Back Home!

After a 15 hour flight home, I made it all the way back to Bend, Oregon from Madrid, Spain. The flight was practically empty coming home from Amsterdam, but that was fine with me because I got the whole row to myself and I just relaxed. I was greeted at the Portland Airport by the family, which was soo nice. I had A LOT of luggage so it was good to have help haha.

I have a lot of wonderful memories from Spain, all I will never forget. I also met a lot of super nice people from all over the world, some that I hope to see in the future. But more importantly, I got to experience something that many people won’t ever have the chance to, I got to live in a foreign country for about 6 months, and it was amazng. I am so happy to be home, but I plan to return to Spain in the future

Thank you everyone who visited me here, sent me nice cards and gifts, and talked with me while I was away from home. I appreciate everything!

Un besito, Ciao!!

Madrid/London with the Grandparents

I have been very fortunate to have all of these relative’s visit me during my time here in Spain, but before I head back to the States, Ken and Ellen came over here to Madrid for a couple days to visit, and we had a great time! The weather was a little harsh, but we still had a couple good afternoons with lots of sunshine and saw all the touristy spots, it was only my 3rd time giving the same tour! Ha ha, but I don’t mind, it is fun for me always.

Ken and Ellen arrived on Febraury 4th in Madrid in the early afternoon, and were very tired. So I let them rest during the afternoon and then joined them for dinner at the Ritz, the hotel they were staying at. It was very nice seeing them, and their hotel was so nice! Dad and Mom, when they came, stayed at the Palace, so it was fun seeing a different hotel. So we ate dinner and chatted a little, it was a short trip since they were still a little tired from the trip, so I excused myslef early from dinner and set a date to meet up with them the next day. So Thursday morning, after running a tad late, Ken, Ellen, and I took off in the morning and headed towards the Royal Palace and cathedral. It was a good walk, we stopped by Plaza Mayor, La Latina, and went through some of the very local parts of Madrid. We eventually ended up at the Palace and cathedral, and checked it out.  We walked around a little, looked at the cathedral, and then kept on walking. Unfortuantley we couldn’t get into the cathedral, because there was a private event going on, but no matter, we still got to see it. After a long walk, we stoped by a local tapas bar, had some cervesa and jamon, and rested a little. After starting back up again, we walked through the Opera area, and back up to Sol. We stopped by a Museo de Jamon (Ham Museum)and it wasn’t pretty. It’s amazing how much they love ham here, and Ellen and Ken were shcked as well! Ha, something you won’t see anywhere else then in Spain! I had to teach on English class, so we had to end our walk in the late afternoon, but they wanted a nap anyways. After meeting back up with them later that night, we went over to the Palace to have some drinks. It was fun talking with them, drinking martini’s, and just sitting around. I ordered a cosmo, I do not like martini’s but, I enjoyed that very much just sittin around with them.  After drinks we went over to VIPS for a very very expensive meal (haha not!) Grandpa got the hamburger, and Ellen got a jamon tortilla. After dinner, they went back to the hotel, and I went home. The next day, Grandpa got food posioning! I think its from the hamburger he had at VIPS, you can’t really trust that place! So it was ust Ellen and I for the afternoon. Carson came with me in the morning to have coffee with Ellen, but then he had to go back to Las Rozas. Ellen and I went over to the Prado Museo. Ellen really wanted to see a certain painting, the naked Mohah or something like that, but unfortunatley, it was on a loan over in Paris! Bummer, but we still saw a lot more cool paintings, and walked around the hotel a bit. Grandpa was still very sick, so Ellen decided to stay in for the rest of the day to take care of him. So we ended our day early. No problem, because tomorrow we had to get up pretty early to get over to the airport to fly off to England!

I guess there was a huge snow storm the day before we arrived, so we all were a litle worried if we were going to be bale to get into Heathrow. But the flight was very smooth and we arrived just fine. After going through all the check-in’s and what not, we grabbed an old-fashion black taxi and went into London. It is sooooo weird how they drive on the left hand side. It took me awhile to get used to seeing people drive on the other side of the car too! But it was a nice ride into London, and we got to see some marching soldiers on the way there. We went straight to the Duke’s Hotel, so they could check in. It was such a nice little hotel, very cozy and comfertable. We went to grab some lunch after stopping by the hotel (there room wasn’t ready). We went to Fortnam and Mason…(I think that’s what it’s called, correct me if I’m wrong Grandma!), and I had some really good egg’s benedict. It was such a nice little restaurant, and it was nice to see a menu that wasn’t in Spanish! Ha, after lunch, we went back to the hotel so they could settle in. Grandpa stayed to take a nap, while Ellen and I were off to see the town. We did a little tour of the hotel first, and when we went into the bar to check it out, two 35 year old looking men asked us to join them for martini’s, at 2:30 in the afternoon! Ha, of course we said we couldn’t, but it was funny because we were thinking, are you hitting on the woman 20 years older then you or the kid 15 years younger then you! Ha, it was funny. So Ellen and I started off on the town. We walked to Buckingham Palace, to the Big Ben, through Green and St. James Park, past the Parliment buildings onto Westminster Bridge, saw the London Eye, went back and got lost through some side streets, passed the China Town of London, stopped into the National Portraits Museum, up Picadilly Circus, and back to the hotel. It was a good, long walk! Ellen is an excellent tour guide. So after meeting back up with Ken at the hotel, we went down to the bar to have some drinks and to await for Sarah. When she arrived, I met her, Daniel (her husband), and Edith. All of them I am somehow related too! After sitting around and chatting, Sarah, Daniel, Edith and I went back to there house, where I was going to be staying. While I was there, I met Agetha, Leo, and Tycho, and there two cats! It was a charming little home, with lots of books everywhere! I kicked Leo out of his room ha, and we all just chatted a little before going off to bed. It was a long day for me. The next day, half of the family was off to church, so Sarah and I went for an hour walk through Kensington Park. I got the chance to really talk with Sarah, and the park was gorgeous. The weather while I was there was so nice, excpet the last day with lots of rain, it was such a nice walk. After meeting up with the rest of the amily, Edith, Agetha, and I went on our own. We took the tube over to Notting Hill, where we got ome tea and went to an outdoor market. It was so fun, so many cool antiques and shops, I could have stayed there all day! Then we all went over to Oxford Street to check out some of the big stores, like Top Shop and Harrods. It was really cool! Then we all went back over to the house to join everyone for lunch. That was the first time I tried Yorksher Pudding, and it wasn’t haf bad! After lunch, we had an afternoon tea with Ken, Ellen, Cynthia, John, Paul Johnson, and his wife I can’t remember her name. We were there for awhile, sipping tea, eating cookies, and as it got darker, we drank some champagne and eventually everyone left. The Johnson family and I all sat down for dinner, and afterwards, Tycho, Edith, Leo, and I went over to a pub near there house for a beer. It was nice hanging out with them, they are all so nice. But after returning home later that night, I was so tired, it was another full day for me. The next morning, all the younger kids had school, so Tycho and I went to meet up with Ellen at the hotel, and from there we went over to the British Museum. We all saw the mummies, the Rosetta Stone, and a lot of ancient artifactes. We had a nice lunch at the museum and then eventually made our way back over to the hotel. I was in the mood for some more tea, so Ellen, Tycho and I went down to the tea room at the hotel and had afternoon tea with some small desserts. It was really fun, because it was all fancy and proper. Ellen was feeling a bit tired, so Tycho and I went back over to Shepards Bush (where the Johnson family lives) and spent the rest of the night there. Well, while all the adults went out for dinner, us kids went over to the theater and saw The Curios Case of Benjamin Button. It was a bit long, but still a good movie. After the movie we all went back to the house, and Tycho had to finish packing, and so did I, for tomorrow morning we had an early start to the airport. The next morning, IKen and Ellen showed up at the house, and I said my good byes so everyone. I had such a nice time with them all, and they invited me to come back again and stay with them! But after the goodbyes, Ken, Ellen, Sarah, Tycho, and I headed off to the airport, and I went my seperate way back to Madrid after saying good bye to everyone at the airport.

