An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind. — Mohandas Gandhi

Monday was Día De La Paz Y No Violencia which means Peace and Non-violence day. Also my school has existed for 50 years, so they like making a big deal out of everythingg.

Día de la paz was basically two blow off days, Friday we watched a movie (American History X, anyone heard of it.. it wasn't exactly a bad movie, it was interesting...), then we discussed it and did nothing else. Monday was had only first hour (which lucky for me I had Religion, aka we did nothing), after lunch we did a school wide dance to a song (someone in the school wrote it specially for Día de la Paz) then the last hour we did this gift exchange thing.

Our whole class wrote their names on a piece of paper and them we drew names. We had to be the 'invisible friend' to the person whose name we drew all week without them knowing who we were. Then on Friday we had to bring in a homemade gift for the person.

I made an origami dragon for my person (which turned out awesome) and chocolate chip cookies (which were delicious and I was told I need to make them more often) for my whole class. One of my friends, Ángela, got my name and made me two really pretty bracelets.



Also on Friday I got this really bad cold, that literally can out of the blue. Thursday night my throat was hurting a little bit (before that nothing), so I took some cold medicine, and Friday I could barely talk...
Saturday (I had my voice back..ish)  I thought I had a volleyball game at 8:00 in the morning, I showed up and nobody from my team is there. My dad just dropped me off and also our phones weren't working... (we could only receive calla).. So I go up to this guy that looks he's in charge, but the only thing he knows is that my team was not playing there today.

great. I'm in a gym full of people I don't know, without a phone, and my dad won't come to pick me up at least for another hour.

I politely ask the guy if I can use his phone, he gives it to me, I have my iPod with me with has all the numbers of my friends and family in Spain. There are two numbers under my dads name. I call one, and get my sister. She tells me the right number, I quickly call that and it was going to take my dad five minutes to come back for me. I give the phone back and thank the guys. And head outside to wait for my dad.
It took about 15 minutes with all the traffic.


Then later I was talking to my parents about going out that night:

Them: Are you sure you want to go out with your cold?

Me: Yes! I feel fine!


 -----> Sunday I could barely talk again. Karma, I might of deserved that. (but it was so worth it!)



Today I had a math test, I studied SO much for and I thinkkkk I passed (knock on wood). I'm for sure that I got at least 4.5 points and that I got one wrong (I need 5 to pass and it's out of 10), but we`ll see.




My post is all over the place today... SORRY! ummm, hopefully the next is better!

ps if my school posts a video of the dance I'll be sure to add it:)

I'm a great believer in luck and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it. - Thomas Jefferson

Last Sunday was my host dad's birthday, any guesses on how we celebrated? If was answer was food, you're catching on to how things work in Spain. :P

Along with a ton of other food, we had a delicious sponge cake with whip cream in the middle and chocolate frosting cover all of the outside... all made from scratch by my dad!


Also last weekend was this 'international motorcycle rally' (that's how that internet describes it...) called Pingüinos (Penguins). Basically it's 25,000 motor-cyclers getting together and partying for a weekend. It's quite a sight. hahaha.

There's a parade, where alll the motorcycles drive through Valladolid, but I didn't get to see it because I had I volleyball game (we won!). I did, however, go to the campsite and see all the motorcycles parked, not quiet as cool, but still. It was something you have to see in order to understand what TWENTY-FIVE THOUSAND motorcycles are.
Pingüinos is the largest motorcycles gathering in the world that takes place in the winter. :)


Other than that, life is normal. Today I had volleyball practice and the gym is basically a gigantic freezer! It's literally colder inside the gym than outside. (and it's around 30ºF outside). And it was a really tough practice, but fun at the same time... you have to keep doing something or else you'll freeze. My coach is great, he makes us work hard, and it took me awhile to get used to the way he coaches. But now that I'm used to it, practices are amazing :)



School is school, in my biology class we're learning bio-chem stuff and we have to study it every night in order to have a chance at passing the exam. So guess what I've been doing? Studying, studying, and more studying!! My math class started out really well, and I understood everything more or less perfectly. But now that things are way more complicated, everything I learned jumbled together and I'm once again hopeless lost. (my friend Carlota and another kid in my class, Jorge are trying to help me, I have two weeks until the exam. wish. me. luck. :P)





¡¡FELIZ SUEÑOS!! <sweet dreams>

 (because it's 11:30 and I need to be getting to sleep, Gerda this post was specially for you, I hope you're happy now! hahaha)

ps. Speaking of dreams I've been dreaming Spanish!! (well for a couple of months now, I just kept forgetting to tell everyone!) In the first dream in Spanish that I remember, I was in my freshman year biology class (with Mr. Shifflett) and absolutely nothing spectacular happened, expect for half the people in that class where speaking Spanish and the rest either English, a mixture of the two, or some made-up language.

