First Day of school!?!

So I've started school, and surprisingly it wasn't the worst day of my life like I expected it to be. I'm glad I made friends before school started, because they've helped me a lot.

The Spanish school system is different. Every day is a new schedule, but you keep the same weekly schedule for the year. My classes include History, Technical Drawing, Math, English, English Practice (my 2 favorite classes!), Physics/Chemistry, Philosophy, Castelleno, and Gym. I don't have all of these classes on the same day, though.

The first thing that struck me was that they don't use bells here to change classes. They play music instead. Like, really weird music. I'm talking like a range from 80's American pop music, to Billy Joel's uptown girls, to the intro for Phantom of the Opera.

Also, the students have to buy all of the books, which are really expensive! We also have to bring in our own locks for our lockers, which are half the size of American lockers. Also, what's really cool here is that everything is really laid back. If a teacher isn't here, we don't have class. We go and sit in the canteen, which is like a cafeteria.

Also, we don't eat lunch in school. We have two twenty minute breaks during the day, the first at around 11:30, where everyone eats a sandwich or some type of snack. When school is finished at 2 or 3, depending on your schedule that day, you go home and eat lunch with your family then have a siesta.

I like school because I like the people and seeing my friends, but obviously I don't like the classes because I can't understand anything. Remember that here they speak 2 languages, and some of my classes are in Castelleno (which I can understand a little bit), and Valenciano, (which is like a mixture of French and Spanish and I don't understand at all).

It's just my luck that the two hardest classes (Philosophy and Physics/Chemistry) are in Valenciano. It is absolutely helpless for me. I can barely understand Castelleno as it is, and with another language thrown in there it's virtually impossible for me to comprehend anything that they say. Also, I don't think that many of my teachers like me because I am quite the nuisance, and don't understand anything. Except, my English teacher loves me, but you can probably guess why.

I am a really hard worker in school, and it always kills me to get a bad grade, but I guess I better start getting used to it because I really just don't understand anything in my classes. Hopefully, I'll start to understand soon. My friends have told me that my Spanish is a lot better than it was 2 weeks ago, and I hope they're right and that I'll keep improving.

This is by far the most difficult thing I've ever done. Being submerged in a new place with so many people and new things is so exhausting. I come home every day, and thank God for siestas, because I really need them. I sleep a lot during my free time, because my head just is so overwhelmed with everything that it needs to shut off for awhile.

But, I do like going to school because everyone is really interested in me. They ask me so many questions, and are amused by the things that seem normal to me. Like, I brought in my yearbook and American money and boy, did they get a kick out of that. So that part's always amusing.

This weekend I went to a fiesta in Ondara, a town about 10 mins away from Benissa. This weekend was their festival, and they threw a huge party in the bull fighting stadium that they have there. First, it was really cool to see the actual stadium. Second, the party was huge and it was so much fun. There was a DJ and hundreds of people, and my friends and I spent the whole night dancing. I had to leave at around 1:30a.m. (which is early!) because most people didn't show up until 12:00a.m. (I told you, they stay out late!) If you pass by a discotecha at 7:30 in the morning, you'll see people just coming home after a long night of partying...crazy!

Yesterday Angela, Miguel,and I went to Angela's sister's shore house. It was so great, like every

other time at the beach. For lunch we had hamburgers. They were a bit different, but tasted pretty

much the same, and it was actually really comforting to eat something that was more or less the

same as home. Then we spent the whole day swimming and sleeping and swimming again.

I've noticed something while I've been here. It's that the Spaniards just have this vivacity for life.

It's so refreshing to see. They enjoy themselves, and don't work themselves too hard. They are

comfortable in their own skin. For example, on all of the beaches there are topless women,

overweight people, and people of every shape and size that you can imagine.

But they don't care. They splash around in the ocean like they're 6 years old again. They just

have this really carefree sensation about them that is so intriguing and unlike anything I've seen

before. It's such a nice change from America, where everyone is self conscious and serious. Here,

I think the word to sum up the entire country and lifestyle of these people would simply be

disfrutar : to enjoy.

Life's a beach

Mom I'm writing this post for you because you want me to keep writing so everyone knows what I'm doing and blah blah blah...just know that you're keeping me awake on a SCHOOL NIGHT. hahahaa jk I love you.

