consisted of: lettuce, tomatoes, green olives, little pickles, little onions, corn, carrot-like things, turkey that looks like cut up hot dogs, oil, vinegar, and salt. This may not sound appetizing to you know but after living in Spain for a few weeks you would be in heaven. Trust me! It's so great!! Tonight I had a simpler salad with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and dressing. We had fresh bread and then Spanish Tortilla, which is a potato omelette. It is amazing. I was so full after dinner tonight.
This blog is not in chronological order which bothers me a little, but hey, why not mix up the order a bit? Today after lunch I met Rebecca, another exchange student from Chicago, in the old part of the city. We walked around a bit before heading to a small cafe where we ate gelato and drank hot tea. It was simply wonderful. We talked for a long time and it was great! I'm in Europe and I walked to meet a friend in a small cafe to pass the afternoon and listened to my iPod as I walked home...is this real life?
To make up for the two hours of speaking in English, I watched three episodes of That 70s Show and I understood at least 90% of what they were saying! That's great news for me. I told my family that at the dinner table and they were so proud. No joke. Comprehension is becoming much easier...if I could only speak...
My day flew by once again. When am I going to have time to apply for all these scholarships? I'll make time. I HAVE to. Well tomorrow is Thursday so I have no doubt that it will be fabulous. Thursdays never ever let me down. Buenas noches! Os quiero. Oh, and Hamlet, the answer is "to be."
School today was the norm again. Language class was so incredibly long. It's times like these when you wonder if time is really consistent. I paid attention in History. Today Victoria actually wrote notes on the board so I became excited. I thought perhaps I could actually understand and study for a test, but...her handwriting is awful and the board was filled with abbreviations!!! How am I supposed to understand them in a foreign language?! So I picked up Harry Potter. Hogwarts was much more appealing than Isabel II. I am about halfway through Harry Potter now and I am enjoying my time while I read it now. I look forward to reading in Spanish!!! This is HUGE.
I'm sorry to do this, but I have to mention beef salad yet again. It was on my sandwich today. It's just too hard to tell Merche that it makes me want to puke just thinking of it. 1. It's so late when she actually gets home from work and classes and Tai Chi that I kind of forget about it. 2. How the hell am I supposed to explain this? Just tell her that I really gate it? I mean it's the only thing that I really don't like. I love almost everything else...so I can just deal with it right? Yes. So today I went to the little shop across the street and bought what looked liked a zebra cake!
So let's try to forget the one thing I hate and move on to one thing that I love: My dinner the past two nights! So last night my salad consisted of: lettuce, tomatoes, green olives, little pickles, little onions, corn, carrot-like things, turkey that looks like cut up hot dogs, oil, vinegar, and salt. This may not sound appetizing to you know but after living in Spain for a few weeks you would be in heaven. Trust me! It's so great!! Tonight I had a simpler salad with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and dressing. We had fresh bread and then Spanish Tortilla, which is a potato omelette. It is amazing. I was so full after dinner tonight.
This blog is not in chronological order which bothers me a little, but hey, why not mix up the order a bit? Today after lunch I met Rebecca, another exchange student from Chicago, in the old part of the city. We walked around a bit before heading to a small cafe where we ate gelato and drank hot tea. It was simply wonderful. We talked for a long time and it was great! I'm in Europe and I walked to meet a friend in a small cafe to pass the afternoon and listened to my iPod as I walked home...is this real life?
To make up for the two hours of speaking in English, I watched three episodes of That 70s Show and I understood at least 90% of what they were saying! That's great news for me. I told my family that at the dinner table and they were so proud. No joke. Comprehension is becoming much easier...if I could only speak...
My day flew by once again. When am I going to have time to apply for all these scholarships? I'll make time. I HAVE to. Well tomorrow is Thursday so I have no doubt that it will be fabulous. Thursdays never ever let me down. Buenas noches! Os quiero. Oh, and Hamlet, the answer is "to be."
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid...India!
Today school was so mediocre. Nothing out of the ordinary happened that you would find the least bit entertaining. Natalie and I received good news though: Our classmates had to go to the University to visit this afternoon instead of going to our afternoon classes. We didn't have to go on the field trip which means no class! So after school Natalie came to my house and we ate some delicious paella. We then spent the next two hours searching all of the places we want to visit. We started with Bilbao and Barcelona. Rotary has told us that we can travel within the country alone now and then in March we can start traveling outside the country. It's about an hour bus ride to Bilbao. We want to see the amazing Guggenheim Museum. It looks absolutely incredible and it only costs five Euros. Barcelona is about a four hour bus ride and there are so many sight to see there that it is just ridiculous. We hope to do some traveling in the beginning of December when we have a break from school.
