Halloween weekend

So as I said in my previous blog post:

Last weekend was a four day weekend. It was nice because I was able to have Halloween and the day after off which meant I could actually do something and not have to worry about having school the next day. Here's a summary of what I did on my Halloween weekend in Spain.

Friday:

Friday, my friend Maria (or Snooks as some people like to call her * cough Ben Nelson cough *) and I went out to eat at a Turkish restaurant which was surprisingly amazing. It's definitely the best restaurant food I've eaten. After that, we went back to her house and she helped me finally make a Tuenti! Tuenti is the Spanish version of Facebook, and to make one you have to be invited. I had been putting it off because I don't really enjoy talking in Spanish on Facebook, but I was convinced by Maria that it's the most efficient way to get in contact with people.

Saturday:

On Saturday I met up with my German friend Nele to go shopping in the Central. We went to many different stores that I had never heard of before, but are supposedly in the U.S. Similar to the U.S., quality depends on cost. I bought a gray sweater for only 8 euros that ripped the first time I wore it. Luckily my host mother is sewing it for me so I don't have to worry. I was planning on going out that night but the person I was supposed to get a ride with canceled which meant I had to find another way of getting there. I decided that this would be the perfect opportunity to get over my fears and try and navigate the bus by myself. I've somehow managed to avoid the bus the entire time I've been here but after being here seven weeks I've realized that I need to start putting myself in more situations where I'll have to use my Spanish. Of course, after figuring the correct bus, getting the right times for getting there and back, and finding the correct bus stop, the bus never showed up. I would've been more disappointed but all the stress of making plans and figuring everything out had left me pretty exhausted.

Sunday:

Thanks to Tuenti, I was able to make plans to go to the movies with some friends. We ended up seeing Paranormal Activity 3 which was actually the perfect first movie to see in Spanish (outside of the movies I watch at my house with my host family where I don't really pay attention). The sentences in Paranormal Activity are simple and most of the movie is just watching creepy stalker footage of people sleeping. It was actually a pretty good movie for anyone contemplating seeing it. One difference I noticed between Spanish and American movie theaters is that the popcorn here is soooo much better. Now I might just be saying this because I've had an extreme craving for popcorn ever since I've been here or because I was starving at the time, but I'm pretty sure it's just because the popcorn here is truly amazing.

Monday:

Halloween. (Also the birthday of Emma Pidden :) Happy Birthdayyyy!!)

I think Halloween was the first time I truly missed home. I missed dressing up even though my past costumes haven't been the most creative (witch, witch, witch, death, spiderweb......) While some of my friends here were able to dress up and go to discos, I went to my first house party with my host sister. Oh how I missed house parties. The party was in this sketchy apartment that was basically just an empty room with a couple mattresses and enough food to feed over 100 people even though there were only about 20. I won't go into extreme details of what happened because it was basically just food, games, and music, but I will say that even though there were no costumes it was still pretty fun. Luckily, I received my first care package the day before filled with candy so between that and Paranormal Activity 3, my homesickness wasn't to extreme on my first holiday away from home. Another thing that I noticed, was that unlike I had been told, trick-or-treating is very much a thing here. Walking around the neighborhood, everything reminded me of Halloween on Princes Point. The costumes, bags filled to the brim with candy, and house decorations, were all the same. While I'll admit it's definitely not as extreme here, Spain has definitely taken after some of America's traditions which was interesting to see.

Tuesday:

Homework day. In the next week I have tests in Philosophy, History, and Science. Yesterday, I had a Math and a Lengua exam. Trying to balance studying, swimming, and skyping with friends has been a challenge recently but I'm hoping after next week things will be easier.

Speaking of school, I think this post would be a perfect opportunity to give an update on school.

Lets start with my absolute fav subject, Economy!!

Economy: The reason I'm starting with this terrible class is because....I passed my test! I don't even know how this is possible. Technically, I only got a 5.5 out of 10 which is still pretty bad, but here that is considered passing. It was a little awkward though because not everyone passed so when anyone asked me my grade I tried not to sound too excited. One thing I hate about my school is the fact that the teachers read everyone's grade out loud for the entire class to hear. I always feel bad when someone finds out they failed a test and then proceeds to get made fun of by the rest of their classmates. If I could change one thing about my school it would definitely be that.

Math: Well.. I've taken two tests since I've been here. The test I took yesterday I'm not sure if I passed or failed. It's hard for me because for about three weeks I was being taught by a substitute who always took the time to make sure I understood what was going on. The teacher I have now doesn't care at all that I'm extremely confused so on the test I felt confident on some parts and on others I just had to guess. I know I should be saying that Math is so easy because it's a universal language or whatever, but that is not true. It's hard to explain why Math here is so difficult but sometime I'll take a picture of my textbook which I'm pretty sure will confuse even the smartest of math wizards. It's not the Math itself, it's the way we have to solve the problems that make absolutely no sense. Today I found out that I got a zero on the test I took on my first day of school. I thought the teacher was joking when he made me take it...but he wasn't...and I failed...miserably.

History: I took my first test a couple of weeks ago and got a four on it. Don't worry though because that was one of the highest grades in the class. People cheered for me when they heard I got a four. Apparently understanding the French Revolution isn't very common here. Thankfully, everything I've learned so far, I learned last year and somehow remember. Next week, my test is on Napoleon so I'm not too worried.

French: I am amazing at French. I can't pronounce it to save my life, but somehow the reading and writing is extremely easy for me. I am currently getting a nine in that class :)

Science: I had to do a presentation on stars a couple of weeks ago which I got an eight on, but other than that I've basically done nothing. I have a test next week but I still don't have a book so I don't really know how that's going to go.

English: I have never loved a class more than English.

Philosophy: I think right now we're talking about evolution. It's hard to follow exactly what's going on because the teacher just sits at his desk and talks for an hour. I'm a little worried about that test.

Lengua; The Lengua teacher is definitely the most understanding of my situation. I've had two tests so far but every time he makes me a different test that's easier. He seems to be the only teacher that actually cares whether I pass or not.

Drawing: I've been drawing the same tree for seven weeks. I'm actually starting to go crazy.

Gym: We're playing badmitten twice a week until February. I'm pretty sure I'm going to be a pro at badmitten by the end of this year.

So that's it. I know that was a really long post but I had a lot to cover.

I now have to go finish some Philosophy homework...

On a side note,

Today is my 50^th day in Spain!

Crazyy

-Libby