A Spanish Halloween

First off, Happy Halloween!
Halloween in Spain isn't nearly as popular as it is in the US. If you have little kids in your family, you MIGHT go out or sometimes teenagers go out (I believe) but since it's just my host mom and I, I don't think I will be going out tonight. I'm okay with that. I need to do homework, relax, and study for my last standardized test on Saturday! Huzzah! I also think that here it is less scary of a holiday. Not as many creepy or gory decorations.
Besides, I was afraid I would go out and have expectations to be like it is in America and I don't really want to be disappointed. I mean really what's two years in a row without Halloween? I think, I mean I guess I can manage. It'll maybe be a nice bonding night with my host mom or I can sleep!!!
Tonight's movie marathon with me myself and I includes:
Wizard of OZ
Hocus Pocus
11-11-11 (never seen it and it looks interesting)
Young Frankenstein
V for Vendetta

Clarification

Well looking back on my entry from last night I feel like I need to clarify something. I am so incredibly thankful that everyone if safe and sound in the US after Sandy. I feel so bad I wasn’t there to experience it with my family, but I know they are safe and that’s all that matters. I want to make it clear that I’m not taking anything for granted, including being here and the fact that my house in the US is in tact and didn’t lose power once. I highly doubt any of you will understand why this is having such an impact on me but just imagine you lost your good luck charm or your one connection to your childhood. I don't want to sound like I'm having first world problems and I don't care about the bigger things, because I mean I am technically having first world problems and I definitely do care about bigger things but it was a moment of weakness for me and just added to a bad day.

Sorry for my rant, just didn't want to make anyone upset with me!

My Quilt

I have had this specific quilt since before I was born, technically. My grandma and her friends all combined efforts to paint it for me. I have been sleeping with it every night, even when I go to camp. It has been wearing out slowly and even had to get a new back a few years ago. But tonight, something on my laptop caught onto it and put a huge rip in it. Now I had been planning on bringing it home at Christmas and leaving it there so I can save it for when I am older and have kids of my own so for some reason this one larger rip just put me off edge. I told my mom, "I don't think I have cried this hard since my first night here." I am so attached to this quilt I can't bear to see it fade to nothing. It's also a very strong connection to home that I feel like I have already been losing but this just makes it worse. I know it will be okay and I'm going to ask my host mom tomorrow if she will be able to mend it so it can last until I find a replacement quilt here in Spain, but I don't know how much more it can be repaired.

Hoy

Today it a girl's birthday at school and her parents came to see her! Like her US parents! I think they were at some sort of convention or something in Barcelona and then came to Zaragoza today! It was so cute and they were so nice! There was like a receiving line to meet the parents haha It was really cute though. Made me miss home a bit more <3 But I'll be home so soon! Crazyface! (for Bryan.)

Arguments..

I hate the fact that I can hear absolutely everything that happens in the apartment right above me...a man and a woman are currently having a very loud argument. But I have no idea what they are saying because it is an even faster-paced Spanish than I am used to trying to understand. Now it got quiet..I think they moved rooms. Yay for me, I can study now!

Henry Dang

For those of you reading my blog and don't know who Henry Dang is, here is a little piece of his story.
Henry was a classmate of mine. We went to 7th and 8th grade together and we were locker buddies in 8th grade because our lockers were next to each other. He would give me a hug every morning. On October 29, 2012, he was riding his bike home from a friend's house close to midnight and at the intersection of West and Spring street in Windsor Locks, was hit by a drunk driving police officer and killed at the scene. I consider the accident to be a hit and run but he eventually came back with his father and they tried to cover up the drinking so his son wouldn't get in as much trouble as he deserved. He was finally convicted and sentenced to 5 years in prison for second-degree manslaughter and tampering with evidence.
We all miss him so much. He brought everyone together but it's an absolutely shame that it took his death to bring people together. He was a friend to everyone and wasn't restricted to a specific "friend group". He always had a smile on his face and was ready to give anyone a hug that needed it or just wanted one. He always knew how to make you smile and very often could make you feel better if you were having a bad day. He was 15 when he died. And he will always be remembered and loved. He will never be forgotten. Please help keep his memory alive by sharing his story and praying for his family.
RIP Henry HDTV Dang. We love you <3

English Class Today

Today in English I think I had some sort of revelation that I am definitely on a journey to changing and it's already started! We were all sharing our views on getting lost and how we will changing and already are changing. Also, let me just say how incredibly intelligent my classmates are! I did get homesick during class but these past two days have been like that for me with the storm and everything. I really wish I could be home with all of you but then again I am safe and sound here and praying for you all! But you also all have Henry Dang watching over you after being gone for two years today. So much going on all at once!

