¨Ours is the only country deliberately founded on a good idea.¨ -John Gunther

               So I think at first, this experience was about leaving the U.S. to go somewhere new and exciting because I needed something new. And yes, it still is, but I have realized so much about my own country. From what started out as a ¨break¨ from my daily life in the U.S. has made me realize how lucky I really am.

             Yes, there are plenty of American stereotypes which at first to me seemed to be somewhat true, but I´ve realized that a culture is so much more than its stereotypes. Just because some Americans eat really unhealthily doesn´t mean that all Americans do. When people ask me what is a typical meal in the U.S., it´s really hard to answer because there isn´t one thing that we always eat. (And don´t say hamburger or hotdog even though some of you may imagine us only eating that.)

           Also, our (collectively as Americans) stereotypes of the world are sadly really limited. I feel like we aren´t as educated as we should be about other parts of the world, geography, politics, and history. I don´t even know all of the history of American. How is anyone supposed to expect me to know the history of Spain or any other country?

            I do also think that I´ve gotten more pride in my own country. Some of you might laugh because that is supposedly what we are known for. When someone says some dumb stereotype of the U.S. , it actually does bother me because I feel like what they think of us is so warped, just what they see on T.V., and what is put on T.V. shouldn´t even be put on there. I can watch Teen Mom and Jersey Shore sitting here in my living room in Madrid, Spain.

"Sometimes you realize what you have to say is not worth figuring out how to say it."

           I start school tomorrow. It's actually going to just be one hour for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. I am extremely ready to go because I haven't had school since May, and I need friends. Don't get me wrong. I love my hermanitas, but it would be nice to see people my age. I went on a  run with my mom.... I don't know how many times ill be able to do that. She was too athletic for me. She kept pointing out groups in the streets and saying you're going to know them soon. They're your age. It actually made me nervous because if I don't make friends in school, I will literally have no one. Mucha presión! 

            The second day I got here, we had another party for Abuela and Ainara. It was saint's day for the people without a day for their name. We also went to a gypsy market and got olives and a scarf. 

                Dad and I went to run some errands for me yesterday. We went to look for activities and got some documents. We also got my phone working here, so now I have a Spanish phone! 

              My favorite thing here is the coffees. They are so tiny and delicious, and I try to have one whenever I get a chance! Also the Napolitanas are delicious. Miguel and I went and got a café and a Napolitana. I spend a lot of time with my grandparents because my parents work. My grandma is so sweet. She is more like the age of my real mom, but a little bit older. 

        Whenever anyone in my family talks to me, they make sure to talk in ways that I will understand. I will be fluent in 3 languages: English, Spanish, and sign language because we use our hands for gestures so much.

       The last thing I have to say is that you come into this with the idea that it's going to be this amazing experience. And YES it is, but at the same time, it's never going to be what you imagined. The first couple days, you're in honey moon phase because everything is new and awesome, but then it hits you. This is not a vacation. If you want a break from it, that sucks because you're here for 10 more months. You can't just be like oh wait let me go hug my real mom for a moment or tell her how my day was. It's kind of a scary thought, and I think this is definitely how you figure out who you are. 

      The girls on their first day of school

              Un café at Abuelas

     In the hotel, we made friends with Italians in a table soccer tournament. When I was watching TV, I realized this was the World Cup and they ended up winning.

   Mi amor that I miss dearly

"How quickly things fall apart that took so long to put together"

         I am not saying that it is over yet, but I am starting to feel like it is pretty close... My passport was stamped and we received a letter from the consulate of Spain. We were so excited and assumed this must be my visa. My family and I had a celebratory dinner and planned out my going away party. Maybe two days later, AFS called and said that it was actually a rejection letter. We couldn't read it because it was very formal Spanish. They said that we should get this all worked out in a week and that I should be leaving on time. Apparently the lady who we gave the papers to forgot to send one to Spain that said I had a school. The consulate called me a week ago and said they were just waiting on an email back from the school. I emailed the school yesterday, and they replied today asking if I was going to be a teacher or a student at the school. This seems promising. We have two business days left to get this done because the visa has to be her 72 hours before my departure. We will get an email if it ships out, so if it ships by Friday, we should be in good shape.

