Halloween, Cazorla, and TWO MONTHS?!

Hello all! I know I haven't posted in quite a while, but I've just been so busy (or tired)! I try to post two times a week, but recently that's been about impossible. Hopefully reading this post will give you a sense of why I haven't been posting as much as I should.

Let's begin on October 31, 2013. A Thursday.

Also, Halloween! (Major plus: no school the next day! Score!)

In America, I always dress up for Halloween! It may not always be the most original (I've been a witch more times than I feel comfortable divulging), but I always dress up.

But this year, I wasn't in America- I was in Spain (which is still crazy to think about like whaaaat?!). And in Spain, Halloween isn't "a thing." Yes, little kids dress up and go door-to-door in their apartment complexes saying "Trato o Truco!" but when I asked about Halloween traditions for the rest of the Spanish population, I was given funny looks and a lot of "ehhhhh...".

So, as the saying (almost) goes, "when in Spain, do as the Spanish do!" I decided to go sin disfraz.

As I was walking to my Spanish class that evening (my INTERMEDIATE Spanish class!! I got moved up!) I saw a friend of my host brothers who I've hung out with. She told me that everyone in their group was dressing up to go to the botellon and that I should dress up, too.

I felt great that I was being included into the group, but also stressed that I had literally nothing to wear as a costume. While talking to Karly, we decided to stop at H&M or some other shop in the centro before going to the botellon to meet up with friends. I would buy an inexpensive white dress (that I would totally wear again) and accessorize with olive branches- BAM! Greek goddess. (Karly put on some boots, a flannel, and braided her hair: instant cowgirl).

When we got off the bus in el centro, I was crushed. All the stores were closed!! Since Karly was already wearing a "costume," we brainstormed some ideas for me...

• Get one of those paper crowns from Burger King: Princess
• Draw a nose and whiskers on my face: Cat without ears
• Steal balloons from the front of the frozen yogurt place: Balloons

As you can see, I wasn't gonna have a great (if any) costume this year, which I was actually really bummed about. So, we kind of gave up. If everyone really was dressed up, I could always whip the pen out of my purse and be that earless cat. 

Then we saw it- a corner store. Hoping they would have something to transform me into God knows what, we went in. I ended up buying a mini Spanish flag, a super cheap (and super big) hat in Spanish colors, and a toy camera. The end result? Tourist. 

Yep, lamest costume ever.

After briefly getting lost on our way to the botellon, we finally got there! I'd say about a quarter of the people were dressed up, so I didn't feel too bad looking lame. Almost immediately, we saw three guys from my class. Sergio and Daniel were nerds and Ismael was Snow White (he definitely was the fairest of them all in his beautiful dress!). 

Karly and I talked to the boys for a while until we saw Marie Sofie and Josefine. They were with their friend who is also on exchange here from Switzerland (Sweden? I forget) and his friends. 

We spent the night talking and just having a great time! It was really laid back and I had a blast. All of the guys were super friendly and I'd definitely like to hang out with them again. 

After our 4:30 am crepe stop (delicious!), we decided it was time to go home. I ended up getting a whole two hours of sleep because I had to wake up at 7 to meet the bus at the Espacio Joven going to Cazorla for the weekend! 

You know, sitting on that bus for four hours wasn't all so bad- I was with friends, the buses were super swanky, and we played aroundwith the bus microphone (I even got a full interview!)

So soon enough, we were in Cazorla! Cazorla is a very nature-y region with a ton of parks and FABULOUS views. Our first stop was a lunch stop and small hike. I really wish I hadn't forgotten my camera because the leaves on the trees had all turned a bright amarillo and when the sun hit them just right, it was nothing short of breathtaking. 

After we got on the buses again, we headed to our sleeping place. 

Now, I call it a "sleeping place" because I don't exactly know what to call it. From the outside, it looked like a little motel- one story with many rooms. On the inside of the rooms, however, there were bunkbeds with sheets (I however brought a sleeping bag). There was a big dining hall, too. I think this is considered a hostel, but I'm not sure.