After completely our travel research, we walked to the bus station and got information about prices and hours of departure and arrival. We're going to make this happen. The entire way to and from the bus station we talked about all of the places that we want to see, all the food we want to taste, all of the experiences we want to experience. We ended up in India in the elephants, monkeys, and Bollywood music. I can't wait to travel the world!! I want to ride a camel in Morocco. Anyone want to come along?
My day has flown by. I still feel like I have so much to do. Study Spanish, watch That 70s Show (in Spanish), read Harry Potter (in Spanish), listen to music (in Spanish)....you get the idea. Today I received a Halloween card in the mail from Aunt Patty and Jay! Thanks guys! It was so perfect. Aunt Patty included pictures and lots of corny Halloween jokes...I'm such a sucker for corny jokes. Needless to say, I laughed a lot. Snail mail makes my day!! I love you Aunt Patty and Jay.
Soon we'll eat dinner and then I promise myself that I will be in bed by 11:30. I need my eight hours. I'm still having a hard time sleeping...and I wake up a lot during the night. I don't know what it is. It's so frustrating though and simply not fair. Anyways, I had a great day. Besos!
After completely our travel research, we walked to the bus station and got information about prices and hours of departure and arrival. We're going to make this happen. The entire way to and from the bus station we talked about all of the places that we want to see, all the food we want to taste, all of the experiences we want to experience. We ended up in India in the elephants, monkeys, and Bollywood music. I can't wait to travel the world!! I want to ride a camel in Morocco. Anyone want to come along?
My day has flown by. I still feel like I have so much to do. Study Spanish, watch That 70s Show (in Spanish), read Harry Potter (in Spanish), listen to music (in Spanish)....you get the idea. Today I received a Halloween card in the mail from Aunt Patty and Jay! Thanks guys! It was so perfect. Aunt Patty included pictures and lots of corny Halloween jokes...I'm such a sucker for corny jokes. Needless to say, I laughed a lot. Snail mail makes my day!! I love you Aunt Patty and Jay.
Soon we'll eat dinner and then I promise myself that I will be in bed by 11:30. I need my eight hours. I'm still having a hard time sleeping...and I wake up a lot during the night. I don't know what it is. It's so frustrating though and simply not fair. Anyways, I had a great day. Besos!
Monday, November 1, 2010
My Cup of Tea.
I didn't have school today since it's All Saints Day. I slept in this morning and wrote some emails and stuff oh and of course I ate my Nougat Pillows. Around one o'clock Merche took me to the cemetery. In Spain the cemeteries are packed on All Saints Day. People go to pay respect and place flowers on the graves. It's not a sad celebration (or at least it's not supposed to be). It was simply gorgeous. I can't exactly explain how different it was from the cemeteries I know, so I will post some pictures here. While there Merche explained to me that her husband died one year ago, her best friend fours years ago, and her mother seventeen years ago. Once I heard all this I just lost it. Usually when I'm in public and I feel like crying I can associate colors and objects and make it go away. For example: Blue sky...red building...brown dog...yellow door. But at the cemetery it a went a little more like this: Blue sky...green grass...pink flower...on the grey tomb stone...on the black tomb stone. I just hugged Merche and I told her that I was so sorry for all her losses and that she is such a strong person.
I don't regret this happening at all because I think it made us much closer. It's moments like these in life that it's just so nice to know that there is someone beside you that cares...they may not know your past, but they know your present and they're here for a hug. Life is short so live it to the fullest and love all that you can.
After the cemetery we headed to the grandparents house for lunch. PAELLA! I am absolutely in love with paella. It's a good thing that I made my mom make it for my graduation party this year...she'll have to be making it all the time next year. I'm going to miss this yumminess made of rice, saffron, and various meats. Oh and Grandpa still thinks I'm from France. He's ninety-two though so I just go with it. Before lunch he left the room to replace the battery in his hearing aid so we all waited at the table for him to return. He was talking like fifteen minutes so Grandma went looking for him. He was watching TV! This makes me laugh so much. I mean we could think of it as a sad story, but it's better to laugh about these things, right?
Once we returned home from lunch I sort of lost it again just because it was such a sad day. I called my dad and he helped me through it. I had a pretty emotional day. This happens. After awhile Merche asked me if I wanted some hot tea because she now knows that I love it. I said "of course!" It was so cute. She set a place mat out and placed my cup and saucer with a little spoon and napkin. I felt like I was in a little cafe! It was Earl Grey tea and it just made my day. It honestly made me really happy. She told me that she's going to show me where the tea bags are and she'll explain how to work that thing for the hot water. Haha. It shouldn't be too difficult.
