The Joneses...

I hopped on the train, ticket in my hand and heart racing (I'd reached the platform just seconds before the train was due to leave). Scanning the nearly empty train and taking  a seat, I leaned back and looked out the window. Though it was mostly dark, I could still make out the English scenery as it passed me by. I shut my eyes for a moment and thought through my day: hot mulled wine, a walk through a London street fair, Big Ben, the London Eye, Buckingham Palace. I felt like I'd seen it all, though I knew there was so much I had missed. It'd been a whirlwind couple of days (final exams, catching a flight from Malaga to Southampton, staying with a family I'd never met, etc.) and I was exhausted but excited to see some "family."

Stepping off at what I hoped was the right station, I was greeted by Audrey and Rebecca's beautiful smiling faces, hugs, and a warm cup of hot chocolate. It was the first occasion that I'd be with them without the rest of my family. Though we were technically unrelated, I'd spent enough time with the Jones family to think of them as my own. As we caught each other up on recent events, I found myself smiling uncontrollably; I could feel my happiness (or was it the warmth from the hot chocolate?) spreading throughout my body. We drove to their hotel, where Audrey handed me a small synthetic Christmas tree. Apparently they'd spent Christmas in a hotel before and had learned to bring their own Christmas decorations. Rebecca, Clara and I set to the task of putting up the tree and wrapping it with tinsel (by the next morning we had some other decorations as well, but how we got them is another story all together!).

That night, I enjoyed a delicious Italian dinner at a restaurant with with their extended family. As always, every second with them was fun and entertaining: from ordering drinks to suspicious trips downstairs to the bathroom, I was a ball of laughter the whole night through. The girls (Rebecca, Clara, and I) shared a hotel room, and we talked late into the night about typical teenager things (much to Clara's dismay) and caught up on each other's social lives.

Bright and early (okay, eight o'clock might not seem so early to some of you, but when you're on Spanish time it's way, way too early) the next morning we walked around the corner to Marks&Spencers, where we shopped for breakfast food to take back into the hotel. In typical Jones family vacation style, the kids were handed baskets and told to get something that they wanted: we ended up with many, many chocolate brioches and croissants, as well as a good portion of fruit (yum!).

After our breakfast we made our way to Hampton Court Palace (home of King Henry VIII and his many, many wives), where we enjoyed the beautiful scenery and took a spin on a very fast carousel. Eventually, it grew too cold and dreary for even the Scots I was with, so we made our way to a movie theater and treated ourselves to Nativity 2: danger in the manger (starring David Tennant).

Sadly, my time with the Joneses was running out; they took me to the train station (where we batted our eyelashes at the manager to let the whole family come see me off on the platform) and set me off on my train back to Andover. As I got comfortable in my seat, I noticed a strange commotion from the corner of my eye. Much to my surprise (and glee) the whole family was standing outside the train window, shouting and jumping and waving. As I pulled out my camera to catch a photo of their craziness, the whole cabin's attention turned to me, the strange young American girl with lunatic (yet loving) relatives.  As they chased the train down the platform, I felt like the luckiest and most loved girl in the world.

Merry Christmas everyone :) I had a fantastic time in England, and may even post another story from my week there! It feels strange to come home to Spain instead of California, but I'm excited for the New Year and all the wonderful things it will bring.

As always,
Love From Marbella,
ShonaBell

1/3 Check-in

I'm one third of the way though my exchange year! How crazy is that!?

These last few days school have been practically non-existant. I didn't even go today because only 5 other students showed up on Wednesday, and only one of them was planning to go today. Officially, there is school tomorrow, but most of the "instituto" (upperclassmen) students ditch. Either way, I'm catching a four o'clock flight to England *big smile* so I'm not going to school. As much as I enjoy missing school (like any normal teenager), a surprisingly large part of me is sad when I don't go to school. I love getting to see my friends everyday and having something to do with my time. This past trimester my improvement socially and academically was tremendous. I started off as the weird, blonde exchange student who barely knew any Spanish, and now I'm more or less just one of the class. We received our grades today and I did a lot better than I'd originally thought I'd do:
Physical Education - 7
Spanish Literature - 4
Science - 5
Philosophy - 1
English - 10
History - 4
Latin - 10
Greek - 9
French - 9
Group Project - 7
Keep in mind that a 5 is good (all the grades are out of 10) and anything about a 7 is exceptionally rare. Considering that I'd expected to pass Latin, English, and PE, I'm pretty pleased with my "notas."

