First things first, I'd like to say I'm sorry. I haven't been updating as much as I should be, and I definitely want to keep this journaling thing going! Not only for my lovely flock of avid readers, but for myself as well. A very wise man once said to me (about 20 minutes ago, via Skype, coincidentally has the same name and face as my very own DAD) that five years from now, I'll absolutely want to go back and read through every single one of these moments, just as you all want to hear about them. I can't promise that these journals will be daily, but school started this Wednesday and once I have a more set schedule here, you all should be hearing (reading..) from me somewhat more regularly. I hope to give at least a weekly update, so don't fret!
Alright, now for a smidge of information covering the last week or so. I honestly cannot believe that I've only been here in Torrevieja for 15 days! The days literally feel expanded by an extra 5 hours or so, but that could just be because I'm doing so many different things every day. The last time I published a journal (I've been writing a ton, but I haven't posted anything, for which I'm truly sorry. Perhaps at a later date you all will see the inner emotions and thoughts of this particular 17 chica abroad.) it was only at the end of my first full day here! A brief update for now, until I am on more of a schedule.
Friday the 2nd was my first entire day in Spain :) You all have read (and probably re-read since I haven't written anything else) the previous journal, so I'll move right on ahead to Saturday. Early that morning we woke up and got packed for a short trip to a beach town about 45 minutes away called La Manga. My host mom's mom lives there during the summer, so we stayed with her Saturday night, and were back in Torrevieja by the next late afternoon. As I said before, the days here possess an extra five hours, so it felt like we were there much longer, but that could have just been my still intact jet lag still speaking. La Manga is a really beautiful beach town, and I could NOT get over the fantastic breeze that was there. Of course, the water was a bit chilly, but it is the Mediterranean, so it's acceptable ;)
The next day, Monday, I was absolutely exhausted. Having not slept for literally more than five minutes in the entire 28 hours of travelling across the pond, and then not for another six-ish hours after that, and then a beach weekend with family, I had every right to sleep in until TWO the next day.....but I didn't. I actually woke up relatively early, and got started on really unpacking. Upon doing so, I found myself holding a card from my mom, a whole notebook page from Holly, a paragraph from Jenna, and four short pieces of paper from my dad. I won't lie that I cried a TON when reading those, but that was only momentarily, before I picked myself up and put the letters in the bottom drawer of my bedside table. There for me when I need them, but not in my mind constantly enough that they're all I can think about. Later that day, my family and I had lunch together, and I tried eggplant for the first time! It's a funny story that really won't make much sense to just about everyone except my host family and I, but I have difficulty pronouncing Spanish words with J's in them, as it's more of a ghhhh, from the back of the throat. Rolling my R's? No problema. Lisping certain words to give it that real Spain Spanish accent? I'm a beasstthhht. But these J's are quite frustrating! Anyway, the word for eggplant in Spanish is berenjena (behr-ehn-ghhayyy-nuh) and it never fails to make my host family laugh when I recognize one in the market, or somewhere around the kitchen.
(Wow. I had no idea I was going into so much detail with all of this! I'll summarize more so that no one gets and ulcer from sitting where ever you please from reading this novel of mine.)
The rest of the week was really great! I tried a few different foods (SQUID. S Q U I D.), I met a couple of different people my age: (Oscar, my next host bro-bro, who was an exchange student to Michigan last year) (And Ana, a girl who will be in the first Bacc--I'm in the 2nd, at my school.) I also met quite a few of Oscar's friends at his house on Wednesday when they held a barbacoa (BBQ!), though most of them are in univeristy, so I won't see them too often. I also met the daughter of my principal of my school, and some of her friends. They're all really good friends with my host sister Marina, who is on her own exchange in Vancouver, Canada this year. We'll talk more about school in a moment. Later on in the week, I went with my next host parents to Alicante. (the second capital of the Valencian Province...Clermont=Torrevieja...Orlando=Alicante...Valencia is to Lake/Orange County...to give you an idea.) We left around 7 in the morning on Thursday (Sept. 8th, One week in Spain!) and drove about 45 minutes to wait in line for another 45 minutes for the Police Station to open. There ended up being a minor mistake on my Visa, but we got everything cleared up, and I should be getting my National Identity Number, and long term student visa within the next few weeks! The rest of that day I hung out with my second host family, and it was really nice being able to use basic Spanish to tell them a bit about me. My first host family already knew most of the basics, through emails and Skype and such, but it was really great practicing my speech! Lord knows I could always use more of that!
After that, I only had six days until school started! I did quite a bit in those six days, but in taking a glance at the essay I've written for you all to enjoy, and for myself to remember, I'll just give you a list.
· Torrevieja's Market! Largest and best market in Europe, literally. Enough said.
· Playa de Mata! BEACH TRIP! We went early in the morning to a beach about 6 minutes away from my house. Beautiful, and cold.
· Learned how to play Monopoly Europe! Same thing as regular Monopoly, but instead of streets, you buy countries. It was awesome.
· First Rotary Meeting! I thought I had to give powerpoint presentation, or a somewhat detailed one, but nope. I'll do that later in the next few weeks. I only had to stand up and say my name and a few sentences about me! One more thing: Torrevieja Rotary Club meets at 9pm....South Lake Rotary Club meets at 7am. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE HAVE A WINNER.
· Got really sick! Pretty positive everyone experiences it, but I had a nasty "Climate Change Cold" starting about three days before school started, and lasted until today. I've been sick before (uhhh, duh) but the methods of healing were a bit different than usual. ---Ibuprofen for a cold. ----Scarf to wear at night around my neck. -----Shoes in the house. Hmmm. Not weird, just different.
And that's all! Pretty busy life, huh? I honestly can't believe that it has really only been 16 days since I've left Florida, and 15 days since arriving in Spain. It literally feels like it's been about 3 months to me, but when talking with another student here from Florida, she said it only felt like four days to her! I suppose it just depends on your unique experiences. Another unique experience? SCHOOL.
To start, we'll begin with another one of those fancy lists, to show ya'll the differences between my institute here, and my high school in Clermont.
· Teachers and students change classes. This isn't very common in European schools, generally the students stay in one class the whole day, and only the teachers move, but at my school, everyone switches.
· I have eight classes here, fifty five minutes each.
· Mondays and Tuesdays, school here ends at 3pm, while on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, I get out at 2:10. I'm not really sure why this is, but so far, I enjoy it.
· Mondays and Tuesdays, I have seven classes, and the other three days of the week, I have six.
· We have two twenty minute breaks during the school day. The first is after our first three classes, and during this one, my friends and I eat a small snack in the cafeteria then hang outside in the "courtyard." During the second break, we spend most of the time in the shade outside in the courtyard, but this week was a bit different than the rest of the weeks will be, because we had to get our textbooks, lockers, and other "first week of school" stuff, out of the way.
There are actually a lot of other differences, but I'm sure you'll hear more about them as the year progresses. For now, I really need to hit the bed. Tomorrow, my host mom and I are going with her friend to La Playa de Mata again! It's a really beautiful, quiet little beach, but perfect for sprawling out on my "Toro de España" towel, and soaking up the Spanish sun! Some things never change... ;)
Hasta Luego!Nícole
No comments:
Post a Comment