Perfection.

     At this moment in my life I can't help but think, "is this what perfect feels like?" The only way my life could get better is if someone offered me and Emily camel rides for tomorrow. Other than that, I feel like this is the life. This is what I signed up for. This is what I signed for with BLUE INK on four different applications, endless papers, and visas forms. After everything I have been through, I can say it was more than worth it. I feel so happy I could cry. So would you all like to know why I am so happy? Well I'm going to tell you anyways. (Isn't this fun? I can do whatever I want on my own website)
     Since I last wrote I found out that I finished school today. So I am officially done with high school forever. It's fabulous because I now have the rest of the month to hang out with my friends and do what I want. It was a surprise to me though. I thought I had to go until May 26th. YAY. I'm so happy that I'm finally done.
     My friends finally came home from London and I waited at the bus station for them and ran and hugged them. I was so happy that they were FINALLY home. 12 days is a long time. I'm so happy that the whole group is back together. That same day I got my Easter package from my mom which included socks, Easter candy, a spoon bracelet, and buttons. I then made 4 button bracelets later that night.
     On Saturday we had a Rotary District Conference in San Sebastian. We went to this gorgeous mountain top/seaside hotel and mingled and ate pintxos until we had to speak a little bit about ourselves in our smashing Rotary Blazers filled with pics from all of the world. I love them. After the conference we went to a Sidraria, which is a big restaurant with giant barrels of hard cider with long tables. The Rotary members kept telling us to have more sidra, so that we did. Lunch was a lot of fun. After lunch we went on a walk through San Sebastian and met up with our friend Andrew who lives there before getting on the bus and heading home. On the bus rides there and back we played "Who's who" by placing each of us in famous characters in pop-culture. We like talking about ourselves....That night I went home to an empty house so I showered and then got a call from my host family asking if I was hungry. They brought me home an entire meal from McDonald's. It was the first time I've had anything from there in months. And it tasted pretty alright :)
     Since Sunday was Mother's Day I spent it at home with my family. We went on a two hour bike ride with my host aunt and uncle's family. We rode to the park and sat and talked there for awhile. Once we were home I gave Nuria, my host mom, the card, lotion, and button bracelet I made for her. That night our power went out that night for a minute and then came back on in every room except for my host parents' so Nuria asked if she could bring the sewing machine in my room and sew there since there was a light. Of course I said of course and she sewed sheets and pants while I wrote in my journal. It was so nice because we just talked the whole time. She then noticed my colossal collection of jewelry and got excited. She said that she also had a lot and she brought all of it in my room to show me! She ended up giving me two rings and a bracelet. (The other day I was doing the dished after lunch and she gave me a bracelet for no reason!! So sweet!) She then asked if I could make one of her bracelets smaller, so I did. It was pretty easy. I love my host mom so much.
     Yesterday I went shopping and bought new shoes and a skirt. Today I also went shopping and bought a bathing suit. I'm done with shopping for a little while...Tonight for dinner we had this amazing squash soup with cheese and french fries in it and it was so amazing! After dinner I helped Juan Diego with studying for his tests tomorrow. At first he was really shy, but then he really opened up and we had such a fun time. He's adorable and sweet! (He's seven, by the way). After studying I washed the dishes and then my host parents came home from grocery shopping so I helped put the groceries away. And after, I knew my life was perfect. I'm not just living with this family: I am a part of this family. That's the best feeling as an exchange student. Feeling wanted and included. I feel at home here. I'm oh so happy. And now I'm oh so tired. Goodnight everyone. Besos.

SING.

     I need to sing. Really loudly. For a long time. I went to Tabs' house this evening and watched Burlesque for the second time and it left me wanting to sing at the top of my lungs. Like really sing. Belt, if you will. The good news is that tomorrow I will be able to. I found out today that I have exams tomorrow and Friday this week and then I am done with school in Spain. How's that for good news? Anyways, I'll be able to sing because I don't have to be at the school until 12:40 for my history exam, which means I have the house to myself all morning which means I can run around the apartment in my underwear and sing if I want to. We'll see. :P Haha. So, as of Friday, I am officially finished with high school forever. It won't be too hard for me to say goodbye to school here. It's difficult and boring for me, although it did provide me with a lot of journaling and reading time. And, you know, helped with my Spanish...just a little bit. Kidding. It helped incredibly. The biggest thing is that another chapter in my life will be closing. I'm actually going to college. Finally. Am I ready for this?! Gahh. But seriously, I'm really excited to go to Ohio State this year. I'm so happy with my decision. Well, that's all my news for now. Ciao!

Less Than Two Months.

