Reflections and Projections

Its February!  The time for Carnival celebrations, exams, and trips to Italy, but before we get to that I would just like to stop and reflect for a moment.  One of the most common pieces of advice that rebounds and inbounds(past exchange students and current exchange students respectively) give to outbounds(future exchange students) is that your exchange starts to fly by after the holidays.  I always took that with a grain of salt thinking that mine would be different.  Now that I am staring down the barrel of my exchange ending, having to think about when I am going to go home, booking flights, and scrambling to fit in all of the things that I haven't yet done,  I can say that the time just flies.  Its more than a little bit scary.  Up to this point exchange students are thinking really hard about making relationships and meeting people; we have been finding our way.  Now that we have family and friends, that we feel really comfortable in our city, that we finally can speak to people without any difficulty in our host language, that we have started to develop a local accent, and that we have adopted this place as a home it is impossible to not think about the giant hourglass of our time here, ticking down at an impossibly fast rate.  

As my parents turned over the page of the calender I had given them for Christmas, I was a little shocked and nervous.  I couldn't believe that it had really been a month since Reyes.  The start of February meant that my exchange was now halfway over for sure.  I wanted to hug my family to me, to call the master of time and say that he had made a mistake, to run away, but you can't run from time.  Now is the time when I as an exchange student have to do what exchange students do best, make the most of the time we have.  As an exchange student I am not going to sit and cry for something that is not yet over, but instead do everything I can to make this second half better than the first.  One of the things that makes exchange students so special is that we make relationships with people we know for sure that we will one day have to leave.  We answer the question once and for all, It is better to have loved and lost than to have missed out and never loved at all.  We will never forget our experiences here, the family that we have, the friends that have made, and the country that we call our new home.  We realize that distance doesn't diminish the importance of relationships, but instead makes them even more valuable, and that home doesn't have to be one place, but it is anywhere that part of your heart lives.

Vanessa and I in Antequera

Now on to the newsy part.  The first part of January was filled with presentation prepping and studying.  I gave a presentation to the English-speaking Rotary Club in Marbella on the 24th, and consequently earned myself a speaking slot at district convention on the topic of Rotary's Youth Programs.  The 26th I took the SAT, and that night I collapsed in a heap.  

Okay, the whole month wasn't work.  Vanessa came to Antequera with my family to see the town and meet my grandmother.  We toured the museum in La Plaza de Torros, saw some churches (there are 33 in Antequera, and they are all beautiful), planned Shona's wedding, and had some good heart to hearts.

The Picasso float

After my SAT, the other exchangees and I went off to explore Puerto Banus.  It was an incredible sight.  The port is lined with private yachts on one side and Porsches on the other.  The pedestrian walkway that runs along the water is filled with Gucci and Rolex vendors.  We probably looked incredibly out of place, but we had a nice discussion about which luxury car we would prefer to be run over by.

Part of the parade

Last weekend was the beginning of Carnival here in Malaga.  I had absolutely no idea what to expect, but it was amazing.  Hannah. an exchange student living in Granada, was here staying with me.  As we were touring downtown we stumbled upon  *cough* oh I mean I lead us right to the into the opening ceremonies.  The theme this year is Piccasso and Magic, and one big part of Carnival, aside from the party part, are these big "floats."  They are huge costumes more or less.  It is one person, who is dressed to represent an idea, pulling a huge "train" that has pictures and decorations that relates to what they are representing and the theme of Carnival.  We had a great time watching the show and watching the audience as well because everyone dresses up for carnival and many people dress up with there friends based on a theme(for example mariachi) and walk around playing music.

Back of one of the float/costumes

I also found the American food store which just opened in Malaga. Its been great because now I can cook for my family many more things than before.  Without this store it is impossible to find things like cocoa powder, oatmeal, and salad dressing.  I felt like a magician when I brought it all home.  I didn't realize how different the food here was from what I suppose is "normal" for the US until I tried to cook typical dishes.  It makes me wonder what kind of Spanish things I wont be able to get when I go back.  

Another Train

In other news, my poor sister and classmates are freaking out about all of the exams we are having.  I am in Bachigerato segundo, which is the most important year here because it is the one that decides what you can study in college.  I am in the Medical sciences track so most of my class wants to be doctors or scientists.  These are the most competitive majors right now so they are all looking for really high scores.  All of the Universities are having their global finals right now as well so the stress here is nearly tangible here.  Its like AP exam season at Kennedy.  I decided to join a gym and run while they study, so for a couple of weeks we all have become hermits.  Next weekend the whole Spanish student body is going to take a deep breath, meet their friends again, have a party, and prep for the trip to Italy.  

Looking ahead to the future, here in the province of Malaga we have the last week of February off and my school is offering a trip to Italy.  My friends and I are going and we are really excited about it.  Whenever we aren't studying we are talking about Italy, especially my friends in art history. We pass around phrase books and dream of pizza, frescos, gelato, and Renascence masters.

Love from Malaga!