Almost Two Months in Spain

Hello Everyone,

Wow, I can't believe it, in 2 days I will have been here for 8 weeks! Time really is starting to fly by. The first month was so slow and I was wondering why all the exchange students said it was the best but fastest year of their life. Now I can totally understand why they say it goes by fast. After month 1 time is just flying! I haven't posted in 5 weeks so I have a lot to talk about. I have experienced already so many things and most importantly my Spanish is getting better. It's now so much easier to understand people and I can somewhat have a conversation. My Spanish is getting better with every day and now that I have a Spanish tutor, who helps me immensely, I am seeing an improvement.  I know that by the end of the year I will be able to have conversations with people no problem! School is really difficult still because the teachers talk so fast, but I try as hard as I can to understand. Since I last posted I went to a huge party in the city of Petrer. There were so many people there and the music was loud, it was so cool. I went with my friends from school and we all had a good time. I didn't go home till 2 in the morning which was a really different thing for me because in Spain they are all about the night life. I also went to my first Spanish soccer game in Alicante. It was so fun to see and I enjoyed it very much. Spain is crazy about their soccer! I didn't get to see a goal though, because the score ended up being 0-0. Next time! Last weekend I went to Valenica. Valencia is the third biggest city in Spain. It was beautiful.  The buildings are so old and pretty. I went to a place called Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias. The buildings there were so abstract and the way it was laid out was amazing. I will never forget that place and if any of you come to Spain definitely check that out. We also went out to lunch at a nice restaurant and went and checked out a couple of stores. I think I am going back to Valencia later this month, and I am very excited for that. This weekend I spent with my Rotary counselor in Alicante. I had so much fun. We went to a rollercoaster park in Benidorm. Benidorm is about 20-30 minutes away from Alicante and it is such a pretty city. My counselor’s family kept telling me that it is the New York City of Spain because the buildings are so tall. Benidorm is also right on the coast, so when I was riding all the rides the view was amazing. I hung out with my host counselor’s son Fernando and his two friends. We rode just about all the rides there, I had a great time. On Sunday I climbed a mountain and the view was absolutely amazing. I will post the pictures to Facebook. While I was on the top of the mountain I realized how many people would die to be doing what I am doing right now, and how grateful I truly do feel to have this opportunity. I am 16 years old and by the end of this year I will have traveled to over 10 different countries and have had the opportunity to learn a new language and live in a different country for a year. I feel so blessed that Rotary gave me this opportunity and honestly will never forget this year in my life. I can't wait to see what these next 7 months have in store for me. I know these experiences are making me grow and learn in so many ways a year back at home in Midland High couldn't. Don't get me wrong, exchange is so hard. I am 4,000 miles away from my family and my friends and everything I have ever known. Homesickness strikes me every now and then but when I look back at this year I know I am not going to even remember the times I was sad. I will remember how great of a year I had and how many amazing people I met. I hope when I go home I will inspire other kids to do an exchange because honestly nothing compares to it. You develop relationships with people all over the world that will last a lifetime. Let’s see what these next seven months have in store for me!

Hasta Luego,

Brandon Dull