Ocho Semanas Aqui

8 weeks today.

For an anniversary present, I gave myself the gift of not getting in the pool for swimming class on Tuesday. That was one of the best decisions of my life, let me tell you.

Tomorrow starts my four day weekend because of some Catholic holiday I’m unsure of, but thankful for. Speaking of thankful, it’s going to be quite strange going to school on Thanksgiving. I’m contemplating giving myself the day off.

Next week I have 5 exams that I know of. Today, I had an exam in history which went okay. By the time I translated the page of text I had to explain I had used up 75% of the class time and was forced to a quick response. However, I only needed my Spanish to English dictionary twice during my response, so therefore I say that the exam was a success.

My host dad has given me a list of verbs to learn and it’s going well. I feel like I’m so close to understanding, but then somedays I’m so lost. I’m hopeful though. The future looks bright. Especially the 16 day break I have for Christmas.

Friends are all too well, and the main reason I’m actually learning Spanish. They are a big help and such great friends in such a short amount of time. I want to bring them back to Pennsylvania with me.

A picture to better explain our love for each other:

Last Night

Last night was the perfect reminder of why I’m here.

Last night I saw Madrid as the incredibly beautiful city it is.

Last night was perfection.

Blanca and I went to the “Ayuntamiento” or town hall of Madrid. There, there is a terrace about 6 stories up overlooking the city of Madrid. We went around 7 p.m. when the sun was beginning to set and I’ve never seen a more beautiful view of a city before.  Absolutely incredible.

After that, we went to an Arabian bar. No worries, parents and other concerned adults, no alcohol was involved. Just an amazing non-alcoholic piña colada. At the bar, it’s completely normal to see people smoking out of *hookahs filled with water, tobacco, and different flavoring. Quite the interesting experience. I’ll post pictures.

Post Arabian bar, we went to the most amazing Japanese restaurant and had dinner.

It was a very well spent Friday.

Day 49: The Adventures of my 49th Day

Happy 49th day in Spain to me!

Today, like every other day, I had school. Cool.  And swimming. Even cooler. And it was before lunch. And I didn’t have lunch until 3.  And basically I felt like I was going to pass out. But I got some lentils & a peanut butter and banana sandwhich in me now, so it’s all good. Just wanted to let you all now how much I hate swimming class again.

Turns out all the little kids I teach english to, actually think my name is “Elephant”. Two of my friends and I were walking around the school earlier, when one of the little kids waved at me, and I said oh look my friends! So we went ot talk to them, and my one friend asked alittle girl what my name was, to which she replied, “Elephant”. I told them it was Emily, but as I walked away they yelled, “BYE ELEPHANT”. So that was a confidence booster.

Lastly, I was listening to Taylor Swift’s new kick ass album on the way to school this morning when the song “22” came on. One line in the song says, “We’re happy, free, confused, and lonely at the same time in the best way, it’s miserable and magical”, Which is exactly my life right now.  Everything’s a mess, but in the best way possible. Taylor Swift knows my life better than I do.

Some of you may be asking if I really just did that, and I’m sure my brother will probably disown me, but hey, at least I’ve always got Taylor… and yes, yes I did.

 

Domingo

I think one of the most difficult things about being here is that I’m not sure how long I have to work at this until things start to make sense. When will I be able to just sit in class and understand? People say Christmas, but I think it’s different for everyone. Each exchange student left the U.S. with a different level of the language they’re studying.

Every morning I wake up and have to program myself to start translating the minute I walk out of my bedroom, because my host parents are there asking me how I slept, or telling me what we are doing for the day. Honestly, if I knew the language better things would be perfect. Life would be so much easier right now.

Another thing that bothers me is that some people think they understand what this is like. They tell me to try harder or that I’m not doing my best. 95% of the day my brain is working, learning Spanish, studying, talking with my family… in Spanish, and those are the things I don’t get credit for.

However, no matter how difficult it is to understand, or how much time I spend lost in translation, I’m so happy. I really am. Sure it’s a challenge, but I know the outcome can only be good. I can see the greatness of this already, and that’s what keeps me going.

Shoutout to Libby

Scratch the whole “my host family has 3 houses” thing. I’ve discovered there’s a fourth. On an island. In between Spain and Italy. I’m in love. They say we can go visit it in summer because in winter it’s boring. I don’t know about you, but I’m from Lansdale… an island off the coast of Spain isn’t boring, any time of the year.

Can I just say again, that time is FLYING here. I’ve been here for almost 7 weeks. What? I’m over one-sixth of the way through my life here already. Crazy.

