The Other House.

      So right now the kitchen is being redone in house in Zuasti. It just so happens that my family owns an apartment in the middle of Pamplona (wow). We're here for about three weeks while the kitchen is being finished. Now, the wifi is a little bit of a pain, but I can get it right now on the main floor, so I'm not complaining. I get in my room sometimes too! Yay. The apartment is very modern. Everything is white. There are two floors, sort of. It's a loft, I believe. It's so cool. My bed here is smaller but softer than the one in Zuasti. I think I'll sleep very well here.
     A few things about my weekend:

1. I watched the movie "Spy Game" with my host parents. We watched it in English with Spanish subtitles. I think we started the movie late because I didn't understand everything that was going on. That's not how it usually goes when I watch movies in my native language. Sometimes, when watching shows/movies in Spanish, I just sort of make something up if I didn't understand it. It works out well for me.
2. For dinner on Saturday night we ate bocadillos, which are sandwiches, and then I had my tea. Something interesting: my tea bag floated the entire time. Is this odd? I found it odd. I drink a lot of tea and the bag usually does not float.
3. Lately, I have been hooked on The Amazing Race. My friend Tessa Yoder and I want to enter when we're 21. I think we could do pretty well. Since she has been mentioning entering this show so much, I figured I should at least watch a few episodes...so I finished the  first season...tonight. Hahaha. I have a problem? Yepp. Pretty sure I do.
4. I didn't leave the house once all weekend because I was sick. Oh well. It was kind of nice to just sit and make bracelets.
5. I found Even Stevens, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and Friends on the TV here. I understand! Por fin!
6. My host family kept calling me "probrecita" all weekend, which means "poor little thing." Haha. I went through an entire roll of toilet paper that I used as tissues because I didn't have enough...ha.

     Mmmm. We just got done with dinner, so I'm sitting at the table blogging, and my host mom brings in smoothies. We've been having them a lot lately, and they're great. I love them.
     This week so far (I know it's been like two days) has been full of ups and downs.The downs are that I am sick, and that I am really missing being in the Dominican right now. It feels strange...I miss it so much. There is no way that I am missing it next year. No way. And as for the sickness, I stayed home from school today. I could not fall asleep last night until 3 am. Then today I tried to sleep but the kitchen construction was too loud. I'll sleep heavenly tonight. I went to the pharmacy to buy cld medicine and vicks. They didn't have cold medicine....?????? So I bought the vicks and it's helping. Okay I'm sick and I'm getting over it blah, blah, blah...not important. Good news: I've been accepted to the Ohio State Mount Leadership Scholars Program! I am so excited. I wanted it so badly. I can't wait to go to Ohio State. I feel like I am really going to love it there. And hey, I'll only be three hours away from home. That's nothing!
     So at the moment I'm feeling pretty good. I'm really missing my mom, but I'll get to talk to her before I know it. Ojala. Now it's time to get some rest. My passion for blogging has returned, so you'll be hearing a lot more from me! Goodnight! Besos :)

Buckeyes! Mmm.

     So yesterday, after my nap and eating lunch, I felt so much better, so I decided to make Buckeyes for my host family. It took me a long time to make them just because it's a pretty slow process if you're making them alone. I had them done in time for dinner though. We ate salad and steak and then the buckeyes! I couldn't find any aluminum foil or wax paper so I had put them directly on the plates. It turns out that this presented a little problem...they stuck. Haha. So we're scraping the buckeyes off the plate. But it's not even important now, because they loved them! Julia, my host sister, was going crazy over them. My host mom said that she wanted to take some over to the neighbors (we've been using their washer and dryer because our kitchen is being remodeled...I know that sounds a little strange...with the kitchen and laundry, but there's a separate little room...ANYWAYS...) and Julia's shock stricken face asks, "Pero, cuantos?!" Translation: But, how many?! Hahaha. It made me happy that she loves them so much. I'm going to teach her how to make them and then my family is going to teach me how to make tortilla de patata, arroz con leche, and maybe some other things.
     I woke up this morning feeling a little better, so I got ready for school and went. I missed philosophy (Coincidence? No.) to go to the police station for my student residency card. Everything went wonderfully today. The guy remembered me from last time and said, "Today, you have it." But I'm thinking, "Yeah...I should have had it two weeks ago..." Pero bueno, me da igual. Yo la tengo ahora. The rest of my day at school went pretty fast. I had to laugh in Literature when my teacher asked me what I thought of Madame Bovary...Uhmm yo ne se....lo siento. The class laughed. Works for me.
     After school, Aurora picked Julia and me up (and saved us from the rain) and we came back to the house for lunch. I felt terrible after lunch. So I came upstairs and watched Harry Potter and slept. I had set my alarm for what I thought was 5:50 pm...which should be 17:50 (because we run on the 24 hour clocks here) but my head must have really been hurting because I set it for 15:50 which is really 3:50. Needless to say, I overslept. I then called called my mom to say goodbye before the left Miami for Santo Domingo. I got to talk to my Aunt Marlene!! I was sad that I couldn't talk to everyone though...I thought their plane left two hours later and had intended on saying hello to everyone...but it didn't happen. Marlene made me cry...but she doesn't know that. I just became super emotional when I really knew that they were all together, my Dominican family. I love them all.
     I ate pizza with Alberto and Julia and then we watched Paris Hilton's "My New BFF." What a joke. It's kind of embarrassing. Reality TV. I laughed a lot though. It's just a little ridiculous. Then I showered and watched more TV. I couldn't find anything good though. I'm so happy I get to sleep in tomorrow. Besos. Goodnight!