I had a really nice time in London, and these are just a couple pictures out of many I took! I will show them all when I get home. But now I am off to Madrid for some coffee and some walking around, and I hope everyone has a great Valentine’s Day and weekend! Cheerio!

No More Mail!!

Hey there, Happy February. I am just posting this to ask everyone to please stop sending me mail. I leave pretty soon and I do not want any more mail to show up once I return home to the States! If you are sending something for Valentine’s Day that is great but please send it before Febraury7th, after that date,  just please send it to my home address in Bend.

Ken and Ellen are arriving on Wednesday, and then after several days here in Madrid we are off to England for 3 days!! I will write a blog afterwards.

Switzerland Jan.20th-Jan.25th

Switzerland is a gorgeous country, and I was lucky enough to visit it. The beautiful mountains, the rolling green hills, the great Swiss chocolate, the area I visited was just so charming. I got to stay with a college friends of Aunt Tammy’s, her name was Terri Meyer. She has a husband named Stephan, three daughters, Madelyne, Natalie, and Lucy, and a dog named Kelly. They lived in a town called Aarau, about 30 minutes outside of Zurich. I left last tuesday for my adventure in Switzerland, and I stayed for 5 days. After arriving in Zurich from the plane ride, I had to take a 45 minute train ride to Aarau, no problem. Then after arriving there, I was greeted by Stephan and we both went back to their home. There house was very nice, great location, over-looking the forest with no houses behind them, it was just very pretty. I met the 3 Meyer daughters, and they were all super nice to me, we instantly started chatting away. For my first day there, we just went around the small city of Aarau just walking and seeing what its like. We went and got Kabab, a Turkish sandwich, its loaded with meat and has some weird dressing, I don’t really know for sure exactly, but it was quite tasty. After that we went and checked out Lucy’s high school, it was so cool! I got some pictures, but her school was gorgeous. They told me that Einstein went there for a year when he was young. Ha, but it was a very pretty high school, I was so jealous! Then for the rest of the day we went back to there home and talked, ate dinner, and I got settled into my room. The next day, the girls all had school, so Terri and I went into Zurich for the day. We walked around, took some pictures, got some latte’s in a little coffee shop, and went into some really cool antique stores. Terri did a little shopping, but it was just so darn expensive there I didn’t buy much. So after a day of walking around, we went back to Aarau and I made homemade chicken noodle soup for the family. They all loved it too! It was very delicious. So then we stayed up talking, called Aunt Tammy just to bug her haha, and then I went to bed. On Thursday, it was the best day of the week, so Terri and I drove over to the Alphs to check it out. It was a great little drive, we saw several lakes, cute small towns, and when we finally got there the weather was really nice. We had to take a trolly up to the top of Mount Rigi, one of the Alphs, and once we got up there it was gorgeous! It snowed the night before, and the sun was out, no wind what so ever, and it wasn’t even that crowded so it was perfect. Looking out over that great view was fantastic, it was probably the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life. I go to take a picture with my camera, and its not there! I forgot my camera! I was a little upset about that, but I calmed down after awhile, at least I got to see it with my own eyes. So I am sorry I can’t show pictures, but it was magnificent. After a long day of hiking around, we went back into Aarau. That night, the girls, Terri, and I went to see a play in a little theater in Aarau, the play was called The Picture of Dorian Gray, and it was in English! It was a nice play, but it just went a little long, but it still was fun to watch. Then we returned home and went to bed, it was pretty late. On Friday, Terri had to do a lot for her youngest daughter, Lucy, for it was her birthday on Saturday. So I took the train over to Bern on my own, the capital of Switzerland. I just got a coffee, walked around and took some pictures, and window shopped. It was raining pretty hard, so I didn’t go for very long. So after a couple hours, I took the train over to Bosell, another city near Aarau, to meet up with Natalie. We went shopping for Lucy’s birthday gift, and went over to a friend’s house of Natalie. The language there is Swiss-German, but all the Meyer girls spoke perfect English. So it was nice when I met Natalie’s friends, they all spoke English too. We made dinner for ourselves, watched a movie, and then Natalie and I returned back to her house. On Saturday, it was Lucy’s birthday, so I helped Terri a little setting up, and then we all awaited for guests to arrive. There were about 15 people and I met all of them and they all were very nice. We had salami pizza that Terri made, and great chocolate cake. It was so good I got the receipe for it! After a couple hours celebrating Lucy’s birthday, I went for a walk around there house with Kelly, the dog. It was fun walking around with the dog, I haven’t had a pet around in a couple months! Ha, so after returning to the house, we all watched movies and talked. It was my last night there so it was kinda sad, but it was a good day. On Sunday, we had to get up a little early to get to Zurich to catch my flight. It was such a fun trip, seeing all those towns, the mountains, and talking about Tammy a lot haha. They all adore her there!! But I got a lot of great memories from that trip, and I will defintley be returning back to Switzerland sometime in the future. It was a lot of fun. I could only upload a couple pics but at least I got some on here!

