Carnaval, España 2013

Mi vida social

French boys making crepes

Despite having been stuck in a sling, I've actually done a pretty good job of staying active.  Last weekend I went to a Medeival Fair with Kiersten and her host family on Saturday,  that night we were invited over to my friend Vincent's house for dinner and dessert crepes (he's French), and on Sunday she and I went to the colegio for a party to celebrate Don Bosco. We went through "el túnel de miedo" (tunnel of fear) and ate paella from the biggest paella pan I've ever seen. I got to see some of my students which was fun. It made me excited for starting up my internship again in the next week or so! I've also just been hanging out with friends a lot, shopping, and getting out and about. And the weather has been great so it makes getting out way more enjoyable! (I'm talking like 60s and 70s!!)

Kiersten being Kiersten

A view from my walk down the castle 

Paella feast at the colegio!

Ginormous paella!

Mi brazo

So I just came out of my sling yesterday after keeping it immobile for 3 weeks. I now begin rehab. It hurts and still looks a little green but it's definitely doing a lot better. But life in a sling for 3 weeks really has made realize how much we take 2 functional arms for granted.

Clases

My grammar class and university classes have started. I finally picked two that I'm interested in. One is another Psychology class from the same professor I had last semester (who I really liked) called "Fundamentels of Personality" and another class that's called "Social Anthropology of Spanish Cities." The professor of the Anthro class seems really sweet and adaptive to the fact that a bunch of us are American. The class seems really interesting. I will keep you posted. AND I only have class on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Win.

Tutorías

I'm still tutoring my program director's daughter and niece, but now I tutor her 7 year old son, Edu, who is too stinking adorable! He's very eager to learn and I can tell he's very smart, but he's also a 7 year old boy with a short attention span. So I'm trying to mix in games as well as learning into the sessions. He also has an amazing lego collection, I might add. I need to figure out how to incorporate an English lesson into lego playing because I really want to play legos!

My two lovely other students, Clara and Candela, are fabulous. Clara is getting A's now which thrills me and Candela is doing incredibly well and her memory for vocabulary is so much better! I'm so proud of both of them.

Carnaval

The Spice Girls

Baby, Scary, and Ginger

Carnaval was yesterday.  So my group of friends and I decided to dress up as the Spice Girls (always has been a dream of mine). Tonada was Baby Spice, Anya was Scary Spice, Maraya was Ginger Spice, Kiersten was Sporty Spice, and I was Posh Spice. Apparently that was a no-brainer...even when I told my host mom we were going to be the Spice Girls she said, "you're definitely going to be Posh, aren't you?" I don't know how I feel about that, ha. It was a good day, though. We spent most of it getting our costumes together, then we got ready at Tonada's house and met up with some other friends at around 1:30 a.m. (crazy, I know). There was a DJ out on the street in the main part of town so we danced in a big mob of people as well as in a bar. It was quite the scene last night, I've never quite seen anything like it.

Taking a sitting break on Baby (get it?)

Baby and Posh Spice

Viajes
I'm pleased to announce that I have finally booked some trips! In the middle of March I'm going to London with Kiersten and my friend Vincent (from high school, who is studying abroad in Barcelona this semester). We are all super stoked! My parents come at the end of March and I believe we are driving along the south of Spain to Portugal. After that, my mom and I fly to Dublin, Ireland and Munich, Germany for my Spring Break! And then the weekend after my mom leaves, Tonada, Kiersten, and I head to Amsterdam! I'm super excited!!

And lastly,  a shout out to my baby brother Sean! He turns 17 today! Feliz cumpleaños hermanito! I love youuuu!