Holidays Abroad. Christmas in Spain.

So I guess today is like, Christmas, or something. I’m just putting this out there: the holidays are impossible without family by your side.

Because the economy is so bad in Spain right now, and the country is considered to be in “a crisis”, I’ve been hearing a lot about how sad this holiday season will be, and it’s an eye opener about how materialized this world is. When did the happiness of the holidays become dependant solely on what presents you will be recieving or how much you can afford. Sure, I like presents on Christmas, and when I get something good, I’m not going to be depressed about it, but a holiday without them wouldn’t make me sad.

With that being said, my Christmas package is stuck in customs and I’m kinda wanting it right now. Here’s why: there’s this little thing called customs, previously mentioned, which everyone knows, and hates. I understand the reasoning for it, but you know, just give me my presents. If a package is valued by the sender at over 150 euros, the package must be sent with reciepts of the purchases inside. This is because the sender also has to pay tax for these items in the country it’s being sent to. My dad, without knowing this, proceeded to mark my package valued at $200, which converts into 151.77 euros. ONE DOLLAR AND SEVENTY SEVEN CENTS OVER. Excuse me while I smash my head through the wall. Let me quickly note that this is no ones fault and thanks Dad for the package. (He feels a little bad about this, so ya know, just clearing things up.) It will be all the more exciting when I get it…… I guess.

This past weekend was spent in Toledo, and I will upload the pictures in the near future but I’m not really feeling it right now. I had a good time, and was able to go inside the cathedral there as well as see a view of the city from inside the bell tower. A weekend well spent.

I’m currently missing my host sister like crazy, who is in the U.S. until the 30th. I skyped with her earlier today and she told me that the way people celebrate holidays in Spain is “una mierda” or “a shit” compared to the way they are celebrated in America. Amen to that, sister.

I’ve spent about 60% of my day skyping with my family. My mom. My mom and my brother. My dad and my brother. My dad and my stepmom. My stepmom and stepsister. My stepsister. My stepmom and my brother. And now, I’m waiting to see my whole family… grandparents, uncles, cousins, and all.

My dad said he can “kind of” give me one of my presents later. So I peed when I heard that. Super pumped. My mom is sending back my gifts with my host sister, and I tried to get her to open one for me while skyping because I don’t want to wait, but she wouldn’t break.

I sound like a materialized piece of society, but this is different.

Okay, not really.

Well, that about sums up my feelings and random pieces of my life. Feliz Navidad, Merry Christmas, happy holidays to all. Hope you’re all enjoying today. Give someone a Christmas hug.

Only 6 days left of 2012, spend ’em right.

Later.

Happy Sunday

Nine days until Christmas and I still have yet to see a Christmas tree.

1/3

Por fin, Viernes.

Today started with an exam in technical drawing, which was the first one I actually felt confident in, and knew how to do the drawings. I got done with three problems, when I heard a firetruck. However, that firetruck wasn’t a firetruck, it was the fire alarm for a drill. My fellow students and I began to encourage our teacher to let us stay and finish the exam, but we had no choice except to exit the classroom, and stand in the patio. Obvioulsy every single student was asking questions about the exam and getting answers, figuring we would have around 5 minutes to scribble up the last drawings, but when we returned to the classroom, my teacher proceeded to collect them all. I was actually pretty bummed. I wanted to finish. I’m unsure of how it will be graded now, but hopefully my teacher won’t realize that I didn’t know the definitions and just figures I didn’t have time to finish it.

I could write a whole book about history today, but I’m going to try to sum it up into one paragraph. As previously said, everyone loves to mess with my history teacher, Emilio. When the bell rings they just stand outside of the classroom and wait for him to call everyone in. Then they stand around in the classroom and chat, walk around, get their books, etc. etc. Well, today Emilio reacted. He stood at the front of the classroom for awihle, probably with hopes that the students would settle into their places without him having to say anything. The way he reacted today was a way I’ve never seen a teacher react before. Screaming, throwing kids out of the classroom, and making them recite chapters of the book were a few methods of punishment. There’s one kid in particular who literally does whatever he wants, regardess of how much trouble it gets him in. I will admit that sometimes this can be funny, but today, I was scared for his life. As he stood outside of the classroom, he began to draw pictures of smiley faces and other things on the window using his breath from the cold. For the sake of his well-being, I’m so glad my teacher didn’t see that. I honestly think it would have been his last time seeing the daylight.