But yes, you heard me right. I said school night, meaning tomorrow I have school. But before I start to rant and rave about how terribly nervous I am, I'll tell you about the past few events that have happened.

So on Saturday it was an important day in Benissa because they had an "eleccion de reigna", or the "queen's election". When the kids are 18 here, they dress in the traditional Spanish costumes, which for the girls, consist of beautiful hoop skirts and Spanish shawls, and for the guys, black pants and a white shirt with a red belt.( Sorry I can't explain this better, I just don't know the proper words for their outfits).

But, they have a partner and everyone parades around the town followed by a bunch of bands that play music. Also, they have an "eleccion de reigna" for the little kids which was quite possibly the cutest thing I've ever seen to see 6 and 7 year olds holding hands, and parading around town in traditional Spanish wear.

This is a really big event, and let me tell you, the town was pimped out. The entire plaza was closed off, there was a huge stage in the center of the plaza, along with fake backgrounds,tents, lights, a runway, fireworks, and a disco mobile.

Pretty much what happens is that all of the names of the girls are put into a glass bowl, and the queen from last year picks a girl's name, and she goes up on the stage. Then, she picks out a name from the bowl and that girl goes up and so on and so on until there is only 1 name left, and that is the queen for the year. It's very emotional, and people are crying and so excited and it was really cool to witness.

After, everyone either goes to a club in the town over to party, or they stay right here in Benissa and go to the disco mobile, which is basically a DJ and lights , so pretty much a mobile club. Everyone dances and has fun and it's really cool. But, I was only allowed to stay out until 2, which is actually early for people here. The actual eleccion didn't start until 10:30, ended at about 1, and I had to leave at 2, so I didn't see much of the actual disco mobile.

Then, the next day Angela, Miguel and I went to the beach to meet up with their friends and eat lunch on the beach. It was so much fun! We spent the day lounging, reading, and swimming of course!

Now there are times when I don't understand what people are saying, and there are times I don't know what they are doing. Case in point: at the beach, Angela and her friends brought out a small bowl and some green powder that they mixed with water. They then started rubbing this

clumpy green paste all over themselves and their faces. When I asked what they were doing, they answered by rubbing the paste on me too. Needless to say, I was completely confused. But, it turns out it was something for your skin, and everyone got a good laugh out of my ignorance, including myself. We looked like monsters with our green skin and if anyone wants to see a picture, it is on my Facebook wall. I would recommend looking at it, it's pretty funny.

Lunch was very good too, for the most part. We had bocadillos and keish and fruit, but I also tried some of the food that Angela's friends made. I swear, I eat octopus almost every day. And not even the good kind! It has the weirdest texture and is in this weird sauce made out of olive oil and just tastes like straight up octopus.

But, I try it every time because these people make it as a specialty so I, being the polite girl that I am, eat it every time, and every time I have the same reaction, yet people still give it to me to eat like one day I'm going to magically like it.

Also, I tried this pastry looking thing that Angela's friends made and it looked almost like a graham cracker with crumbled cinnamon stuff on top of it. But, when I bit into it, it tasted like wheat germ. It was so terribly dry and disgusting, so when the wind blew over our umbrella and everyone was distracted, I seized the opportunity, and threw it over the rock hahahahaa.

Also, tonight at dinner I tried pate de oca. I didn't know what an oca was, but I later realized that it was goose! Haha, it actually wasn't terrible but Mom, you should be very proud of me for trying these crazy foods.

Now, tomorrow is SCHOOL. I can't even believe it, I'm so nervous I want to cry. Which I probably will tomorrow, and embarrass myself. Everything is going to be so different and I won't understand much. I am so nervous, because it is such a big change! I'm stressing myself out even thinking about it, and I know tomorrow I'm going to be a mess. Hopefully I'm wrong.

I better get to bed because tomorrow is going to be the worst day of my life, and I might as well be well rested.....

Spanish wedding

Two days ago I went to Valencia with Miguel and Angela because their nephew was getting married. Valencia is about 1 hr 30 mins away but it's a really cool city.

We first went to the apartment of one of Anglea's sister who has 11 kids....yeah, and I thought my family was big. Then we went to this little courthouse that was very cute and I met the rest of the family and tried to remember everyone's names. I thought I was going to have a lot of trouble, but actually half the time I was right because there's pretty much only 2 names in the family that they use, "Peppe" or "Maria". There were like 100 Marias, Maria Anglea, Maria Peppa, and on and on....but I fit right into the family because my name in Spanish would be.... Maria Catalina.

