Hey guys! I know it's been a minute, a lot has happened in the last couple weeks. It'll soon be 3 weeks that I've been in Spain! Let me catch you up... SCHOOL: (colegio) It's been difficult, but for the most part everyones nice. I'm lucky that my host sister has friends I can go with; I walk with them to and from school everyday. I'm actually writing this during school right now, during a free period. I don't really understand much in my classes, which is normal but frustrating. I pick up a few words or even a lot sometimes but to piece it altogether is hard, responding even more-so. I'd rather work on my Spanish in class than the classes themselves, because theres really not much I can do with the little Spanish I have now. Everyone tells me I'm getting better, and I know am. Poco a poco, as they say. Little by little. MADRID: So this last weekend I went to Madrid for an Exchange Student Orientation- it was incredible. The thing is, we didn't really get to see Madrid, we were at the hostel campus most of the time. BUT-- It was great. We were all in the same boat, and making friends was so easy. I got closer with the other kids in Pamplona during the 10 hours we were on a bus together. (5 hours there, 5 hours back. + hours on different trains). The crazy thing is we're all so different, my group in Pamplona. There's 5 of us- 3 boys 2 girls. I'm not sure if we'd be friends in another circumstance, but I am so glad we are here. We're like the most random group that just somehow click so well. They open my mind to wanting to see the best in everyone, and to find things we have in common. This weekend I saw that in everyone. Sometimes the beginning of a friendship can be dull smalltalk, but once you pass that it's so rewarding. I think we all needed some anchors that just completely understood our stuggles, and we all got that this weekend. It was crazy how easy the friendships grew in the small time we had; how deep and meaningful they feel. The whole thing was a very open and friendly setting; we could walk in the hostel whenever and go outside amid the greenery. The coordinators took away our phones, which was honestly beneficial in the long-run. There were meetings where we learned about Rotary and Eurotour, which was insane, and also a lot of free time. I think we all found ourselves easily talking with anyone- you couldn't be alone; after all we'd all just met. I did recognize some people from a snapchat group chat we've had for a few months. Anyways, by the end it was very bittersweet. We really only had Saturday, because Friday and Sunday were mostly traveling. I ended up leaving very content, very very sleep deprived, and with new friends with promises to see each other again soon. Theres some more I can update you on, and I hope to do that soon. Until then, feel free to text me!  Hope you are all well! I'm thinking off you and missing you (and the junk food) a lot! Hope you enjoyed this lil update. Adios! |