I found out today that I'm going to be living with +Vanessa LUSA's host family come January. I'm not for sure what my moving date will be, but it should be somewhere around the 6th or 15th. More news on this to follow :)

As for my "viaje" to England, I'm going to be staying with my Rotary counselor Nina's family in Winchester. I get to spend a night in London with my friends the Jones family (major "yay" on this one). I'm planning to post something while I'm there, so keep an eye out for my post.

That's all for now, I hope everyone has a very, very Merry Christmas!!
Love From Marbella,
Shonabell

P.S. my conscience is slowly loosing its ability to spell in English -- I had to go back through this so many times to fix my spelling! Yikes!!

I can see

I gave a presentation to my English class today. Though I spoke in English (as asked for by my teacher), pictures are worth a thousand words in every language, so I think my classmates understood most of what I was saying. I showed them what my life is like back home: my school, family, home, friends, everything that I used to associate with being me. I'm not generally a shy person, and I enjoy speaking in front of large groups, so the feeling of vulnerability that struck me at the end of my presentation was a bit of a shock. I'd just told these people my life story. One hour, that's all it took to show them my world. The thoughts hit me like a hurricane, and for the first time I truly realized how big the world was. Just as my Spanish classmates couldn't fully comprehend my life in California (is your school private? it's HUGE!...so you're library is the size of a church?...you really have cliques?...Pajama Day -- Cool!), neither will the people in California truly understand the life here in Spain. The privilege of living two lives has opened my eyes to how small we are in this big, big world. And in those moments as I walked down the long flights of stairs, my friends laughing by my side, I was terrified and fascinated by everything around me. It was a wonderful, intimidating feeling. I could see the world, its vastness, and I wanted to explore every bit of it.

Love from Marbella,
Shonabell

my presentation: http://prezi.com/sdtoo_gvkb60/california-livin/

Labels and Pumpkin Pie

I wore my Rotary Exchange shirt to school yesterday and was pleasantly surprised when a friend from my class asked me where I had gone on exchange. Laughing quite a bit, I replied, "um... Spain?" It took her a second, but she figured it out and we enjoyed a good laugh over it. I found it hard to believe that she didn't remember that I was on exchange from California, but was pleased that my "exchange student" label was starting to wear off. In the beginning, I felt like I had a big "Made in the USA" label stamped onto my forehead. While it was useful when I needed extra help, my obvious foreignness was a bit of a barrier between myself and the other students. My status as "extranjero" isn't gone completely, it's faded to the point where I feel as if I fit in here. My Spanish isn't superb, but I understand the teachers and can hold a good conversation. I have friends who seek me out for help and ask me to wait for them so we might walk together, who are proud of my high test scores and laugh with me when I miserably fail. The teachers generally expect me to do the homework and participate in class, though I suspect they give me a bit of slack on the exams (I don't get docked points for spelling and grammar, thank goodness!!). I'm pulling high scores in Latin, Greek, and French, improving slowly in Science and History, hopefully passing PE (learned how to do a cartwheel in class the other day!) and full out failing Philosophy (a girl can only do so much haha). These past few weeks we've had a lot of free classes do to teacher absences; they give me more time to work on my conversational skills with my peers, which I love. My friend Claudia (from Australia) and I get together most Wednesdays after school to study, which is incredibly helpful because she knows way more Spanish than I do. We've become Wednesday regulars at a local restaurant, though the guy who calls out names still can't pronounce my name correctly! Oh well, he's got seven more months to get it right!!

These past couple of days have been incredibly cold, only a little above freezing in the morning, plus high humidity and sharp winds. Most days I do my homework while curled up in my bed and drinking Nutella soy milk.

I'm realizing that I didn't post about my Thanksgiving: to sum it up, my exchange friend and I made it up, my exchange friends and I made dinner for ourselves and some local rotarians. We, the exchange students, got permission to take friday off and spent it in Gibraltar! As the only one of us who'd been there before, I attempted to tour us around (which mostly consisted of searching for monkeys). I'm proud to say we made it all the way around and a ways up the rock without becoming helplessly loss!

Besides that, life here is pretty normal! My new yoga class is awesome, I really need to do some laundry, and I think I may be getting a cold (bring on the mandarins, kiwis, and orange juice!). I'm missing home quite a bit since it's the holidays, but I'm looking forward to spending Christmas in England!!

