Long TIme, No Blog

I can't believe how crazy fast April has flown by! It's insane, I thought it was going to drag on and on, but really I think it's finally really hit me that my time here is almost over. I'm defiantly ready to go home but I know I'm going to miss Spain in some aspects.

First, my amazing host family - they truly are amazing and I don't know how I would have survived this year without them. My host mom is so nice and it's been great to get to a point in our relationship where we can talk more like friends rather than as people just living together. My host brothers, while some days they drive me nuts, they always make me laugh and we bond over the strangest things. I never got to be the older sister, so I truly love nagging and picking on them in a fun and playful way. And my host dad, he's defiantly opened my eyes to some new and interesting concepts, as well as taught me the majority of what I know about Spain, politics of Europe, and cultural differences among all nations.

Second, my little kids school - I'm so glad I did my internship. I've learned so much, not only relating to the language, but about myself as well. I know that even though I love kids to death, I will never be a teacher (maybe high school as a backup plan - since I have no idea what else I'd do with a spanish degree...) Those kids are the highlight of my days here and I love being able to just hang out and feel like I'm making an impact on their lives. Plus I've missed having little kids climb into my lap and listening to a story or asking me for hugs when they're sad. I've learned a lot about the culture like games and songs (that I've finally learned to correct words to)! I've been able to pick up some good teaching techniques and I've got a much better idea about how I'm going to go about teaching my own children Spanish one day. I've learned more about the kind of parent I want to be, or better said, the kind I don't want to be. And, I've had the opportunity to really make some Spanish "friends" - although they may be teacher, it's nice to sit and talk about any topic on the same level as any other person in the conversation. (And they're great for asking help with my homework...)

While I'm still not the biggest fan of Madrid, I can truly say this has been amazing and I will in fact be sad when it all comes to an end in 17 days. I still say this is something I want my kids to do and experience when they are old enough (sorry Mom) and I know that I will be back again. I've learned to adapt and survive in situations I never would have expected. And more than anything, Spanish has always been one of my passions. I've been able to fulfill a dream that I've had as long as I can remember. I can speak and understand a second language (maybe not the best all the time, but that's still way more than most people in the United States can say).