“Life is like photography. You need the negatives to develop.”

                   So I've been here for a little over a month and I have gotten into the swing of things. I feel confident with the language, that is not to say that I can understand everything or say everything perfectly, but it's coming along. I'm not sure how to subtly say this, but I will be changing families sometime this week. I was placed with a wonderful family that was super welcoming even 3 months before coming here and a family that gave me a lot. I'm thankful to have spent my first month, I would call it my "birth" in Spain, with this family. They have taught me a lot, not only in Spanish but in things about myself and about people in general. 

                   What's next? Originally, it was up in the air where I would be going. I could stay relatively in Madrid or I could go to somewhere as far as the Canary Islands, for example. When I told my friends this, they were naturally upset because now our 9 months left together, filled with many promises of prospective plans, had now been shortened to days. I had confided in 3 of my Spanish friends what was going on. Later, more people new just from talk and also the part that's coming next. Sunday afternoon, I went to my friend, Eva's house to pick up a shirt I had left over there and maybe say our last goodbyes. While I was there, she told me her plan that her family could possibly host me but that she wasn't sure because they were already a big family and her parents had to talk about it. I didn't really want to get my hopes up, but I really liked the idea. Then while I was at her house, another friend texted me and said their family would host me. I passed both of the numbers of the moms to my liaison, and them the rest is in the hands of AFS. 

      I think what will end up happening is that I will be staying in Eva's house. Her parents said yes, and today they are having the home interview. As of now, I am pretty uninformed of what all is going on. I get most of my information from Eva. 

               Above all, what surprised me the most from this ordeal is that I didn't ask anyone to host me, these families and friends of mine reached out to me once they realized what was happening. I can't express my emotions for this. First of all, this shows what great friends I have here and how lucky I am. And secondly, this is a perfect example of the Spanish culture. They really go out of their way to do good for others. Like after school Monday, once the other people found out that I would most likely be Eva's new sister, a boy asked her why she was doing this for me and her answer was, "a mi me da pena."