4 Month Mark!

Well it has been 4 months exactly now that I have been in Madrid, and it has been a very long 4 months! My mom and dad and all my siblings got to come visit me, and I have gotten go to cities like Barcelona, Segovia, and Toledo, and I am still meeting great people from all over the world and having new experiences. But lately though, it has seemed to slow down a bit.

I don’t know if everyone has heard, but I have decided to return early from my exchange, towards the end of February. These last couple weeks have just been kind of hard for me. My host family is fine, and I recenlty told them that I was planning on leaving early, and they were fine with that too. Its just that after these months, its not what I really expected. I go to school everday for 6 1/2 hours and I just sit there. I am in the hardest level class at my school, so its extremley difficult for me to understand the teachers, my level of Spanish just isn’t there. Plus I don’t understand any of the homework, and I don’t take exams. I just read books all day and just sit and stare at the teacher. Then after school, I teach an English class, or go to Madrid for a walk on my own (since all my school friends are studying!). I have pretty much walked Madrid ha. I’m just tired of doing things on my own all the time, and I am not enjoying sitting in a class room every day not understanding anything. During weekends, its kind of the same deal. My host parents work all week, and so they usually keep to themselves after work and on weekends stay home and relax. At first they were more into doing things with me, but now it has faded. I don’t mind, I understand that they work very hard, I just am a little tired of walking around on my own. I am not saying I haven’t enjoyed my time here, because I definitely have had some great experiences, and I plan on making a lot more before I return home, I will make the best of it until the moment I leave. This is just something I want to do, and I figured 5 1/2 months is long enough to experience a different lifestyle. I’m just ready to return to mine. But since I am returning soon, I have kicked my Spanish up a bit. I am reading more Spanish books and reading the paper and watching the news, my Spanish is already getting better because of these changes.

On a higher note, next week I am going to Switzerland! Aunt Tammy is giving me a major majority my graduation present early and letting me stay with one of her college friends in Aarau, about 40 minutes outside of Zurich by train. I am so excited to see all the green and beauty of Switzerland. Kenny and Mom had some good times there when they went and visited a couple years ago. Anyways, I will post pictures in a couple weeks! I also have something more to look forward to, Ken and Ellen are coming to visit in the beginning of February! That will be a very nice trip too, and hopefully we will all be able to go over to England for a couple days. I can’t wait to show them around Madrid, showing off my tour guide skills, ha ha. It will be very nice.

Anyways, I hope everyne can understand about my returning early, because this is something I really want to do. Also, I want to thank my dad and Suzanne for financially supporting me through this adventure!!I will make sure to take lots of pictures with my memory card with my new camera, love you dad! And thank you Aunt Tammy for the plane ticket, I am so excited.

Hope everyone has a good weekend, and I would love some emails too. Much love to everyone!

New Years 2009 in Barcelona

I have been in Madrid for about 4 months now, so I decided that i needed to see a little more of Spain outside this city. So from December 28th to January 2nd, I went to Bareclona! It was so fun, I met so many interesting people and got to see some more amazing Spanish culture. I had a lot of fun.

I took the Renfe Train (the fast train) there. It only was about 3 hours to Barcelona from the train station in Madrid, which was pretty good considering it takes like 7 or 8 hours in a car. When I arrived, I was greeted by the people I was staying with, rotary kids Jamie and Jordan. Jamie is from New York and is doing her exchange in Barcelona, and Jordan is from Washington and is doing it in Barcelona as well. They both are living in the same house, because there aren’t a lot of families in Barcelona willing to host kids. But it was so good seeing them, and it was really nice of them for letting me stay in there home with them. When we got back to there house, it took about 45 minutes. The lived on a really big hill over looking Barcelona completely. It was a pain getting up there, but the view was so spectacular, it was totally worth it. We got settled in at the house, and I met there family. There host parents were very kind, and they had 2 host sisters. One is 14 years old and is called Catalyuna, the other is 18 years old and is called Adriana. Adriana I knew, she was a inbound exchange student n Florence, Oregon last year, so I met her last year at all the Rotary meetings. It was really good seeing her again. We all went back into Barcelona to the Hard Rock cafe for dinner and we just walked around to see the sites. The city was always lit up each night I was there, and it was beautiful. So over the next couple days we would go into Barcelona every day and come back late at night worn out from all the walking. We walked down La Rambla, famous street in Barcelona, we went to the Picasso Museum, we went to th Olympic stadium of 1992, we went to cafes, and just saw so much beauiful architecture. It was spectacular.In Barcelona, they speak a different type of Spanish there called Catalon. It is similiar to Castillan Spanish, the type I am learning in Madrid, but still very complicated. The kids doing there exchange there have to learn both these languages, and they are having a hard time!

For New Years, they had a tradition in Spain. The host parents there had a big dining room, and they had a big table set up with candles and lovely settings, and a fire going. It was very pretty. So after a wonderful meal with there family, we were all given 12 grapes. With this, we had to wait until the clock strock 12, and then for the first 12 seconds after that, we ate a single grape making a wish on each of them. By the end of it I had a mouth full of grapes! haha, it was very different and fun.

But after 5 days of  just walking around and seeing the city, it was time for me to go. So I thanked everyone there for letting me stay and I returned back to Madrid. But it was such a fun experience, I got to experience the true culture there in Barcelona, which is very different then back home in the states. But I hope everyone had a good New Years too!

Feliz Ano Nuevo!

Happy Holidays 2008!

Feliz Navidad! I hope everyone had a great holiday this year. This was my first Christmas away from my family, but it was not as bad because Julia spent Christmas here with me. I must say it was quite interesting, Julia and I tried a lot of different food, met a lot of different people, and Julia had a hard time understanding what was being discussed, because everyone was talking super fast in Spanish! Even I had problems keeping up! But it was a good experience and a memory I will have for a long time. But before Christmas, Dad and Suzanne and the rest of the family came and visited me! They arrived the 13^th of December and stayed until the 20^th. It was a very fun trip, and we all had a lot of fun just walking around and exploring the amazing city of Madrid.