           I'm not quite sure what will happen if I don't get my visa on time. I guess I would leave as a late departure, but I'm not sure how all that would work out. I just hope it gets here in time, so I won't have to worry about all that. 

On a lighter note, I had my going away party Sunday night. We had it at our family's favorite Thai restaurant here. We had about 35 people, from family to friends. It was great to see everybody before I left. We had mini-cupcakes in the shape and color of the Spain flag with baby Spain flags in them. 

           My host mom and host dad now have a group chat. It's really funny because we are all becoming so close. I'm just casually texting my family throughout the day, and it can become quite comical. 

         

We Skyped the other day, and the connection kept messing up. They couldn't figure out how to say that the screen was frozen in English, so I thought I said it in Spanish. They died laughing, and I just assumed that frozen did not translate very well. Later that night, I was thinking about it and realized I told them the screen was boiling. You can't make this stuff up.

"Bizarre travel plans are dancing lessons from God." -Kurt Vonnegut

 

My family at the beach in Benidorm



Each day, Spain becomes realer and realer to me. For example, my family and I took a trip to Miami for an appointment at the Spanish consulate. My time in Miami was a nice, short vacation. I was surprised that so many people there spoke Spanish. Actually, there are more people that weren't speaking English than those that were. We went to mainly Spanish restaurants, and they talked to us about Spain and to me in Spanish. It also helped in that we got free food!Even though the trip was for getting my visa, we did a lot of fun things too. We went airboating in the Everglades, I hung out with a friend from Miami, and I got to meet up with my bestfriend from elementary school. 





My article in the paper



The actual visa appointment itself was extremely underwhelming. We expected it to be sitting down with someone who would ask me questions about my trip to Spain, but we just had to hand our papers to a secretary. She then gave half of the stuff that was required back to us and said we didn't need it. I hope the visa comes soon, but there is really no telling. It was just funny that we had to drive 8 hours to hand some papers to a lady behind a glass wall. 



I also was interviewed for my local newspaper. They put my picture on the front page and an article about my trip to Spain and my love for travel in it. People have recognized me from work and my parent's friends have seen me in the paper! It is a cool feeling. Here is a link to the article. 

http://www.thebrunswicknews.com/story/printer/CoastalPeopleBlackwell-080513-hr 





Miami





I've also already made some friends going to Spain. I have talked to many of the people that will be spending the next year with me, but the conversations can vary greatly. I've spent the last two nights Facetiming Katrina and Sean. It makes me all the more excited to spend the best year of my life with these people. It's great that not only do we have our family and friends to share our experiences with but also people who are having the same experiences as us at the same time. 



Tonight, my family is having Thanksgiving and the AFS Spain Americans are having a phone call all together with a Spain returnee. With only 27 days left, a little less than 4 weeks, I am going to have to start packing soon and saying goodbye to my friends. I've already gotten presents for my host family. My little sisters are going to be so spoiled since kid's clothes are the cutest. I've already bought them some coloring and small picture books and bathing suits since I thought it was kind of odd they weren't wearing any to the beach. I made a book on Mixbook about my life in the US for my parents and plan to pick them up some Swiss chocolates while we are in the airport.





"A friend is a second self." -Aristotle

So I'm on the bus ride back from what was probably my most fun weekend of summer. I went to Cocoa beach (where we had our AFS pre-departure orientation) to visit a friend, Caroline, who I had met there. She is going to study abroad in Italy this coming year. It was so exciting and relieving to be able to talk to someone for 3 whole days about our thoughts about our upcoming school year. We can talk to our family and friends about this stuff, but we both know what each other is going through and have the same expectations. It was also a nice break from working. 

Day 1

I took the train to Orlando, where she picked me up. Then we went back to her house to unpack. Our plans were to go to the beach, but they kind of fell through, so we went to get frozen yogurt, and I met a friend of hers. Then we took the bus, which was both of our first experience of taking public transportation on our own! It was so exciting! It only cost 60 cents to get from the mall to the beach although we kept pestering various bus drivers to ask if they took Visa or how to get to the beach.  We felt so independent and realized that this was actually a legit thing that we would be using a lot soon. We actually weren't quite sure where to get off, but we ended up walking to different condos to find a bathroom and a pool. We finally reached a really nice condo and were let in my a man exiting. We enjoyed their hot tub until her mom picked us up. Later, two of her friends came over to swim and watch movies. 