The Plague.

     It's the third time this year that the plague has come and and swept over me. Each time bringing headaches, aching ears, and a little cough. So basically the plague comes every time I don't get enough sleep. Haha. Funny how I inflict on myself, isn't it? Anyways, I didn't feel very well this morning. Apparently I was coughing all night. So I stayed home from school today. It was my first sick day so far. I ate toast and drank tea for breakfast and headed back for bed. I didn't have too much luck sleeping, so I grabbed my pillow and blanket and headed up stairs to watch TV. I watched Family Matters, Growing Pains, Full House, and Friends, all with Spanish dubs of course. I fell asleep for an hour or two, but laid there watching the TV for about four hours. It was so nice. It's amazing what a few hours of rest can do. I feel a lot better now.
     I haven't really done a whole lot the past couple of days except go to school and meet friends and eat. Natalie came over for lunch yesterday. It was nice. We had a really interesting dish that I've never tried before. It was whit rice and then all of the following on top: tomato sauce, a dippy egg, fried plantains, and hot dogs. I really loved it. Que ricaaaa. Mmm.
     Since it's already 6 pm, I think I'm just going to change into another pair of pajamas and call it a day. Haha. It's time to work on scholarships and possibly make Buckeyes. I'm not coughing too much anymore, so I think it will be alright. Hahaha. I'll wash my hands a lot. Anyways, hasta pronto! Besos!

San Sebastian!

     Well, it's safe to say that I've had an amazing weekend. I'll start with Friday morning, which was the less than amazing part. On Friday morning I took the bus to the police station to pick up my student residency card (again) and they told that it was not there. It has been 5 weeks. I think it's a little ridiculous, but I'll be going back next week with hopes of them actually having it this time. After the police station disappointment, I headed back to school. School was pretty boring, I think. Haha. As usual. Julia and I were picked up at school by Aurora and then we came home and ate lunch. We had croquettes and chicken. Yummy! After lunch I got my things ready and relaxed. I then took the bus  into town so I could then meet Natalie and catch the next bus to Becca's house (which is Elle's old house...the one where we have all of our slumber parties). As we walked in, Becca was cutting Mitchell's hair. After the hair cut, we made chocolate chip cookies, buckeyes, and a giant potato omelet. We always eat so much at our parties. We sat around and talked and did nothing all night. It was great. The next morning, we woke up and Becca cut my hair and Natalie's hair. It's shorter than I expected, but I really love it! And the best part is that it's free. Thank you, Becca!
     All of us girls then caught the 12:15 bus and went back into Pamplona. Once in Pamplona, Elle, Natalie, Becca, and I went to El Corte Ingles and a cafe. Natalie and I left soon after to head to the school to meet my host family (they're her old family and she wanted to see them again!). We met them at Julia's basketball game and watched as the girls played a pretty nasty game of basketball. There was lots of elbow nudging and dirty glances. After the game, we drove to the gas station and ate lunch. I had a salad, paella, and fruit for dessert. We came home for about 40 minutes and got ready for San Sebastian. It was about a 45 minute drive until we were in the coastal city. The beach was beautiful, freezing, but beautiful. The town was much prettier than Pamplona, I must say. My host family used to live there when Julia and Alberto were little. We found a parking spot right by the water and then walked into town. We split up. Alberto, Enrique, and I went to the aquarium while Julia and Aurora did some shopping. The aquarium was great! I got to see a whale skeleton. That was a first. The fish were really cool too. Everyone was going crazy when they saw the clown fish saying, "Nemos! Nemos!" But it sounds like, "NAH-mos, NAH-mos." I was entertained. Once we got through the aquarium, we met up with the girls and did a little more shopping with them before heading to the car to go to dinner. We went to an amazing restaurant. I didn't take my purse in, but I wish I would have. It looked very old. It was huge, too. Sort of like a giant, amazing barn with long tables filled with fresh bread. We all ate of the same plate. They would bring the dish and just set it in the middle and you dug in. The food was amazing. We had tortilla de patata, steak, fish, bread, and the cheese and fruit spread stuff for dessert. My favorite part of the dinner, however, was not the food, but the special drink. It's only made in this region of Spain, I believe. It's fermented apples (a certain kind, not normal apples) and grapes. You had your glass and then you go into this huge room filled with larger than life barrels, turned on their sides, of this drink. There was a guy working the tap and you just put your glass under it. My host parents told me to be careful because it's so fresh. You don't realize how little can make you feel, you know....Anyways...the drink was delicious!! My host brother kept trying to get all that he could. Haha. He was yelled at a few times last night...haha.
     After our amazing dinner we headed home. We were home around 11. That's pretty early for here. I was so exhausted. I was on my computer for a bit and then I fell asleep right away. I didn't wake up until 10:30 this morning. This morning I got my breakfast and relaxed. I just finished eating lunch with my family and another. It was great. We had pasta with tomato sauce, some kind of delicious meat, cooked apples, and then we're going to have dessert all together in a little while. I love my life here. My family is absolutely incredible and I feel as though my Spanish is improving greatly here because they talk to me so much. They want to now about my life, and I tell them. I chime in about little things and start more conversations. I'm having the time of my life learning a new language and culture and making more friends and family than a girl could ever ask for. I'm so happy that I am here. I'm so happy that I took this leap of faith. I'm so happy that the sun is shining today.

Correr?!

     What a great day. I'm happy, that ever since I decided that Thursday is my favorite day of the week, that it's held to be true consistently. I just love them. School today went so fast because it's the best combination of classes, in my opinion. I had to read again in Literature, which is always dreadful because the vocabulary is atrocious. I sound horrible. I get super nervous and then begin to go short of breath and stammer. Can you imagine listening to this? Ugh. I am in self loathing for those 5-10 minutes of personal torture. But other than that, the school say went really well!
     After school I caught the bus, alone today. Julia and Alberto had school until this evening. Once I arrived home I saw the two construction workers slaving away at the front of the house. The kitchen is being extended and a lot of remodeling is being done right now. It's quite a little mess. I, once again, could not open the freaking door, so one of the workers helped me out. I made sure to observe carefully this time. It looked as though he pulled on the door knob and then turned the key. For lunch, Enrique, Aurora, and I had pumpkin soup, dippy eggs, corn on the cob, yogurt with honey, and wine. I told them that I absolutely love dippy eggs...that I make them for breakfast all the time at home. They were surprised to hear that for some reason.
     Having finished lunch, I headed upstairs to skype with my parents (I am skyping much less now, by the way...my life is becoming so much busier). I was complaining that I was tired so my dad told me that I needed to go run. I obeyed. I put on my tennis shoes for the second time in four months and then I was on my way. I ran and walked...I'll be honest. I like running for the first five minutes or so...and then I feel like it is just pure torture. But I'll do it anyways. My dad said that I have to run at least three times a week or else it does nothing. *Groan.* But oh well. I did feel much better afterwards. Yay. After my run I showered, then got on the bus to Pamplona, shopped for ingredients for Buckeyes (powdered sugar and peanut butter are SOOO expensive here), and then finally went to theatre. I had a really great time. It was nice to actually be able to talk to people. At school it's kind of difficult. I then took the bus home and had dinner with my family. We had salad and quiche, then had turron for dessert. After dinner we all watched a Spanish sitcom together. It's pretty funny.
     A few random things:
1. We eat melon and dip it in milk chocolate. Yum.
2. We have cheese with this strawberry jam-like stuff and walnuts for dessert. Also yum.
3. Aurora is always telling Julia and Alberto the proper ways to eat and stuff...I'm tuning in.
4. I love my family here. I don't want to leave :( and it's not even been two weeks.
5. In English class, they're learning about tenses that I didn't know existed. It called the future, but we've been dealing with the past. I'm not so sure if that makes any sense. Just saying.
6. I met a girl from Estonia (near Russia and Finland) at a cafe yesterday. She's living with a family here and teaching their son English. She found me on facebook. How cool is that?! She's great!! So sweet and fun to talk to. I think we'll be great friends.
7. I'm exhausted and I neeeeed sleep.
8. Nighty night everyone!