After school wrapping up for the 2 ½ week break, I prepared the trip for my Dad and the rest of kid’s trip. They stayed at the Westin Hotel, same as my mom and Caroline when they came. It was a beautiful hotel, and I knew they would love it. When Dad, Suzanne, Julia, Kenny, and John arrived, I was actually in Segovia, a city close to Madrid, with Rotary. So I met them later at the hotel once I arrived back in Madrid later that night. It was so good to see them; I have been in Spain for about 3 ½ months now, so it was great to see my dad and the rest of the family. Everyone was super excited to see me too, and it was so fun catching up with all of them. After they got settled into the hotel, we went out and took the bus together to get some Spanish food and just walked around the hotel. We had a big week ahead of us, and everyone was exhausted from the flight, so we kept it light the first night they arrived. The next day, Sunday, we went to El Raestro, the famous flee market of Madrid. We spent all morning walking through it, and there were so many people! We got lost even a couple times, and I told everyone to watch there bags for pick-pocketers. Dad and Julia found some nice scarves, and we looked at some pretty interesting stuff. After the Raestro, we went into Las Rozas, were I live, for lunch with my host family. We had Paella, the traditional Spanish dish and sat around and talked and sipped on Sangria, Spanish wine. I showed everyone around the house, and around Las Rozas once we left my host parents house. It was Sunday so we couldn’t really see a lot for most of the stores around my house were closed. We soon headed back to Madrid and rested at the hotel, after grabbing dinner at VIPS. The next day, we walked around Plaza Mayor and the Gran Via, two very popular areas in Madrid. We got to shop through the Christmas market set up in Plaza Mayor and Suzanne and Julia did a little shopping through the Gran Via. After stopping for tapas and drinks, I had to head off to English class, so I left everyone in Sol. Once returning back to the hotel, we all went out for churros con chocolate, a very popular Spanish dessert. Dad, Kenny, John, and me all loved it, even I had a little too much! They are so good. Then we returned to the hotel, and got some rest. Every morning, we all met up at the Starbucks down the street, it was like our meeting point once everyone was ready. So Tuesday morning, we went over to VIPS for some breakfast, which turned out to be very gross! But at least we got some food. Today was museum day. We met up with Carson, the other American boy in my class, and he went with us to the Prado Museum. We walked through for about an hour and a half before deciding to leave, it was such a big museum! I have been twice and I still haven’t seen all of it. After the museum we went for tapas and drinks and a near buy bar, and we some how managed to order the most interesting sandwiches and dropped about 50 euros on just the tapas alone! It was crazy. Then we walked around an area called Puerta de Toledo with Carson and we all just talked. Then Carson and I had to go, I had tennis and an English lesson and he had to get home. I took John with me to my English lesson that day, he was curios what it was all about. That day I was teaching a class of girls, and they all were very curious about him, he was so shy too! After meeting back up with the family back in Madrid later that night, we went out to dinner near the hotel, and went to see a movie at a near by English theater. Kenny, Julia, John, and me saw Quantum of Solace 007, and Dad and Suzanne saw My Blueberry Nights. I really enjoyed the movie, but it was a little confusing; Julia and I spent the whole time walking back to the hotel discussing it. The next day, Wednesday, we all met up at Starbucks, of course. For breakfast that day though, we went to a little coffee shop close to the hotel we saw the other day. We had salami sandwiches and fresh orange juice. It was very good. That day we all just kept walking, ha. It’s what we liked to do! We went to the Retrio Park, a beautiful park near the hotel, it was so fun. Everyone loved it, and we got some great pictures. Then we went over to the Plaza de Espana, another popular part of Madrid to explore. We got some dinner at Gino’s and took the metro back to the hotel. We always spend our whole day walking around and looking at new things and stopping at cool coffee shops. It was fun that way. On Thursday, after meeting up at Starbucks, we went to the same place we did yesterday for breakfast. Again we had great salami sandwiches and fresh orange juice. Yum! For Friday, we all decided to go to Segovia, just to see a different part of Madrid. I went there last week, and it was so beautiful. I wanted to show them the town. So we went to a part of Madrid called Atocha where we bought train tickets for everyone. After purchasing the tickets, we walked around until we ended up in this shopping district called Goya, lots and lots of stores. We stopped for drinks at a street side café, and worked our way through the streets. Then, later that afternoon, I had 2 Spanish classes to give, so this time I took Kenny and John with me. This gave dad, Suzanne, and Julia to look around a little on there own. They ended up going to the Palace, cathedral, and then back to the hotel so we could meet them later. Kenny and John were very helpful assistance! They got involved with talking in my class, after I made them too, and were very patient as I taught the classes. They were expecting something a little different I imagine, but they still were good sports about coming with me. It was very nice of them. After the classes, we all went back to the hotel to meet up with Dad and Suzanne. We then all went out for dinner and dessert nearby the hotel and called it a night. The next morning, Friday morning, we had a bit of a late start. We slept in a little bit long, and our train left at 10:30 in the morning! We all jumped into 2 taxi’s and raced over to the train station, we barely made it, for we were running the whole time! But we all got on the train and had a very relaxing and short train ride to Segovia on the “fast train”. Once we first got there, it was a little chilly, but we hoped on a bus and made our way into the little town. I didn’t remember much from when I went there last with Rotary, so we all just made our way through Segovia on our own. We went to the Castle of Segovia, the Cathedral of Segovia, and a little cozy café for lunch. Julia, Kenny, and I went to coffee on our own while dad, John, and Suzanne explored a little. It was nice talking with Ken and Jules, Kenny is SO tall now! It’s incredible! So after a long day of walking around Segovia and exploring the little town, we got back on the train and returned back to Madrid. It was there last night in Madrid, the flight was at 5:50 the next morning! So I went back to my house to get changed and met Dad, Suzanne, and Julia at a famous Flamenco Bar Marina, my host mom, recommended to me. It was really fun, we had some good food and drinks as we watched the Flamenco dancers dance to traditional Spanish music. It was a good experience. After leaving the restaurant, we caught a taxi and went back to the hotel so that everyone could pack and get ready to wake up really early the next morning. We exchanged Christmas gifts that night too, since I wasn’t going to be home for Christmas this year. For Christmas I got Kenny a jacket, and I got Julia a coffee bug and some decorations for her room. For little Johnny I got him a sling shot from Segovia, and Suzanne I got her a little Vespa tote bag from Segovia. I already got Caroline shoes when she was here and a shirt for mom too. And lastly for dad, I got him a Vespa shirt and a secret present that you will have to ask him about! Ha, it was a gift from Julia and me. Dad and Suzanne gave me a really cool camera! And Julia gave me a Christmas c.d. I also got some really great gifts from the rest of my family, which by the way, thank you for them. They are great!

