ALMOST OVER

This post was written about three weeks ago. Sorry that it's late everyone! I had been pretty busy.

The fact that my journey on this wonderful experience is soon over is heartbreaking. I have so many memories here in this beautiful country. Amazing ones, and quite a bit of horrible ones. There is so much that has happened between the time I left my little town of Lutz, Florida and now. It’s going to be hard to leave this place where I have such an abundance of memories, friends, and family.

At this very moment, I’m on a train back from Madrid to my town. I’m coming back from the end of the year Rotary trip, where 36 other amazing exchange students and I went on a bus tour across the south of Spain and Portugal. It was eleven days of non-stop excitement and learning. It was a time to deepen relationships with friends- connections that I know will last a lifetime; it was a time to learn a plethora of things that I didn’t know about the country that I have been living in for the past year. All in all, it was a time to connect deeply with everything around me- people, countries, culture, landscapes, food, architecture, and much, much more.

Now that I’m at the end of my exchange, I can judge how much my Spanish has improved. It blows my mind when I read back on things I had written in school, or reread early conversations with friends over social networking sites. I think to myself, how could I have not known how to say “do you know” in Spanish?? Or that I didn’t know how to say “I’m sorry”, or things like that. It really is unbelievable. Now, there are very few things that I can’t say or understand. I can say anything I want to, without having to stop and think about correct grammar or pronunciation. I’m actually having a lot more problems with my English than my Spanish. Thank God for autocorrect, or this report would look like a second grader wrote it. I guess that that happens to everyone though, when they go to a foreign country for a year and speak very little English. I’m happy with my language skills, but everyday I still try to improve it as much as I can.

To be honest, I’m more scared to return home than I was even to come here to Spain. It’s the most terrifying thing… I really haven’t kept in contact with people back home, so I have no idea what I’m about to walk into. And it’s going to be pretty hard leaving a country, and a life, that I know so well and love.

WOOOOO

              So, its been a while since my last update. Life hasn’t really changed. I can’t really think of that many awesome interesting things to write down, because I think all of those awesome interesting things that I would like to write about, have become my normal everyday life, and they don’t really seem that amazing to me anymore. It would be like writing a blog still living in the place you have for the majority of your life, writing down the things that have happened to you: I WENT TO SCHOOL AHH!  Or: OMG I WENT TO THE BEACH TODAY.  Or maybe, TODAY, I ATE FOOD. Well, maybe things aren’t that boring here, but you can definitely tell life has slowed down a bit. 

             One thing that happened was that my family came to visit me! It was unreal. Being able to see the faces of the people you love the most, being able to hug them, to show them this new life that you’ve created for yourself… it’s the best feeling ever. The first night they were here, I had this horrible nightmare that they weren’t really here, and that I woke up and they were gone. It was awful. But, thankfully, they were all there when I woke up (: we spent a few days in Denia, my little beach town, and then we went to Madrid, and then Toledo. I had already been to those places a few times, so it was fun to be able to kind of show off my knowledge about all the history that I knew, that they maybe didn’t. My family visiting me, really was the highlight of my exchange. I didn’t think that it was possible to love my family even more than I did, but I was happier to see them than any other time, ever. I consider that day the happiest day of my life. It’s proof that distance really does make the heart grow fonder. The entire trip with them, I could not get enough hugs, not enough conversations, and not enough smiles from them. The hard part of seeing your family after not seeing them for a really long time is seeing how they have changed. It’s hard when you really have to get it in your head that no matter if you’re gone, people’s lives move on. They change, and they grow. Whether it’s in a good way or a bad way, there’s nothing you can do to stop it.