Around 7:30 Merche and I left for church. We went to the church that I go to by myself on Sundays. Tonight there were many more people. When we walked in they were praying the rosary and then mass started soon after. After mass there was an a cappella performance in Latin by a group of old men in white robes. They were amazing. It was so nice to hear a cappella again. I'm glad that I am really getting a feel for the music here. It means so much to me. It is the universal language. And something that I just though about today: Last Halloween I saw RENT in Cincinnati and this Halloween I watched West Side Story. Both musicals...love it. I don't know what I would do without music, especially here. Today my iTunes shuffle decided to play three or four of my Spanish songs in a row and I thought this was some sort of sign: something encouraging me. So I made a playlist of all my Spanish songs and I listened to it and practiced Spanish flash cards online.
I would just like to say that I did not shed a tear in mass tonight. I think the tea right before hand helped! Hahaha. After mass Merche and I caught the bus home since it was raining and she, Maite, and I ate dinner and headed for bed. So here I am. Time for bed. Time to get ready for another amazing week in Pamplona. Happy Birthday to Hannah! Besos everyone!
I don't regret this happening at all because I think it made us much closer. It's moments like these in life that it's just so nice to know that there is someone beside you that cares...they may not know your past, but they know your present and they're here for a hug. Life is short so live it to the fullest and love all that you can.
After the cemetery we headed to the grandparents house for lunch. PAELLA! I am absolutely in love with paella. It's a good thing that I made my mom make it for my graduation party this year...she'll have to be making it all the time next year. I'm going to miss this yumminess made of rice, saffron, and various meats. Oh and Grandpa still thinks I'm from France. He's ninety-two though so I just go with it. Before lunch he left the room to replace the battery in his hearing aid so we all waited at the table for him to return. He was talking like fifteen minutes so Grandma went looking for him. He was watching TV! This makes me laugh so much. I mean we could think of it as a sad story, but it's better to laugh about these things, right?
Once we returned home from lunch I sort of lost it again just because it was such a sad day. I called my dad and he helped me through it. I had a pretty emotional day. This happens. After awhile Merche asked me if I wanted some hot tea because she now knows that I love it. I said "of course!" It was so cute. She set a place mat out and placed my cup and saucer with a little spoon and napkin. I felt like I was in a little cafe! It was Earl Grey tea and it just made my day. It honestly made me really happy. She told me that she's going to show me where the tea bags are and she'll explain how to work that thing for the hot water. Haha. It shouldn't be too difficult.
Around 7:30 Merche and I left for church. We went to the church that I go to by myself on Sundays. Tonight there were many more people. When we walked in they were praying the rosary and then mass started soon after. After mass there was an a cappella performance in Latin by a group of old men in white robes. They were amazing. It was so nice to hear a cappella again. I'm glad that I am really getting a feel for the music here. It means so much to me. It is the universal language. And something that I just though about today: Last Halloween I saw RENT in Cincinnati and this Halloween I watched West Side Story. Both musicals...love it. I don't know what I would do without music, especially here. Today my iTunes shuffle decided to play three or four of my Spanish songs in a row and I thought this was some sort of sign: something encouraging me. So I made a playlist of all my Spanish songs and I listened to it and practiced Spanish flash cards online.
Happy Halloween!
I meant to blog last night but I was tired and I was talking to my mom and Brandi so we're all going to pretend that I wrote it yesterday when it was still Halloween. So back to Saturday. I went shopping at the mall and put some money on my phone...finally. I made 12 E last me two months. The rates are .45 E a minute for calls and .10 E a text. I try not to use it often. I found the Movistar kiosk at the mall and put 10 E on it. Maybe it will last until Thanksgiving...Christmas if I'm lucky.
After doing this Mariel, Nat, and I headed to H&M, one of my favorite stores in the world. I bought three items at full price and it didn't even hurt too badly! Just in case weren't aware, I am so cheap when it comes to clothing and shopping and all that jazz. I buy shirts for $3 and dresses for $5 and I have a pair of Roxy sandals that I got for $3. I can find the deals, but here it's a little different. The sale items are ugly. Haha. So I told myself it's okay to spend more on something I actually like. I bought a grey sweater poncho. It is so comfortable. I'm in love with it. I also bought some grey sweat pants. Yes, I'm in Spain, but I only brought my VS PINK sweatpants and they just aren't the same as really baggy, soft sweats. So I bought them and I'm wearing them right now. Not regretting it whatsoever. The last item I bought was a dress. At first it appears to be ugly and curtain-like but after you put it on it's gorgeous. After shopping on Saturday I skyped with Brandi, Katie, and Abbie (I am completely aware I skype too much...I'm working on it, okay?) and I was showing them what I had purchased and they all told me it was the ugliest dress they have ever seen. Brandi told me to return it. She also told me she never would have let me buy it. So you know what I did? I wore it out Saturday night and everyone LOVED it.