We all woke up at 3 on Saturday morning, and I helped everyone get ready to leave. It was hard saying good bye to Dad, Suzanne, Kenny, and John. I had so much fun with them exploring and creating great memories. I know I will be home soon and when I do I will be so happy to see them and spend time with them. I know this exchange has definitely made me appreciate my siblings a lot more, and I can’t wait to get home to be with them. Also, my parents too of course! But after watching them go, I went back to the hotel room where Julia was still asleep. She was staying an extra week with me, which was really great. But I already miss my dad and the rest of my family, and it was a great and successful trip with them here, and we had so much fun together. I love my family very much.

But after waking up that same day, Julia and I made our way to Las Rozas to settle in Julia. She was staying with my for 5 extra days. Each day, we just went into Madrid ALL day. We shopped, ate out a lot, and went to tons of coffee shops. We also met up with Carson one day and walked around with him and went to this really cool tea shop. Julia found some really cute things and I enjoyed exploring and trying new restaurants we found together. But yeah no joke, every day until Christmas Day, we went to Madrid and would spend the whole day shopping and walking around ha, it was great spending time with her. In Christmas Eve, Marina and Segundo were having 18 people over for dinner. It was so crazy! The house I am staying in is kind of small, so it was a little crammed with all the people. But we made it work, and we had a great Spanish Christmas Eve dinner. Julia and I met all of Marina and Segundo’s family, and tried some very interesting foods. Julia didn’t like some of it, but she tried all of it and even if she didn’t like it she ate it anyone! Nice work Jules! Then after dinner Julia and I socialized with my older host sister and my older host cousins. We just sat and talked about Madrid and the United States. They were all close to our age so it was fun comparing our life styles with there’s. Around 12:30, people started saying there good byes and Julia and I stayed up with Alejandra for awhile. For tomorrow was Christmas, and we wanted to get some rest. The next day, Julia and I opened our stockings from Dad and Suzanne. I also got to open up my camera, and a box from Grandma and Grandpa Ruthy and Larry and Aunt Tammy. Plus a card came for me from Ken and Ellen. It was very nice from all of them. Julia and I got ready, and then had lunch with the whole family again. For Christmas lunch we had lamb, something I have never had before. I didn’t think it was that bad, but I don’t think Julia really liked it, but she didn’t let that show so it was ok. After lunch, Julia and I took a small nap and got Julia ready and packed. Her flight left at 5:50 the next morning and she had to wake up here at 2 in the morning so she could get a taxi into Madrid. But later that night, we went into Las Rozas for a cup of tea and some Chinese food for our Christmas dinner. It was really fun and we had a nice time just talking and walking around Las Rozas. After returning home, Julia got a little sleep, and I stayed up because I couldn’t sleep. Saturday morning, Julia left my house at 3, so she could catch her plane on time. It was sad watching her go; we had so much fun together in Madrid and in Las Rozas. I will miss her a lot, like the rest of my family. But I will be seeing them all soon again when I return home. But until then, I will remember the good times I had with them while they were here. I just wish I could do it again with them.

Anyways, I would like to thank Grandma and Grandpa Ruthy and Larry, Aunt Tammy, Mom, Dad and Suzanne, Julia, Kenny, Caroline, and John, Grandma Donna, and Ken and Ellen for my wonderful Christmas presents. I really appreciate all of them, and I sent out a Christmas card to all of you (except my siblings) and please look for it in the mail soon. Tomorrow I leave for Barcelona for New Years where I will be visiting another Rotary kid. I will be there for 5 days, so I will write another blog all about it when I get back! But I hope you all have great holidays and thanks again for my gifts!!!

Much love to everyone. (I’m sorry I couldn’t load any pics, my computer is acting funny)

Feliz Navidad!!

Merry Christmas everybody! This year is going to be a little different for me, not only will I not be with my family, but of course in an entirely different country! The good news is is that Julia will be here with me to celebrate the holiday. She is staying with me and my host family at the house until the 26th, so we will be having a lot of fun together and making a lot of good memories. The people here celebrate the Three Kings a lot, so they celebrate Christmas a little differently then we would in the U.S. But I will give you all the details about it once Julia goes home. The next blog will be great! I will let you all know about the great trip I had with my dad and the rest of the family and Christmas with Julia.

Happy Holidays everyone!!

Thanksgiving in Spain with My Mom and Caroline

Thanksgiving is a traditional American holiday that is celebrated every year with my family. We get together, eat great food, and talk all night. Well, since I am not in America right now I didn’t get to celebrate it this year! For Spain doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving, obviously ha. So while all my brothers and sisters had a week off of school to celebrate the holiday, I felt a little sad knowing that I wouldn’t be getting the week off here! But I had a great Thanksgiving, sure there may not have been turkey or pumpkin pie (my favorite), but my mom and Caroline came and visited me that week and it was the best.

On Thursday, November 20^th, the Rotary set up a dinner for all the Rotary kids as there “Thanksgiving dinner.” Everyone got dressed up, and the restaurant was really nice. It was good seeing all the other kids, and we had a great meal and drank some good wine. Some older Rotarians talked with us for awhile, and then we were all asked to give a small speech. When it came to be my turn, I stood up in front of the 200 people there and started talking about myself. This is what I said: Buenos noches! (soy= I am) Soy Charlotte Thompson. y soy de Bend, Oregon. Soy vive in Las Rozas, muy cerca de Madrid. Yo tengo dos hermanas, Alejandra y Claudia, y mis “padres” son muy simpatico. Yo jugo tenis y yo voy a collegio con Carson (the other American boy in my class). Muy encanta el comida de Espanol esta noche y todos dias! Ha, I think I was saying the right thing, for everyone seemed to understand me. After the dinner, I didn’t get home until like 11:30, and I went straight to bed. The next day, I was getting a little anxious, for my mom and Caroline would be arriving the next day!! I had made a list of activities to do, and a day to day schedule for them. After school got over, I went home and cleaned up my room and packed a small bag, for I was planning to stay in the hotel with my mom and Caroline. I met up with some more Rotary kids for dinner in Madrid, and then went home to get some sleep; I was so excited for the next day.

