The highlights of this week:
(Journaling is really helpful, even though it's not always the easiest thing to do when you have a marvelous bed like mine!)
Sunday was a great and terrible day. I had a really spiritual time in the church, but wasn't getting along well with my host mom.
We made up Monday, and I can't tell you what a relief it was. This experience is hard enough, I can't imagine having to live with a bad feeling inside myself everyday. I really feel sorry for those students who get stuck in bad host families.
Now I really can feel for my mom who had a family that wasn't the best experience for her on her exchange. Wow. That'd be really hard! One day of contention in my host family and I'm ready to pack my bags. The language is hard enough!
Monday, I swept all of the downstairs, cleaned my room, and organized all my things. I can't express to you how great and marvelous that made me feel inside! I haven't been doing any real work here. They raise kids differently here. (You can't work as a teenager here! I don't know why, but that really surprised me!)
I could almost sing, I was so happy to put that dust in the trash bin and open the window to let in the fresh air.
I don't think any student could survive an exchange without friends. My friends have this way of making me laugh when I wanna cry, and sustaining a positive attitude when I feel I've reached my limits.
Tuesday is the best day for classes. Class starts at 9 instead of 8. For lunch on Tuesday I ate salad and San Jacobos. I have begun to LOVE salad, and I hope I can make a salad like my host mom someday. San Jacobos is a Spanish food...It's ham and cheese, and fried with something on the outside. All I know is I love it, and I had it my first week at my family's beach apartment. Also on Tuesday, I was sitting in Research class with Nora, (the other exchange student in Denia,) and one of my favorite things about Spain happened. My teacher spent the whole class period talking about something that had nothing to do with the class curriculum. He gave a lecture on smoking. He gave the analogy about the amount of money people spend on smoking. When I say he spent the whole period talking about, it's no exaggeration. He literally spent the ENTIRE class period on the subject.
He's a good teacher, though. He's one of my favorites. He made me answer a test in his Music class in English. Ok, whatever. :) I got a 6'5, which is above passing.
Wednesday: it was a long school day, with full classes, but not painful. I had PE, and we jump roped. Almost everyone in my class is inept. It's quite hilarious to watch. I've jump roped since elementary school, so it was easy for me. They're impressed the most when I double dutch. I also found out on Wednesday that I might be able to attend the Baptist Youth Convention instead of the Rotary trip.
That would be a major: (As my best Spanish friend would say:)
WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!
Yesterday, Thursday: The work was started on constructing another door in my house. It was done very fast. They finished it in about two days.
As for today, I ended up leaving school an hour early. The teacher of my last class didn't show up, and I didn't exactly feel like going through the trouble of calling someone with my limited Spanish. (DON'T WORRY, IT'S GROWING!) So...I left school, walked to the usual intersection and waited for my friend Kiko, who goes to Mariabas, (the other public school in Denia). On Fridays, my host mom has me walk home with Kiko. (Starting today.) Kiko was late, but I didn't know, since I don't posses a watch. Gotta fix that soon. We picked up sodas at his house along the way. It was fun, but we were both exhausted, and my house isn't exactly what'd you'd say CLOSE to the school. I ate a sandwich for lunch. I love European sandwiches, because they're made with French bread.
Spain is really French. My mother-LOVES snails.
...Help!...
It's all good.
May God Be With You
Gabrielle
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