Daylight Savings!

So I think this is weird, but I guess it technically makes sense if you really think about it..
This past Saturday night we had daylight savings! Huzzah! An extra hour of sleep..but for some reason that's always the night when I can never sleep so it doesn't really help me out at all.
So for all of you on the East coast, it's only a 5 hour time difference instead of 6 until you set your clocks back. Exciting! But chances are I'm going to forget because I was only just starting to get used to subtracting 6 hours! Oh well. Yay for daylight savings!
I also think it's interesting that Portugal doesn't get their clocks back at all. Silliness.

Missed my first family gathering in the US last night.. It feels a little weird, but I think it felt weird just knowing they were getting together without me. I was going to have my mom ask my cousin to skype me in on his phone but I didn't really want to stay up till 4 or 5 AM talking to my family. Love you guys and all but that's just too late even for a weekend!

Dinner Conversations..

So at dinner tonight these are most of the topics Julia and I talked about:
eating fast (which we do every night even though the doctor said to eat slowly..)
Marta (one of the teachers) being pregnant
If Marta had a boyfriend/girlfriend/husband
Why she's pregnant if she's not married
How did she get pregnant if she doesn't have a boyfriend
Insemination in people
Why would she want a child if she doesn't have a husband
Eating deer, rabbits, and horses (in France)
The fact that I'm not super excited but willing to try rabbit
How did a group of bunnies get created in the mother if there wasn't a male rabbit around
Insemination in bunnies
Then she asked, where does the semen come from?
Eating fish and how some vegetarians are particular about what types of fish they eat
All fish have to die or be killed to be cooked anyways
Then it got more graphic but I'm not exactly sure how to translate it to English
And THAT was dinner! All 25 minutes of it hahahah so fantastic.

Fire Drill

So today, we had a fire drill. Except I wasn't there. I had a free block and was lagging, so I decided to go out and get a quick cup of coffee before math and the long night of homework I have ahead of me. So, naturally as we are allowed to do, I got my money (exactly 1,40 euros because I'm starting to become a regular) and walked out the front door and on the way passed both secretaries and the director of the school. None of them stopped me to tell me we were going to be having a fire drill! So when I got back, I rang the bell two times and no one opened the door. Then a guy with a ladder came up and I tried explaining to him that no one was opening the door so we tried it again. After nothing the third time, he called the school. As he was hanging up due to no answer, I saw the school walking up the stairs. "Heather, where were you?! We had a fire drill!" Oops. All I wanted was coffee! I explained to the secretary with the list of names that I went to get coffee and I couldn't really get in trouble because I had done nothing wrong and all she said was oh I'm glad you're not dead! And the director (my advisor and teacher as well) said the same thing when I told him later! So hilarious. All for coffee. I think I'm becoming addicted. It's so good here!!!

Lunch

Today I took three of my senior girls out to lunch to celebrate my wonderful news! We had burgers and fries and of course amazing waffles! Some had just dark chocolate and others of us has dark chocolate with fresh strawberries :) Love you girls! <3 You are my support system here!

Math

So much work (way too much work for one week) + already having gotten accepted into college = a lazy Heather who doesn't want to work at all and just wants to sleep all of the hours of the day.
NOT GOOD.
I'm trying to focus as much as possible but it's just not working out for me as much as I would like it to.

COLLEGE

I JUST FOUND OUT I GOT ACCEPTED INTO MY FIRST CHOICE COLLEGE, MARYMOUNT MANHATTAN!!!! SO EXCITED! actually had trouble breathing at one point. no way I'm
going to sleep now! I only found out about the college acceptance and I'm still waiting on the theatre department decision but I'm halfway there now!!! thank you to everyone for your support and congratulations! it means a lot to have all of you there for me and on my side!! 🙏<3

Dinner

I love spending an entire dinner with my host mom just talking about boobs and push-up bras hahahahaha best dinner yet! It was also super cute how she couldn't pronounce push-up and had to show me what she was trying to say. Love her!