ANYWAY- we have some time to rest and get situated in our rooms. I bunked with girls named Amanda, Sandra, Maria Jose, Inma, and Virginia. Amanda and Sandra are in my class at school and I had met Maria Jose and Inma once-twice before. Virginia was just a bonus. 

Then, the party began! After we had some chow in the dining hall, we blasted music in the courtyard in the middle of all the rooms and danced and played games. Despite being totally pooped out, I kept strong and partied on (which I'm so glad I did because I had a blast)!

The next morning, we woke up at around 8, got ready, then got some breakfast. After that, we took on the great outdoors! We were split up into two groups (I honestly have no idea how they did the splitting up- I just followed the girls in my room!). One group (my group) went to a small museum about the nature of Cazorla. We watched a short video and explored the exhibits. After that, we went on a hike. It was a small hike, but it left us with another spectacular view. Lunchtime! We drove to this small park where we met up with the second group. When we were done with our comida, the groups flip-flopped. The second group did what we had did and we did what they had just done...canoeing!

Canoeing was...an experience. It was jam-packed with fun, but it had its difficulties. My canoe partner didn't really understand how to canoe, and was kind of a mess. When I tried to explain to her the basics, the language barrier struck. 

"No no no vas a la izquierda...no no la derecha!! Como esto- umm umm... como...aquí mira mira!"

It was a challenge. In the end, I just kinda sat back and let Sandra do whatever she wanted. 

Next stop- home base. Here we got to take showers and chill out a little before having another dance party. This time, however, the dance party was cut short by the mamut!! 

Mamut is a game that we play in the dark night. Split up into teams, you must find a place to hide in the darkness (separated from all other teams) and keep an eye out for el mamut, la luna, and other teams. 

If you see el mamut (you'll recognize him by his red light), you must be very quiet and turn your head down. He will come up and yell at you asking you for tokens, but you must keep quiet and ignore him. 

If you see la luna (she is wearing all white and has a blue light), you must go up to her and shower her with compliments. If she is pleased, she will give you some tokens. 

If you see another group, you shine your flashlight at them and yell "grupo". They will have to give you a token or two. 

My group didn't win, but we didn't lose, either. And even if we had ended up losing it would've been okay because it was so much fun. 

When we got back, I was headed for bed with Sandra, Virginia, and Maria Jose. Then, Jose (a boy from my class) came in and told me to come to his room because there were more people and it was a lot more fun.

The next morning, we hit the road. I got to catch up on some desperstely needed sleep, too. 

As it turned out, the fifth of November marked my 2 months here in Spain!! To celebrate, Karly and I bought a bottle of crappy apple cider (but the cork popped so that was fun). 

OKAY I AM SO SORRY I THOUGHT I HAD POSTED THIS LIKE A WEEK AGO BUT IT TURNED OUT IT WAS JUST SAVED AS A DRAFT UGH I FEEL SO DUMB. MUCHAS GRACIASSSS!!!

¡¡Lo Siento!!

OKAY SO- 

I had such an amazing weekend and have so so so so much to write about. The problem is time, though! I've gotten oh so busy and it's hard for me to find space in my schedule to sit down and grind out a readable blog post. So sorry for the wait- a new post with lots of fun stuff should be up very very soon (hopefully)! Thank you for being so patient and still keeping up with mi vida. 

Muchas gracias! xo

Here's a picture of me with a big leaf:

And here's a picture with mis amigos, Daniel y Sergio:

The Good, The Bad, and The Sicky

Hola mis amigos! This post will not be as interesting as my recent few posts, but I will try my best to use exciting vocabulary to spice things up.

On Thursday night, my other host brother Daniel came home to visit! He is currently going to university in Barcelona and we were only living together my first two weeks.

When we went to pick him up from the tiny Granada airport, I was instantly flooded with memories- some good, most terrifying.

