It has been a long time since I have posted anything, but a lot has happened. I got to spend a long weekend with Jenny Faber (a friend from Catlin) in Valencia. We just chilled and had a great time, it was really nice to see a familiar face and share our experiences. We stayed at a cute hostal, and basically every night we freaked out when they turned the Christmas lights on.
Here everything is pretty Christmas-y, but much more religious. For example, Christmas isn't the big gift giving day, it is Reyes. On Christmas you celebrate the birth of Jesus, you open a present or two Christmas eve, so little kids don't believe in Santa Clause and they don't wake up at dawn to see what Santa has brought them. Every house has a Bethleham, and only some have a small tree with no presents underneath. On January 6th is Reyes. This is the big gift giving holiday, it is said that three kings come on camels and leave presents at your front door (there are very few fireplaces, so coming down a chimney just is impossible). On this day is when you get most of your presents, and the next day all across Spain the sales start. In Spain, the government regulates the sales so all stores are required to have a sale twice a year, once right after the holidays and a second time in the summer. I am very excited for the sales because all of the stores will have most of their products at a reduced price! My Christmas break starts on Tuesday the 22 and I go back on Monday the 11th.
I got my grades from classes and...I am passing everything! (That is a huge accomplishment.)
I bought my family presents. i am slightly stressed about it. i got maria (12 years old) a mug that you can color on, leti (19) some bath stuff (i have never seen her take a bath, or anyone in my family take a bath which i realized that about 2hours after i bought the present), eli (21) a scarf and gloves (kinda impersonal), my mom cleaning gloves that are balck and fashionable and have a huge diamond on the ring finger and a picture frame with a pic of me and my sister (we all look sick in the pic but its the only one i have.) and my dad i got a santa hat and these sick sunglasses with an american flag. so we'll see if they like their presents or not....they will like the idea i know but i am still worried. so i will tell you how it goes.
Today I had a snow day! It snowed all of an inch or two and so the bus route couldn't come by my house. When I told my host mom this, she reminded me that I had two tests and that I should go in Metro to school; I decided to stay in the neighborhood with friends. I spent the entire day with friends trying to play in the snow which was very hard because there wasn't much of it. It snowed really early in the morning, and by 9am it had stopped, and for the rest of the morning it rained washing away the little snow that had stuck. By the afternoon the remaining snow had turned to a disgusting yellow/brown color – two inches of snow is no excuse not to pick up your dog's doo doo.