Los Reyes Magos

Christmas Break, sadly, is over.

On the 30th of December, we had a failtacular AFS orientation. Only three of us showed up. Me, Malte (who lives in Valladolid) and Emily. We first went ice skating and then went out for churros, so beside the bad turn out, we still had a good time. :)

Eating churros with the other AFSers

On New Year's Eve (Or Nochevieja as they call it here) we went to my Aunt's house where we ate A LOT of food. And we also ate the traditional 12 grapes in the last seconds of the year for good luck. I managed to eat them all and NOT choke. :)

New Years Day we ate another HUGE meal at my grandparents house.


Januray 5th we went to a parade called, Cabalgata De Reyes, in the town next to mine. Andrea, one of my friends, was in it as a duck.

This is a video of the parade in Madrid from last year, I think... I saw the one from this year one on TV.

My friend:)

After the parade, we went home and ate Roscón, which is a traditional dessert for Reyes Magos. In it are too 'surprises' is a bean and the other is a king. The person who gets the king becomes the 'King or Queen' and the person who get the bean has to pay.

Roscón

My sister was the 'Queen' and there was a car inside the cake, not a king :P

On the sixth we celebrated Los Reyes Magos or Three Kings day. Which celebrate the three kings that brought the gift to baby Jesus. This is the day that you open up your presents. So that morning we ALL got woken up by my sister yelling 'Get up! Get up! Let's open our presents!' and singing a Spanish Christmas song. We opened presents and then some friends of my parents came over to eat breakfast, we ate the rest of the Roscón.

Also today it SNOWED!! Which is NOT normal in Valladolid:) It only lasted about 2 hours and it all disappeared but still IT SNOWED! :) 

Upcoming News:

February: AFS orientation, Carnival (I'll explain more about this later), and Noelle, an AFSer in Sevilla is coming up for a weekend! 

My host dad made crepes over break :) yummmmmm

Trimester One Grades

I forgot to post this yesterday....
Final grades for the first trimester:

Philosophy: 1

Physics/Chemistry: 1

Lengua: 2

Math: 5

Biology: 5

P.E.: 6

Science of the Contemporary World (Earth Science): 8

Computers: 8

Religion: 10

English: 10

For those of you who can't count (or don't want to) that's SEVEN classes passed and ONLY three failed.

Now I need to read 175 pages of my book (Fahrenheit 451) for Philosophy... wish me luck! (I have 12 days...)

¡Feliz Navidad A Todo El Mundo!

Merry Christmas! A couple of days late, but it still counts :)

My family's Christmas Tree with Presents

Break started last Thursday, and as said earlier my friends, Emily, went out with me and my friends and everyone had a fantastic time! For those of you wondering we spoke 95% Spanish (EVEN when talking just amongst ourselves), talk about impressive. :D 

On Christmas Eve we spent the first half of the day cleaning the WHOLE house. Then my Aunt came and we ate a very nice sit down dinner.

This is how Christmas works in Spain... at least for my family:

My family doesn't open presents for Christmas.. normally (but we decided that we were going to open the presents my mom sent, on Christmas instead of Three Kings Day)... however Spain doesn't share the same 'running down the stair on Christmas morning to a tree full of present waiting to be opened' idea as America. Instead they open presents on Christmas Eve. 

My host dad opening his present from my family back in the states.

On Christmas Day, my aunt, uncle, cousins, and another aunt (same one that came for Christmas Eve) came and we ate a HUGE lunch... it was one of those meals that you're full before the meat is even served... After lunch I played Wii with Patricia and my cousins and later played Monopoly. I won :] (REIGNING  CHAMP! I have yet to lose a game) 

But then EVERYONE left before 9:00.... Now in Spain this is strange, my thirteen year old sister's birthday party lasted until 2 a.m. .... 9:00 is early. It wasn't until then that I realized what a little deal Christmas is. And that's when being an exchange student becomes hard, when all the distractions leave and all you can think about is all your family and friends thousands of miles away. 