If you haven't read or have forgotten, the Granada airport was where I arrived at about 11:30 PM the day before I was actually supposed to arrive (again, thank you It's Your World Travel for the Madrid layover). Since there's only maybe 100-150 seats in the terminal, I could easily pick out where I sat that dreadful night...well, until I was kicked out because the airport was closing. My host parents even pointed out the place where I was sitting (outside) when they first saw me.

Anyway, so we picked up Daniel and went back home. As we drove past our apartment gate, we saw a woman standing outside with her bike and bags. My host mom said that it was Olga. Olga rented out the guest room in our house for three days. She is from the United States, too (but apparently doesn't like English because when I said "hi" instead of  "hola," I got a firm talking to...great first impression).

We all got settled and then went to bed. I went to bed quite early (around 11) because I was feeling icky sicky all day. My throat was so sore! Not to mention that I had noticed a bump at the base of my neck/top of my spine (I thought I was developing a hunchback, Samuel told me it was a tumor, but my doctor host parents said it was just constricted muscles whoo!).

Friday at school, I don't really remember. The classes I had were history, english, economics, physical education, math, and philosophy. In PE, we had to do this running test which kind of sucked a lot due to my throat being en fuego. But at the end of class, my teacher told us that he wanted to take our class to a local pool for Friday PE classes! How cool!

That night, I still felt real sick, so I opted out of going out with my host brothers and friends. Instead, I got coffee with Karly at a cozy place in the centro. It was very relaxed and incredibly enjoyable to just have a mellow girls night.

On Saturday, I felt like I was dying. My throat was as sore as ever, my head was throbbing, and my hunchback/tumor/constricted muscle was ever so ouchie. During the daytime, I took a walk in hopes of finding a cheesy-touristy post card for Chip (no luck- you'll have to wait a little longer, love). I also needed to exchange the American money that I have (yes, I forgot to change it before I came) so I could pay the down-payment for the cruise my class is going on in the spring. I have yet to change my moolah, so hopefully my teacher/trip-coordinator will reserve my spot solely with the permission slip (please and thank you, Jorge).

I was planning on staying home that night and drinking more tea and warm milk with honey and cinnamon (my host parents made me so much of that miracle remedy...I think it's what cured me!). My host parents and I had started watching Hotel Rwanda  (I know, not the best movie for relaxing, but it was very interesting and I actually understood more this time watching it in Spanish than I did the first time watching it in English!) and I was cuddled up on the couch ready to louuuungge.

But I guess I forgot that I have fun host brothers who invite me places. Sure enough, Daniel asks me if I want to go out for tapas with them. I was still real sick, but I thought that if I put on enough layers I'd be fine.

Wrong.

I felt like a lump the entire night. Feeling achy all over and unable to stop coughing, I was absolutely miserable. I was so boring, too, and felt like I wasn't even part of the group (which is nobody's fault but my own). It hurt to talk and I had no energy. I know it would've been super fun if I wasn't dying, but it was just very tiring and really really cold. And I wasn't about to be that girl who makes someone take her home because she's not having fun- I knew everyone else was having a blast and I didn't want to ruin it for anyone, so I toughed it out.

The next morning, I went with Marie Sofi and her family to a feria in the pueblo her host family has a summer house in! A feria is a big outdoor fiesta where people buy animals and eat food and have fun. We spent a solid two hours looking at the animals. I'd have to say our favorite was the donkey (hee-haw!). Then, we had delicious food and just hung out and talked.

After the feria, we walked to their summer house. Marie Sofi and I walked around the tiny pueblo for a long time and had a few mini-adventures (like losing her family, climbing a wall to get figs, and meeting a friendly gato). *Marie Sofi took hella pictures- I'll try to get some from her and post them here soon!*

When I got home, I just kind of hung out. Later, my host parents dropped Daniel off at the airport. This weekend was very, very mellow.

Then here we are again- Monday.