I arrived at the airport at 3, a little late for there flight came in at 2:30, the metro took a little longer then I thought. I bought some flowers so when they arrived I would have a little present for them. After searching around the airport a little bit, I finally found them, mom and Caroline!! They hadn’t changed at all. Well, Caroline did look a tiny bit older, but it was good to see some familiar faces. It was so good to see them both, we hugged and I gave them the flowers. They both were a little tired from the trip, I can see why it’s a long flight, I took the same one they did when I came. So we caught a cab and went to the hotel right away, the Westin Palace. The Palace is one of the nicest hotels in Madrid; it was so cool staying there. Everything was so pretty, and everyone was friendly. If you had any problem what so ever, they fixed for you. Ha, it was nice not having to do much! After getting checked in and settled into the room, mom wanted to take a nap. So I took Caroline out for some CaloCao, it’s like the Nesquick of Spain, just chocolate milk. It took some time for Caroline to say it right, she was repeating it over and over for about an hour! We walked around a little bit, and it was really nice catching up with Caroline. The first thing she wanted to buy was a huge lollypop in a candy store, ha no surprise there! After returning back to the hotel, mom felt a lot better and rested, and she was already getting ready. It was about 8 by then, and the first thing I had planned for us was to go to a restaurant called Si Senor. It’s a very popular Spanish restaurant in Madrid with really good food. The restaurant didn’t open until 9 though, so we decided to take a little walk. The restaurant is right next to the Real Madrid Soccer Stadium, a huge deal here. There was a game going on that night, so all the stands were set up outside the stadium and Caroline finally got the chance to buy some candy. After walking around a little more, and seeing some pretty interesting things, we went back to the restaurant and ordered some drinks, and sat down for dinner. It was super good! It was a very good first meal in Spain at a local restaurant, plus it was just nice being there with them. After dinner we returned to the hotel, and let Caroline get some sleep. Mom and I walked down to the VIPS on the corner, VIPS is like the Denny’s of Spain, and got some coffee and talked for a good hour and a half. Then we returned to the super nice hotel, and got some rest. The next day, my host mom and dad wanted to have mom and Caroline over for a little lunch. But first, we went to the famous flea market of Spain, its called El Raestro and its when a bunch of stands get set up and they sell a bunch of different little things. Caroline got some great souvenirs. It was a little packed, but it’s just something you have to go see. I think the Spanish words Caroline liked the most was cuanto cuesta, meaning how much? That way, she could ask how much something was, and then could buy it, because Caroline wanted to buy something at every stand! Not to mention she kept repeating it over and over the whole trip, ha. After the market, we walked back to the hotel, dropped off the gifts, and then took the metro and bus to Las Rozas, It was fun showing them how to use the bus and metro, its something I do everyday and mom and Caroline were impressed. When arriving to my “house”, my host mom and dad greeted mom and Caroline very friendly, and I gave them a personal tour of the house. They really liked it, and they loved the way I set up my room to make it really cozy. We then sat down for lunch, and had Paella, a traditional Spanish meal, probably the most well known Spanish meal. It was super tasty and I think mom and Caroline liked it. We sat and ate for a long time and just talked, my mom really enjoyed talking with my host mom. After walking around the Las Rozas for a little while, we caught the bus back to Madrid and returned back to the hotel. We walked around our hotel for a little bit, and then went to VIPS for dinner. It was a pretty full day, so we went back to the hotel, read a little, and watched some Will and Grace. The next day, we did a lot of walking. We switched up the schedule I had planned for us, but we still did a lot. First we went to El Retiro Park, it’s a very famous park in Madrid, and it’s very close to our hotel. In the summer, you can rent a boat and boat on the pond there, it was kind of chilly, so we just took pictures and walked around. It is a huge park. Afterwards, we took the Metro over to a section of Madrid called the Opera. It’s where the Opera House of Madrid is and the famous Cathedral and Royal Palace of Madrid is located. We walked around the Opera House, and tried to go into the palace and cathedral but they were both closed, there was a private even going on. So we ended up just taking a lot of pictures and decided to go back another day. So after that we walked and walked and walked around, stopping for coffee, stopped for some food at T.G.I. Friday (its really good in Spain), walking through a little market in the Plaza de Espana, and then making our way back to the hotel for a little siesta (a nap). Ha, really funny story about what happened at T.G.I. Fridays, but you will have to ask Caroline or Mom to tell you that one. We ended up sleeping in little to late, and just grabbed a little dinner at a restaurant near the hotel and hung out in the hotel for the rest of the night. The next morning was our museum day. After a delicious breakfast at the hotel, every morning we had the best breakfast buffet, we hit the streets again. We started at the most famous museum in Madrid, a top choice museum in the world even. El Prado Museum is a very big museum, filled with paintings. It was almost overwhelming. Mom went off and did her own thing, while Caroline and I tried to see as many paintings as we could before we both fell asleep! We didn’t even see all of the paintings and we were there for like 2 hours, it was crazy how many paintings were there. Well, at least we say some beautiful original paintings, which are so old and priceless. We didn’t like all of them, for some were a little weird, but for the most part it was pretty cool. After rejoining up with mom, we were ready to leave. After the museum, we didn’t have to walk very far to take a little tour through the Royal Botanic Gardens of Madrid. I am sure it is a lot prettier in the summer, when all the flowers are blooming and pretty, but it was still nice in the fall. We walked through a maze of different types of flowers, trees, fountains, and statues. We got some pictures of course, Caroline was a mad women with the camera! Our feet were getting a little tired though from all the walking, so we made our way back to the hotel and grabbed some lunch on the way. We took a nice siesta, and just hung out for a little bit. We went to this really cool candy shop next to the hotel and got some interesting candies and chocolates. Oh, by the way, Spaniards love there sweets! There are so many candy shops. That night, I had tennis in Las Rozas, so I dragged mom and Caroline with me. Before I left for tennis though, mom insisted that we stop by my host family’s house and get some pictures, mom really wanted some! Anyways, it was freezing cold that night, and poor Caroline and mom had to sit outside and watch me play for an hour and a half! It was super nice of them. But as soon as the lessons were over, we ran for the next bus back to Madrid. We ended up just ordering room service in the hotel, and going to bed early. But something really cool happened, while the maid was cleaning our room, she accidentally broke the bed. So, she switched our rooms, and we ended up getting the same room, but this one had an amazing view looking out over Madrid and over the beautiful fountain on the street outside. We also got a free bottle of wine, and 4 complementary drinks! Ha, very cool. We got 3 milkshakes, and a martini with the coupons, it would have been about 50 Euros just that, but we got it for free! Anyways, Wednesday was our day to go somewhere, for I didn’t have tennis or English lessons. So after a nice breakfast in the hotel, we took a taxi over to the train station and bought 3 tickets for Toledo. Toledo is about a 30 minute train ride outside of Madrid, and I didn’t really know much about it. So after arriving, we kind of just choose a direction and stated walking ha. Toledo is very hilly, so we had to hike a little bit before finally getting somewhere. But we finally made it to what it looked like the downtown of Toledo. We grabbed some lunch at a little local café and started looking for the cathedral. It wasn’t hard to find, it was pretty big, and you could see it from a long ways away. We took some pictures and bought tickets to go inside. It was so beautiful, so old and antique. Aunt Tammy bought me a book about Madrid before I left, and they had a section about Toledo in it. So we used that as our map and information, and we ended up staying in the cathedral for awhile. We first went around and read all the information about each part of the church, it was so Catholic and religious. But towards the end, mom started telling some pretty funny stories about church when she was younger and it was fun just sitting in there listening to her. After leaving the cathedral, we did a little shopping, where I bought Caroline her Christmas present. A shiny pair of shoes, they are really popular here in Madrid, I see a lot of young people wearing them here, and Caroline loved them. Merry early Christmas Quacks! After shopping for awhile, we just roamed the streets of Toledo; we had some time to kill, for our train didn’t leave until super late at night. So we went to some candy shops, grabbed some more coffee, went into some souvenir shops just to look, and stopped in this bar for some drinks. I didn’t think Caroline would be allowed, since it was a full on bar, but the bartender didn’t even care! So I ended up ordering two glasses or wine for mom and me and some coke for Caroline. It was such a funky little bar. It was pretty fun in Toledo. When we got back to Madrid, we were pretty exhausted, so we just went back to the hotel and slept. On Thursday, we decided to take a walking tour that mom had planned out. We walked to Sol, through Plaza Mayor, and all the way to Opera. We stopped at little shops on the way and got some good pictures with some street performers in Plaza Mayor. The Royal Palace was open, so we bought tickets and took a tour through it. It is so big! There were so many rooms filled with beautiful paintings and antiques. There was a tour group ahead of us, and it was in English. We didn’t want to follow it, so we passed by. But while we were passing by, a lady asked the silliest question, “did they use candles back then for the chandlers, or what did they use?” Ha, I thought that was really funny. How silly to ask that, of course they didn’t have electricity back in the day! After going through the Palace, we ended up having lunch there! Ha, lunch in the palace, we thought it was fun. I had a bunch of English lessons to give that day, so I invited Caroline with me back to Las Rozas and mom wanted to stay behind in Madrid. So Caroline and I left for Las Rozas to give the English lessons. In English, I usually just do conversational classes, so it was nice having her with me, she helped me in class, and was a good topic to talk about. But after several hours of classes, we went back and rejoined with mom at the hotel. It was Thanksgiving that night, and Caroline and I were pretty exhausted. We called Dad’s house and got the chance to say hello to everyone and wish them Happy Thanksgiving. Then, we went up to our room, ordered some terrible room service, and had a little Thanksgiving of our own! Ha, though our meal consisted of chicken broth with some noodles and some bread, it was still a nice Thanksgiving. Next thing you know it was Friday, the last full day in Spain for mom and Caroline. We woke up, had our last nice breakfast together, and then walked to Sol. We got some coffee, and walked through Sol and some of the shops. We then met up with the other American boy in my class, Carson. I wanted mom and Caroline to meet one of my friends in Spain, and he wanted to meet mom and Caroline too. We got coffee together and talked for a long time about Spain and how Carson and I are enjoying it here. We then walked through Plaza Mayor and looked at some of the booths they had set up for Christmas. We then walked by the cathedral and Palace again, and up to the Gran Via, another part of Madrid. The Gran Via is full of shopping stores and restaurants. We then returned to our hotel, where we showed it off to Carson how cool it was. It was getting really late by then, so Carson said his goodbye. Mom really enjoyed talking with him, and it was nice walking around all Madrid that day. Since Friday night was like mom and Caroline’s last night, we went to dinner at the hotel. I first went back to my house to get all dressed up, and then rejoined them later that night at the restaurant. For my birthday, mom said she was going to take me to a nice restaurant, so I wanted to get all dressed up. It was so fun, and we got some cute pictures. The restaurant was really good, it was an Asian Cuisine. It was a great birthday dinner, I enjoyed it a lot.