              One piece of that trip was missing! My sister. She wasn’t able to come. I honestly don’t remember why she couldn’t, but all I know is that I miss her more than anything, and was crushed to find out she couldn’t come see me. But I have good news! She’s coming (: She’s going to come next month, with my grandma. I’m so excited to see her. Were going to have nine months worth of conversations to catch up on, so watch out grandma, you may not get any silent, relaxing, calming time like you might want. We’re going to go to Barcelona. I’ve only been there once, so it will be really cool being able to learn more and see more with two women I love very very muchhh (:

              Another thing that happened, was that I switched families for the third time. I wasn’t really looking forward to it, because I was really happy with my last family, but this family that I’m with now, is nothing like I expected them to be. They’re amazing, and I’m really looking forward to getting closer to them these last two months of my exchange. They live up on the mountain so it’s a little bit more difficult to get into town, about a forty minute walk, but it’s a really nice change. Living where there isn’t noise all night long, where darkness actually exists because of the lack of city lights is really nice. It reminds me more of home.

               Summer is coming! There have been a couple days that have actually been warm enough to go tanning! It’s still too cold to go in the ocean though, because the ocean is freezing all year long. But regardless, if you walk by the beach you will definitely see a fair share of British/German tourists enjoying the “warmth”, while the normal people, or locals, are walking around wearing parkas boots and scarves. Tourist season is beginning, which I don’t really appreciate. Because at least in the winter, without tourists, it isn’t obvious that I’m not from here. But now, that there are thousands, (Literally, thousands. The population of Denia in the winter is seventy thousand people. Then, with all the tourists coming here, with their little beach apartments and all, the population jumps three hundred thousand people.) people just group my in with all the other light skinned, light eyed, and light haired people, which are all tourists. UGH. And I’m not a tourist! I live here! It frustrates me. I hate sticking out so much.

                I don’t have to say much about this, and I don’t want to either. Two months. Those two words are the most terrifying words I have ever thought. Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited to come home, to see everyone again. But the thought of leaving here… leaving this life behind me, forever. Nothing will ever be the same. There are parts of my life here, or one part, that I know and hope doesn’t change. Hope that it will be with me forever. But I guess that is just a part of doing an exchange. Finding things you love, and never letting them go, even though they might not exist in the country you have to go back to.

                 So, my life has slowed down. Things have become really regular, almost scheduled. But it’s alright. I love my life here, and will be sad to have to leave it. Also, if you’re reading this, and you’re thinking of doing an exchange, and have questions, whether its how to get started, or more personal questions like about what it’s been like, please, ask. I’m more than happy to help, because I think that every single teenager should get the chance to do this. It matures you, opens your mind, and gives you an amazing experience you won’t ever forget. So please, ask.

Six months in!

Time is a scary thing. I compare it to a river of moments- with a strong current, the moment that is brought to sight, no matter how much you would like it to stay forever, is no sooner swept away with another moment taking its place. It seems like just a week ago I was saying to myself, oh just two months until my family comes. Or jeez, I wish summer would get here already. Or thinking, wow, I still have eight more months here in Spain! But, the time is quickly slipping away. Now, just thirteen days until my family comes, yesterday the temperature was seventy five degrees (!!!! Warmer than Florida!!!!) , and just four more very short months until I’m going to find myself sitting on an airplane reminiscing on all of the good and bad times I’ve had and will have had in the past year.

            Life is still going great. Even better than before.  I changed host families, and I really love my new one. They’re really similar to my family in Florida, which helps me feel more at home. I feel so included in this family, like I actually matter to them! I can talk to them about whatever I want, I spend time with them, I help clean up, I go to church with them, and I go for walks with my host mom. I feel like I’m part of the family! It’s awesome. They took me to Valencia last weekend, and my host dad spent two straight days with me just telling me all these really interesting facts about everything imaginable. It was really fun. Valencia is amazing. Definitely my favorite city in Spain.

            Right now, I’m in what my mom calls the “Butt on Stove” phase of my exchange. Now that I think about it I guess the name doesn't really make a ton of sense, but I’m at the point now where I know that I have a very limited amount of time left here in Spain, and I’m trying to get my language skills as good as possible before I leave. I know that there’s a good chance I might not have the opportunity to live in a Spanish-speaking environment anytime soon after this, so I’m just trying to get my Spanish as good as I can, and then hope I won’t forget it when I get back to America. I have completely stopped speaking English here. It’s something I know I should have done a very long time ago. But besides the occasional Skype session with my family or friends, I don’t speak English! 

