Feliz Navidad!

This past weekend I went to a gala and it was Christmas. 
The gala was Friday night starting at 11:30 PM and went until 6 AM. We went and had our hair and makeup professionally done and got dressed up in high heels and black dresses. I didn't want to wear tights but when I said that everyone looked at me like I was crazy because everyone here wears them so I settled with skin colored tights. 
I thought I would be a lot more upset at Christmas than I was. It didn't even feel like Christmas to me whatsoever so I think that helped me stay happy. We had a big family dinner and then opened the presents from the "hinchero" (like Santa) after dinner. I got an Eguzkilore necklace which is the name of a very typical flower here in Euskera, watch, Basque Country cooking book, Platero y yo (classic spanish novel), a stress ball in the shape of a Euro, shirt with the Lauburu on it (the symbol of the Basque Country), and a incense/candle piece. 

Mi Último Día del Colegio

Today was my last day at Askartza (my school) and I honestly didn't think it would be as hard to say goodbye as it was. I was completely surprised at the end of the day when everyone was sitting down and I was called up to the front of the class. I was given a present on behalf of my normal class and my English and Latin classes. Yesterday my teacher pulled me out of class to talk and apparently that's when the students collected the money and talked about ideas. So yesterday night they bought part of the gift. Today more people brought money so during lunch two girls in my class walked 2 km to a mall to buy another little gift. I was shaking when I opened the gifts because everyone was clapping and cheering and I eventually broke down into tears once everything had been opened. By that time the bell had rung so I gave everyone goodbye kisses. I had no idea how much that class had grown on me the 3 months I had been there until I had to leave them. :(

Resumen de Este Fin de Semana

Friday: I had to say goodbye to Camila because she was leaving for Columbia on Sunday and not returning until January 15th.


Saturday: I will not be going back to ASB again as Saturday was my last day! The kids had a Christmas concert (which was absolutely adorable) followed by a party in the classroom to end the program. The grandma was nice enough to make a Christmas tree shaped cake to bring for the children! 


Sunday: I was supposed to participate in an 11 km race but it was called off due the the red alert weather; there has been 7m waves, persistent pouring rain, and extremely strong winds. Instead, I went with Borja to ride horses again except this time through the mountain. 

Caballos

I went with Irati, Naroa, and Borja (their cousin) today to ride horses on the beach. I was really surprised at how relaxed they are here with it: no waivers, helmets, or experience necessary. Although I am sore now,  don't ask me why, it was a very fun experience.

"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." 

-Winston Churchill


Something that has become evident to me while I've been here is the prominence of opportunity: take every chance given and make the most of it. To grow and succeed, one must take risks.

El Metro

So tonight I was running to try and catch the metro and Irati got into the metro first as it was beeping (a signal that the doors are about to close) and I tried entering after but unfortunately the doors shut on my arms before I could get in. Picture this: both of my arms half-way inside the metro squeezed between two doors that didn't stop shutting tighter and the rest of my body left outside of the metro. Irati and I were freaking out to say the least- she was pushing the button trying to open the doors and I was trying to pull my arms out but neither of those attempts succeeded. Thankfully the doors eventually opened back up before the metro started moving. Not only did everyone inside the metro witness everything so we were thoroughly embarrassed, but I'm left with two swollen, red forearms. Solid.

Primera Evaluación

FINALLY after two weeks of hell I have taken all 9 of my exams and have received my grades. Overall, I'm content with the results as I thought I would fail every subject. 
My scores are as follows:

• Exam Grades:

1. Física y Química - 1,5
2. Ciencias Para el Mundo Contemporaneo - 5,5
3. Lengua y Literatura - 6,6
4. Filosofía - 6,75
5. Religión - 8,6
6. Latín - 9
7. Psicología - 9,4
8. Inglés - 10

• Final Trimester Grades:

1. Física y Química - 5
2. Ciencias Para el Mundo Contemporaneo - 6
3. Matemáticas - 6
4. Lengua y Literatura - 7
5. Filosofía - 8
6. Educación Física - 7
7. Religión - 8
8. Latín - 9
9. Psicología - 9
10. Inglés - 10

He Visto a Mi Gemela!

This past weekend I went to Barcelona with my host family and Maddie to see my friends from DS that were also there on a school trip. Everything started off terribly: Maddie's flight on Friday was cancelled (she had been waiting in the airport for seven hours) and she had to be changed to a flight on Saturday. There were two possible flights into Barcelona on Saturday- one which left at 8:30AM and arrived in Spain at 9:30AM and another flight that left at 7:50AM but didn't arrive in Spain until 12:30PM. Of the 40 people on her flight, she was one of the 10 people that were placed on the flight that arrived past noon. This posed a problem as we had been planning to meet up with the DS girls around 10AM so after a little work twisting the truth, Maddie was thankfully placed on the early flight and everything went according to plan. In Barcelona we spent a lot of time with our friends going out to eat, shopping, and just talking in their hotel rooms. It made me really happy to see everyone again and to speak in English again but when I had to come back to Sopelana I was extremely sad and homesick...I had no appetite and constantly felt like I could cry. That feeling has passed, however, now that I've come to the realization that it is only a short period of time until I'm reunited with my family and traveling back to freezing Wisco. (: