Goings on...

First and most importantly, there is something I must say before I can tell you any of my latest adventures...it's really important...


HI MRS. WORDEN!!!!!!!!!!



OKay, now that that is out of the way, I can continue with the last two weeks!

Two Fridays ago the Fundación had another excursion and we went to Ácala de Hernares, which is to the Northeast of Madrid. Ácala de Hernares is home to one of the oldest universities in Spain, which we got to tour. It was really a fun time, and I was surprised at how many of the authors who had attended there I actually knew and had read. It brought the University more life in my mind to know who all went there.

After the University we visited the birth place of Cervantes, the author of don Quijote, as well. Andrea and I got a nice picture with the statues of Sancho Panza and Quijote himself (Sancho was mine, all mine) and we got to see what the inside of a house looked like so many years ago. It was a pretty awesome experience. We then got so free time and walked around the city, which is cool because it had random modern art everywhere.

The next week was pretty typical, going to classes and, oh yeah, midterms. Which will explain my absence in my blog for such a long time. I totally overstudied for a lot of my exams, mainly because I assumed they were going to be more in depth and cover a broader range of material. But overall they were fairly fácil and he sacado buenas notas.

This last week however, I did get to thinking, and realized something amazing about my experience here. After two months, I have realized that my automatic responces and immediate thoughts have become more natural in Spanish. When I wake up, I think 'ducha' instead of 'shower' (and other Spanish words I don't think I will put in a blog, but just remeber, 8 AM comes early in Spain). When chatting with friends online or on the phone, I randomly burst out with 'vale', 'madre mía', or 'bien bien'. Hahaha has become jajaja. I answer my host family immediately now, without processing what they say and I can write up a Spanish paper much faster, as I know longer think in English while writing. To me, I feel as if I am closer to truely being bilingual. In high school, my teacher (who has given my so many great strategies that I still find myself using today) explained to us that learning another language was like having a door in your mind. There would come a point where that door just swung open and your thoughts becames bilingual, your reactions became bilingual. You became bilingual. I think that being here and communicating I have found that door and I have opened it. It no longer scares me to call the train station to ask a question or ask for something in a store. It is wonderful.

And now that I just justified my time in a Spanish speaking country, let's talk about this last weekend. Thursday was All Saint's Day here in Spain. To most traditional families this meant going to the cemetary and remember their loved ones who have passed away. For the younger generation this means an extra day to travel during a puente. Andrea and I seized this oppurtunity, hopped a plane, and went to LONDON! It was a pretty cool time. I got to eat some fish and chips in front of the Tower of London, see Tower Bridge, go to the wax museum, and went shopping at Harrod's. It was an awesome time. Andrea really enjoyed the wax museum, and she had the great idea of hopping a Double Decker bus tour as well! And I was the only male she talked to in depth the entire time we were in London! Just so you know that, Mrs. Worden ;-)

However, going to London, I experienced something slightly interesting. I was extremely homesick-- for Spain. I didn't compare everything to the US, instead, I went "I prefer this in Spain" or "This is this here, in Spain it is different." And while I enjoyed my time, I could not wait to return to Spain. It's interesting and makes me wonder what it will be like returning to the USA...

Since then it has been classes and having fun little excursions around Toledo. I realized that my time here is dwindling so I have started buying gifts and filling out the postcards I bought so long ago to send people in the US. It's fun running around Toledo comparasion shopping in the souvenir tiendas, and gives me an extra amout of Spanish practice! This weekend I will probably be heading to Córdoba, so that will be fun.