            As all of ya’ll could probably guess, there are some differences between here and America. I know I’ve been here six months already, but there are still things that I just am not able to grasp where these things that people believe are coming from. People here believe that oranges are the cure to almost any sickness. My host mother tells me every day, “Lindsay losiento que no tenemos medicinas, pero tenemos naranjas, y esos son mejores que cualquier medicina.” Which translated is Lindsay, sorry that we don’t have medicine, but we do have oranges, and those are better than any medicine. And I’m just in my head thinking, “Honestly… You think that eating an orange will cure nasal congestion?” So my advice to future exchanges, do not depend on your host families for medication. Bring your own and have your parents send you some! Another thing that everyone here strongly believes, not just my host families but literally everyone, is that if you go barefoot in the house, you are at risk of getting very VERY sick. I have been told a few different things, 1) You will get pneumonia 2) You will get an STD 3) You will lose your appetite 4) You will begin to get migraines and they will continue your entire life. Those are just the most memorable risks that I have heard. I have literally been yelled at so many times for not wearing slippers inside. And not just by my parents, or other adults. Also by my friends! Everyone is crazy! Another thing people say here, is that ibuprofen is a miracle drug, and that it actually CURES colds. My mom here, so many times has just handed me ibuprofen and said here, take this or you will be worse in a few days. Or after dinner she’ll say, “Here Lindsay take some Ibuprofen.” And I’ll say “its okay, nothing hurts.” And she’ll say “but if you don’t take it, something WILL hurt tomorrow.” Also, apparently bananas are extremely fattening. I learned that when I was trying to avoid eating the chocolate I got for Valentines Day, so I went and ate two bananas. My host mom walked in on me, gasped and commented, “and you say you want to lose weight!” And I replied, “MOM don’t you know that you cant get fat on fruit?!” And she gives me a weird look and informed me that actually my entire life I’ve been living a lie, and bananas are actually one of the most fattening foods out there. I was skeptical, but eventually after five to ten minutes of straight arguing, I just agreed and said she was right and that I couldn’t believe that my entire life has been wasted eating bananas, thinking they were healthy. Then she handed me a muffin and told me to eat it instead because it was lower in sugar. I still don’t know where people here get ideas like that but I roll with them!

            I have been sick a ridiculous amount of times here. In Florida, I would only get sick maybe once a year. But even in just the past few months, I have been sick over ten times. And not just like a “Oh poor me I have a stuffy nose” kind of sick, no. It’s an all out, full blown, in bed for days kind of sick. Maybe it’s the coldness… I don’t know! But I’m so tired of it!

            Speaking about fat things, I’ll talk about myself. SEVEN KILOS GAINED. I say that in kilos, because it sounds a lot better than in pounds. Even when I say it to myself in pounds, I’m shocked and weirded out. I’ve been 110 pounds pretty much for the past five years of my life, so this new weight is weird and depressing! But I know that with being an exchange student, gaining weight is inevitable. I know that its not because I eat too much, or don’t exercise, because I run daily and eat less here than I did in the States. I know I’ll lose it all when I come back YAY!!

            It’s getting so close to being summer! I am more than ready to go to the beach, wake up whenever I want to, be with friends all the time, tan, go to parties, and just enjoy life. I really cannot explain how excited I am for that. The only bad thing about summer, is going to be knowing that my exchange is almost up. I have met people here that it are going to be absolutely impossible to forget. My heart hurts even thinking about leaving them. I just put the thought of leaving out of my mind when I’m with them. But I know that the time will eventually come, and I’m going to have to leave. But, the thought that’s going to get me through it all, is that I know its not goodbye forever. It’s going to be just like it was when I left my family back in America, one of the most difficult things I ever had to do, but I knew it wasn’t goodbye forever, I knew I would see them again, just like I know I’m going to see the people I’ve met here again. Not a goodbye, just a see you later.