"You Don't Understand."

      So I have this teacher, right? And there's only one word that really sums up her essence. A word I would rather not share on the world wide web. Anyways, this teacher of mine...So she had Tabea and I do an assignment for her over the weekend and turn it in to her yesterday, personally, in the department of humanities on the day we don't even have her class. That is how important this paper is. So yesterday we go to the office and hand her our papers. She thanks us and we head out. We were just about to clear the door when she stopped us. At first we thought she just wanted to talk to us about the subject (Descartes). Fine. So we go to her. Then it happens, and at this point I bite down on my tongue. She pulls out a pair of scissors and motions for us to cut the fringe off of our papers. Presentation is key. Muy importante. Es mejor, no? Oh my gosh. I almost died. I burst into laughter as soon as we were out of sight. This lady is a crazy. Her expression was filled with an evil smirk. I believe she feeds off our pain.
     Today, we actually have philosophy class. She calls me Alice and hands me my paper. Alex is a Spanish name also, but it's mainly for boys. I know she knows how to pronounce it. Oh well, I don't even know her name, but I think you all know how I refer to her. Anyways. I get my paper back. She is one of those red pen happy teachers. Needless to say it looked like the pen exploded onto my fringeless paper. At the bottom of the page she had 3 points (they were numbered and everything). She basically told me three times that I had 1. not understood the assignment and 2. just did not understand the material. She actually crossed out an entire paragraph of my essay. On Tabea's paper she told her that her paper had a very bad presentation (as in appearance, because that's what's important...), that the translation was bad, and that she also did not understand. All I could do was laugh. She said nothing about a good effort to right a philosophy paper in Spanish and do it in a weekend and cut off fringe or anything. Lady, I don't care if you give me a negative ten, as long as I learn Spanish. Dios mio.
     On the other hand, I have good news about other exams. I received my history of art and literature tests back this week. On the art test I got a "B" for "Bien!" hahahaha. I'm so happy! They don't have letter grade here and they don't even know their significance, but I thought it was ironic. My literature teacher didn't give me a grade, but she went through my two pages and corrected all the mistakes in the language that I had made. I thanked her after class. It's so helpful. She understands. I'm thankful for her. Plus, I'm really understanding the new book that we started today in there: Madame Bovary.
      Enough about school...I was basically there all day and I don't want to think about it any longer. I ate lunch there with Natalie and then we went to the nearest Eroski where I bought nail polish remover, chocolate for baking, H&S Shampoo, and Herbal Essences Conditioner! Yay. After school, Tabea and I walked to Athena's where she and Dara were just hanging out. I ate a bowl of Nougat Pillows (I was starting to have withdrawals). The we all put on facial masks that Athena's mom sent her. Dara, Athena, and I used the chocolate mud mask and Tabs used this cloth thing that made her look like Mrs. Doubtfire. Creepy. Awe, I love that movie.
       I walked to the school and went home with my host family at 8. We came home and ate dinner. Tonight we had a tomato and cucumber salad and this amazing fish that our maid, Milena, made. It was delicious. Oh, and I had wine with dinner. I love my life. It was good wine, too. Yum. For dessert we had turron, and then yogurt with honey. Aurora, Julia, and I eat yogurt with honey almost every night. It's so good.  After dinner I showered (and used my new shampoo and conditioner!!) and then painted my nails and watched Friends. Now, here I am. Exhausted. It's been a pretty good day considering that it's Tuesday. Now it's definitely time for bed. Goodnight everyone!!! Besos!!!

It's Been Far Too Long.