The ceremony was very short and informal. The wedding was not a huge ordeal, but it was very nice. The entire family was so nice and welcoming, and I am even in the couple's wedding photos, which I find really funny, because in 10 years they're going to look back on them and forget who I ever was.

After the wedding we drove to a really nice restaurant outside of the city. I sat with some of the cousins who were a little older than me, but spoke English so the entire time we spoke Spanglish, and it was very amusing. Everyone in Spain really loves English. Everyone wants to learn it, so the whole day I had people who either wanted to practice their English, or learn some English, come up to me. I was happy to help, so long as they helped me with my Spanish.

For dinner we had....paella of course! It was delicious, yet had things in it that I couldn't define even if I wanted to. It was a seafood paella, so I was eating all sorts of weird sea creatures, but since they tasted alright, I didn't ask what they were because I'm pretty sure if I did I would have lost my appetite.

But before the paella, we had about a million courses including oysters, octopus (they eat a lot of octopus here!), vegetables, and so many others that I don't remember. For dessert, we had a tray that you shared with tiaramasu, chocolate mousse, and some kind of almond paste cake thing. Everything, as you can probably guess, was delicious.

Now a word about the guys here.....

There is a huge difference between the boys here and the men here, whereas sometimes it's hard to tell back at home which is which. The boys here (that I met so far), consist of scrawny, lanky boys that wear cutoff jean shorts and play punk music in a garage, or are creepy 16 year olds that actually look like they're 12, that hit on me and ask me creepy questions about girls in America.

The men however, (that I met so far), are young guys in their 20's, absolutely gorgeous, tall, muscular guys that have all been to universities, know English, and have traveled to various countries. Pretty much, the ideal man to marry.

I came here at the wrong time in my life.

Hahaha, but you can bet that when it's time to find a husband, I'm coming back to Spain.

Anyways, after dinner Angela and I walked around Valencia a bit, and looked at all of the beautiful buildings and amazing architecture. Actually, it's fashion week in Valencia and we kind of stumbled upon it as we were walking and found ourselves in the middle of the action.

We saw designers, models, saw the stores, and runways and it was so amazing! I wish we had tickets, because I loved everything that I saw.

Then we drove back home, where I collapsed in a pile of exhaustion, mainly because I wore heels all day. You know that saying don't judge someone until you've walked a mile in their shoes? Well I don't think anyone would want to judge me because my heels were so high and I walked so much that it felt like my feet felt like they were getting amputed. I don't even wanna know how Lady Gaga feels.

It's not all fun and games...

Today was not the best of days for me. I was told that maybe I should study harder so I understand more. That really got to me, because I am trying so hard. My hardest.

This exchange program is the most difficult thing to ever happen to me. It's so completely and unbelievably frustrating and confusing. When people talk at you all day and you just don't know what they're saying and they expect an answer, it's the worst feeling in the world because everyone's waiting and you don't know what to say and you feel completely stupid. I hate feeling stupid, it's absolutely, in my opinion, the worst feeling in the entire world.

I have been feeling so stupid here. I hate it. I'm trying so hard every day to just understand and learn, and when someone tells me maybe I should try harder it just crushes me because I feel like I'm not good enough.

Today I read 2 pages of a book with Miguel and it took probably about 45 mins to actually understand it. Then, Miguel gave me a children's book to read and it took me another 45 mins to read by myself, because half of the words I didn't know and had to look up.

I went out with my friends today, and that was equally as frustrating as the rest of the day. As nice as my friends are, they don't try to explain anything so I am completely lost in every conversation. Everyone speaks so rapidly, and I just don't understand anything.

It can get really lonely sometimes. No one really actually knows me or my personality, because I can't communicate very well, even though I am trying so hard. It's just a terrible feeling to be a complete outsider, not only am I the new girl, I am the new girl who can't speak Spanish.

I feel like I am constantly treading water, trying to keep my head above water. Every new word I learn is like a gasp of air, and this hope of someday being able to completely understand keeps me going.