I preferred to sleep in, so I celebrated what I like to call Braid Day- aka the day where I don't give a hoot about my appearance and braid my hair rather than washing it and making it look pretty. I love Braid Day.

There was a major upside to Monday, however...Spanish Class.

Yes, I know the only times I've mentioned my Spanish class was when I've said how awful it is.

But this is different! After class, Karly and I decided to talk to our teacher about how we aren't learning jack and are bored near to death. And he totally understood and agreed! So he told us we could try out the intermediate class!!!!!!! I'm so excited! Not only because of the extra oomph of difficulty, but because it's only two days a week rather than four (hallelujah).

I was supposed to go to my first intermediate class today, but it was the same time as an important meeting I had about the trip I'm taking with the Espacio Jovenes this weekend.

A little about the trip:

• Three days (Friday, Saturday, Sunday)
• Going to nature place (national park, I think??)
• Costume party (I'm going to be a lumberjack I think because I have a flannel, a beanie, and boots)
• Canoeing

Honestly, I didn't really understand much in the meeting. Everyone was so excited and they were all yelling and debating and raising their hands for God knows what decision and yeah I was totally lost.

But I had fun and I think I'll make a lot of new friends! I'm extremely excited!!! :) 

I believe that's all for this post- I warned you it wasn't very exciting.

Muchas gracias! xo

Mi cumpleaños, niños, y la huelga

Hello family, friends, and whoever else is wonderful enough to take the time to read my lil blog. Now that I'm getting busier here in Granada, I don't have as much time to write in my blog as I'd like to. I must admit, however, I really had to work to motivate myself to write this post because I would much rather be sleeping or watching stupid Youtube videos right now.

But, here I am, writing. You're welcome.

So I last posted on Thursday, so I guess I'll begin with Friday.

Despite being my favorite day of the schoolweek, I was totally unable to get myself interested in the lessons. I am always so tired, but Friday was especially exhausting. Not for any particular reason, I just felt like I was going to fall asleep all day (which I ended up doing in my Lengua class...while putting on chapstick).

After school, I participated in my usual activities: eating and sleeping. At about 5:45 (or was it 6:45? I forget) I woke up and got ready to begin volunteering at the Espacio Jovenes in Maracena. I was told that it was only a volunteer meeting, but when I got there, it turned out we were to be putting on a kind of children's fair in a nearby plaza.

It was so much fun!! I only knew two people there, but I met many more! I even met some girls who went to school with Robin..small world!

I was put at the booth where we helped kids make these:

This is not a picture from Friday, but you get the picture (lol). 

It was a blast! I manned the iron (I was surprised they gave me such an important job my first time volunteering, too). There were other booths like bracelet making, nail painting, face painting, games, and even a bouncy slide. It was so fun for me, and I bet it was great for the youngin's as well.

Friday night, I went out with Karly, Marie Sofi, and Josefine. Marie Sofie is from Norway and Josefine is from Denmark. They are some of my bestest friends here.

*NOTE ON FRIENDS* I've made a lot of what I call "almost friends." Almost friends are people that talk to me in school and maybe even invite me to lunch with them (stay tuned for my update on Monday!!), but don't necessarily text me or invite me to hang out after school. It's kinda really sad only being really good friends with exchange students, but having almost friends is better than having not at all friends.

On Friday night, Josefine had to go home early (her host mom is outrageously strict omg). But Karly, Marie Sofi, and I still had a fun time .

On Saturday, I had a laid-back day. I forget exactly what I did, but it wasn't much. That night, I met up with Marie Sofi, Josefine, Karly, and Robin. Again, Josefine needed to go home early (this time Marie Sofi went, too), so Karly, Robin, and I hung out by ourselves. At Robin's place, we had some toast with Nutella before going out. We came back fairly early because the city seemed pretty boring that night. So, we ate some more toast and fell asleep. This was my first time sleeping at someone else's house while in Spain! Yay!

In the morning, I woke up and realized "It's my birthday." 

Thaaaaat's riiiiigggghhht...October 20th was my 17th birthday! 