I hope everyone at home had a wonderful Thanksgiving <3 I'm thankful for all of you and your support!

Love from Marbella,
Shonabell

 it's not Thanksgiving without lots and lots of Pumpkin Pie!!

 Las Chicas!

 Dinner :)

 YUM

 Just so cool in Gibraltar

 Mis Amigos at the castle in Gibraltar

FInally got to see the monkeys! This guy just chilled with us while we took lots of photos and videos :)

Little Sister

Dear Callie,
I've never had a big sister, let alone an older sibling, which means I've never really known the responsibilities of my job: do I buy you lots of presents, fight with you, give you advice, lend you my clothes, ignore you, laugh with you? These three months away have given me a long time to think about what it means to be your older sister. It means that I love you unconditionally. It means that we can talk about anything, and that I always have someone to hug when I'm feeling sad. Most of all, it means I miss you so much that the thought of being away for seven more months is almost unbearable. I miss tiptoeing into and out of our room in the dark so as not to wake you, I miss the way you sometimes talk in your sleep, I miss the way your face lit up when I showed you a new Taylor Swift song, and the way you can talk and talk for hours. I miss seeing you dance around the house, and I miss the noise you make when you tap your feet under the counter. I miss doing your hair and makeup when you dressed up as a princess, and buying you all the silly little presents that mom never would. I miss you speaking non-stop Spanish to me even though you knew I didn't understand a word, and I miss the way you laugh and laugh at your own jokes. I miss holding your hand in parking lots and helping you play computer games. Most of all, I miss you calling me "Shawny" and the way, when you smiled at me I knew without a doubt that you loved me.

I know I'm not here for you this year, and I'm sorry for that. You have grown up so much already in the time that I've been gone! Third grade was a big year for me: I learned my times tables, my dream was to live on a ranch with my best friend with lots of horses, I earned my black belt, and (how could I forget) you were born!  I always thought of myself as a leader, but looking back I tried so hard to fit it that I almost lost myself along the way. You're already much braver than I was, and I'm so proud of your ability to stay true to yourself even when everyone else is doing something else. There are things I'd wish someone had told my eight year old self (or rather, I wish I had listened to some of the things people told me!). I may not be there for you whenever you need me this year, but here is some advice that will hopefully get you through some of those sticky situations...

It's okay to make mistakes, just make sure to learn from them.

Mom and Dad are usually right.

Telling the truth makes life a lot easier, even if it doesn't seem like it will in the moment.

Listen to whatever music YOU like, not what your friends say is cool.

Don't be afraid to sing and dance in front of people.

Always do your homework and try your best on tests, but if you occasionally get things wrong it's OKAY.

Watch Disney movies as often as possible.

Read often, but don't forget to go out and live in the real world too.

Smile at people even if they're not one of your friends.

Boys are silly -- don't ever let one of them make you feel bad about yourself. You are perfect just the way you are.

Practice the splits everyday -- at least one of us kids needs to be semi-flexible!

Try new things and seize opportunities. I always wish I had been in theater and played softball, but was too scared to try!

Believe in fairies.

And always remember that your big sister loves you <3.

I miss you so much Callie-Boo.
Lots and Lots of Love from Marbella,
*Shawny* xoxo

Time Between Us

Hola everyone!

Check out my guest blog on tamarairelandstone.com (click on "blog") -- enjoy!!

Love from Marbella,
Shona Bell

Remembering Why

As I inch closer to the three month mark, my life in Marbella is becoming just that: my life. I'm settling in. School in Spanish is now just schol: no longer a foreign place full of confusion and stress; rather, school is filled with challenges I am overcoming day by day. Make friends: check. Learn more Spanish: check. Do the homework: check. Pass a test -- well, let's just say I still have a ways to go before that happens (though I've got a Latin exam on Friday that I'm feeling prepared for). I stand out less: my spanish is better than most of the tourists' and retiree population's, I dress like a Spaniard (for the most part -- still not ready to trade in my TOMS for a pair of Converse), I've finally figured out how to work the bus system, and I love my siestas (and fiestas) like the rest of them.

