Ola e Saúdos!

Well, it's been a few months since I posted. Obviously, I will have more to post (although probably even less time) once I've actually left the country!

I've been pretty busy this spring. It's hard to believe that not even four months ago I was still finishing my application and hoping I would be accepted. I've now received Visa instructions from AFS, which are ridiculously long and difficult to achieve. I was a little disappointed to learn that my local AFS chapter would not be holding a pre-departure orientation, so instead I will have a "virtual on-the-phone" orientation. I had been looking forward to meeting some other kids going abroad, but that's okay.

I have been trying to find out as much as I can about Galicia, the region where I will be living in just about- I can't believe how fast time has gone!- 97 days. It's not the most well-known part of Spain so there aren't many too many resources. I did learn that there are Celtic influences, so the bagpipes (I laughed too- what? bagpipes? in Spain?) are a traditional instrument. This is a video of a famous Galician musician...




I have heard, however, that it is sometimes referred to (in the most loving way possible I'm sure) as the "Urinal of Spain".  How marvelous.   (Because it rains so much there, apparently.) But really, it's beautiful.

Seems to be plenty of sunshine....

I've been exchanging emails with my host parents about once a week or so. I don't think I introduced them in my other post, but my family includes my host mom Elena, my host dad Lois (yep, not Luis), my one-year-younger host sister Antía, and two Dalmatian dogs named Babi and Pinto. I love getting to know my future family!

Mostly, I've just been trying to get through the last few months of school in America. The end of my sophomore year has been quite stressful with trying to get extra credits so I can graduate on time despite not getting any credits from my classes in Spain. I still have some final exams after this weekend, but Wednesday is my last day.  I'll be that much closer to leaving for Spain! (Of course, I'm taking an extra history class which means I'll still be in school through July.... bummer.)

koalas are cool (me gusta coalas).

It's going to be a huge change, and of course I will miss my life here in the USA. I will have to get used to another language or two, I won't understand puns, or have a decent vocabulary, I'll have to use the Euro system, and the metric system, I won't have my own friends or family or dog, or a legal driver's license, or my favorite TV shows and movies and music and snacks... I'll even miss Presidential elections! And for many of my friends, this is the last year we have together, because by the time I return they will be in college being awesome. I'm going to miss so much. Thinking about everything I'm leaving behind makes me seem crazy, but there are million more reasons that make it worth it. (I could make a long list of reasons why... maybe in another
post).  



 Alright, I'm done for now.



In Galician, Adeus!