On Saturday night we Pamplonians met up and went to Doner Kebob. We hung out there for a long time and had Rob put in his Lady Gaga CD. He was showing us all of his CDs and he keep them in aluminum foil! I thought it was funny. After leaving Rob's we went to this empty stage and just talked before heading to San Juan. We walked to San Juan and then went to a club there. I was exhausted and didn't have a whole lot of fun at the club so I left early around 12:30. Luckily San Juan is the section of the city I live in so I was home in about ten minutes. I went straight to bed. Maybe next time I'll be able to dance longer. It's a part of the culture I'm still adjusting to. Yes, I can stay up really late on my computer and reading and such, but dancing and singing takes a lot more effort so it's a little different. No wonder they all call me the goody-two-shoes haha. They don't say it to make fun of me...I don't think!
On Sunday, yesterday, Halloween! I went to church with Merche and Maite. Yesterday was the anniversary of the father passing away so many friends and family were at church as well. I cried again in church...surprise. I felt awful about it too because they are the ones who lost someone and it's the anniversary and here am I...so lucky...I haven't lost anything except the control over my emotions...Anyways, after church we talked with family for awhile and I met the husband's (that passed away) cousin who had just returned from living in Pennsylvania for three years! It was great. We spoke in English though...but he asked for my cell phone number so that his kids (boy-21, girl-17) could call me so we could hang out and work on our Spanish/English together!! I'm so excited. After the mingling Merche, Maite, me, and some of their friends headed to a cafe and ordered drinks and snacks. I got some much needed hot tea. I haven't had it in such a long time and I was starting to get a cold so it came at the perfect time. Once we had our fair share of mingling everyone parted ways and we came back home. We all relaxed for a bit until headed to my host-grandparents' house for lunch.
At lunch I saw a salad sitting on the table. In said salad were octopus and beets. Thankfully Merche knows that I loathe beats and I had a legit reason not to eat it. The rest of lunch was great until dessert. Flan. I've tried flan many times and I've wanted to gag every single time. If you don't know what flan is you should google it. The best way to describe it would be milky pudding with carmel on it. It jiggles and breaks apart really easily. I just said, "No, thank you." I had to. I didn't want to spew in front of my grandparents!
After lunch I took a nap and skyped with Brody and Olivia. Both wonderful. I love them so much!! I wish that time stopped every time Livy and I talk because we never have enough time. I miss you, Liv. Every day. After talking to my loves, I got ready and met my friend Sara at the school. Vicky and Natalie were supposed to meet us as well but they couldn't make it, so it was just Sara and I. Sara's dad took us to her house and we watched West Side Story. This was on my "to-do list"!!!! We watched it in Spanish and I concentrated so much. Sara made popcorn. We ate two bags of it! Haha. We also had some olives and chocolate pudding. We talked during the movie and laughed and cried. It was a beautiful movie. So sad though. I want to see the show live now. After the movie Sara's dad drove me home. On the ride home we spoke and it took all I had to keep concentrating. I had the worst Spanish headache last night. It was the first time that I wanted to be able to really understand everything and had an actual conversation and it was a little painful but absolutely worth it. I had a great time last night! It just felt easy...like friendship should be. I can't wait to hang out again! I have Spanish friends everyone!
Last night I showered and talked with my mom and Brandi for a little while. We agreed to just send emails and not schedule another skype date until next Sunday. At least we're trying. It's just so easy to sing in and talk...especially when my host family is gone or we're all in our rooms. I mean the skyping is not holding me back from anything. I never choose skyping over something happening in my life here...it's just impossibly hard for me to say goodbye to my life at home. It sounds a little vain, but I like hearing that people are asking about me and they are reading my blog and they still care so much...because I still care so much. And I do have a life here, and every time something exciting happens I just want to call my parents and tell them all about it. I don't know. This will be something I just figure out as I go.
Is it really that ugly? Happy Halloween everyone! I love you.