Still, I have my doubtful moments. Just this past weekend, I was seriously questioning my decision to go on exchange. I felt lonely, stressed, and scared. Sunday morning was characterized by my loneliness and homesickness; I was so depressed that the very thought of moving from my bed seemed impossible. Luckily, I've got a good support system behind me; at the core of which are the other exchange students here in Marbella. Knowing I was in a "funk," Vanessa and her host mom dragged me out of my room (okay, out of my bed -- yes, I know three in the afternoon is a little late to still be in my PJs) and over to their house. We made crepes (chocolate&banana and sugar&mango - yum!). The sweet smell that filled their kitchen alone was enough to cheer me up, and our easy conversations, in Spanish of course, just added to my rejuvenated spirit. Mamen, Vanessa's host mom, is one of the warmest and most caring people I've ever met; the conversation between all three of us, despite a slight language barrier, is that of old friends. Our stomachs full and spirits high, Vanessa and I tramped down a few flights of stairs to their "den," watched the Big Bang Theory (at first in Spanish, but we eventually switched the settings so we could listen to Sheldon's voice -- it's just not the same dubbed!) and enjoyed ranting back and forth about our lives. By the end of the evening, I was feeling confident once again: Vanessa and Mamen had succeeded in reminding me why I came here.

In other news, my Spanish is still improving with every passing day. I can finally say things in past tense and am understanding most of what goes on in class! Marbella is raining buckets at the moment. I usually have an umbrella, but that only makes so much of a difference when the cars drive through puddles at racing speeds, causing waves of water to splash upon me. I can't really complain though, there's something incredibly soothing about changing out of wet clothes and into warm sweats, then joining my host parents for a hot meal. On days when I'm feeling especially chilled, I make myself hot soy milk with nutella -- sounds weird, I know, but yummmm. It's ten times better than your average hot chocolate :).

A quick congrats to all of my friends at home (and abroad) who just voted for the first time!

Love from Marbella,
Shona Bell

P.S. Does anyone know a good recipe for pumpkin pie that begins with a real pumpkin? They don't sell canned pumpkin (heck, they don't sell ANYTHING pumpkin) here in Spain, and I'm craving a slice or two (or ten) or pumpkin pie.

Random Days (and mornings)

Waking up in the morning is one of the hardest parts of exchange. The split second between dreaming and waking up is full of incredible confusion; "where am I? what's going on?" Every morning I have to convince myself that the day is going to be okay and I will feel better later. So far, I've made it out of bed, to the kitchen, and eventually to school every day. On my way to the bus, I always look up to the sky and find the Orion and Big Dipper constellations; somehow they make the world seem like a smaller place, meaning that I am much closer to home than I feel. Usually, no matter how hard the morning may be, I do have an okay day :).

This past week has been full of many ups and downs. I burst into tears in class on Monday; it was super embarrassing because nothing much happened to trigger the tears (except for stress), but ended positively when I noticed how many of my "friends" were willing to comfort and support me. It was the first time I have ever felt truly accepted by my classmates. I was smiling and crying at the same time that day.

Tuesday morning I woke up with a terrible cold; unfortunately/fortunately I had already made plans with a friend from school. We met at "la alameda" (which seems to be the standard meeting point for teenagers here) and took the bus to "Puerto Banus." Even though I was feeling completely miserable Claudia and I had a good time window shopping. By the time I got home, I was running so late for my dance class that I had to run all the way there (about 1.5 miles) in order to get there on time. Still feeling incredibly sick, I attempted to follow the dances and was thrilled when the hour class was finally over -- I was in desperate need of sleep.

The next day I got up early (9 am, early for a non-school day) to go with my host dad to collect my residency card. We hadn't expected the line to be so short, so instead of meeting my friends as I had planned I sat at "la alameda" and read Time Between Us, an awesome book by my dad's friend, Tamara Ireland Stone. The beautiful park, with its tropical green trees and sparkling fountains made for a relaxing reading zone :). At one I met Cj at the bus station and we made our way to Puerto Banus (Cj wanted to see all the fancy cars and yachts). We took a boat back to Marbella, then Charissa and Vanessa caught up with us for ice cream.

Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday went by in a bit of a blur. Homework, sleeping, Facebook, TV, Pinterest... I spent four days as an incredibly lazy teenager.

Monday and Tuesday were just two normal days at school; today I got to leave school early to go to a Rotary meeting with Nina, Christine, and Charissa.

I'm realizing that my words are coming out slightly terse and uninteresting. I'm not exactly sure why, but I'm really exhausted at the moment. This whole thing is just absolutely exhausting sometimes. Mentally, physically, emotionally; it's like I'm on a crazy roller coaster ride. At some points I'm terrified, others thrilled, usually exhausted, occasionally sad, and, quite often, happy. There's this little thing called a language barrier that challenges me daily. My spanish is getting better, and I am finally conversing with other kids in my classes (!!) and can mostly keep up with my host parents at the dinner table. School is getting to be normal, although I am dreading the coming weeks without days off. So far I've only had one full week of school; next week I have thursday off but after that it's five day weeks (ugh).