I am already dreading school with all of my being, not only because it's scary to be somewhere new, but because I already know I won't understand a word. I can barely understand Castillian, but everyone in my school speaks Valenciano, and many of the classes are taught in Valenciano. This feeling is the worst, just not knowing anything or being able to truly connect with anyone for the sole reason that you DON'T UNDERSTAND. No matter how hard you try.

I'm just hoping that since I am immersed in it, I will become used to it and somehow magically learn it, although it seems impossible now. It is true that everyday I learn something new here, actually multiple things, yet it just seems like I'm still not progressing, even though I know I am. I just can't shake the feeling that I'm disappointing people here.

I just want so badly to be able to understand, and communicate better, and actually be able to be myself and stop being this quiet girl that I don't know. I don't like portraying someone that I'm not. Right now, I am my own best friend because nobody else knows who I actually am.

I know that with time, I will learn more. And I will be able to understand and communicate better, but I just want to be able to speed time up a little bit so it's not so hard right now.

But, even as frustrating and confusing as it is....I know it's worth it. I don't want to go home, I love it here. What I want is to understand, which I know I eventually will. I just needed to vent and be able to tell somebody how I'm feeling. And as hard as this is, I understand that nothing worthwhile comes easily, and that in the end, all of these tears and frustrations will be worth it.

La Playa yet again

When you think of Spain do you think of......gorgeous beaches? cobblestone streets? the cutest little boutiques? awesome restaurants? really good looking guys?

Yeahh.....that's pretty much the town of Moraira. Yesterday Angela, Miguel and I went to Moraira because that's where his older sister lives. She lives in this awesome apartment like 2 blocks away from the beach and Molly, that is what I want our apartment to look like when we move to N.Y.C. Obviously not 2 blocks away from the beach...but the way it was decorated and set up was so cute.

The town of Moraira was so awesome. It had cobblestoned streets with boutiques and restaurants galore. It also had an outdoor market with little stands that sold the cutest jewelry in the entire world. Also, it had a really little castle that was still there from hundreds of years ago. So it pretty much had all of the best elements of Spain thrown into one awesome little town.

We ate lunch in Miguel's sister's apartment. First we had tapas (of course), that consisted of fish, eggs, peppers, mussels, and potato chips? Mom, you should be very proud to know that I tried everything, even though you know that I hate half of those foods.

Then came the next course (lunch is always at least 2 courses because it's the biggest meal of the day). It was chicken and rice with raisins and some kind of nut in it. It was really good, and I was really happy because they made chicken instead of fish. Then, Angela made a sort of pumpkin pie, but not exactly the same thing and it had chocolate on it and it was amazing. Everything was delicious except that everyone here thinks I don't eat enough. Which is completely ridiculous, because I love to eat. It's just that they have their biggest meal at lunchtime, and I'm used to having it at dinnertime so I 'm never that hungry during lunch.

After lunch, was of course, siesta. Now I know I talk about siestas all the time, but seriously, the people are amazing here. They pretty much say, "Here, eat my food! No, eat more please! Then, when you're done, go sleep in my bed! No, please! Sleep as long as you want! Then, we can go to the beach!" Which is exactly what I did.

I love them. Everyone I've met here has been so warm and kind, and they are very giving. I give them so much credit. If I were them, I would never let some strange American girl eat my food then sleep in my bed, but that just shows the kind of people that they are.

After I took a lovely nap in Miguel's sister's son's bed, Angela and I went to the beach. It was a gorgeous day yesterday and the water in the Mediterranean is so clear and warm. I think Angela probably thinks I' some kind of weird sea creature, because literally every time I swim in the Mediterranean I get so happy and laugh for pretty much no reason except for the fact that I'm swimming in the Mediterranean. Every time I get in that water, I'm like a little kid again splashing and swimming around like it's the greatest thing in the world, which actually, it really is.

After we were done swimming, Angela and I took a walk on the beach which took less than 10 minutes because of how tiny the beach is there. But it was so nice, because the sights were amazing, and this beach actually had sand instead of rocks so it didn't hurt to walk around.

Then, we came home and had a casual dinner in the living room which consisted of leftovers from their dinner party for them, and for me it was tostado con tomatoe which is pretty much my go to meal because of how delicious it is.