     What a scary thought. I have had to change my ticket for home to July 1st instead of July 9th due to San Fermin. The Rotary does not want us to be in Pamplona for the running of the bulls this year because 1. Most families leave on vacation so we wouldn't have a place to stay and 2. It's a little dangerous. Both of these rules make sense, I just wish I would have known this back in October when I scheduled my flight back home, not to mention my excitement about being here for San Fermin. Oh well, not this year. I'll be back. That's for sure!
     So with my last two months I am going to have the absolute time of my life! I'm going to Malaga as soon as school lets out at the end of the month and then I'll return to Pamplona for my final week here before my family comes to visit. We'll then go on our vacation and I'll stay in Belgium a few days after they leave with Livy (I hope...I need to clarify this with her first!) and then I'll be back in Pamplona for one evening with my 2nd host family. Then they will take me to the airport the next day. It's a shame that I won't be with all my friends on my last night here, but I would have had to say goodbye at some point. And in the end, I wouldn't have changed a thing. We've lived a great exchange together. Even though my Spanish isn't all it could be yet, it's still pretty good, and I'm going to keep up with it. I have my life to perfect it, but I only have so much time with all of my friends here, together in our city. It's not our fault they placed us 6 Americans and 1 German with fabulous English all together! Anyways. I'm happy.
     I should also take this time to say how much I adore my new host family. I've only been here a week and I've adjusted almost completely. It just keeps getting easier. I swear. My host mom is such a fabulous cook, I can't get over it. I enjoy everything we eat. I love all of the Ecuadorian food. I'm so happy that I'm in my ninth month and I'm still trying new things. How great is this? Other great things about my day:

1. My 7 year old host brother told me that he wants to be an astronaut when he grows up.
2. I found out that I don't have to go to school on Monday and Tuesday next week. Woo!
3. Talking to Tess on facebook made me really happy. I laughed a lot.
4. I went to the supermarket across from my building to get some flour for my host mom and found it to be amazing. I'll be going back there in the near future. I mean they had every type of Milka chocolate bar that they make. My favorite it Choco Swing! And they have it!
5. . . . I get excited way too easily.
6. This isn't about my day, but I finished The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo yesterday and it was fantastic. I highly recommend it if you're looking for a new book to read. It's one of those that gets your heart pounding and you literally cannot put down the book or you will have serious issues...those are truly the best.

     It's time for me to get some rest. Mitchell, Elle, and Natalie come home from London tomorrow after two weeks. I can't wait to see them. I've missed them so much. Besos. Ciao moo cow. (I made that up last night....can I say that?)

Change, the Future, and Growing Up.

      It seems as though within the last week there has been so much talk about the future. There are weddings, college decision making, and ends of school years, graduations, and the end of exchanges. I can't help but be completely freaked out at by whatever the future has in store for me. Now is the time. My exchange is nearly over and I'll have to say goodbye to my life here and jump right back into my other life, back in Ohio. And it's not even that I'm not looking forward to going home, because when I get to see everyone again, hug my grandparents, play with my dog, sleep in my own bed, drive my car, and sing at the top of my lungs without a single care in the world, I will be ecstatic. I think I am just living in so much fear at the moment, which isn't usually my style. It's almost as though I am afraid of the fear that I am experiencing in my life. I am so afraid to say goodbye to my six amazing best friends here in Pamplona. I know we'll all be together again, but when? I am so afraid to choose a major and answer people when they ask me what my goals are. What I want "to be." At this moment in my life the best response I can provide them with is, "Well I want to see the world. I want to understand other cultures, other ways of life, and embrace the moment and use my knowledge and experience to help others in need." Okay. So I have that. But where does that lead me? To extremely expensive plane tickets and weeks off from school/work? But then I think, well I want a family. I want a family just as badly. Is there a happy medium? When someone hands you the map of your life, which direction do you choose? What if I want to go Northeast and Southwest at the same time?
     I really thought that this year would give me the time to think and I would have my life plans all figured out by now. Who was I kidding? I have had all the time in the world to think, but this has just made me expand my horizons even wider and think of all the other possibilities. I don't know why I am freaking out so much. But I had to get this out of my system. It feels good to release all this fear and just embrace the moment. I'll make the critical decisions as they come up in my life. All I know is that right now my map is pointing to Pamplona for an evening with three of my best friends.

My Third and Final Home in Spain.

     On Monday I switched host families for the second and final time. This is now the third family I will have lived with for my year here. It was pretty hard to say goodbye to my last family because we were so close, but I came in with a positive frame of mind. It took awhile for Enrique to find my new house in Rochapea. Apparently the streets are really confusing here. Once we finally found the house, my new family helped me move my things into the room and I said goodbye to Aurora and Enrique. I  got a little teary eyed...which means I actually cried. Haha. I just really love them! Once I got into my new room I started unpacking. I spent the next two hours unpacking. I have a lot of stuff. Two suitcases, a carryon, and a backpack. But it is a whole year, so whatever.

