Brandon's Rotary Youth Exchange: 2014

Hello everyone,

I am writing this post with only two months left. I can barely believe it. This year has gone by so fast, but I have made so many memories and met so many people that I will never forget. I have been really busy since I last posted. In March I went to Sevilla, which is a big city in the south of Spain. Sevilla was one of the prettiest cities I have ever seen. There is so much history and everywhere you look is just so beautiful. We went and visited a lot of churches and also saw the cathedral which was amazing. I went with my host uncle and aunt, and it was an early birthday present from them. I can't thank them enough for giving me the opportunity to see such and outstanding city. The week after I traveled with my host family to Barcelona. My host parents in Spain own a gourmet food company and in Barcelona there was a food fair so there company went. My host family brought me along so that I could check one of Europe's most popular cities out. Barcelona was amazing as well. The atmosphere is lively and up beat. The city is very large and that results in a lot of things to do and see. I saw the Sagrada Famila (photo below) which was outstanding. As soon as I saw it took my breath away, I couldn't believe it something so big and beautiful right in the middle of the city. I also saw a cathedral and went to a park that was designed by Gaudi and so much more. There is a girl who is from Canada who is also a rotary youth exchange student and she is spending her year in Barcelona. I met up with her and she showed me a bunch of cool things. I was glad to get the chance to catch up with her and being with exchange students always results in the best time. I was sad to leave Barcelona but more happy that I had the chance to see this spectacular city. In mid April Semana Santa started. This translates to Easter week in english but really doesn't make any sense. During Semana Santa the cities have a lot of parades going on, but these parades are very religious and have a lot of meaning. I was lucky to be closely involved with this week. I was a costalero which means that I went under the images and carried the image while they were brought out on to the street. It weighed a lot but it was a really great experience and I am glad I had the opportunity to do something that many people never get to do. My birthday is April 22nd and I was really excited to get to celebrate my birthday in another country. On the day of my birthday my host family and I had a big dinner and they gave me presents. It was a really good day and the cake that my host family got me was really cool (picture below). Yesterday my friends threw me a surprise birthday party. I went out to dinner with some of my closest friends in Spain and then after I was walking around the city with one of my closest friends and then we walked into club/dance area and there was all of my friends and my host family and they all yelled surprise! It was so nice, I felt incredibly blessed that my friends would do this for me. It was one of the best nights of my life. We danced, talked, laughed and just generally had a blast. Spain has blessed me with some of the best friends I have ever had. My friends here are just so nice to me and they are people that I won't every forget. They have made such a big impact on my life and its hard for me to imagine leaving them. My 17th birthday is going to be a birthday I will remember not only did I get to celebrate it in Spain, but my wonderful friends threw me a party! This next week on Wednesday I am going to England for 5 days. I will stay with a host family and it is a class trip. It's normally for people to learn english but I am going because I love to travel and see new things. Then the second weekend in May I am going to a city in the north of Spain called Vitoria. I am going with the other exchange students in Alicante because its 30 years with the exchange program in Spain and they are holding an event there. So I will be taking a train on that friday and will spend the weekend there and come back to Elda on Sunday. I am also looking forward to that as I have not been in the north of Spain other than Barcelona. I have a lot more trips coming up, and a big festival in my host city that I have been hearing about all year long. I can't wait to experience it. In a month and half I will be leaving for euro tour which I can barely hold my excitement for! Then June 29th I will be on my way home. It's going to come so fast, as the time has already passed incredibly fast. I am going to make sure I enjoy my time left with the amazing people here in Spain.