Then we watched some T.V. and watched the Spanish celebrity gossip channel, which pretty much talks about the American celebrities and their lives, but also talks about the Spanish ones. The Spanish celebrities however, are the toreros, ( the spanish bullfighters), and the soccer players and their girlfriends. It was kind of bizarre to see that the bullfighters were as famous and followed by paparazzi as actors here in America are.

Anyways, yesterday was so much fun and although I miss my family and friends, I wouldn't trade this experience for anything.

Foam, pastelitas, and a greasy pole.

In response to the title of this blog, some of you are probably thinking, "Now what do foam, pastelitas, and a greasy pole all have in common? Things at a strip club, perhaps?" Now readers, get your mind out of the gutter because pastelitas are not the same thing as pasties. Just say'in.

No, no,no, these things, when combined, make to be what might be the greatest festival I've ever been to. Scratch that. It was the greastest festival I've ever been to.

I woke up at 8 :25, had to leave at 8 :30, so you can bet your bottom dollar that I threw on my bathing suit, chugged my cafe con leche, and stuffed a gofre ( like a waffle but so much better because you eat it cold and it's sweet) down my throat in a matter of 3 mins, with 2 mins to spare. I'm just that good. Hahahaa jk, this morning I was pretty much a walking zombie until I met my new friends Oscar, Nadia, and Ana, who quickly woke me up with their peppy personalities and tons of amusing questions about America such as "Is it really like it is in movies? Are cheerleaders really popular? Do the popular groups sit together at lunch? What about prom? Do you eat peanut butter? What is peanut butter? " And on, and on, and on.....you get the picture.

We drove about 15 mins away to a town called Javier, which is also has beaches right in the town. Today was the town's festival, and mind you, it was considered a "small festival" because it was only one day. Usually the town festivals are about a week. Oh yeah, Spaniards don't mess around when it comes to partying. It's pretty much considered a second occupation for them here.

For awhile, we sat in the shade talking and me answering their questions about America. Then, we got in line to go get free chocolate with what was a biscuit, which you dipped in the chocolate. It was so good!

Javier kind of has a sort of square with shops and things, and then you go down some stairs and you're on the beach. So then, we waited a while longer and everyone gathered in the middle of the square we were sprayed and completely covered in foam! There was a huge machine and everyone was laughing and dancing and throwing foam on each other. We were all completely soaked.

Then, after the foam is finished, you walk towards the beach and there are these huge trucks filled with pastelitas (little cupcakes with sticky marshmallow icing). The people on the trucks start throwing these little pastelitas out for everyone to catch. Cool, more free food! Not so much. Everyone takes the pastelitas and throws them at each other and every one gets completely covered in sticky, multi-colored marshmallow icing. Keep in mind, you're already soaked from the foam, and now strangers are wiping marshmallow all over your face. I'm not gonna lie, it was pretty much the most fun experience of my entire life.

Then, everyone runs into the Mediterranean to wash off and swim around. After, we lie on the beach and dry off and walk around the block to the area where the boats dock, and you can swim in deeper water if you want to. This is where they set up a pole sticking out from the dock to over the sea. Then, they grease the pole with something so it makes it slippery and attach a flag to the end of the pole. The big prize for getting the flag first? 5 euro. It's more about the fun of the challenge though, and the pride of winning.

So we watched person after person attempt to win the flag, and fail until finally, some one finally got to it! It was so amusing to watch, and took awhile because of how difficult and slippery the pole was. Also, it was really hot today so many people jumped in and watched from the water, or took a quick dip. However, there were many really obnoxious kids that kept yelling and pushing each other in the water, called chungos, my friends told me, which basically means ghetto in spanish.

I was watching the kids attempt to win the flag, when out of nowhere, I am hit by what feels like a brick wall, and suddenly I'm flying over the edge of the dock and plopping straight into the Mediterranean. I come up out of the water, completely bewildered, cracking up and I look up and see my friends hysterically laughing too. They explained to me that un chunga, was trying to push her boyfriend in, which was terribly stupid because everyone was so crowded together, and I was the lucky one who was standing next to her boyfriend and accidentally pushed me in when she pushed him in. Oh well, I thought it was hilarious.

After the greased pole tradition, everyone goes to a street and has free paella that they make in these huge pans. However, we didn't eat the paella because it was too crowded so we walked to the supermarket, bought food, and took it back to Ana's house and made pasta.