Sorry for the kind of random collection of thoughts in this blog. I'm feeling a little odd this evening and not in a very eloquent mood (not a bad mood, just a tired one).

Love from Marbella,
Shona Bell

Looking for the Castle

Monkeys, red phone booths, and double decker buses: my trip to Gibraltar could only have been better if I'd stumbled upon a blue police box. Because it's only an hour car drive away, my host parents and I took our time Saturday morning sleeping in and eating breakfast. Once we reached the border between Spain and the UK (it feels weird saying that) my host dad parked the car and we walked through customs, where we waved our passports by bored-looking security guards, and right into Gibraltar.
We hopped on a double decker bus (yipee) that took us Casemates square. From there, we grabbed a map and started making our way down main street. EVERYTHING WAS IN ENGLISH (which was just a little bit exciting). Popping into a cemetery to look at the gravestones and dead people, I saw my first wild monkey! <----I don't know about the rest of you but I think this sentence is wacky ;P While trying to find our way to the castle, we ended up walking halfway up "the Rock" where we took some fantastic photos. By then, we'd been walking for at least 2 hours, my ankle hurt and I was incredibly disappointed in myself for choosing to wear skinny jeans. Still looking for the castle, we made our way up and across the rock some more and wound up at old siege tunnels. Although we didn't go into the tunnels, there were a ton of monkeys hanging around and messing with the tourists (stealing food, grabbing hair, climbing on legs and laps, etc.). Eventually, we made it to the castle -- by this point, we'd seen so many amazing things (and we were hungry and tired) that we all took a look at the castle and said "cool, it's a castle" and continued walking back down the hill. Once we reached the bottom, we stopped to enjoy some traditional british food -- I had fish and chips and my host parents had shepherd's pie. Meandering through the shops on our way back, my host dad and I had an argument about whether or not Columbus was the first person to discover America (he thinks he was). Quickly realizing that my spanish arguing skills and lack of proper information were no match, I attempted to excuse myself from the conversation. Luckily, my host mom seemed to recognize my discomfort and dragged me into a shop with her (thank you Ana! Lol). We made our way back to the car, and finished our long, fun day by sharing some pasties from a local shop -- yum!

monkeys in the cemetary

cool photo from halfway up the rock

fish and chips

the rock

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I spent Saturday with my friend Cj, another exchange student from Colorado, in a town about 25 minutes away in Estepona (where he lives). He showed me the "sights;" cute, typical spanish streets, a beautiful beach, a small port, and all his local hang out spots. We wandered a long ways down the beach towards Marbella -- at each corner we'd say "just 'till the next one" and the next one, and the next one, etc. For lunch, we shared a platter of traditional spanish meats at one of the local restaurants (absolutely delicious) and, of course, french fries. I met his host mom, who took us out for ice cream and dinner; she's really nice and the two of them seem to get along really well :). After dinner Cj showed me the way down to a really pretty cove; unfortunately my agility level decreases about 100% in the dark, so I was pretty clumsy trying to make my way along the rocks and wall on our way to the cove. The view there was absolutely beautiful -- lights all the way along the coast, you can see Gibraltar and even a spanish city on the African coast. After sitting for a little while (enjoying the free wifi haha) we made our way back. At 11 o'clock I hopped on the bus back home, exhausted but happy to have had a good two days behind me.

the beach in Estepona

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All in all, it was a fantastic weekend (I spent Sunday sleeping, cleaning, and doing homework).

I hope everyone is doing well at home, I miss you all!

Love from Marbella,

Shona Bell

My-Life-is-a-Cliche-Movie Moment

Yes, this really did happen to me...

