Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving doesn't exist here, obviously, so my host family decided to surprise me by inviting their family over for dinner to eat a typical Thanksgiving meal. They put so much thought into it researching typical foods served, trying to find a large turkey (they don't eat turkey like that here so it's rare to find one), and preparing little notecards that had sayings in English which corresponded with the main theme of this holiday- giving thanks or recognizing the importance of family. I am SO incredibly thankful for everything they have done for me! 

Cambios Personales

When you get the chance to take a step back and look at everything and analyze it from an outsiders perspective you not only learn a lot not only about those with whom you socialize and interact but about yourself as well.

Throughout this experience I have had the chance to establish new viewpoints on things and have re-evaluated my life back at home. Perhaps the most prominent realization I have made is the significance of family; the importance of being together has become a much greater priority to me. I thought being away from my family would be a lot easier than it's turning out to be. It goes without saying that I am counting down the weeks until I get to see them once more...5 weeks! I miss you all so much and I love you guys more than you know! XO

I went to the American school again today to work with Eneko and things went much better than I had expected. He talked to me non-stop and I had him under *almost* complete control. He gave me tons of hugs/kisses and we somewhat made a handshake. The teacher even noticed the change since I've been working with him- today he responded to a direct question of hers which has never happened. 

Quirófano

On Tuesday, I had the opportunity to shadow a surgeon for the day and I took it. I was placed with surgeon Javier De la Fuente Ortiz de Zarate, who works in Donostia- a town about an hour and ten minutes away from Sopelana. My day started bright and early at 5 AM and I didn't get home until around 6:30 PM. Within that time-span, 9 of those hours were spent in the surgery center. I got to dress up in the scrubs, socks, shoes, masks, and hair nets that the doctors and nurses wore and witness the surgeries of a shoulder, elbow, hand, and knee. My initial reaction of the operating rooms was that they resembled old mental asylums I have seen in movies and that freaked me out quite a bit. In the first surgery, about five minutes after cut-time, my vision started blurring and I began to feel dizzy, got really hot, and turned pale. Needless to say I was carried out of the room. After a few minutes of laying down and drinking some water I decided I was ready to go back in so I did and in the subsequent surgeries I was completely fine. It was really interesting to watch but I'm not sure I could picture myself doing that for the rest of my life..

Eneko: Mi Amigo Especial

Today I went to ASB, the American School of Bilbao, with my host sisters where they have class every Saturday from 9:30 AM until 2 PM. It is a school solely for the learning and bettering of one's English-speaking abilities so it's basically 4.5 hours of English class. The majority of the teachers are from England however while I was in the teachers lounge (yes, I have the privileges to go in there to get coffee, tea, etc.) I encountered a teacher from Wisconsin.. very small world. I spent the day working with a class of little kids around the age of 5. Our class is called EL3 and I get my schedule next week which means I am officially a volunteer to help EL3 out on Saturdays! At the beginning of the day I worked with the class as a whole but after about an hour of playing and doing crafts with the children, they told me I had a different job. They decided I would be a great fit to assist one child in particular- Eneko. Eneko has Asperger Syndrome which is a form of Autism. Before meeting him, I had to read informational packets on this disorder, learn effective ways to interact with him and have him respond to me, and learn ways in which I cannot interact with him. Eneko doesn't understand the feelings of other people and has motor difficulties but apart from that, he is a very affectionate and intelligent boy. I have to be constantly by his side watching him, telling him what he can and can't do, and aiding him with things. At the beginning of the day he never really talked to me but by the end of the day he was listening to me, holding my hand, sitting on my lap, and responding to me when I said something. Although he is a challenge to work with and by the end of the day I am absolutely drained, I am so excited to go back every Saturday and work with him! 