     I can't believe that I haven't blogged since Wednesday. The time is really starting to fly by...I want this blog to be filled with all the little details so that I don't forget them and give everyone who reads this an idea of what my life here is really like. Lately, I've been pretty tired. I'm still getting used to this bed and it will take awhile longer before it becomes "mine." I had the same issue with my first bed here. I miss my super soft mattress. So much. Anyways, back on track...I suppose I'll start with Thursday.
     To be honest, I don't remember what I really did. Haha. I went to school for sure and ate lunch...I remember being really tired. Then I got a really bad headache. So I showered and tried to sleep but it didn't work out too well. Haha. Then I think we had lamb for dinner. The lamb was amazing. I loved it. My host mom told me that they love it, but it's a little different, so that if I didn't like I should just tell her and she would make me something else. It was so sweet. We also ate cucumbers with vinegar. Yummy. I told them that we eat it too and we add onions. Cucs and Onions. That's what my family always calls it. Haha.
     On Friday I woke up more willingly than all the other days this week knowing that the weekend was ahead of me. Friday evening I went to the usual cafe and met Elle and Becca there. We caught up on how our lives are in our new host families. It was so nice. After the cafe we were walking around in the center of the city and we stopped to listen to the musicians. They have a cello, a bass, and a violin and their music is gorgeous. While listening, I feel a tap on my shoulder and realize that it's Merche! I was so happy to see her. She told me that she was heading home, but there was a letter there for me and I could come over and get it. I told her I would be over shortly. Becca and Elle walked to my old home with me and stayed fora few minutes before having to make the walk to their bus stops. I stayed a few minutes later and just talked to Merche and caught up. It feels so nice. I'm so happy that I can still see her often and visit my first home here. I had to leave Merche's around 9:20 to be at the school at 9:30 to be picked up by Aurora. I met her and Julia there and we left for home. Once I was home, I walked up the stairs to my bedroom and I heard my host dad singing "Beggin'" by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons and I commented. A few minutes he called me into his office (he works from home) and told me that we're singing karaoke. My first thoughts were, "It's too soon to be singing in front of them....and I told them I love to sing...so what if they think I'm bad?" Hahaha. But I put those thoughts aside and just went with it. It was so much fun!!! We sang songs from The Beatles, Mamma Mia, The Sound of Music, and a few others. He told me that I sing really well and it made me happy. After the singing we went downstairs and ate pasta for dinner.
     Yesterday was pretty uneventful, so I won't bore you with the details. I woke up and went to lunch in the afternoon and relaxed the rest of the evening. I took the 9 pm bus into the city and then another bus to Natalie's new house. I ate dinner with them. We had four different kinds of pizza. Yuuummm. After dinner, Natalie and I went to her room to get ready and then we waited until her host mom's friend was ready to give us a ride into the city. She dropped us off in San Juan (where all the discotecas are). We met Elle, Becca, Mitch, and Tabea at the club, Boca Boca. It was free! The music was alright, but I do prefer Merengo. Natalie and I left around 3 am and caught the bus back to her house where we slept for a few hours. I had to wake up around 9:45 this morning to catch the bus back into Pamplona so I could then from there, take the bus to Zuasti.
     When I got home this morning, I had troubles with the key, once again, and Alberto let me in. Haha. I feel so dumb when I can get it to open. I then headed immediately for the shower. The good thing is that there is now a smoking ban in all public places in Spain. It's wonderful. Sometimes it takes a couple of washed to get the smell out of my hair. After my shower I came in my room and slept until we went to the club for lunch (which is right next to our house). I had eggs with these stringy potato chip things and ham. I know it sounds weird, but it was amazing. I love my dippy eggs. Oh my gosh. It was great. After lunch I watched Moulin Rouge and Friends. I haven't done much. I'm still exhausted since I only got about four hours of sleep.
     Now it's time to do some dreaded philosophy homework (my teacher is crazy...Tabea and I don't have her for class tomorrow but she insists that we bring her a paper on Descartes down to her office in the morning....I'VE BEEN ACCEPTED TO COLLEGE LADY....don't waste your energy) She talkes down to us in front of the whole class and I don't appreciate. Not one bit. I also need to start working on more scholarships. I have plenty of time to do them...it's just taking the initiate now. I hope everyone had a great weekend. Enjoy your evening America! Besos!