It's crazy to think that I'm already 17 years old. I know I'm still super young, but 17 years is still a long time!

For breakfast, Robin's host mother made us more toast (bread is life here in Spain) with spreads such as jam, butter (well, margarine), this tomato thing, soft cheese, and of course Nutella. With our steaming hot Cola-Cao and our sweatshirts, we decided to eat on her balcony.

No biggie...oh wait- hello, Alhambra!

Seriously, the view of the world-famous Alhambra from Robin's balcony (as well as kitchen window) is breathtaking. All throughout breakfast we could even see tourists walking and taking pictures! 

I know the Alhambra's cool and all, but I must take a moment to show you my first accomplishment on my 17th birthday-

I mean, wow. We got our Greek yogurt, salt, cheese, jam, AND Nutella all stacked on one lil tub of Tulipan margarine. Look at me go.

After breakfast, Robin walked us to the bus stop and Karly and I went home. On the bus, my host mom texted me asking if 2:30 was a good time for lunch. I had totally forgotten about my birthday lunch and thought it was a birthday dinner (like at 8 rather than 2:30) and was just thinking that Ines wanted me home before 2:30 so I wouldn't be late for lunch.

When I got home, I asked my host parents what time my friends should come over for my birthday. They just kind of looked at me and were like "...didn't you get the text?" So I had to rush and tell my friends it was a lot earlier than we'd all thought. Luckily, everyone was still able to make it.

Except Laura. 

To my small birthday meal, I had invited Karly and Robin as well as Marta and Laura, the twins who's house I had lunch at a few weeks ago. When I went out to open the gate for my friends when I heard the gate buzzer buzz, I only saw Marta. I asked her why Laura wasn't there, but she just said that she didn't want to and some other things...I was thoroughly confused, but it's okay.

So once everyone was there, I opened my presents. To be completely honest, it was one of the most awkward experiences I've ever had. My host parents were kind of just smiling at me and my friends were on the couch kind of doing the same and my host brother Samuel looked really really bored and I felt bad for him to be honest...but, I got through it. My host family is so caring and thoughtful and got me great gifts that I'll be using all the time (like adorable mittens and a cute scarf).

After presents, it was time to eat! We had this delicious spaghetti with pesto along with some chicken. It was perfect! For dessert, we had not only one, but two cakes! My host mom made a cookie-chocolate cake and my host abuela made an orange cake. Both were out of this world. 

Even with it being my birthday, I was still incredibly sleepy after lunch. So my friends and I watched TV and kind of dozed off on the couch. At about 6 (I think), my host dad drove us to the bowling alley! Robin was unable to make it and Marta had to go home early, so it ended up being just Karly and I. 

And I don't think I would've wanted it any other way.

We seriously had so much fun! Neither of us are very good, so it was hilarious to make fun of eachother when we got gutter balls and cheer eachother on when we got strikes (yes, a few strikes were made).

Dat form tho.

Here's the scoreboard right after I scored two strikes in a row. This was a miracle because I don't think I've ever gotten above 40 points in bowling before. I like to think that doing so well on my birthday was an omen for a great year of being 17...Speaking of 17, that was also our lane number. Coincidence? I think not.

So that was my birthday. Mellow as can be, but also a lot of fun.

Also, here's what Karly got me for my birthday.

Yes, those are (knockoff) Crocs with fuzzy lining. And yes, I am wearing them now.

Monday morning- school. Ugh. I honestly don't even remember a lot of Monday except that Karly and I went to our Spanish class and it turned out there wasn't class that day (and there wouldn't be for the rest of the week). So we went to Karly's house and just hung out until it was time for me to go home. Exciting, I know.

I lied- something exciting did happen on Monday. People invited me to lunch?! It was crazy! This girl from my class named Ana invited me to get paninis from a nearby panaderia. It was so exciting like I have friends now? I think I'd still consider them almost friends, but we talked and ate together and I'd say we had fun.