Aupa Athletic

Last night I had the chance to go to the FC Barcelona vs. Athletic Club Bilbao soccer game. Since my host family and I live in Bilbao and the friends with whom I went to the game live there as well and are Athletic fanatics, I felt obligated to cheer them on. The weather was absolutely awful- strong winds and pouring rain. We arrived around 6pm to the Hotel Carlton, where the FC Barcelona players were staying and we got to stand a foot away from them as they walked onto their bus. One thing I learned from watching this: Messi is super short! The game took place at 8pm in Bilbao's home stadium, thus the majority of the people there were against Barcelona. There was an unimaginable amount of cheering, noise makers, and chants. The atmosphere was indescribable..although the weather was horrible everyone was happy, enjoyed themselves, and talked to the strangers around them like they were good friends and had known each other for years. At half-time every person in the stadium pulled out his or her Bocadillo (similar to a sub) to eat for dinner. Seriously, every single person. Barcelona was expected to win but surprisingly Athletic Club almost won! (Barcelona scored in the last 60 seconds of the game to tie it 2-2).

El Colegio

My school here, Askartza Claret, is very different from DSHA. The 10 major differences are as follows:
I) The teachers here dress very casually―jeans and a t-shirt―whereas at home female teachers wear skirts or dresses and male teachers wear khaki pants with a button-up and tie
II) You address the teachers here by his or her first name as opposed to his or her last name preceded by Mr. or Mrs.
III) The grade levels here for 7th-12th grade aren't called 7th grade, 8th grade, etc... rather, they are: 1° ESO, 2° ESO, 3° ESO, 4° ESO, Bachillerato 1, and Bachillerato 2
IV) There are two tracks in each grade level, ciencias and letras, and of those two, you choose one. In choosing one, you are given the classes which correspond to the track (you don't have the ability to choose the classes you take)
V) They are just beginning to install smart boards here and it's quite a big deal
VI) It isn't out of the ordinary to have multiple people repeat grade level(s)
VII) You have two classes followed by a break to go outside, two more classes followed by an hour for lunch, three more classes and then you go home
VIII) You don't turn in homework and there aren't tests every week. Instead, there is one big test halfway through the semester and the final exam at the end of the semester.
IX) Grades are out of 10, instead of being put into percentages  
X) BOYS! 
*I personally prefer an all girls school.


My first few weeks in school were awful. 
From a social perspective: my class is composed of about 20 people and of those twenty, a mere six are girls. I didn't know anybody and nobody talked to me until we went on a retreat to Dima for three days. After that, I actually had friends and had established relationships with those in my class! 
From an academic perspective: I hadn't the slightest idea what the teachers were saying the first few weeks. When my first tests came around I was completely dumb-founded..the formats of the tests are simply a topic and the necessary amount of blank paper to sufficiently answer the question in thoroughness. I received a 2 on my first Fiki (Physics/Chemistry) test and a 2,5 on my second. In Latin, I received a 2,7 on my first test on the history of Rome, a 5 on my second test on the history of Rome, and a 6,6 on the translation test.  

La Ducha

Today my family had a glass wall installed on the shower! WOOHOO! For those of you who are wondering why this is such a big deal, it is because my shower is basically a tub with very low sides and the shower head attached to the wall higher up. There is no curtain or door to the shower, therefore if you shower standing up you will find yourself walking through puddles of water when you step out of the tub as the water goes everywhere when you shower; thus, I have been showering sitting down in the tub to avoid making the bathroom floor into a kiddy pool... I can now stand up and shower like a normal person! 

Hacen Dos Meses, Quedan Dos Meses

Today officially marks two months that I've been here in Spain! I only have two months and one week left here...time has passed so quickly! It's so weird to think this is all half way over already...throughout these two months my relationship with my host family has grown an immeasurable amount and we truly function as a family now. My friendships with my friends and classmates continues to develop and get better and I have become very comfortable and accustomed to life here by now. As for a language standpoint: they say that the first three to four weeks you don't understand much and after that block of time the language barrier gets easier. For me, the first month was extremely tough. I really didn't know what anyone was saying and I could barely formulate responses. However, something just clicked around the beginning of October. I was able to respond almost immediately, actually have correct grammar, speak faster, and comprehend the accent and what people were saying. [Naturally, when I said my first fluent sentence I flipped out a little bit :)] I've been keeping a list of words that are new to me with their English translation so as to broaden my vocabulary and learn the most I possibly can in this short amount of time that remains.