     Now that I've had a few days here I can tell that I am really going to love it here. My room is really cute. It's the perfect size and I think it's my favorite room yet. I feel really at home here already. I have a host mother and father and two younger brothers. They also have a daughter in France right now. They are all so nice! They are really laid back and they keep telling me to make myself at home. It's so nice! Also, the food here is incredible. My family (host family) is from Ecuador so it's a combination of Latino and Spanish food. I have had lots of yummy soups and the best part: tostones. Fried plantains. My favorite food from the Dominican Republic!! They are so amazing. My host mom is such a fabulous cook. Also, I live close enough to the city that I can walk or take the bus. It's ideal. I'm so happy. I've had a really great transition into this family. I feel so lucky to have had the great host families that I have so far. It's been incredible.

FRANCIA!

      This past Thursday through Sunday I was in France. I went to France! For the first time in my life. I have now been to Spain (duhh), Portugal, Belgium, and France. I like traveling. It's my hobby. So. France. I went with my second host family and another family. The other family has a daughter (17) and two younger sons. On the way to France we stopped at the milk factory that the dad of the other family works at. The parents all marveled and I couldn't help but think, "it's just milk..." But it was fun anyways! I just thought it was funny at how amused they were by the production and packaging of milk. After the factory tour we headed to Lourdes. There were appearances of Our Lady of Lourdes in the mid 1800s so it's very famous and very beautiful. After our quick visit of the small city we headed to our destination: Cauterets. A small skiing town nestled in the Pyrenees Mountains. The town itself was so cute and beautiful.
     We went skiing on Friday and Sunday. The conditions were not very good since it was so warm. Frankly, I was afraid of falling off the mountain and plummeting to my death on more than one occasion, and I'm a good skier...I promise. I did have fun though. It felt great to feel so free. And the views were absolutely breath taking. We were literally on the top of a mountain in the South of France in the end of April.
     On Saturday we couldn't ski because it was raining, so we went to a spa instead. What a relief because my entire body was sore from the day before...plus the bed was hard as a rock and I didn't get much sleep. At the spa we got to go in the two heated pools. The pools had jets everywhere and they were like luke warm hot tubs. One was outside and one was inside. It was amazing. There would be chairs in the pools with jets everywhere. It was so relaxing! And then we went to the saunas. It was a really perfect day.

     While in France I also went ice skating and watched a lot of movies with Julia and Nora on my computer. That was fun. I had to translate some things and it made me feel happier about my Spanish abilities :) I had a good time in France, but was homesick for Pamplona, my exchangers, and my family back home. I was happy to come home again.

RIP Akeelah.

      It was a Wednesday evening in Zuasti. I had the house to myself and my bedroom window was open...I went to the bathroom and came back to Akeelah. Akeelah the bee. I named him this of course (you've all heard of Akeelah and the Bee? The movie?) Anyways...he would crawl on the floor and I would be behind him with my shoe and get all freaked out because what if I missed and made him angry for my attempt to end his life and then he stung me? I'm terrified of bees...So I just let him do his thing while I do mine and he sort of just buzzes around the room for awhile before settling in on the curtains. At this point he won the battle for the room. I let the window open and then turned off the light and shut my door in hopes that he would fly out and leave me in peace. I checked back a few times and he was still there. So then I call Brandi and ask her to help me decide what to do. She gives me suggestions but I brush them off because I don't think any of them will work and then she says, "Alex. Just let it go." Then a smile spreads across my face. "Just let it beeeeee!" Then I begin to sing my version of "Let It Bee" to my sister. I laughed. She didn't. To add to the puns, Akeelah, and I swear this is true, started to rock his but from one side to the other. The bee dance? Perhaps. He's a Bee-Gee!!! HAHAHAHAHA! Okay, back tot he story...I then went downstairs to eat dinner and I came back and Akeelah was not there. I did a thorough search of my room and could not find him. I told Aurora about all of this nonsense and she said that he must have flown out the window, for sure...because bees make a lot of noise. I kind of doubted this because Akeelah is a special bee. He's quiet and minds his own business, but he looks like he could take on a fella. So I checked my bed for the third time and then shut my window and my door before going to sleep. The next morning I wake up and go to my bathroom, which is right across from bedroom. I see Akeelah lying on the ground in front of my bathroom door dead as a doornail. I spared his life for him to just give up and keel over in my bathroom? The poor thing. Pobrecito. I hope he lived a good life. Rest in peace, little man. It was nice while it lasted.