Card

Got another card today! It was from my amazing cousin, Carrie! Loved hearing from you, it definitely made my day ten times better! Congrats on grad school! I'm so proud of you!! <3

THANKS!

We are officially past 2000 views! THANK YOU! YOU GUYS ROCK! Now y'all can start commenting :)

Assignment!

So in theatre class today we got a new assignment before we start on the play we will perform in December! We each randomly chose a character from a classic tale. I happened to choose the Queen of Hearts.. weird, right?! I always end up as her! Which I don't mind at all because she is my favorite!!!! But we have to come up with our own scene and dialogue using that character and their personality but it can't be a scene from the actual story. I was thinking of placing her in like a mental hospital but having like the white rabbit be her therapist..any suggestions would be fantastic! I have to write up my own script in Spanish, of course, and memorize it by Wednesday..this is the challenge I must accept! Please comment if you have any suggestions! It has to be 2-3 min long.
I still can't get over how weird it is that I got her out of everyone else! I could have been Wendy, Geppetto, Cinderella's shoe, or even the prince from Sleeping Beauty! A coincidence? I think not.

SYA Video

One of the guys from my SYA Spain class made this video and basically everyone that is on it is a friend of mine. I think it is really well-made and definitely a good and accurate representation of how I feel about SYA, too! Definitely recommend checking it out!
http://vimeo.com/51884730

Another Family Lunch

Nothing particularly special happened at yet another family lunch. It was very enjoyable company. I was able to place myself in more conversations because I am more comfortable with my Spanish now, and they felt they could ask me more questions because I can understand and respond more than I could the last time!
I also started the trend of cafe and rum with this group of family :) They were so funny when I first accepted their offer of wine and then when Julia told them about how I like rum in my coffee and later proved it to be true!
Such a sweet, friendly family. It's going to be so hard to leave.

Churros

Today I came home after pants shopping and my host mom surprised me with the ingredients to make churros! It was so exciting! They were pretty good, too! We made soo many and ate most of them. And after all of the batter was gone, we made coffee, and had some coffee and rum with churros :) So awesome and unexpected!

We aren't in Spain anymore?

Last night my friend and I went out to eat around 10:30. While I was waiting for her to meet up with me, there was this random guy walking down the street belting some song but all he ended up singing for lyrics was America and then started singing/talking to people waiting for the bus and was saying stuff like Buenas noches and buen viaje. It was HILARIOUS, especially because I think he was completely sober!
When we were walking to the restaurant, we passed three British ladies saying things like "That's really cheap!" and "Where's the hotel?" When we got to the restaurant, after passing it and going back, there were four more British people sitting outside talking in English too! Then inside the restaurant, there was a really drunk guy talking to some Spanish ladies and we are pretty sure he was American! He was speaking English and a tiny bit of Spanish to the ladies and he was saying things like "When it's your birthday you make other people treat you!" and then started talking to some random boy sitting with his parents but I don't think he understood because I'm not sure how much English he spoke. So we started speaking in Spanish for a good portion of that ordeal so he didn't bother us too. Then as we were finishing up our amazing meal, (homemade, fresh pasta at an Italian restaurant) a group of five or six MORE British people and one Spaniard walked in! That kind of sounds like the start to a joke.. "Five Brits and a Spaniard walk into a bar.." Anyways, one Brit was talking English to the waitress and the Spaniard was assuring her he spoke Spanish. As we were leaving, we were talking a bit louder than we normally would in English so they would notice and all of a sudden as we passed their table saying something like "Yeah that was definitely good" or something like that (I don't exactly remember), the table got silent and one guy just started staring at us and was frozen in a position with his beer in his hand! So funny! On our way home, we passed three more American girls who weren't from SYA. We thought we had been transported to another country or it was invasion of the English-speaking people in an episode of Doctor Who!

El Castillo and Albarracín

Yesterday we went to a super old castle in the south(?) of Aragón that I believe used to be the border beween Aragón and Valencía (but I'm not 100% positive if that's what Álvaro said). It was super guay! So many cool little rooms leading to other cool places; I could have stayed there for hours and just explored!

