One Step at a Time

This blog entry is very long and poorly written but I tried to best summarize this past week. Please, bare with me…

On Saturday night I went to my first official Spanish fiesta with my host sister and her friends. At first, I was really nervous about this experience. An 9pm Gloria and I got dropped off at her friend Ana's house. Ana is really nice and she's also my age so I'm looking forward to seeing her in school. We had dinner and talked for a while. Ana and her sister included me in the conversation too and it made me feel really welcome. At about 11:30 we drove the nearby town where the fiesta was and walked through the streets decorated with papel picado (they were impress that I knew what it was) and all the cages and bars that line the streets for when the bulls come. At midnight the place was empty. As time went on though we met up with more friends and people started to arrive. I left at 2am so I didn't get to stay to long but it was pretty fun for my first time. Everyone kept explaining "this party really stinks. Usually the music is better. Normally we dance more"but it was fun for me anyway and I'm glad that I conquered that mini fear of the fiesta atmosphere. 

On Sunday morning I walked to the beach with my family where we swam for a while and then left to go to lunch with a large group of friends and family. Sundays are important family days here. For four hours everyone socialized over seafood paella and deserts. I was silent the most of the time as all the teenagers hung out, played with things on their iPhones, and talked really fast. 

That night we drove to Valencia and dropped off Gloria at her apartment where she will live during the week while she's in college and return home on the weekends. I also claimed my lost luggage at the airport so I could stop wearing the same shorts for six days!! It felt like Christmas in September when I got my suitcases.

Early Monday morning my host parents left for vacation in the islands so when I woke up I was home alone. At noon Christina, the wife of Arturo (the Rotary President), and her two daughters picked me up from the house and brought me to their hotel that is directly on the beach in Denia. I stayed with their two daughters Carmen and Christina from Monday to Wednesday at the hotel. I read my book, wrote in my journal, and slept, a lot. The food at the hotel was amazing, and on Wednesday we even had a seven course meal for a birthday celebration. Some of the courses included octopus, squid, shrimps, and different fish. All of it was delicious.

I enrolled in highschool on Monday but there were lots of problems and they changed the courses that I originally planned to take. Now, I will be studying artistic courses on a senior level. I can’t imagine how hard this year is going to be, but I hope that if I study hard enough, I will pass my classes.

On Wednesday night I stayed in the hotel room alone because the family that I was staying with had to leave. It felt nice to have some time alone. I took a really long shower, watched the tv in English, and then cried for a while. Being almost completely silent for a week is something I never thought I could do… until it actually happened. I felt so lonely and homesick despite my location in this beautiful country. I even sang to myself to remember that I had a voice.

Wednesday night was restless and miserable. The next morning I got up at 7, had breakfast at the hotel buffet, and brought my bags down to find the employee at the hotel that needed to bring me to the train station to go to Madrid. He dropped me off on the sidewalk and almost left before I explained that I had no idea what I was supposed to do. Thankfully other Rotary students and adults showed up in the next few minutes.

There are two other girls and two boys that are also living in Denia this year. Four of us are from the United States and one girl is from Taiwan. We took a 1.5 hour bus ride from Denia to Valencia and then waited two hours before riding a train from Valencia to Madrid. Once in Madrid tons of other exchange students all united at the train station where we got on a bus and headed to our location for the weekend.

The Orientation was held on the campus of some type of an old school. After arriving in the afternoon games were organized for us to mingle with all of the exchange students and make new friends. Countries such as Canada, Germany, Australia, Iceland, Taiwan, and France were represented along with the majority of American students. The entire weekend was amazing. The food and games may have been a bit terrible, but being surrounded by fun and energetic teenagers from all over the globe made a huge difference. Amongst the many memorize that were made, Margeir, my friend from Iceland, tried his first Reese’s cup and Jolly Rancher, both which he enjoyed very much.

Returning to my host family after a long week was so different. This weekend, with all of the exchange students in Madrid, reestablished my confidence and comfort in my home away from home. Since I returned to Denia today I’ve been speaking much more Spanish. My little sister asked again if I could stay all year and not change host families, and that made me feel so loved.

Tonight I gave my host family their gifts and even let them try Reese’s cups. My older host sister was in a motorbike accident while I was gone so she will be home all week instead of returning to college. I’m so happy that I’m making progress already and it’s only been a week and a half.  I still miss my family and friends EXTREMELY much but now that I’m having a better time in Spain and learning to verbally express myself I feel much better.