It's tough, but you get through it.. thinking positive.. eating amazing spanish candies and snacks... and receiving Christmas card or card or any types (that alway brightens my day).

And then you do things that make you feel really awesome, like today I went to the post office to send a birthday card and then to the pharmacy (the pharmacy was the challenge.. I had no idea where it was and the map my sister drew for me made ZERO sense, but thanks to nice people in the street I was able to follow verbal instructions (in Spanish) and found it!) AND I had great conversations with both the lady in the pharmacy and the lady in the post office. 

ONE more thing: I'm totally stealing this from my friend Allyson's blog (check out her blog here), but it's really neat so read it!

It's the exchange student version to 'Twas A Night Before Christmas

'Twas the Night Before Departure

Author: Tanner Orion

Published: January 2nd, 2001

'Twas the night before departure, and all throughout the land

Next years exchange students with plane tickets in hand 

they said their farewells, and hugged everyone goodbye

not knowing of the crazy adventures in front of them that lie...

A room full of memories all packed in a hurry that night,

"Hey Mom, can you sit on this for me while I zip up it tight?"

Visions of faraway places and foreign lands they dream

It's all fiction until tomorrow, when their planes will leave

Half way across the world their new friends awake

they don't know it yet, but he/she will be their best mate

their dreams continue, all exciting and stoked

little do they know, this time next year they'll be broke

The moon gives way, for the bright sun the next day

they wake up to reality, for today is the day

A day of tears, fears,

and many make-up smears

A day of joy, adventure, and a little maturity I might add

I love you so much, I'll miss you Dad.

"Hey Mom, who's gonna do my laundry?"

"Just kidding, I'll miss you real bad."

"Hey Sis, I took your favorite dress (hehe)...

no I didn't, but I wanted to real bad. I guess I never said this,

but I love you like mad

The tears trickled through, but the excitement prevailed

All proud and adventurous, as my moms arms "flailed"

I never thought I'd miss them so much until they weren't by my side

The plane took off, and the flight attendant brought drinks,

A little turbulence got me nervous, but I'm ok, I think...

The flight continued, and in their dictionaries they looked

Actually, this was the first time they had ever opened this book

"How do I say 'Hi'? 'Goodbye'? and I need to go the bathroom?

I don't know!" The fear inside them began to grow.

Another night passed, and thus another day

They are all needles in a hay stack, special in their own way.

The flight attendant woke them all up, "hey lady, I don't want any orange juice,

why did you have to wake me up?" They say...

A great way to start off such an important day

A smooth landing and they were there at last

about to meet their new host families, not knowing

their year would go by too fast

A big smile, and some good-old morning breath

"I can't wait to take a shower, I hope they have one, I wept"

A new culture, a new family, a new language and land

"Anything else? ... I don't even recognize the sand"

"Where am I, who are you, how do I say... and what's this?

I feel really lonely, I can't stop thinking about everybody I miss."

"I wonder what my friends are doing right now, what happened

at that party, and who kissed."

The story continues on, for about nine months to a year

The adventure has just started, and the end doesn't seem near.

Their days pass, and their friendships grow,

"leaving my new home

was the toughest part... I wish I had known."

Their eyes are wide, they're flaunting overwhelming smiles alike

I hope mom and dad don't mind my new tattoo, curfew, study habits, and insight

I've changed a little bit, gotten out on my own, you know

I've lived by my own rules for a year, I thought you should know

It just won't be like it was before my friends

I'm lost in my own paradise, I no longer need your advice.

Hey, what's up? Not much I say.

If I told you, you wouldn't understand, anyway

The sun sets, and back in their own beds they lay

A year of their life, well worth the extended stay

So many stories, and so much to tell

The experience of a lifetime, "I went through heaven and hell

I can't say it was easy, and I can't say I loved every minute

But I grew a lot, I learned a new language, and no that's not it

sometimes I like to keep it to myself, that way I don't ruin it."