Then, we watched Sex and the City on the T.V. which they put on the original sound (the English version) with Spanish subtitles so we could both understand. They told me it's surprising to them every time they hear the real actor/actress' voice because they are so used to the voiced over English voice with a Spanish actor/actresses' voice. I've always wondered about that, so if you did too, now you know.

We went swimming at a nearby pool that the residents of the condo Ana owns can use. It was really fun, and even though I can't always understand what everyone is saying, I have been understanding more each day and have been paying more attention to the languages I can understand, like body language, or horseback riding. For example, I went horseback riding 2 days ago and it was the exact same way as it is in America, and it was really comforting to be able to speak at least one language, and at least be able to communicate with horses like I do at home.

Anyways, when we were at the pool my friends started imitating different ethnicities of people speaking spanish, because they get a lot of tourists in this area. It was the most confusing yet interesting thing I've ever heard and very funny too. They imitated French, English, American, Moroccan, Italian, and others. I had to think in like 3 languages at the same time. It was so confusing, but I found the less I thought about it and kind of just went with it, I understood better than if I overthink everything.

After that, we went back to Ana's and i had to go home afterward even though the festival still had the whole night to go. They go out at 12 and stay out until very early in the morning, but I couldn't do that because I had a dinner party tonight at my house with my host parents and their friends. It was very good. We had meat,and pizza with fish, and these roll type things with tuna and spinach. It was different, but I am now used to being open with different foods, and just in general.

Today was so much fun, and everything went by so fast because of all the craziness and excitement. I am so exhausted and absolutely burnt to a crisp right now because I spent all day in the sun (and water, thanks to a certain chunga!) hahaha.

My little balcony- a.k.a. favorite place ever

I'm dedicating this post to my little balcony that I have in my room. Most of you are probably saying..."uhhh wtf? Why is she talking about her balcony?" haha, but let me explain.

Going into a foreign country to live for a year is by far the most terrifying yet gratifying experience of my life thus far. It is so difficult every day, especially now in the early stages. Imagine being mute and deaf because that's pretty much how it is for me now. Yes, I am understanding more every day, but it is still hard to communicate with people that you have no idea what they are saying, or what to say back because you don't understand them in the first place.

It's pretty much a miracle when you think about it, that somehow i get through each day, successfully I'd say, without knowing or understanding most of the time. Every day I am so tired from listening intently and making my brain work overtime trying to understand and remember new words and phrases. Therefore, my balcony, my little place of solitude, is my favorite place ever.

My little balcony allows me to go out, sit in the sun, read a good book (Eat, Pray, love for now), and look at the gorgeous mountains around me. In times of trouble or distress or confusion or whatever it is, everyone needs a place of solitude and comfort and I've found mine here in Spain.

This little balcony is pretty much a Godsend. That I have this little freedom to go outside when I want and think or read or just relax is so important to me. Usually I spend all my time out on my balcony during siesta, or whenever I get a chance, really.

It allows me a break from the constant chatter, noise, and commotion and allows my brain to relax and give itself a break. It allows me appreciate the beautiful place I am in and the beautiful opportunity that I have. This little balcony allows me to realize how beautiful life itself is.

I went out there at 2 in the morning last night. Everyone was fast asleep, but I couldn't sleep. This past week has been such a huge change for me, and everything has been a whirlwind. I just needed to sort things out and think about what's happened to me this past week.

I opened the door, felt the cool night breeze and sat on my balcony. And however cliché it sounds, I layed down and looked at the stars. They were so much brighter and distinct than at home. I felt so content and at peace.

Then I talked to God. I just told him about my week, and the things I saw and did, all the changes, my fears, my joys, everything. Then I thanked him for giving me the courage to do this, and giving me this wonderful oppurtunity. Lying there at 2 in the morning while the world is sleeping, looking at the stars, and talking to God is a feeling I can't describe. Like swimming in the Mediterranean, seeing Calpe lit up at night from a mountaintop, this is a moment I won't forget. I've been here only a week and I've had some of the best experiences of my life so far.

I've realized something in the past week. That if i had not made myself get on that plane and leave everything I've ever known behind, I wouldn't be having these amazing experiences. That if you don't do something that scares the hell out of you, you will never have moments that you remember for the rest of your life. That if you don't take every opportunity and grab life at every possible moment, it will pass you by.

I'm not going to let it pass me by.