Mom and Caroline had to leave the hotel at 2:30 am, for there flight left at 5:30 am to Amsterdam. So we decided to pull an all nighter! We just relaxed in the hotel room, mom organized her stuff, packed up, and we watched some Will and Grace. Next thing you know, its time for them to go. We went down to the lobby and caught a taxi outside. Because mom had the hotel room until Saturday afternoon, I just stayed there with them. It was so hard watching them pull away. We said our goodbyes, and it was hard to hold back the tears. I had such an amazing time with my mom and Caroline, everyday was great and it seemed like it just flew by. As I watched them turn the corner, I walked back up to the hotel room alone, and just thought about every detail of our trip. It was hard returning to an empty hotel room alone. I called my dad, because I didn’t like just sitting there upset. I got to talk to Julia for awhile and that cheered me up. But after hanging up the phone, I started to cry. I wish my mom and Caroline could have stayed with my for another week, even just another day. I missed them like crazy, and I was almost on the verge of just catching a taxi and going to the airport just so I could spend every last second with them. But I eventually feel asleep, and dreamed of our trip. It’s going to be awhile until I see my mom and Caroline again, and that was hard to thing about. The next morning, I had breakfast alone, and it sucked. I hated seating there, eating by myself. I didn’t stay long, I caught a taxi and went to the bus station and went back to my home in Las Rozas.