Everyday I am tired. Sometimes I catch myself slipping in class, but I can usually stop myself from full-on dozing during a lecture.

On Tuesday, that was not the case.

During my English class, I fell asleep without shame on my desk. I didn't mean to, I was just so tired and I don't do anything (almost literally) in that class since I already know English.

I also had a math test that day. After struggling and totally not succeeding with the problems, I started to draw on the back of my paper and then ended up falling asleep. It was so easy because the room was silent except for the occasional cough (or sneeze- one of which woke me up quite abruptly). At the end of the test, my teacher came over and asked how I thought I did...I think from the look on my face and the absurd amount of question marks written on my paper, he could tell I wasn't too confident. He patted me on the head and sighed.

The last class of the day- French. Within the first 10 minutes, I was out. I just remember waking up to giggling and my teacher saying "Bonjour Tessa, Bonjour Josefine, Bonjour Marie Sofi." Apparently, all three of us exchange students had fallen asleep! The class was laughing and we were just sleepily trying to understand what was going on. It was a little embarrassing, but pretty funny, too.

After school Tuesday, I began my weekly volunteering job. At 5:45, I went to the Espacio Jovenes to start my "job" of playing with little kids. It was so much fun! They wanted to play games with me and asked me how to say words in English and it was so easy that I didn't even realize a whole hour and a half went by until my host mom was at the door to pick me up.

So on Wednesday I didn't have to go to school. Why? Because students were going on strike. Cool right?!

At around noon, I walked into my kitchen to get some water and saw my host brother and one of his friends eating sandwiches. My host mom asked me if I was going to the manifestacion, or the rally for la huelga (the strike). I told her I didn't know and she told me to go with the two boys scarfing down bocadillos in the kitchen. Sure! Why not?

I texted Karly and grabbed my passport (I'm still not sure why I needed to bring it...Samuel told me I needed a form of identification "just in case"). And we were off!

We met up with some other friends and walked to a park where the demonstration was to start. There were a ton of people!!

And soon enough, we started walking! I don't even really know what words to use to describe this experience. It was confusing at first (I later found out it was really mostly about the school system switching and becoming a lot more expensive). I only understood about two of the chants...which is probably like 6% considering how many there were (and everyone seemed to know them all?).

Another thing that was confusing was when to do what. Sometimes everyone would jump or put their arms in the air or kneel down or run or walk backwards or do a dance. I just stuck to what has gotten me this far in a foreign country- following others.

But despite not being fully aware of what was happening around me, it was really exciting. I think it's so cool for people to see a flaw and stand up to do something about it rather than just waiting for someone else to fix it. I think it's especially cool when those people are young students and the flaw is in the education system. I felt like I was part of something really spectacular being with all these people.

We marched for about two hours, and ended up in front of the ayuntamiento (city council). A few people yelled things from behind megaphones while the rest of sat down to watch and listen. This was the time when the group I was with decided to head home for lunch.

After lunch and siesta, I went back to the centro to meet up with Marie Sofi. We met at the same park we had all gathered in before the manifestacion. We didn't have any plans and none of our other friends could make it to hang out with us, so we walked! We walked throughout the city center and just chatted. Like a lot of my adventures here, it was laid back but totally fun.

I ended up getting some ice cream and Marie Sofi got this pastry and some fresh squeezed orange juice. Food seems to be a common theme for me in Spain life. We even went to a little super market because Marie Sofie hadn't seen any in Spain yet (don't ask me how she hadn't..they're on almost every corner). We bought conditioner for our hair and looked at all the Coca-Cola cans that say "Share a Coke with *insert name here*" and I think the lady at the cash register got mad at us for "messing them up" (which we totally didn't).

After finding our way back to the main street (I admit, we were a little bit lost), we both got on our separate buses home.

Today, I got up and went to school like usual...but when I got there, nobody else from my class was there! I wandered around for a while and then sat on a bench to text my host mom about my situation. Some nice lady came up to me and asked me what I was doing. I told her about my predicament, and she told me that nobody was there because there was another strike that day (for the teachers this time)!