Adios,

Brandon Dull

Sevilla

Barcelona

Semana Santa

Birthday

Hello everyone,

I am so sorry that I haven't written in a very long time. Things have been really busy here and sometimes my life doesn't seem all that exciting anymore since everything has become very normal for me. I will start off by talking about January. For New Year’s Eve I went out to dinner with my host family and a whole bunch of their friends. When the clock struck 11:59 pm, everyone gathered around the TV. The tradition in Spain is to have 12 grapes for the last 12 seconds of the year giving luck to the next 12 months to come. So everyone had their grapes in their hands and it was a bit challenging eating all 12 grapes in 12 seconds but it was a fun and cool tradition. Maybe next year I will try that with my friends. Next we went to a place to go dancing and we stayed out till 4:30 in the morning. I definitely have never stayed out that late, but it was extremely fun! As for other events in January I also visited the other exchange students in Alicante. They live about 20 minutes away from me and it’s nice to get together with them and speak English, since I am almost always speaking Spanish here. It is nice to talk with the other exchange students because we are going through a lot of the same things, so it's good to have them nearby. I was able to go to my host sister’s graduation from college. It was really cool to see, and is very different from the USA. That same weekend my host family took me to Cartagena and Murcia. These are two fairly large cities. Cartagena is on the Mediterranean and is very beautiful. The city has a lot of history too it and it was nice to learn about it. Murcia is the capital of the province Murcia so it was a big city. I love traveling throughout Spain because Spain is a very beautiful country. February was a pretty calm month, I didn't do much except hang out with my friends from school, and go to Alicante to visit my Rotary counselor. I love times when things are less busy too and I am not doing as much because it allows me to hang out with my friends here on the weekend. I have made some really good friends here that I am not sure how I will be able to leave.

This past weekend I went to Alicante because there was a huge carnival. Everybody dresses up and goes out into the city to dance and have a good time. I went with two of the exchange students, and we dressed up as people from the 1920's. It was one of the best nights of my life! I had so much fun. I also saw a lot of people from my school that were there. Also, this past weekend I went sailing with my host counselor; it was really relaxing because the Mediterranean is so beautiful. I am thankful that I have the opportunity to go sailing here in Spain. For the most part these are the highlights of these past two months.

As for school, it is going very well. Now I understand when the teachers are talking in class fairly well. Sometimes there are words I don't know but it's impossible for me to be completely fluent in Spanish. I have come such a long way with this language. In the beginning I could barely even communicate and I had to rely on my host sister to help me. But now having conversations are very easy and normally I don't have to think about it. Sometimes when I am switching between verb tenses it can still be difficult but I still have time to practice. Something that is still difficult for me is telling stories. I am very good conversationally and I know a lot, but when I tell stories I hesitate sometimes when I speak. I know with continued practice it will get much better. It is hard for me to see the improvement in myself but my friends at school always tell me how much better my Spanish is, and that’s always nice to hear. I have tried very hard and studied a lot. I took private tutoring lessons for many months and they greatly helped improve my understanding of the language. I am really proud of my Spanish right now and I know in the months to come it will only get better.

I am continuing to learn so much about my self here. The things I have experienced and have gone through have made me a very mature person. I now see things with a different perspective, and I am very open-minded. I know how to deal with certain situations, and that not everything in your life will go the way you want it. I am so glad I have this experience in my life because it has been a life-changing year that I know I will never forget. This year has brought countless memories to me, and people that I don't ever want to forget and I am not even finished yet. I will have been here for 6 months on March 10th, and it’s honestly crazy to me. I don't know where the time is going but like I said I am so glad I am experiencing all of this. I have a little bit less then four months left here in Spain and I know it will go by incredibly fast. In March I am going to Valencia and Seville, which are very big cities. Then at the end of March/ Beginning of April I am going to Barcelona. I have a two-week break in April where I am likely to do some traveling. In May I am going to England for a week with my school and at the end of May there is a huge festival in my city called Moros y Cristianos. Everyone has been telling me about this festival since I got here and I can't wait for it, it should be really fun. Then for June I have my last week of school, then my Euro tour. I am returning home on June 30th, but leaving my host city on June 29th. I am very excited to see everyone at home. I have been missing everyone so much, but Elda has also become like a home to me and it will be extremely hard for me to say goodbye to everyone. I am going to make these last months memorable because I will never have the opportunity to relive this experience in my life. As you can see, I have a lot of things coming up, and I will try to keep you guys more updated and make more posts! Thank you for reading.