I had a great trip with mom and Caroline, and I wish I could do it again. The good news is is that Dad and the rest of the family is not that far away from coming here to visit me, but I miss my mom a lot. I had a lot of fun with her and Quacks (Caroline), and I wanted so badly to jump in that taxi with them and return home. But I have to stay tough, and stick it out here. I’m just glad I got to share some amazing adventours with my baby sister, and the greatest mom in the world, my mom.

Futbol!!! (Soccer)

This week I experienced a lot of new adventures, and I had fun with most of them too! School is fine of course, I just bought a Sudoku booklet so when I’m not in Spanish class or practicing vocabulary, I just can do puzzles all day ha ha. But on Monday after school, I went to the gym and did some swimming, and I had my English lessons. The English lessons that I give are actually very fun, and the girls that I teach say they like me a lot. So I enjoy it. Then on Tuesday, it was really exciting. My neighbor Sara, who is 15 and lives like 2 houses away from me, has season tickets to the Reaal Madrid Soccer Team, and as you know soccer is very big in Spain, the love it and get very into it! So last week she invited me to go to a game with her! I was so excited to go. So we left from our neighborhood to the train station at about 7:30 pm. The stadium is in Madrid, but its easier to just take the train instead of the bus and metro. The train ride to the stadium is about 30 minutes away from Las Rozas. So we arrived and got out seats at about 8:30, just in time to see both the teams warm up. The team that Reaal Madrid was playing was a team from the northern part of Spain, and they didnt have many experienced players.. So Sara and I both assumed that we would crush them! When we arrived at the stadium, it was huge! I had taken a tour there like the first week I arrived in Spain, but that was when it was completely empty and in the middle of the day. When I went to an actual game, there were thousands of people and the stadium had huge bright lights. It was so cool! The seats that we had were actually close to the field, so I could see every player perfectly. When the game started, ALL the people were cheering and screaming for the team. It was so crazy. I was seating next to a group of boys that looked like they were all on the same soccer team, and they knew I was American, so they were trying to speak to me in English ha ha, but none of them really knew how. It was half time when the score was tied up at 2-2. During the half time, Sara and I just chewed on some sun flowered seeds, and it was actually quiet enough to have a normal conversation, we just talked about school and stuff. But as soon as the game resumed, it jumped right back into being super noisy!! The game was so much fun, and it was my first professional game I have seen since I have been here. We ended up winning 4-3, Reaal Madrid. Sara said that she will be taking me to another game very soon! From the pictures, the white team is Reaal Madrid, and the red is the opposing team. I can’t wait to go back for another game!

For the rest of the week, it was pretty casual. School, English lessons, tennis class, then Madrid or Heron City for a cup of coffee and a pastry. We had no school on Thursday though, well we technically did but none of the students went, really none. The school was empty. The students here strick against the school system when they change something like exams or test days. I don’t know really, all I know is that it was an extra day to sleep in! On Friday though, after my tennis class, Segundo and Marina invited me to go to Segundo’s sisters house for a family dinner. She lived in Madrid and was having a birthday celebration dinner. I went of course, and ended up having a really good time. I had already met everyone that was there, Marina’s nephews and nieces, Segundo’s older and younger sister, and their husbands, and some other people. We just ate Spanish cuisine and drank some wine. I didn’t really know what they were talking about most of the time, but it was fun listening to them. We ended up staying until super late, so I couldn’t hang out with some of the kids from my class, I was too tired! Besides the next morning, I had to get up really early, for Marina, Segundo, Claudia, and me were going to Torrela to visit Marina’s parents.

Torella is about a 3 1/2 hour drive north from Las Rozas, and it is a very small town. Its so Spanish, with the white, old houses, and the dirt streets. The people there were all very nice, and it was a beautiful area. It was considered in the “countryside” of Spain. We arrived to Marina’s parents house at around 12, and I was so exhausted from the car ride. But we didn’t stay at the house for very long, because Marina’s parents wanted to take me to a bull fight! Of course I said I would go, I haven’t been to one yet! When we got to the stadium, there weren’t a lot of people, because the people doing the bull fights were not very popular. I didn’t care though. There were 3 boys, and one girl! I thought that they had to get all dressed up in ridiculous outfits, but they were just wearing black. After some warming up, they let the each bull out one by one and then the fight started! After an hour of Olle! and screaming, it was over. I was happy too, I didn’t like the bull fight, I felt so sorry for the bull, and I had to watch them hurt it while everyone was cheering and yelling for it. Though I got some great pictures, I don’t know if i want to go to another one for awhile. I mean I’m sure I will go again, but maybe not for another month ha. After the bull fight, Marina took me to a castle that they have in Torella, Castillo de Torella. It was so pretty, and it was on a hill so I could climb to the top and see all of the town and past beyound it. I took some pictures of it, and I plan on going back to see it again. After the castle, we met up with some of Marinas long time friends in a tapas bar. Tapas are little appetizers of  different Spanish foods, its a very typical Spanish cuisine. Marina ordered me a Vino con Falda, its red wine with a lemon soda, it was very good. The tapas we had were a variety of fish, chips, lamb, and potatoes. It was quite interesting, and some of it didn’t look very appealing, but I tried them anyway. So I met some of Marina’s very good friends, and none of them spoke English so I had to use the Spanish that I knew. I wasn’t that bad either! That night we all just at dinner and talked. I was very exhausted from my day, so I went to bed early. The next day we got up super early again, and drove back to Las Rozas, because Segundo had a soccer game he wanted to go to with his friends. It was a very pretty little town, and the castle was so cool! Sunday is always a lazy day for my host family, they like to just relax after a long week of working. So we just hung out around the house and we went to lunch at a little cafe near by. I met up with a girl from my class later in the night and we went and got coffee at Heron City. I also got a chance to read some Spanish magazines, and she quizzed me on some of the words ha ha. Its nice talking with her because she speaks English really well, so she can help me when I need help understanding some Spanish words.

Now I am just about to watch a movie Julia gave me, and I am going to sleep. One more week of school, and then my mom and Caroline come and visit me! I can’t wait for that. I probably will be to busy to write my blog next week, so I will write a big one about my mom and Caroline’s visit once they leave. So I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving, of course we are not celebrating it here, sense it is clearly just an American Holiday ha. Though on Thursday night there is another Rotary meeting, and we will probably have a sort-of Thanksgiving dinner. I don’t know, it won’t  be the same, and I will definitely miss the great food I always have at my house on Thanksgiving this year! But anyways, hope everything is going good in the states, and Happy Thanksgiving again!!