After doing this Mariel, Nat, and I headed to H&M, one of my favorite stores in the world. I bought three items at full price and it didn't even hurt too badly! Just in case weren't aware, I am so cheap when it comes to clothing and shopping and all that jazz. I buy shirts for $3 and dresses for $5 and I have a pair of Roxy sandals that I got for $3. I can find the deals, but here it's a little different. The sale items are ugly. Haha. So I told myself it's okay to spend more on something I actually like. I bought a grey sweater poncho. It is so comfortable. I'm in love with it. I also bought some grey sweat pants. Yes, I'm in Spain, but I only brought my VS PINK sweatpants and they just aren't the same as really baggy, soft sweats. So I bought them and I'm wearing them right now. Not regretting it whatsoever. The last item I bought was a dress. At first it appears to be ugly and curtain-like but after you put it on it's gorgeous. After shopping on Saturday I skyped with Brandi, Katie, and Abbie (I am completely aware I skype too much...I'm working on it, okay?) and I was showing them what I had purchased and they all told me it was the ugliest dress they have ever seen. Brandi told me to return it. She also told me she never would have let me buy it. So you know what I did? I wore it out Saturday night and everyone LOVED it.
On Saturday night we Pamplonians met up and went to Doner Kebob. We hung out there for a long time and had Rob put in his Lady Gaga CD. He was showing us all of his CDs and he keep them in aluminum foil! I thought it was funny. After leaving Rob's we went to this empty stage and just talked before heading to San Juan. We walked to San Juan and then went to a club there. I was exhausted and didn't have a whole lot of fun at the club so I left early around 12:30. Luckily San Juan is the section of the city I live in so I was home in about ten minutes. I went straight to bed. Maybe next time I'll be able to dance longer. It's a part of the culture I'm still adjusting to. Yes, I can stay up really late on my computer and reading and such, but dancing and singing takes a lot more effort so it's a little different. No wonder they all call me the goody-two-shoes haha. They don't say it to make fun of me...I don't think!
On Sunday, yesterday, Halloween! I went to church with Merche and Maite. Yesterday was the anniversary of the father passing away so many friends and family were at church as well. I cried again in church...surprise. I felt awful about it too because they are the ones who lost someone and it's the anniversary and here am I...so lucky...I haven't lost anything except the control over my emotions...Anyways, after church we talked with family for awhile and I met the husband's (that passed away) cousin who had just returned from living in Pennsylvania for three years! It was great. We spoke in English though...but he asked for my cell phone number so that his kids (boy-21, girl-17) could call me so we could hang out and work on our Spanish/English together!! I'm so excited. After the mingling Merche, Maite, me, and some of their friends headed to a cafe and ordered drinks and snacks. I got some much needed hot tea. I haven't had it in such a long time and I was starting to get a cold so it came at the perfect time. Once we had our fair share of mingling everyone parted ways and we came back home. We all relaxed for a bit until headed to my host-grandparents' house for lunch.
At lunch I saw a salad sitting on the table. In said salad were octopus and beets. Thankfully Merche knows that I loathe beats and I had a legit reason not to eat it. The rest of lunch was great until dessert. Flan. I've tried flan many times and I've wanted to gag every single time. If you don't know what flan is you should google it. The best way to describe it would be milky pudding with carmel on it. It jiggles and breaks apart really easily. I just said, "No, thank you." I had to. I didn't want to spew in front of my grandparents!
After lunch I took a nap and skyped with Brody and Olivia. Both wonderful. I love them so much!! I wish that time stopped every time Livy and I talk because we never have enough time. I miss you, Liv. Every day. After talking to my loves, I got ready and met my friend Sara at the school. Vicky and Natalie were supposed to meet us as well but they couldn't make it, so it was just Sara and I. Sara's dad took us to her house and we watched West Side Story. This was on my "to-do list"!!!! We watched it in Spanish and I concentrated so much. Sara made popcorn. We ate two bags of it! Haha. We also had some olives and chocolate pudding. We talked during the movie and laughed and cried. It was a beautiful movie. So sad though. I want to see the show live now. After the movie Sara's dad drove me home. On the ride home we spoke and it took all I had to keep concentrating. I had the worst Spanish headache last night. It was the first time that I wanted to be able to really understand everything and had an actual conversation and it was a little painful but absolutely worth it. I had a great time last night! It just felt easy...like friendship should be. I can't wait to hang out again! I have Spanish friends everyone!
Last night I showered and talked with my mom and Brandi for a little while. We agreed to just send emails and not schedule another skype date until next Sunday. At least we're trying. It's just so easy to sing in and talk...especially when my host family is gone or we're all in our rooms. I mean the skyping is not holding me back from anything. I never choose skyping over something happening in my life here...it's just impossibly hard for me to say goodbye to my life at home. It sounds a little vain, but I like hearing that people are asking about me and they are reading my blog and they still care so much...because I still care so much. And I do have a life here, and every time something exciting happens I just want to call my parents and tell them all about it. I don't know. This will be something I just figure out as I go.
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