Some super clever kids at school realized that my last name rhymes with “hamburger” as well has “cheeseburger”, so that’s a thing now. Kinda wishing it wasn’t. They think they’re really cool, but I’ve been hearing that all my life; I’m not impressed.

However, I’m happy. I’ve hit day 101 today. It’s friday and I get to see my dad in 76 days; also my mom and brother in 94 days.

As a wise, talented, music artist once said, “Cheers to the freakin’ weekend”.

Tomorrow we head to Leganes for Christmas decorating and Blanca’s birthday fiesta.

Also, I realized the other days that the only christmas song I’ve heard this season was “Jingle Bells”… by a man playing the accordion, and half a second of “Jingle Bell Rock” on a commercial.

One week until Christmas break.

 

Area of Improvement: Accent

Just a quick little side note:

This morning me and my parents went out to see some cool buildings (opera house,  palace, etc.) which were amazing and will be included through pictures in this post. Anyway, early today, I was out and about taking pictures when I saw a family trying to get a shot for what seemed to be Christmas card, considering not one of them was without a santa hat. I asked if they wanted me to take a picture for them, to which they replied yes, but they said it in english. So I guess it’s really obvious that I’m just a straight up foreigner, and that I need to work on the whole accent thing, but hey, they understood me, and that’s the important part.

November 24th: Almagro

Tres Meses

What a week so far.

And by that I mean December sucks.

Let’s start with Monday.

It started in the cafeteria when I was called a “Puta Americana” or American bitch, by a boy I had never met before.

We were sitting next to each other, by order of the teachers, and it all started when I could see him intensely staring at me from his seat. I looked at him, and he looked away. About 2 seconds later, the same thing happened, only this time when I looked at him, no mean looks might I add, he just stared back. 30 seconds later he looked away, but this time leaned over to his friends and told him I was a bitch. Well hey, I was just doing the same exact thing he was, so I guess that makes him a bitch too, right?

Later in the day, I went to track, hoping to run away my anger. It was a 30 minute run and once again, I was placed with the marathon runners. Once again, I was lost. My 30 minute run turned into an 1:07 minute run, and the stopwatch on my watch can prove it. However, that also includes the time I stopped to look in the pet store windown to see some cute bunnies and kittens. I was running with the group and slowly lost them resulting in me, in a place I don’t know, on a path I don’t know, at the place in the path where it forks 9835102398510 different ways. I chose one random way, hoping it would lead me the right way, but it didn’t. I walked for a while trying to look for the big, illuminated church next to the facility, but nothing was all I could see. I finally came across a policer officer and proceeded to ask him where I was and how to get back. Turns out I was on the other side of town. Thankfully the path back was completely straight, but that was honestly quite scary. I didn’t have my phone, nor did I know how to trace my way back considering many turns were taken. When I returned I took my things and left, because at that point I was pretty infuriated with the coach, considering he placed me with people I told him I couldn’t keep up with. I’m unsure of what to do, but I’ll figure it out.

Yesterday, I fell up stairs. I honestly have no idea how that happened. I was holding books in my hands, and before I knew it, I was chilling on the concrete steps at school. Thankfully, for my sake, no one saw, because I was on my way back to class before the bell rang. My knee took it pretty hard, and my back is reminding me once again of my fall back on last Monday, but whatever, I guess.

Today I don’t have school. Best thing that’s happened all week. Through talking with the other exchange students, I believe we all agree that right now is really difficult. It’s all because of the holidays, and the fact that we’re spending them without OUR families. It’s been pretty lonely lately, and at this point in the whole journey, 3 months in, it’s quite clear who my real friends are, and who couldn’t care less.

The other day while waiting at a red light on my way home from school, I looked up into the sky and saw an airplane. Even though right now it’s not how I exactly want this to be, it made me think about how in 7 months, that will be me, looking over the place I called home for the past ten months, saying goodbye to everything I fell in love with here. All the people, the school, the city, my host family. It’s weird to think about the people presently in my life right now and realizing that a lot of them, I’ll never see again.

Sometimes I think this whole thing is just one big test of how emotional you can get, and right now I’m acing it. Somedays, I don’t even know myself, either because I’m scared of how angry I am at stupid things, or because I had no idea I was that intelligent… or stupid.

I have 11 days to go Christmas shopping for about 8 people, and finish the gift for my whole family, so I can send them with Blanca when she heads to the U.S. to visit her sister for Christmas. Super jealous of that.

Siesta time.

Feliz Jueves