Day 2

Caroline and I on the beach before the rain

The weather was forecasted to e awful, but we went to the beach for a couple hours and ate lunch at a beach themed restaurant. Afterwards, we went home and watched Netflix. That night, we went to the movies to see Now You See Me. It was a fantastic movie! I suggest you watch it.

Day 3

We went to a shopping mall and spent hours in World Trade Market. Of course the foreign exchange students would find plenty of things to do there! They had everything, and it was authentic, European foods. I left with beignet mix in a box and churro mix in a box. I also got this European cookie spread a friend had told me about. It's like a peanut butter or Nutella but made of cookies. Pleased with my purchases, we headed to Melting Pot where we pampered ourselves with a Swiss cheese and classic chocolate fondue.  We spent our remaining time shopping for clothes that we didn't need considering we can only bring 44 or so pounds in our suitcase abroad. We said goodbye and her parents took me to my bus, which I am currently on, to head back home.



Caroline eating the Swiss cheese fondue at Melting Pot



I wanted to explain two things from this trip. The first was that AFS is known for connecting lives and sharing cultures. We both thought it was so great that even though it isn't even September 4th yet and we aren't in Italy or Spain yet, we have already created these friendships that will last a long time. I can't explain enough how great it is to have somebody who is going through the same things as you to talk to, and we can also share our experiences with each other because they will both be special and unique! 

The second thing was about the people around you. When we take a second to talk to somebody, we find that we have things in common. The people passing by you or sitting next to you at a restaurant may just seem like ordinary humans, but they have traveled and have stories to tell too! Caroline and I used studying abroad as a conversation starter, and it worked every time(with our waitress at Melting Pot, with a guy at World Trade Market, and with randoms on the beach.) She and I were so thirsty at the beach that we asked a Spanish guy to take a picture of us and then continued to chat about studying abroad, Spanish, and quinceañeras, so he gave us free waters!  

Anyways, I had a great weekend and am even more excited to spend my year in Spain.

Reminded us of Italian gelato

Candid shots next to the fountain

"The journey itself is my home." -Matsuo Basho

 

Ainara and Nerea

                 I will never have the excitement of one day seeing an AFS email in my inbox and finding out that I've gotten a host family. Don't worry. It's not as depressing as I've made it out to be. It's actually a really confusing story... When I return from Spain, I would like to Au-pair somewhere in Europe. I was thinking of doing this after my Junior year and maybe a summer in college sometime. I made an account on Aupair.com just to find out more about it and see about pays and different types of family. On my bio, I explained that I couldn't do it this year because I would be a foreign exchange student in Spain. A family in Spain emailed me and they loved that their children could meet me before I would have to spend a whole summer with them sometime in the future. The family Skyped with me, and then they asked where I would be staying in Spain. I explained to them how the process worked and that nobody had chosen me yet. Then the weirdest thing happened. The lady was like, "Okay, we call the AFS agency on Monday and speak of you." Long story short: THIS IS MY FAMILY!!! It took a while for all of this to become official because they had to go through the paper work and then AFS USA I guess had to filter through the paperwork as well. I just can't believe it all worked out. I have Skyped several times with the family already and adore them! My two little sisters are 2 and 4, Ainara and Nerena. They are the cutest things! I will be living in Paracuellos de Jarama which is 30 minutes from Madrid, and I can take the metro there! They are still working out my school because they would like for me to go to the school Nere and Nara go to, but they don't know if there are any spaces open. The grandparents also live in Paracuellos and apparently I will be spending a lot of time with them. Also, the other set of grandparents live in Seville, and we will go there for Christmas and a festival(Feria de Seville). I literally am counting down the days until we leave, and I would love to just go right now.

                 And so this is where the journey begins. I have a new home. I am going to have a new life. I am going to have new friends. And I am going to make new memories. It's such an interesting thought to me that right now, I have no clue of what is in store for me, but in 3 months or so, it will be just normal. And then a year from now, I will be about to leave, and I will look back and wonder where all the time went.