So, I went home. And this is how I've spent the last hour and a half. I have a feeling today is going to be a very  relaxing day.

Muchas gracias! xo

Apology

Hello all my wonderful readers!

I have been incredibly busy lately (hence the tardiness of my next post). I started writing a post, but then I started getting really stressed out about a lot of things and began having mini panic attacks. Do not worry, I am okay- I just really need to sleep right now. This tiny post is just to say that there is a post on the way updating you all about my many adventures here in Granada. Thank you so so so much for sticking with me!

Muchas gracias! xo

¡Más!

So it kinda feels like I haven't posted in forever...even though it's only been five days.

But in my little-big life, it seems like so much has happened! (Please don't hold me to that "so much has happened!" comment- most likely this will sound rather boring to you, my lovely reader).

On Sunday, Karly and I baked cookies!! Earlier that week, we had taken a trip to the big store (it's a solid 10x bigger than our neighboorhood Mercadona) and purchased ingredients for American-style chocolate chip cookies. We were more than stoked to have a little taste of home and have fun doing it...

Boy were we wrong.

First of all, we had no baking soda. We read that we could substitute baking powder, but we didn't want to risk anything. So we googled "chocolate chip cookie recipe without baking soda"...and wouldn't cha know, there were a ton of recipes! Since we were jonsing to get baking after our minor set-back, we chose the first recipe.

All was going suprisingly well...until we looked at them after about five minutes in the oven-

I think the caption speaks for itself on this one...

We ended up mashing our two batches (yes, we made two of these awful things) into small pans and put them in the refrigerator in hopes of a brownie-like desert. I have not tasted them. They are still in my refrigerator. My host family makes fun of me for them. This, my friends, is my life. 

Now we have Monday....ugh.

To be honest, I don't really remember anything super special about Monday. It was a school day. I had Spanish class (which is still awful). 

On Tuesday, when I came home from school, Samuel handed me a postcard from the mailbox...it was from my best friend, Chip! Chip went to Germany on exchange last year. He pretty much inspired me to embark on this incredible journey #NoBiggie. 

When I got a closer look at the card, I immediately started cracking up. Here's why:

There's Chip on the left... (with the lovely Marie to the right).

When we stepped into the elevator going up to our floor, I flipped over the postcard to see what was written. Almost immideately, I went from crazy laughter to watery eyes (paired with a huge grin, though). I really do miss everyone back home, and getting a letter from one of my best friends ever saying that they missed me, too, made me miss them even more. 

As I stepped into the house, I noticed a huge box next to the door...with my name on it!! My dad's package finally arrived (long story short- my home-town post office messed up real bad and my package was lost for quite a while). I was so excited! I ran to my room to start tearing into it before lunch time. 

The goods:

• 3 bags of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
• 3 boxes of Kraft Mac&Cheese (Monster's Universtity shaped!)
• 3 bottles of my facewash that they don't sell here
• 3 small batches of chocolate chip cookies
• 1 Seventeen Magazine
• 4 nail polishes
• 1 pack of razors (for shaving)
• and 1 card and 2 mystery gifts in pink paper which I'm saving to open on my actual birthday

Best. Box. Ever. 

I love my dad so so so so so so so so so so much! (Thank you so so so so so so much, daddy!)

So yaddah yaddah yaddah school school school...

HUMP DAAAAAYYYY! (if you don't get the reference, google it, trust me)

On Wednesday afternoon, after our Spanish class, Karly and I went to the city center to buy Robin a birthday present (her birthday is October 22, two days after mine!). We wandered around for a while and went into a few shops. I won't divulge what I got her because there is a miniscule chance that she may read this (if you are, hello Robin!). 

She totally isn't reading this.

Jerk.

(jk)

ANYWAY-

Karly also bought me my birthday present! Yay for friends!

