Granadaaa

So,

I got my vacation! Well, not really, it was only three extra days but, I'll take it. Monday and Tuesday were Andalucia celebration days which basically just means that nobody in Andalucia had to go to school or work. The reason I didn't have to go to school today is because my school is one of the only schools which actually takes strikes seriously so I ended up getting three days off instead of two. I'm not sure exactly what the strike is about but I'm sure it's either a bus strike or an unemployment strike. They used to be so exciting but 5.5 months later I've come to realize how common they actually are. I've had at least somewhere from 8-10 days off from school for strikes alone so far this year. In my opinion, it's not very smart on the schools part considering nobody actually goes to the strike but, because I'm just the exchange student, I've decided to just keep my mouth shut and enjoy the extra day off.

To celebrate the long weekend, my two exchange friends and I decided to go do some traveling all the way up to Granada. Well, Granada isn't actually that far from Jerez but with the 2 hour stop in Dos Hermanas, the trip actually ended up being six hours. If anyone who's reading this has ever been to Granada, I'm sure they'll agree with me when I say that it's definitely one of the most beautiful places in Spain, maybe even in all of Europe. Granted, I haven't actually seen most of Europe but, I just can't get over how amazing Granada is. If you need a little more convincing, Bill Clinton even said that the sun setting over the Alhambra is one the most beautiful things he had ever seen in his entire life. The thing that interested me most about Granada is how many different parts there are. For example, the street where I was staying was right in the middle of an Arabic market area. You could definitely see the Arabic lifestyle is still very much alive in Granada. I think some of it is just to attract tourists but I still found it to be pretty interesting. There's also the modern part of the city which looks just like any other Spanish city with big stores and chain restaurants. Between the Arabic markets, historic buildings, modern shopping, and absolutely amazing food, there was just no way we could do it all in three days. So, to solve this problem, my friends and I decided that obviously the only way to get everything done was to do...................a Segway Tour! (Bright green vests and helmets included) Needless to say, I've never felt more like a tourist in my entire life but, even with the embarrassment, I definitely don't regret going. We were able to see most of the important sites in a very short period of time which made the embarrassment worth it.

For me, going to Granada was definitely one of the best experiences I've had since being here, not only because of how beautiful it is but because of how independent and self-reliant I had to be. Even though I'm living in Spain with a family that's not my own, everything that I've needed so far has been taken care of by my local coordinator. I've never traveled overnight without an adult and I have to admit, it was a little scary. I was responsible for booking the hostel, buying the train ticket, taking care of my passport and bank cards, making sure I had all my stuff at all times. The amount of responsibility I had to take on so suddenly was a little scary at first but, after it was over, I felt proud that I'd been able to enjoy Granada without any significant problems. It made this year feel more like an adventure again. Before, this year was starting to feel like the weeks were just blurring together and that eventually it would just end suddenly. The time I spent in Granada felt like a break from thinking about how fast this year was going. I've decided I need to do more of those trips around Spain because I need more of those small breaks from reality.

Anyways,

I've started to make a new countdown! One week until I finally get to see someone from back home. Mom, if you're reading this, (which I know you will like five minutes after I post this) know that next week is going to be absolutely amazing so...get excited..

Just six days days left!

Happy Leap Day/Year/kinda forgot it was leap year until just now

Adioss

-Libby

Why am I not on break!

So,

I was wrong! February 8^h wasn't the last day of dancing! Last Thursday was... You see, February 8^th was the general recital where we performed in the gym only in front of the older grades. This was the performance we were graded on and guess what!?! I passed! That was by far the most exciting news I'd heard in a while. Thursday though, thursday was the actual performance, costumes and everything. My costume consisted of about 10 pounds of makeup, cut up t-shirt, and tights (not leggings)......that's it..... I have no idea how/why this was considered appropriate but I've come to realize that a lot of questionable things are seen as okay here. Anyways, after putting on that horrid costume, I had to dance in front of over 350 people! I've never been so embarrassed in my life but, luckily, my group was third so I got it out of the way early and had plenty of time to recuperate. After today though, I was reassured numerous times that I will never, ever, have to dance in public again.... that is, until Feria, but I'm not going to worry about that now.

Last Saturday, I made the somewhat stupid decision of deciding to go down to Cadiz for Carnaval. I've heard many horror stories about Carnaval but I decided that I had to see for myself. Basically, Carnaval is just an excuse for everyone to dress up and drink all night. It's kind of like Halloween but the costumes were way cooler and the parties were way more intense. I left for Cadiz at 9:30 dressed as a Hippie (the costume was pretty mild compared to everyone else but, it was free thanks to my hippie friend). Once I arrived, I was instantly surprised at 1. How many people were there, so many I could barely walk and 2. How detailed these costumes were. You could tell that people had been planning them for a while. The trains stopped running pretty soon after we got there and they didn't start back up until 7:00 that morning getting me home at around 8:00 that morning. When planning this trip, I kinda forgot how long almost 12 hours is for a party and needless to say, by the time I got home, I felt like I was never going to leave my bed. Overall, I did have fun in Cadiz but with all the waiting in line, the extreme over-tiredness, and the insane amount of drunk people, Carnaval didn't quite live up to my expectations. I am glad I went but I don't think it's something I'll ever do again....ever.. It was definitely worth experiencing though.

A new exchange student arrived in my house today from Germany. She's only staying for the week and I can already tell this is going to be a long week. She seems really nice but she's also insanely energetic. She speaks both Spanish and English which is nice even though she refuses to speak English to me. I really would like to get to know her but between studying, swimming, and my new dance classes (yep) I just don't think I have time. Even though we probably won't end up becoming the best of friends, it's still nice to have her here.

It has been really hard to go to school when everyone else back home is on break. It has taken all the motivation right out of me. For instance, today, I got home, skipped swimming, took a nap, cleaned my room (or well...started....it was taking too much energy), painted my nails (I don't do that!) and now I'm sitting here writing this while watching television in English because I'm too lazy to try and understand it in Spanish. I've decided to blame it on the fact that I'm either still recuperating from Saturday, or the fact that all day I've been reading status's about people's nice relaxing vacations and I feel as though I should be on vacation too. Either way, tomorrow I'm making myself be more productive.

Anyways,

This post has actually taken me like three hours to write because at the moment my procrastination is at its peak right now. I promise I'll try and post more but honestly, there really isn't that much to say. After five months, my life seems so normal I sometimes forget what it was like living in the U.S. It's weird but it's true. 

I love dancing...

I'm getting extremely lazy and writing posts without actually posting them because that requires me to actually go downstairs for internet... sorry.....

So,

Halfway.

The first semester kids have all gone home and the second semester kids have arrived and are settled in. A new exchange student came here to Jerez from Australia and she's actually going to be staying with my host aunt. I have yet to meet her but I'm sure I will sooner or later. She apparently speaks zero Spanish so it's my job to show her around and help her with her Spanish. When my host mom first asked me about helping her out, I felt so proud of myself that she thought I was far along enough with my Spanish and with my knowledge of the city that I could actually help someone else out. It's the first time I felt like finally I'm not some American tourist who's only here for a short period of time. I've been here 4.5 months! I consider myself at home here which is something I honestly never expected to happen. I've already started to plan my travel plans for returning home which is definitely not something I've enjoyed doing.

A couple of days ago, a man from my program came to check up on us American exchange students. When he came to my house with my local coordinator to talk to my host mom, my host mom told him that she's very frustrated with how I eat. She couldn't stop going on about how I don't eat and her frustrations with me. I didn't know she felt so strongly which has made these past 48 hours a little awkward. The problem with my situation is that my host mom hates to cook so we literally have the same things every week. Granted, the food she makes is amazing but it's a lot of the same thing so I've just kind of resorted to eating less and less which I guess has made her frustrated. She's also concerned that I don't talk enough and when she said that I had so many arguments and things to say back to her but I kept quiet. Not because of the language barrier, (I was actually thinking of all the things to say to her in Spanish) but because since being here I've learned to pick and choose my battles which is something that for people who know me back home know isn't one of my strong suits. I'll admit I love to argue and I can hold a grudge longer than anyone. Here though, there are so many things that annoy me or make me angry that I can't argue or be annoyed at everything or I would almost never be happy. I think one way I've grown since being here is by learning to forgive people and not let little things get to me like they used to.

Obviously, my host mom isn't actually angry at me I just seem to frustrate her a lot whether it be me forgetting to clean my room, not eating everything she gives me, or never giving her clothes to wash because I feel awkward not having to do anything. I love my host family and I'm pretty sure they love me too it's just hard to create relationships with people when you don't speak the same language. Most of the friends I have here speak some English and we gradually just switched over to speaking in Spanish. I can see though that as my Spanish grows stronger so does the relationship between me and my host family.

For the past month I've been desperately awaiting February 9^th. Not only because it's the birthday of a friend of mine but also because it's the day after our schools dance recital. Apparently, all of our dance tests over the past few months are actually leading up to something. Next Wednesday, the entire school is putting on some kind of dance recital where every group who has a dance has to perform it in front of the entire school. When I first heard this, I just started laughing until I realized that they were completely serious. Since then, I've come to learn that this is actually one of the most important days of the year. I've even had to practice with my group on the weekends and we've been planning costumes since after winter break. At first, I was extremely nervous because I basically never dance let alone in front of people but now for some reason my nerves have gone away. I'm pretty sure it's because I know that everyone knows I hate to/can't dance so they don't take me too seriously.

Today I talked to my host mom about possibly signing me up for Spanish cooking/flamenco classes because despite what I just ranted about with my hatred for dancing, I would actually like to learn some flamenco dance. The reason for this is that in May, there's this huge week long fair that's basically based around this dance. I figure, actually learning some of the dance might be a good idea for me to do. I also want to take a cooking class, mostly to learn how to make Paella because there's no way I'm going home without some lessons on how to make this wonderful Spanish dish.

Anyways,

Today is obviously Friday but I felt the need to update on what's been going on here recently. Now I have to clean my room because one of my American friends is coming to stay the night with me.

Ew...cleaning...

Adiossss

-Libby