Almost 6 Months in Spain

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.

New years Eve

Murcia

Cartagena

Sailing 

Carnaval dressed up like 1920's

Adios,

Brandon Dull