After shopping for a little bit, we had a while until Karly had to go to her dance class (she's learning how to flamenco!), so we went into some stores and tried on some clothes that we didn't end up buying. I did buy two headbands because I lost mine like the second week I was here. 

Because her host family had to go out of town, Karly slept at my house last night. We had a crazy slumber party! We stayed up all night, told secrets, made prank calls...

Sike we studied for tests and fell asleep at like 11. #PartyHard

Today, I bribed people at school who I wanted to be my friends with Reese's. They liked them lots and I think I made an almost friend! I'd like to thank Reese's for making friends in foreign countries possible.

Tomorrow (Friday), I'm going to attend a meeting for the volunteers of the Espacio de Joven (the Boys and Girls Club-esque place). I was supposed to go on Tuesday, but my siesta lasted until about half-way through the volunteer session I was supposed to be at. Oh well!

This weekend, I will be celebrating my birthday! I don't know exactly what I'm doing yet, but there will definitely be a blog post all about it. 

Muchas gracias! xo

Another Crazy Story? C'mon, AC!

Confession: I've been listening to "That's How I Beat Shaq" by Aaron Carter at least once a day for about 3 weeks- hence the title of this post.

However, I do have another "crazy" story of my own!

Yesterday, I had no plans for the evening. I was actually a little disappointed that I might be spending my Friday night at home.

But then, a miracle happened:

I was invited out with Karly and some of her friends that she met through a family friend. I was so happy that I was actually going out!!

While I was at Karly's house straightening my hair and getting ready to go out, I got a message from Robin asking if we (Karly and I) wanted to go to the discoteca with her and some friends from her volleyball team. I'd never been to a discoteca before and it sounded so fun!

Now, I was conflicted. Karly had gone out of her way to ask her friends if I could tag along, and I wanted to ditch her for someone else. But before I even said anything, Karly said that if I wanted to go with Robin instead that it was okay. I asked her like six more times if she was sure, and then accepted that I had the go-ahead to go with mi otra amiga.

At about 9, Karly left to meet up with her friends. I didn't have to meet Robin until 11, so I ended up taking a shower... and ruining my straightened hair. Soon enough, it was 10:30 and time for me to catch the bus (my first time riding solo)!

The statue of Christopher Columbus was mine and Robin's meeting point last night. We met at about 10:50, but had to wait until 11:15 for her volleyball friend Javi (she plays for a co-ed team). It was freezing cold, especially by the fountain around the statue!

After a while, we saw a guy waving at us from across the street. It was Javi! He had brought a friend named Norberto. He told us that we were going to a discoteca at the Plaza de Toros...this meant that I took a bus into the center just to walk almost all the way back home. Oh well!

We walked to the Plaza and walked around it for a while choosing which discoteca looked best (there's about 3 there). Now the discotecas at the Plaza de Toros aren't really full-blown discotecas, but more like really big bars with music and dancing. The bigger discotecas are in the city center.

Anyway, we finally decided on one and got in the line. Javi told Robin and I that since we were underage (oops), we had to pretend we didn't speak any Spanish. Easy!

Sure enough, we got in no problemo. We had a blast! We danced and danced and danced some more until about 3 in the morning. There was even a live saxophone player! It was so much fun and I can't wait until I can go back.

At about 3, I called my host dad as planned for him to pick me up. Normally, I would walk or take a taxi home, but since I wasn't with Karly or my host brother, he preffered to drive me instead (he's seriously so thoughtful and awesome!).

Next activity: sleep!

Needless to say, I slept like a rock. In the morning, I woke up at about 10:30, had some breakfast, and watched Family Guy (or Padre de Familia as it's called here) with Samuel for a while. I have no plans for today, but on Sunday Robin, Karly and I are going to make chocolate chip cookies! That endeavor in itself should be interesting, so I'll probably write a post about that on Sunday.

Now, I need to attempt to condense all my experiences so far into an email for my Rotary clubs (both here and in California). Wish me luck!

Muchas gracias! xo