You know you're living in Jerez when

So,

Almost every blog I've read has written this type of post at one point or another so I figure since I've been here four months, (four months!! my god) I should probably write one too.

1. Wearing shoes inside at all times is completely normal.

2. Dinner before 10 only happens on special occasions.
3. Friday nights are typically for homework. Sundays are for sleeping and more homework (if you're crazy enough not to finish it on Friday)
4. You consume Olive Oil like water
5. You arrange to meet up with people at a certain time and they come half an hour later claiming they're on time
6. You get stared at for wearing sweatpants in public (outside of school)
7. Cheating in school is so easy it almost seems expected
8. Kids drive motorcycles instead of cars
9. In school you write on graph paper instead of line paper
10. It doesn't matter how cold it is, when going out with friends, 90% of the kids, (usually if they're going to a club after), look like they're dressed for summer. (shorts, skirts, short dresses.. no coats!)
11. Not taking a nap after school is seen as strange.
12. Homework isn't checked by the teachers making it basically pointless.
13. No teacher, no class
14. People will skip going out just to watch soccer .
15. Real Madrid or Barcelona? Pick one and stick to it.
16. Taking selfies in random bathroom mirrors is normal/cool
17. Making that selfie the background on your phone is also normal/cool
18. What's Facebook? Everyone knows Tuenti is way cooler (well I still haven't come to this conclusion but, since I'm pretending I'm Spanish I try to convince people I do.
19. Everyone tweets every single thing they do at every waking moment of every day, because obviously everyone cares about the exact moment you wake up, eat breakfast, etc.
20. Fighting the urge to throw all your trash on the ground is slowing getting harder and harder to do.
21. Sometimes it feels like you breathe more second hand smoke than actual clean air.
22. Gym class is basically dance class
23. Everyone has a blackberry, not an
24. EVERYONE has a nickname, I've acquired about 10 since being here.
25. Wait.. there are speed limits?
26. Family is extremely important.
27. All photos must be approved immediately after being taken. One photo could have to be taken five or six times until everyone's happy.
28. The majority or the music people own (okay all the music) was illegally downloaded.
29. Staying after school is some kind of weird joke.
30. The majority of people aren't drinking coffee in mugs but in glass cups
31. You know what a “cani” is and you can spot one from a mile away
32. You're used to the surprised faces of the workers of Telepizza when you order a cheese pizza instead of one with five different kinds of meet.
33. Global Warming isn't at all important to most teenagers and even some adults
34. Everyone yells...all the time..
35. Kids driving in cars blasting their music for the entire world to hear are considered cool.
36. White-out is used for every mistake, even for personal notes.
37. You know the street performers better than your neighbors
38. Strangers are for the most part extremely nice and helpful.
39. No matter how hard you try to hide, you can't get out of the two kiss greeting.
40. Nobody pronounces Nike correctly.
41. Texting in class is surprisingly easy. I swear the desks are designed just for texting.. not that I take advantage of that or anything.
42. Teachers are often called by their first name.
43. You live for the weekends.
44. You speak Andalusian Spanish, which is obviously completely different from regular Spanish

I've been working on this post for about a week now and I know there are so many other things I could put on this list so, if I think of them, maybe I'll write a follow up post. 

Abrazos y Besos,

-Libby

Por Fin!

So,

I know it's been a while since I've updated. I don't really have a good excuse except for the fact that last week was still vacation and writing a new post just sort of slipped my mind. Today is my first day back at school and it was definitely one of the hardest days I've had since I've been here. All vacation I was going to bed at 3 or 4 and waking up at 12 which made today's 7:00 wake up extremely difficult. Having economy first period only added to the difficulty of the day and by the end I could barely keep my eyes open.

Even though it has been 10 days since New Years, I still feel like I should explain at least a brief summary of what went down.

Of course, we didn't leave for the party until around 2:00 a.m. Before that though, we went over to my host grandparent's for yet another big family dinner. I planned ahead for this one though and didn't eat anything all day which allowed me to make it all the way to course . At 5 minutes to midnight, my parents got out the champagne and divided grapes onto separate napkins. For anyone who doesn't know, it's a tradition in Spain to eat 12 grapes on the last 12 seconds of the year. One for every second. I unfortunately only made it to six because I kept laughing at how focused everyone looked. The idea is that if you successfully eat all 12, you'll have good luck throughout the year. After that, my host sister and I headed over to Oxi where I once again somehow had no problem getting in, even though it's one of the hardest clubs to get into if you're underage. You'd figure they would want to be more careful with foreigners, but I guess not. We stayed in Oxi until about 6:00 in the morning and by that time I was basically a zombie I was so tired. My host sister was still full of energy though so we ended up walking about a mile (in heels) to find churros. I didn't end up getting home and going to sleep until around 8:30 in the morning, right as the sun was coming up. I don't know why my host mom thought this was okay, but at 12:30 that afternoon she woke me up so we could go back over to my grandparents. I was only allowed four hours of sleep after being awake a full 24 hours. That was definitely not one of my better days. It didn't even hit me it was 2012 until the a couple days later, after I'd recuperated. Even though it was extremely exhausting, New Years in Spain was definitely one of the best New Years I've ever had.

As I've mentioned a few times, the 6^th , was also an important day here in Spain. It was the day of the Three Kings which if you're religious, is more important than Christmas because it's the day of the Epiphany. For most Spanish families, Santa Claus doesn't exist. Instead, the kids have to go to bed early so the three kings can bring them their presents. I ended up getting three scarves, a bracelet, and slippers, which was a lot more than I was expecting. After opening presents, we went to four different houses to drop off gifts for relatives. Of course, my host family made me eat at every single house so by the end of the day I was feeling extremely sick. Overall, I enjoyed the 6^th a lot more than Christmas itself because it actually felt like a holiday. Although, at the end of the day, I was glad for it to be over because 12 days is a long time to be constantly celebrating. I ate more food in those 12 days than I usually do in a month. Thankfully, I finally renewed my gym membership, which I will definitely be putting to good use.

I've been thinking a lot about what my New Years Resolutions should be, and I've decided on the following few things.

1. Stop worrying about how much time I have left
2. Speak more Spanish (obviously)
3. Travel to some other country outside of Spain
4. Navigate more than one train by myself
5. Learn how to cook paella
6. Learn one Spanish on guitar
7. Learn how to flamenco dance (haha....jokes)

And many more that have nothing to do with being in Spain.

A couple of days ago I made a breakthrough with my Spanish. I've been able to have pretty basic conversations in Spanish for a while now but, the other day I had my first successful argument. Well, it was more of a friendly debate but, I was really proud of myself after because I've never really been able to explain my opinions before in Spanish. It felt good to know that I was saying full sentences without having to think, and having people actually understand me.

Anyways,

I somehow already have a history test that I really should go study for.

Adios

-Libby