Hoping everyone is having a great Christmas 

Lotte<3

When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us. -Helen Keller

short blog post (so people don't think I forgot again...):

ONE MORE DAY OF SCHOOL!! woot! woot! (not a moment too soon, my brain is fried... literally)

Thanks to my lovely philosophy teacher I have to read Fahrenheit 451 by  Ray Bradbury, in Spanish (even though I have the option to read it in English... anyone know where I can find a copy of the book in English? .. Yeah me neither and the internet wasn't helpful either), and then write a biography of the author, a summary of the book, analyze the characters, and then write (and explain) my opinion of the book.  (<--- not fun.)


But I am SO looking forward to tomorrow!!

1) as said above; it's the last day of school.

2) I'm going out with my friends to celebrate the start of Christmas break.

and

3) My fellow AFSer, Emily, is coming up to Valladolid and guess who's going to go out with my and friends??




adios

Al final, lo que importa no son los años de vida, sino la vida de los años. -Abraham Lincoln

In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. - Abraham Lincoln

Once again it's been two weeks since I've posted... sorry!! But this time is was an accident, I forgot I wouldn't have internet access after Tuesday...

Last week was interesting... if that's the word you want to use.....

I only had two days of school, Monday and Wednesday (everyone else had school Friday too, but I skipped:) ), and tuesday I went with my friends to see Breaking Dawn, or Amanecer as it's called in Spanish.

My first time in a Spanish movie theater ;)

After the movie we went to a friends house and took pictures 

[Tuesday we had no school for Constitution Day and Thursday.. I have no idea, we I asked someone in my class.. they just shrugged and say it wasn't important and too difficult to explain] 

Then Wednesday right after school my and my family left for Santander. Then came Friday , which probably ended up being the scariest day of my life. no joke.

We cleaning the house, because a) no one has been in there for a couple of weeks and b) because my host dad's cousin and her family (the same ones that we visited in Madrid earlier this year) were coming to stay with us for the weekend too. Silvia, my host mom, was in the attic mopping to floor (this attic has the pull down stairs so when the stairs are pulled down there's just a hole in the middle of the floor).... Patricia, my host dad, and I were standing at the  bottom of the stair discussing the sleeping arrangement with her.... she took one step too far backwards and fell.

She managed to catch herself with her elbows in a corner of the hole and we helped her down the rest of the stairs and sat her on the couch, where she passed out (and this my friend is when Lotte realized that she was 100% not cut out of anything in medical field considering it almost caused her to pass out as well). We called ambulance, it took forever to arrive, when it finally did Silvia and Javi left for the hospital and me and Patricia stayed at home, and waited for our cousins to show up.

Silvia ended up with 2 broken(fractured??) ribs and a pulled muscle in her neck... she's not allowed to anything for a month and she's hurting :/ (if anyone wants, I sure she'd love a 'Get Well' card... e-mail or facebook for the address :) )

Once Silvia came back from the hospital, it was obvious that we weren't got to be able to go into the city Santander (the house is in a small town outside of Santander) and so we spent to weekend do nothing, playing games, watching TV, and reading. I'm going to lie.. I love doing nothing :P

This was on Wednesday BEFORE Silvia fell, we went for a walk around the town...
besides the gorgeous waterfall and river, the town also has horses, cows, sheep... etc.  

And because my host mom can't do anything, my grandma is living with us to a) make sure Silvia is alright and b) to help out around the house while me and Patricia are at school and Javi is at work.

This week has uneventful compared to last week, I found out I got a 8.7 in my Sciences of the Contemporary World final and a TENN on my Religion exam :) (my teacher wrote at the bottom of the exam 'Good job, you understood what we discuss in this class perfectly' .... guess who made up all the answers? :D)


And finally today was picture day for my grade, in involved missing a hour for everyone running around frantically fixing each other's hair and putting on even more make-up. The grade above mine, (the 'seniors') were all dressed up SUPER formal, girls nice dresses and heels, guys suite and tie... it was a fun day :).

12 days until Christmas!!

24 days until los Tres Reyes Magos :)

From a Saturday before we went out :)

Choa - Lotte


(ps. december 3rd (4th?) was the THREE MONTH point. A third of my year is already gone... I can't believe it's been 3 months already, where has the time gone?!?!?!