Then afterwards, we went to a beautiful Pueblo called Albarracín. There we found this really cool wall and after exploring the town a bit, we decided to hike up and look at the view from the top of it. It was unbelievable. Such an amazing, eye-opening, and just incredible view.

 

Presidents, anyone?

So today the prensa class went to this all day affair about the US elections because a lady from the US government works here in Spain who also did SYA in like 1997. After school, everyone went to what was supposed to be a debate about the US Presidential candidates but it wasn't supposed to start until 730. Most of us stayed from 6-730 and listened to the open speeches and some interesting things but it was just way too boring. I was grateful for the opportunity to be there and be exposed to US politics even more abroad than I am in the US but I'm not a politics person at all, especially when everything is in Spanish too.
That was pretty much the most exciting thing that happened to me today.
Tomorrow is another mini viaje!

Fall

I absolutely love this time of year. The smell of the air, the clothing, the scenery, all just so beautiful.
I also love the aspect that we have here of the heavenly waffle stand on Independencia (the street next to school, kind of like 5th ave?) and the little stands all over the center of the amazing smell of chestnuts roasting :)
Love it!
Such a gorgeous day today! I wish every day was like today! Not too warm or too cold, it was perfect!!

Yay!

Got a card from Bana today! (my grandma on my mom's side) She's so cute! Love you too, Bana; thanks so much!
Also, I went to buy nail polish today. And the lady forgot to ring it up at the beginning so I was only paying like 9 euros for like four things. Then she remembered and rang it up and it went to like 24 or something euros! The nail polish was almost 17 euros! No thank you! Ridiculous!
No school tomorrow! It's the PSAT and I've already taken it twice so all of the ten seniors have the day off! So great! And we have a mini day trip on Friday! Woooo! Love it here :) I hope to have a nice relaxing day tomorrow to buy some jeans, work on my three remaining supplements, and SLEEP IN! :D

Packages!

I LOVE getting packages!! They are awesome!
Today I got a card from my great aunt Sister Claire and a package from my parents. The package contained icy hot, People magazine in Spanish, and PEANUT BUTTER! YAYYY!!!!
Thank you all!
Feel free to send me cards and such! You don't have to spend $50 on a package! Chances are I will eventually return you a postcard of some sort.
My address is:
Paseo Pamplona 2
Zaragoza, Spain 50004

Pilares: Rosario de Cristal

The Rosario de Cristal is probably my favorite part of Pilar. It is a parade of these gorgeous floats of lit up stained class on the original 18th century carts pulled by and surrounded by people in traditional clothing of every region that celebrates Pilar. As they go through the streets, they also project the saying of the mass on loudspeakers throughout the city so you can listen to the mass while watching these floats go by. It's truly so moving. I was on the verge of tears at one point just because it was so pretty! It lasts about 2 hours (I think. Maybe longer.) but its so pretty to see, especially with the restorations that they make every year. The saying of the mass is also a very beautiful and sacred part of the parade. If you ever make it to Spain, come to Zaragoza to see this. You won't be disappointed.

Pilares: La Ofrenda de Fruta

 La ofrenda de fruta is a parade that goes to la plaza del Pilar of people in traditional clothing carrying fruit to offer to the virgin and the fruit that is given and put at the statue of the virgin is all given to the poor people of Zaragoza. It was a really cool procession! And all of the traditional clothing from different places is so cool and so pretty. Something you definitely wouldn't see anywhere, not even anything like it, in the states.

Pilares: Vaquillas!

This morning, I woke up at 630, after 3 hours of sleep from partying last night, missed the bus, took a taxi, then went to see the vaquillas (mini bulls) run with crazy people. They just run around the ring and the people try to provoke the bull and try to run away from it. A couple of people got pretty hurt. There was a guy with a blue wig afro, a guy in a santa suit, a guy with a stuffed cow toy, a guy with a huge stuffed snake, and a fat guy who didn't wear a shirt. The crowed LOVED the shirtless guy he was hilarious. It was so much fun to watch. We sat next to a peña, which is a group of people who just played instruments the whole time and partied. The first hour was all about the bulls and the second was more about people watching and eating and drinking and partying. A quote that came to mind to describe this is one from The Princess and the Frog, "It brings folks together from all walks of life". That's exactly how I would describe it. The people we sat next to were so friendly, just like every other Spaniard I have encountered, pretty much. We laughed together, they offered us food and drink, they helped us find seats, and they took our picture for us without us having to ask! So considerate and just nice, unlike everyone in the states. It's such a different vibe here, I love it! 