"Oh sh*t," she thinks as her foot catches the lip of the stair.  A slow-motion effect takes hold, and she feels the milliseconds tick by: the floor inching closer and closer to her face. Then, right before reaching the ground, her arms shoot out beneath her (dropping the pile of books that had, just moments before, been held securely to her chest). Suddenly, life regains speed and she's sprawling out on the stairway. Cheeks flushed, she attempts to collect herself, her books, and what remains of her dignity. Reaching for her science book, she is surprised to feel the warmth of skin and looks up straight into the blue eyes of an unfamiliar boy. Unable to think properly (and still in a bit of a daze from her fall), she grabs her book from him -- and manages to drop her notebook again in the process. Now utterly embarrassed, she scrambles to grab it before he can help her again. Unfortunately, she's too slow and attempts to smile gratefully as he hands it to her. Mumbling a quick "gracias" and hoping her smile didn't look too much like the grimace it was masking, she grabs her things and rushes down the hall. The bess rings as she sits down. Soon enough, her thoughts begin to drift, and she can't help but wonder if her elevated heart rate was caused by the fall, running to class, or the boy with the blue eyes.

Quick shout out to my parents, who just celebrated their 22nd wedding anniversary! Love you Mom and Dad!!! <3

As always,
Love from Marbella,
Shona Bell

The Dream

Left over eyeliner and chipped nail polish;
the remnants of last night cling to me today.
Shaking my head, can't clear the fog of drowsiness
and wonder if I am still in a Dream.
After all:
Only in Dreams do people speak nonsense.
Only in Dreams are you alone among others.
Only in Dreams do you lose yourself to random thoughts.
Day Dreams or Nightmares or Memories of Home.
There is no escape: in my Dreams I am home.
While awake, I am Dreaming.



Okay -- first try at a poem. I'm not completely thrilled with it but I wrote it in class today and figured I'd take a chance and put it on my blog. Hope you like it :)
Love From Marbella,
Shona Bell

three weeks

I've been at school for about three weeks now; it's challenging, boring, exhausting, and (occasionally) fun. But every time I think that I'm getting into the swing of things -- pipe burst = no school, excessive rain/flood warning = no school -- I get up in the morning only to find that school is closed for the day. Not that I mind (what teenager in their right mind would!) but it does mean that I still haven't attended a full week of school. My classes range from impossible (Philosophy) to easy (English). On the harder side of the scale I have Philosophy, World Science (which ranges from topics of Astronomy to DNA to Photosynthesis, etc.), Modern History (USA revolution onward), and Lengua (Spanish Literature). French, Greek, and Latin are relatively easy; I have more experience with all three than most of the other students do, so at the moment translating into Spanish is the difficult part, rather than learning the languages themselves. My English teacher enjoys having me read out loud and helping the other students with their work. A few times a week I have a one-on-one session with a tutor who is helping me with my Spanish. According to her and my English teacher, I speak incredibly well considering the short amount of time I've been here. For me, the key turning point was when I decided not to care if I was speaking correctly (I make up words all the time). As much as my Spanish is improving, however, it is still extremely difficult to follow lectures in class; most of my teachers give oral notes and I either copy from the guy I sit next to or attempt to understand as much of what he/she is saying. One of the reasons French, Greek, and Latin are so much easier is because all of the notes are written on the board (although that can get a bit tricky too because people write letters differently here: "F" looks like "P" and "L," "A"s are just triangles, etc. It's difficult to tell what a word in scribbly handwriting is when you can't use context clues. Luckily, people are always willing to help me -- I am frequently asking "que?" of the people around me. So far I've been responded to by helpful and happy answers.

In terms of friends, Claudia is my closest friend (from school): she's originally from Australia but has been living in Marbella for two years. She speaks fluent Spanish but is new to the school just like me, and we've done a pretty good job of introducing ourselves to spanish friends. Then there's Sergio and Carmen who are both really nice; Sergio sits next to me and lends me his notes when I need them, Carmen and I walk from class to class together and are working together on a group project. Everyone in my class knows me and watches out for me: if a teacher pronounces my name wrong someone always speaks up, and when I see them outside of school they always wave and stop to say hello. Basically, I feel welcomed and included, something I hadn't expected to feel for another few months.

There's so much more to tell but not enough room to tell it.
As always, Love From Marbella,
Shona Bell

A Small Happiness

I volunteered at a children's shelter with another exchange student on Sunday: painting, cleaning, building, etc. There were about twenty-five people, most of them from Britain but now living in Marbella, who gave up their Sunday to lend a helping hand. Although the whole experience was wonderful, this moment stands out in my memory - I hope my writing properly depicts how much these few minutes meant to me :)


