So obviously I've made this a monthly thing. You may have noticed. It helps me so that at least I have some motivation to sit down and write this, because without that little push, I'm really quite lazy. Not that I don't want to write to you guys, it's just difficult to sit down and write anything. Takes time and concentration. But this month I probably could have written a couple different blog posts without a problem, because of all the down time I've had.
It's been a quiet month. (I'm not saying that literally, by any means). I haven't done very many big things like some months. Mostly just school, studying, talking, and hanging with friends.
I don't want to downplay the month that much, as it's been fun. Plus everyone needs those times of calm and "quietness" to think, collect thoughts, and rest. And after going hard for 7 months I have needed it.
Oh and about this month's title... well, it translates literally to mean: "In April, a Thousand Waters", but what it really means is: "It rains a LOT in April". And it's true. I can vouch for that. It's been raining all month. Although, we have started spring and so in between the rains the weather is very nice. But it really does rain a lot. The Pisuerga river in Valladolid went up almost 6 feet at one point. Personally, I'm not a big fan of rain, or wetness. I am not sure if that's because I have lived in New Mexico for so long or that I just don't like water that much (except to drink). I have, however, more or less mastered how to hold and umbrella (out of necessity), which I'm proud of as I had no clue how to hold it when I arrived.
School's going good. If you were still wondering, yes, it is all in Spanish, except my [foreign language] English teacher speaks mostly in English (although I don't pay much attention in that class). Also, yes, I understand everything. By now I know all of the words that they use or by understanding the context, I can easily figure out what they mean. Since when I said "everything" it was an ovious exaggeration, I'll tell you that when I do hear a word that I don't understand, I will either look it up in the little dictionary or will tell my classmates that I don´t know what the word means, and they usually are able to explain it to me. So that's all going fine and dandy.
I don't actually study much, and when I do it's usually the stuff that I want to study: Spanish, math, history. Mostly Spanish because there's a lot you don't hear or understand unless you go over it. Plus since I mostly just learned Spanish by speaking and learning vocabulary, I have to learn all the rules of speaking and writing, also. Something that they've already stopped teaching in Spain at my age, so I have to do that mostly seperate from school.
Well as for talking, all I can say is that they seem to understand me, and there haven't been too many misunderstandings. I'm pretty sure I can count myself as fluent because I've kind of stopped speaking English all together unless some asks me to speak for class or to help them. I also speak to my parents and grandparents in English, although sometime I go to start in Spanish and then realize that I should't.
To be honest speaking English nowadays is a real pain and slightly difficult. I can read, write, and think in English but when it comes time to speak, the Spanish tries to come out. I count that as a good thing, because I've at a point where I don't have to think to speak in Spanish anymore. (Well I still do but it helps the confidence). It's weird for me to think that I couldn't even speak Spanish (like almost at all).
As for big things I've done this month, like I said, they are few.
This month I have met more American people (kids) than in the whole trip combined. A lot of American East Coast schools send about a class of kids to Spain for one week, and these kids like know nothing of Spanish and are very "wide-eyed" about everything (exactly how I was when I arrived). Mostly I've just said "hi, how are you" to a them and then they go off one way and I stay here.
Also, I a volunteering thing at a hospital in Valladolid, just giving a presentation to the kids that live there on the United States of America. It was a good experience.
Went to see a rugby game, the final of the Copa del Rey, a very big tournament in Spain. My first live rugby game and probably the only one I've ever seen in full. I helped make a record for Spain, being one of the people to attend. The record was: the most attended rugby game in Spanish history. In case I said that wrong, I'm trying to say that more people attended that game than any other game, ever, in Spanish rugby. The king of Spain attended the game. They tell me it wasn't a great game and it also rained, but overall I had a good time.
Well I think that is about it for April. Made this post a lot longer than usual because I'm not sure why.
I´m 8 months down in this trip and only one and a half left. It's hard to believe that at the same time it has gone by so fast and so slow.
Well now I'm going to go play paintball with my friends (April has a few birthdays).
Un saludo, Miguel Sabol
So glad you mentioned you had posted to the blog.. sometimes I don't check for a while and then another month goes by... I enjoyed the art of holding an umbrella - I never understood that that need lessons to make good use of one. Great fun seeing pictures of your school mates and friends.
ReplyDeletePaintball seems like a pretty universal language. I think it would be cool if your next post was written in Spanish and then all the gringos here can use google translate to figure it out. Just a thought.
ReplyDeleteI had a friend that lived in Spain as a missionary for about 25 years and he loved to ride bikes as much as I do. He said 2 things about riding in Spain: First, it's very popular and maybe the only reason he was ever accepted in the community he lived in. Second, it rained all the time and he just got used to riding in the rain each spring.
Crazy to think you're almost finished. Wow! Hope the last month is the best!
Uncle Nick