Mi año en España; A year Abroad.: December 2011

Leaving in roughly half an hour for the grandmother's house in Cartagena, to pass the holidays! As Christmas isn't as big a deal here as 3 Kings Day, we'll be celebrating with a family dinner (I'm pretty sure the famous, heavenly paella will be making an appearance!) and just being together. My host parents have been making seperate trips down there throughout this week to set up the Belen, so I can't wait to finally see it! They've set up a really grande Belen in my town plaza, a long with a nice tall Christmas tree! Of course I have a million pictures of it, that will be uploaded in the enormous holiday post I plan on (key words right there, folks) writing, after 3 Kings.
I'm a bit down as my host grandmother doesn't have internet, and so I'll have to wait a bit to skype my Florida Family, but perhaps this will give me time to finally sit down and write my second, and long awaited, RYE journal? You wouldn't think so, but procrastinating on these website journals is an exchange students best friend.

Anyways, Feliz Navidad!

Like every other journal I've written, I started this one three or four times already. Unlike the majority of the journals I've written, I WILL finish this one, and post it. How generous, I am ;)

If you couldn't guess from the title, we've said Adios to November, and welcoming December, today! This also marks the beginning of my fourth month in Spain, and just as every other exchange students has said before me, "THIS TIME IS FLYING BY SO FAST!" I remember talking to my real parents, and Florida friends in the first couple of weeks and endlessly repeating "Every day literally feels like it has 47 hours in it, and they drag on forever!" While the feeling of the days being much longer here still remains, I'm continually amazed at how much is done in just one day, with time left over for siesta, and two hours lunches included!

There I go again, rambling. I've been so bad about actually writing these journals, it's horrid, but I suppose that's better than not having anything else to do, and continually updating you all on what I had for lunch that day, or how many tiles are in the ceilings of my classrooms here (though I certainly have thought about it during my economics class.) In order to attempt to write this and finish it once and for all in the 55 minutes I have of Valencian hour (...library hour....),here is a list of all the happenings of November.

Spent the first day of November with Maya (Cartagena) discovering Torrevieja through a camera lense.
Zlata finally arrived! She's the other exchange student in Torrevieja, and she's from Russia! We live on the same street, go to the same school, and in March or Abril we'll be switching families exactly :)
Participated in the town band tradition of walking the streets with the entire band, to the houses of the new students being inducted this year. It ended up lasting about four hours long, and everytime you go to the house, all of you are invited in to eat small snacks for about 15 minutes (also, lots of drinking going on.....Spanish culture? ;)
Spent a random afternoon in Cartagena, with the three exchange students there.
Three simple words, two unforgettable days, one "international" family. Exchange. Student. Thanksgiving.
Went to Murcia for like, two hours, and saw the grand cathedral.
iPod=Stolen. Not cool bro.
Received and 8'3 out of 10 on my second oral exam. Not to shabby ;)
Confirmed the class trip to Italy! 5 days in February in Florence and Pisa, Italia<3
Begain my art classes, that are held on Monday and Wednesday nights for two hours each. In January, Zlata and I are going to start our oriental dance classes, and Spanish dance classes!
Found time to finally skype with other exchange students from Florida in other countries, and loved it. This is also a shout out to Emma Nestler, Alison Sigman, and Amber Herrle, for being amazing exchange friends via webcam. Hopefully soon to be added to the list (at least): Chelsea Holmes, and Kayla Evens, right guys?! ;)
Had three or four people tell me that it sounded like I had been here for two or three years, with the level of Spanish I was speaking, and not two and a half months.

So that was November. Now as I'm going back through all my pictures and written journals, I realize I didn't do as much as it felt like, but as I said, the days have around 45 hours here, so doing the things that I did do, felt like so much more. I really enjoyed the entire month, and I'm pleased to say that I really haven't felt a strong urge to return home yet. Of course, there are the moments when all you want to be doing is going out for a cup of coffee (or tea, in my case) with your real mom, or wasting the day away with your sisters, (or golfing with your dad....I also have those moments as well ;) but you realize that a whole year of new experiences, is way too much to give up for a few hours of traditional ones. I'm really hoping that December will be just as good as November, if not better. I know it might be a bit harder, as December carries my real dad's birthday, Christmas, and New Years, but I'm ready to learn new holiday traditions, and ironically, the day after my real dad's birthday, is my host mom's! Also, we have less school in December (which is a plus anywhere you are, no matter if you like school or not), and I'm planning a week of traveling around my district with another exchange student from Florida, who is in Barcelona this year, for next week! I can't wait to see so much more around my area (and all of Spain as well) as it's a bit difficult with my host family to leave work, school, and extra cirricular activities. January I'm planning to spend a few days in Barcelona, and just earlier today my History of Art class and I were planning a three day excursion to Madrid, in March!

Speaking of school, I have my third oral exam tomorrow, as well as a dictation, a soliatary writing section, and only 45 minutes to remember how to conjugate into the present, imperfect past, past, recent past, future, and the present and past of subjunctive........It's a good thing I so want to learn this language ;) I'm off to study once more! Hopefully with all the vacation time I have in December, I can journal a bit more, and more frequently. (I expect this is a variation of something I'll say every time I post....). Thanks for reading guys, and to my family and friends who have sent me real, paper mail: You all have know idea how much that means to me. Thank you SO much! Me encanta! Os quiero<3

Hasta la promixa vez,

Nicole