Oh School. The first day wasn't so fun. It's hard to start over with everything- new school, new friends, new teachers, new classes...everything. But it's definitely improved from that first day :) I feel alot more comfortable now, and am starting to make friends.
In choosing the track I wanted to take, (at my old school there were only two- sciences or humanities, but here they have three) I knew I wanted to try something new. I didn't want to continue with sciences like I had done in Ponfe. I like sciences, but honestly such a heavy science and math-based course was just too much for me. So I decided that here I would try one of the two humanities tracks- the one that had Greek and Latin. I thought, "well I've never learned anything about these languages before and they aren't offered at my school in the US, so I should try it out!"
Well, Yeah. That lasted two days. Greek on top of Latin on top of French on top of Lengua (Spanish) was just too much all at once. And I would have had to learn everything the students had already learned in the first trimester just to catch up. And I don't really want to learn four languages right now, I'd rather focus on Spanish. So starting yesterday, I switched to the Social Sciences branch and these are my classes:
History, French, English, Math, Economics, Lengua, Gym, Philosophy, CMC (a science class), and a class called Integrated Projects...where I think we just do projects but I have yet to find out!
The classes are fun. I enjoy them.. and I like almost all my teachers. :) Although the English teacher is about to have a baby and since they don't do substitutes here, we are going to be without an English class for a while. Oh well. The one class I have an advantage in we don't even have.
This weekend some of my new friends from school are going to come to Mazagon, (the pueblo where I live, I actually go to school in a bigger city called Palos) and we are just going to hang out on the beach and at the pier of Mazagon where there is a bunch of bars and restaurants. I'm excited!
I'm learning guitar. I'm actually teaching myself with youtube videos, but I figured what the heck, plus I think one day in a few months when I can actually play a few songs, it would be fun to walk down to the beach and just sit in the sand and play guitar. I don't know, the idea just came to me and I thought it would be cool.
I still can't get over the fact that I live so close to the beach. If I ran really fast starting from the door of my house, my feet would touch sand in 20 seconds. I just want to cherish this experience and live it up because I know how many people would love to just vacation here, and this is my home.
besos, thanks for reading even though I'm sometimes unorganized,
Lani.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Pictures 1/8/2013
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| My favorite section of the supermercado- chocolate! |
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| The only fisherman braving the 50 degree temperatures. |
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| Port of Huelva. |
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| Walked down to the beach.... |
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| ....to see the Sunset |
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| And this boat conveniently drove by while I was taking the picture... |
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| Footprints in the sand. |
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| Fishermen as the sun was ending its descent. |
besos, Lani.
Monday, January 7, 2013
A New Chapter
So, I've switched families. I'm not going to talk about why because that's not fair. I just want you all to know that I have made the journey from my first Spanish home in Ponferrada to my new home here in Huelva. Everything is completely different, but I feel so blessed that I am getting the opportunity to experience both the North and South of Spain.
Ponferrada will always hold a special place in my heart...
These were and still are some of my amazing Spanish friends in Ponfe. They were wonderful to me. I will never forget their sweetness and kindness and endless patience with me learning Spanish. <3 I love you guys, Gracias por todo.
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This map shows a pretty good representation of the way I traveled. This is how the trip went: I first traveled 3 1/2 hours in train from Ponfe to Valladolid where I met my family. Then I rode in the car with them the 7 hours from Valladolid to Huelva! It was a LOT of traveling for one day, but I feel very blessed that I got to make this trip through Spain and was able to look out the window the whole time :) I now live in a totally new city in Spain almost 1000 km away from the first one (984 km!) Which for all you Americans, is about 612 miles :)
So here's something interesting. The South of Spain (Andalusia, the region I'm in, to be exact) is COMPLETELY different from the North. They have their own customs, traditions, foods, dances, weather, and accent. I was blessed that before I lived in the region of Castille-Leon, where the purest form of Spanish is spoken- it really helped me learn in the beginning. My friends in Ponfe told me that here in Huelva I wasn't going to understand everything at first, they speak so differently.
So maybe you've heard of Flamenco dancing. Well, Flamenco dancing actually isn't a Spanish thing in general, but an Andalusian thing. And it really hasn't spread out of Andalusia to other parts of Spain- in the 4 months I spent in the North of Spain, I never once saw or heard about Flamenco. But here in the South, it's part of the culture and people's heritage.
And I did some research. Because I know that the north and south of Spain are much more dramatically different than most people realize, but I didn't know the exact differences (as I was typing this I couldn't think of how to spell that word in English! ahhh! I love forgetting English, because it means there is more room for Spanish to take up. I think.) off the top of my head. So here we go:
1. The geography in Spain is really diverse, which determines the several climates and the cultural diversity. Northern Spain- green and rainy. Southern Spain- hot and dry (unless you are really close to the ocean, like I am- then there is a fair amount of rain.) These differences are reflected very clearly in the difference of houses. In Northern Spain, the houses are more or less like ours in the US- except for the fact most people live in apartments or "row houses," and there isn't carpet. The floor is cold, and you always have to wear slippers. Here, even though it's the middle of winter it's 50-60 degrees Fahrenheit. The majority of the houses are white- to repel the heat in the summer- and the style of architecture is just soo different. It's very typically Spanish- and the houses are all so open- with patios and palm trees all around. We wear regular shoes in the house, and spend alot of time outside.
2. Weather- Firstly we have Andalusia - where it is sunny most of the year; summer is extremely hot, reaching daily highs of around 95 F and 60 F at night. The chilly winter starts from around January - March, but it's rarely colder than 45 F.