Pilares: Familia

Today we had family over for lunch for two reasons. One: today is the official day of Pilar and Two: it is Julia's late husband's birthday so some of the family came to be together.
They made fun of how I am shorter than the other American students Julia has had..but it's okay because it makes us look more like mother and daughter! Except I'm super white and don't look Spanish at all..oh well. I don't really look like my real mom much anyways either!
The guys are smoking in the house which never happens because Julia doesn't smoke, but its started to give me a headache.. welcome to Europe!
The lady here (I believe she is the sister of Julia's late husband) is super nice. A lot nicer than the other lady that was here last time we had a family gathering, but she was nice too! There was a joke at the end of the meal when saying goodbyes since we were all in a line, she was the queen, I the princess and Julia a noble.
I don't feel as "new" and embarrassed as I felt last time. Maybe my Spanish is a little better but I think it also has to do with the fact that this isn't my first family lunch and if I can just be myself it'll be easier than trying to be a Spanish version of me (it's too early for that). They even complimented my Spanish and my accent!
I'm doing my homework while they cook and the smells (that make it past the smoke smell) are AMAZING. I don't know how I'm going to come back to the US after eating this amazing food.. Sorry, no offense..
Everything is Eat, Eat, Eat! SO much food not enough room in my tummy! And yet I just kept eating as not to be rude.
I wish my family back home was this much fun. I love you all but we are super dysfunctional and a lot of us don't get along with each other and sometimes it's in secret so it's even worse to deal with. Today, everything was a laugh. And it had nothing to do with the alcohol circulating in the room. (For future, European style café and rum is really good!) I wish we could get along better and actually see each other more. Let's get on that when I come back.

A Field Guide to Getting Lost

In English class we are just starting to read A Field Guide to Getting Lost by Rebecca Solnit. Since my blog counts as my personal journal, I have to do a reflection of my thoughts on the first chapter. So here we go. And I will try as much as possible to reflect it back to Spain for those of you who might lose interest in this post. (It's okay if you do, no hard feelings.)
A quote that really stood out to me was "Go to hell, but keep moving once you get there, come out the other side." No, this quote didn't just stand out because it has a swear, but because it reminded me of a country song that goes something like, "If you're going through hell, keep on moving; don't slow down. If you're scared, don't show it. You might get out if the Devil doesn't know you're there." This hits me because my first week in Spain was probably one of the hardest weeks I've ever had to just push through. I knew in the end it was going to be okay, but it was really hard to leave everything I was used to and "get lost" in this new city of Zaragoza with these "new souls" that I had never met before and might not have even had anything in common with expect the fact that we were all going through the same thing at the same time with the same people in the same place. We were all lost, but we had a guideline for where we were going.
That's kind of how I feel that I can connect to this book. I haven't officially gotten lost yet here, and very rarely do I get lost back home. As my Dad would say, I'm his star navigator. So if I get lost, that's not really a good thing. He rarely gets lost, too, so maybe that's where I get it from!
Right now, I don't feel lost anymore. I feel like I have found my way and I am living in that light at the end of the tunnel. I absolutely love it here and I couldn't have pictured how amazing this journey was because it's so much more than I ever thought it would be, despite how many people were trying to tell me otherwise. I would get lost any day just to learn more about myself and about my surroundings. I WANT to get lost so I can go on an adventure and have no idea where I'm going to end up and not have to worry about planning to have fun because getting lost and going on that kind of adventure is spontaneous! I want to learn more about myself by learning more about this city. I think the two go hand in hand.

Ofrenda de Flores

Today, all day from 8-5:30, people wearing traditional clothing of their region or their country walk to the plaza de Pilar and offer flowers to be put and added to this statue of chicken wire of the Virgin of Pilar. This started off empty this morning and was just a statue of chicken wire. It's amazing how many flowers they can fit on there and I believe this photo was taken before 12! (I stole this photo from the Pilar Facebook Page because I haven't officially gone to see it in person yet and I didn't want to wait until tomorrow to post about it since today is the official day of Pilar.) SO beautiful!!