Realizations

So right now I'm trying to avoid starting my homework. Analyzing poetry in Spanish is so difficult for me! However, I find myself complaining a lot lately about my homework load and such. Then I realized that I only have five weeks left in Toledo! I should not be spending my time complaining about my homework load, no matter how heavy it may be or however difficult it is to complete my work. Though five weeks seems long-ish, my time in Spain is quickly coming to an end. I've already spent four months here and I've had some amazing adventures and experiences. But how am I going to feel once I go home? Will I be sad? Relieved? Anxious? I know I will be happy to see my friends and family and to be back in the United States, but I'm worried about the reverse culture shock. I truly have changed while being here and I'm afraid that those changes will not translate into English. I guess only time will tell.

Every day seems to go by more quickly than the last. Is it already 4 p.m. on Wednesday? Do I really only have one more class before the weekend? Is it really two weeks until I go to Portugal? And then only a month and one week until I fly home? Time goes by too quickly here. I will miss Spain, I will miss Toledo and I will miss speaking in Spanish most of the day. But the more I think about it the more I'm ready to come home. Five weeks seems like the perfect amount of time to spend in Spain before returning the States.

Before I begin analyzing poetry and purchasing plan tickets to Porto, Portugal, I recommend that everyone read Salmon Fishing in the Yemen by Paul Torday. I don't know how I found time to begin, finish and enjoy a book while being here but it was really good and if I can find the time I'm going to begin his second novel, The Irresistible Inheritance of Wilberforce. I'm off now, don't catch the swine flu, hasta luego!

London/Orgaz Photos

Just two of my new best friends, Diego (left) and Sergio. This was at Bea and Edu's apartment after a wonderful weekend in Orgaz. Mari Carmen just invited me to go back on Saturday with them. I can't wait to see the farm again and hopefully it won't be as windy.

One of many heads and antlers around our house in Toledo and the Orgaz house. I'm not exaggerating when I say there are at least 100 sets of horns between both houses.

Some of the chickens! And the big (scary) turkey.

Sarah and I at Stonehenge. We had a long but fun day visiting Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Oxford. Very windy but worth it!! Especially because there were lots of cute sheep all around the stones.

Sarah and I on the London Eye. You can see some of Big Ben behind us on the left. Very pretty views and clear skies that day!

St. Paul's Cathedral in London.

British Museum in London.

I'm surprised at myself for updating so quickly! Last night I went to a cafe called Ñaca Ñaca with some of my friends. I had Doritos for the first time in four months and they were delicious! After spending over an hour at the cafe I went home to finish some homework, take a shower and eat dinner. This morning I had poetry and after class we went to the mercadillo. I walked around with our professor, Emilia, all morning and helped her pick out some olives and gifts for her friends. It was a good morning! Then after lunch I spent 3.5 hours reading for literature but I am finally done with reading "Esteban Werfell." In a bit I'm going to head back home for dinner, a shower and to read for history. This weekend we're off to Aranjuez (for an excursion I've already been on, oh well) and back to Orgaz on Saturday. I hope the next two days go by quickly because I am tired. Well off to finish some e-mails and then home, hasta luego!

Time Goes By So... Quickly!

It seems like I updated a few days ago, not two weeks ago! Time has gone by so quickly and I hope it slows down just for a bit. London with Sarah was amazing! We were able to see Madam Toussad's Wax Museum, ride the London Eye, visit Stonehenge and Oxford, see a Harry Potter castle in New Castle, go to Scotland for a day and visit numerous museums. The weather was pretty nice with only a bit of rain on the last day (which we spent shopping) and though it was a bit chilly I can't complain! I think with the trip I had with my mom and after Semana Santa in London, I've seen everything there is to see.

After coming home from London I immediately left Toledo and went to my family's farm in a pueblo called Orgaz. They have two other houses in Orgaz and a lot of land. They have goats, sheep, chickens, turkeys, cats and geese. I spent the afternoon on Saturday on the farm with Manolo and Mari Carmen and then Carmen and I went to their other home in Orgaz. While there we watched an old Spanish movie together and I fell asleep because I was pretty exhausted from my London trip. After dinner I went straight to sleep. Sunday morning Carmen and I went to mass at a gorgeous church. The churches here are amazing, so much more elaborate than churches in the U.S. After mass we picked up her mother and went home to work on lunch. I was able to meet their children, Elena and Beatriz, and their husbands and children, Sergio (8 months), Julia (2 years) and Diego (7 months). All were precious! After a long lunch and great conversation I went back to the farm for a bit. I didn't get home until about 8 p.m. that night and then I had to spend some time on homework! But it was a wonderful Holy Week, an interesting Easter and a great weekend.

This past week was the first week in about a month that I've had a strict schedule. It was so nice! Though I have a lot of reading to catch up on for my literature class and learning how to analyze poetry is coming slowly but surely, I'm so thankful to have a stable schedule. Classes are much easier this quarter and I'm participating so much more. I have a new confidence in my Spanish skills and I feel really good about my Spanish abilities. I am also so happy that I decided to stay another quarter. For a few days there I was pretty lonely and wanted to go home. But now I've become really good friends with the group and classes are going really well so I have nothing really to complain about! I still love Toledo, if possible.

Right now I just finished up my poetry homework and am off to Zocodover for coffee and to hang out. Tonight I have a lot of reading from my literature book, "Obabakoak," and a new episode of The Office to watch. It's really nice not having the Internet at my home because I get a lot more work done. Though I miss being able to chat anytime online, it's for the best that I don't have that distraction. Well I'm off to Zoco now! I have photos of my London trip and my Orgaz excursion on Facebook but I'll make a new post later with some pictures. It's raining now and I'm wearing sandals. Oh well! Hasta luego!

Changes

So the new group is here and I'm in love! Everyone is really nice and always wanting to speak in Spanish so I feel really comfortable with them. So far my teachers have singled me out but that was to be expected. Arancha, my culture professor, seems really proud of me and my Spanish skills now. She remembered in the very beginning that I rarely talked and was pretty shy in class but now I'm talkative and participate a lot more! This quarter I plan on being more serious in my studies and try to participate everyday. I want to go the extra mile to learn and improve my grades from last quarter.

My new family is also amazing. Mari Carmen and Manolo are the sweetest people ever. I call Manolo my "bajito" because he is so short! We joke about it all the time. He works on his farm everyday and brings home fresh fruits and vegetables. They make their own sausages and seasonings so naturally everything is delicious! So far I've had amazing soups and chicken and desserts. Three French girls and two Italian girls are staying with them right now so our table gets pretty crowded at meal times but I love the company. Tomás, the cat, is so sweet and is my new little "brother" as Manolo likes to call him. Every single wall in the house is covered with antlers and deer heads, haha. Though it was a bit freaky at first I'm very comforable now and the stuffed birds don't bother me either. My room is nice and big, no Internet, but I have lots of space. My previous family was perfect but if possible this family is even better.

Tomorrow morning I'm off to London to meet Sarah for her Spring Break and my break for Holy Week. We'll be visiting New Castle and Scotland as well so I'm pretty excited! Right now I'm in the cafe at school but I'm going to leave soon to eat paella with the Italians. I love paella! More updates after my week in London, hasta luego!!