In the blue corner we have the "underdogs" from northern Spain.Costa da Morte, facing the Atlantic Ocean and running along the Galician region, which is renowned for having the worst weather in Spain, comparable to the UK (maybe not that bad). The summers are usually in the 70s and temperatures in winter can fall to zero, however snow is rare. Summers average at 70 F and winters 35 F. The average annual rainfall is quite high, occurring during spring and autumn.
3. Foodwise- Overall the North is known to have the more sophisticated pallet- in Andalusia the food is more like Mama's cooking.
In Andulucia seafood can be found in soups, fried or grilled. Sardines
tend to be grilled on spits over driftwood fires and Gazpacho (a cold blended soup
containing vegetables) is famous in this region.
The northern cuisine has influences from France and Italy. You can find pastas, stew,
freshwater fish, seafood and cured meats. LOTS OF MEAT!
In a nutshell: The south is known for vibrancy, heat, flamenco, touristy coasts and dry land, while the north is better known for green landscapes, exquisite food, unspoilt scenery, authenticity and a colder climate.
*And I can definitely confirm this, having lived up here in the North. It is truly beautiful- lush green landscapes and mountains. And it's COLD. And the air is quite dry, (at least were I lived) so when it's windy the cold smacks your face and sneaks under your clothes and you freeze.
Here are some photos of my new home:
Sending my best wishes to EVERYONE, Os quiero.
Besos, Lani.
Ponferrada will always hold a special place in my heart...
These were and still are some of my amazing Spanish friends in Ponfe. They were wonderful to me. I will never forget their sweetness and kindness and endless patience with me learning Spanish. <3 I love you guys, Gracias por todo.
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
This map shows a pretty good representation of the way I traveled. This is how the trip went: I first traveled 3 1/2 hours in train from Ponfe to Valladolid where I met my family. Then I rode in the car with them the 7 hours from Valladolid to Huelva! It was a LOT of traveling for one day, but I feel very blessed that I got to make this trip through Spain and was able to look out the window the whole time :) I now live in a totally new city in Spain almost 1000 km away from the first one (984 km!) Which for all you Americans, is about 612 miles :)
So here's something interesting. The South of Spain (Andalusia, the region I'm in, to be exact) is COMPLETELY different from the North. They have their own customs, traditions, foods, dances, weather, and accent. I was blessed that before I lived in the region of Castille-Leon, where the purest form of Spanish is spoken- it really helped me learn in the beginning. My friends in Ponfe told me that here in Huelva I wasn't going to understand everything at first, they speak so differently.
So maybe you've heard of Flamenco dancing. Well, Flamenco dancing actually isn't a Spanish thing in general, but an Andalusian thing. And it really hasn't spread out of Andalusia to other parts of Spain- in the 4 months I spent in the North of Spain, I never once saw or heard about Flamenco. But here in the South, it's part of the culture and people's heritage.
And I did some research. Because I know that the north and south of Spain are much more dramatically different than most people realize, but I didn't know the exact differences (as I was typing this I couldn't think of how to spell that word in English! ahhh! I love forgetting English, because it means there is more room for Spanish to take up. I think.) off the top of my head. So here we go:
1. The geography in Spain is really diverse, which determines the several climates and the cultural diversity. Northern Spain- green and rainy. Southern Spain- hot and dry (unless you are really close to the ocean, like I am- then there is a fair amount of rain.) These differences are reflected very clearly in the difference of houses. In Northern Spain, the houses are more or less like ours in the US- except for the fact most people live in apartments or "row houses," and there isn't carpet. The floor is cold, and you always have to wear slippers. Here, even though it's the middle of winter it's 50-60 degrees Fahrenheit. The majority of the houses are white- to repel the heat in the summer- and the style of architecture is just soo different. It's very typically Spanish- and the houses are all so open- with patios and palm trees all around. We wear regular shoes in the house, and spend alot of time outside.
2. Weather- Firstly we have Andalusia - where it is sunny most of the year; summer is extremely hot, reaching daily highs of around 95 F and 60 F at night. The chilly winter starts from around January - March, but it's rarely colder than 45 F.
In the blue corner we have the "underdogs" from northern Spain.Costa da Morte, facing the Atlantic Ocean and running along the Galician region, which is renowned for having the worst weather in Spain, comparable to the UK (maybe not that bad). The summers are usually in the 70s and temperatures in winter can fall to zero, however snow is rare. Summers average at 70 F and winters 35 F. The average annual rainfall is quite high, occurring during spring and autumn.
3. Foodwise- Overall the North is known to have the more sophisticated pallet- in Andalusia the food is more like Mama's cooking.
In Andulucia seafood can be found in soups, fried or grilled. Sardines
tend to be grilled on spits over driftwood fires and Gazpacho (a cold blended soup
containing vegetables) is famous in this region.
The northern cuisine has influences from France and Italy. You can find pastas, stew,
freshwater fish, seafood and cured meats. LOTS OF MEAT!
In a nutshell: The south is known for vibrancy, heat, flamenco, touristy coasts and dry land, while the north is better known for green landscapes, exquisite food, unspoilt scenery, authenticity and a colder climate.
*And I can definitely confirm this, having lived up here in the North. It is truly beautiful- lush green landscapes and mountains. And it's COLD. And the air is quite dry, (at least were I lived) so when it's windy the cold smacks your face and sneaks under your clothes and you freeze.
Here are some photos of my new home:
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| The street. See that little bit of blue at the end of the street? Yeah, that's the OCEAN!!!! |
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| So beautiful. |
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| Proof that I'm here and these aren't all pictures from Google!!! |
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| Some typical Andalusian houses... |
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| I love that they aren't afraid of color.. |
Besos, Lani.
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