Yesterday, I had the most amazing Mexican food in a restaurant called Sí Señor’s.

Tonight, I will party.

Tomorrow is my 47th day here.

Lastly, Shoutout to Libby Miller because she asked me too. Because she’s an amazing person, and most likely kicked a** at leagues yesterday for cross country. Miss ya Libbs! Run fast at districts next week!

Also to my dog Annie, because it was her birthday on Thursday, and because she’s super cute.

 

How to Successfully Fail Your First Exam as an Exchange Student

Today was my first real exam, and it was for history. No multiple choice questions, everything had to be explained, and of course it was in Spanish. I attempted studying last night with hopes of being able to successfully answer a question or two… What a joke. I was allowed to use my Spanish to English dictionary, but there was no way I was able to explain or define vocabulary terms that I’m pretty sure I’ve never even heard of before today. So after the first question, I wrote, “no entiendo nada”, which translates to “I don’t understand anything”, and handed it in. So I’m thinking I got an A.
Here’s a picture that basically explains how I feel while trying to study:

One of Them

Today while walking home from school, I saw a girl that had hair blonder than mine and skin that was whiter than snow. At first glance I though to myself “she’s so not Spanish…”, and then I realized that that’s what every person I see on the street thinks when they see me. That is exactly what I look like to all the natives. I’m becoming “one of them”. What a Spanish moment.

Todo es Bueno

Earlier today I was thinking back to the morning I left. When I was sitting in my house with my family, when this life I’m living now was a complete mystery. The only thing that I knew was ahead of me was the names and faces of the people greeting me at the gate of the airport. Nothing more. I was thinking about when I was in the airplane, and I awoke with an incredibly stiff neck to the pilot announcing that we had arrived in Spain. Looking down and thinking “this is home now”. Now it really is starting to feel like home. Everthing isn’t do foreign and I’ve become used to being completely lost at times. Todo es bueno.

Friday morning I left for the mountains with my host family to get away from the city. It was the most beautiful thing I have ever experienced. I remember flying into Spain over the mountains and thinking how amazing it looked, but nothing compares to being on the ground surrounded by the mountains and rivers and the perfect amount of incredibly nice people. I’m tempted to say that I like the mountains more than the city, but I can’t admit that to myself because that’s only one weekend here and there, and the city is my life. I don’t understand why the people are so nice here. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love it and I wish it was like this in PA, but it’s so foreign. Whenever I meet someone new, they’re so open to getting to know me, and showing me around. I met the cutest 94 year old in the world, who sold apples on the side of the road that somehow my host parents knew. They know everyone, and before I knew it, I was in this lady’s garage where her son was showing me his old cars, and how he repaired them. Everyone is so welcoming. It’s too great. I’ll include pictures so you too can witness the beauty of the “montañas”.

Today for example: I went to a wedding. It was the second best wedding I’ve ever been to, but then again I’ve only been to 2 weddings and the other one was my father’s so, needless to say it was a pretty great wedding. The only people I knew there when I arrived was my host family, but when I left, I felt like had known half the people for years. They have that affect on you. This wedding was no typical Spanish wedding. It was in a “camp” type of place and the ceremony was very quick. It was quite casual, and after the ceremony we had some typical Spanish food, the ran with bulls. Yes, bulls. Well, I didn’t run with them, but anyone that wanted to could. I, however, wanted to keep my life and therefore watched others run around the ring and get trampled by baby bulls. Post baby bull fights, we danced. And I do not use the word “dance” lightly because let’s be real. Dancing is a cardio worout for these people. It was probaby the most fun I’ve had since I’ve been here, and I will include pictures of this as well, but not the embarrassing ones of course.

However tomorrow is school. No quiero ir a la escuela mañana. But it’s all alright. And now, pictures, sorry for the repeats, I’ll eventually fix it, but for now, I sleep.

In the News

For those who are interested in reading more about my adventures abroad, here’s a link to my high school’s online news where they posted an interview that took place through email! The girl who wrote it was the exchane student to France last year, and included are also interviews with the 3 other exchange students in Europe. I’m the second one from the top : )

http://www.knightcrier.org/student-life/2012/10/10/north-penn-abroad-nphs-exchange-students-share-experiences-overseas/

Tengo Muy Simpatica Amigas

Today I left school early because I only had two classes left but would be at school for another 4 hours and as you can probably tell by my last post, I’m not in the learning mood. However, if I was still at school right now I would have a break. I was in my room just now when two friends came to visit me during their break. That just made my day. The people here are ridiculously nice.