Small fingers wrapped around my hand. Quickly dropping my sponge, I turned away from the half-cleaned windows to see the little boy who was pulling me towards the kitchen. At about five years old, with typical spanish features -- dark skin, dark hair, dark eyes, and a sweet smile -- he was speaking to me in Spanish, trusting me to understand and help him. In that moment, I felt at home for the first time in Spain: someone, despite a language barrier and my blonde hair, believed that I belonged here and wanted me to help them (usually it's the other way around). He saw, in me, a person just like any other. I grinned and strengthened my hold on his hand. He pulled me into the kitchen freezer and was, I could tell, asking me for something. It took me a second but I eventually recognized the word "zumo" (pronounced "thumo") as juice, and followed his pointed finger to the top shelf. I pulled the juice down for him and his grubby fingers snatched the package from my hands, a smile on his face and happiness in his eyes. "Gracias," he said to me, and I just smiled, happy to help.

 This is the backyard of the children's home - It's a three story house with plenty of room for the 12 children it houses. As you can see by the wall on the right, it was in need of paint :)

 Some of the volunteers!

 After the paint finished drying, Charissa and I got to put up the wall decor - flowers, butterflies, etc.

 These two have the cutest British accents! They helped us put up the butterflies :)

Charissa and I after a long and enjoyable day.

I hope everyone at home is doing well -- to all of you getting ready for homecoming, I expect to see lots  of pictures on facebook! I miss you all but am enjoying life here. I went for my first real run today, hopefully I can fit a few more in! School is difficult, but I like having a set schedule for my day :)

As always, feel free to ask questions!

Love from Marbella,

Shona Bell

madrid recap & first day of school

Madrid - one of the most amazing places I have ever been. In the few hours I was lucky enough to spend touring the city, I was treated to fantastic views of famous monuments, roads which seem like doorways to a different time, delicious and ethnic food and drink, and the fulfilling, yet frightening, feeling that the world is full of so much more that I could ever imagine. From the lovers' locks on light posts in Plaza Mayor to the streets full of people in protest of their government; so many lives connect, cross, and interweave in this magnificent city.

 the demonstrations

 El Museo del Prado

 view of Plaza Mayor

 "lovers' locks"

 Plaza Mayor

The City :)

The highlight of my orientation weekend were the train rides and the saturday morning that I spent in Madrid with other exchange students. The other 48 hours were spent in an encampment in the mountains about an hour from Madrid, playing silly games and eating not-so-great food. On the plus-side, meeting all the Spanish exchange students made enduring the rest of the weekend bearable.

Now, for what you're here to read: The First Day of School.

My host dad drove me to school today and walked me into the counsellor's office, where we spend the good part of an hour (all of first period) discussing paperwork. When the bell rang, the secretary handed me over to another woman who then showed me to my first class, introducing me to all the students as "an exchange student who speaks very little Spanish" (at least, that's what I think she said!). After she left, I was greeted by silent smiles and a few waves from other students, then turned my eyes to the teacher. About five minutes after class started, I realized that I had no idea what my schedule was or where I was supposed to go after the class was over. Luckily, the teacher finished his introduction before class ended and suddenly I found myself surrounded by about a third of the class. They all introduced themselves and asked which school track I was on. *Really quick interjection -- for those of you who don't know how the Spanish Bacheloriato system works, here is a quick debrief. In their last two years of high school, Spanish students choose a major (Humanities, Social Studies, Mathematics, Sciences, or Arts). The students in that major stay together throughout the day - either moving from classroom to classroom or staying in the same classroom with changing teachers.* Luckily, I knew that my major was Humanities, so two of the girls said to stick with them throughout the day -- are on the same track I am. Basically, I MADE FRIENDS! :D

After my first class, which was History, my new friends and I walked up two flights of stairs to the Greek/Latin room. Greek and Latin are taught by the same teacher, and Latin should be one of my easier (ha!) classes because I have studied it for two years and everyone else is starting this year. That's not to say that it will be an easy class -- just one of the easier ones. Finally, it was time for "recreo" aka break; this basically consists of eating a snack and talking with friends for a half hour. During this time, my friends took it upon themselves to introduce me to a few people, then explained to me that everyone here is in a similar position to me -- because Spanish students change schools for the Bacheloriato, most of them don't know many people in the school yet (basically, everyone is the "new kid," it's not just me). Once break ended we moved into the library for (I think) Spanish literature. The teacher for that class seems really worried about my level of Spanish compared to the difficulty of her class, and has asked an English teacher to work with me on my Spanish a few days of the week during her  class (yay!). At 12:45 we moved back into the same classroom I had History in, and had Science (which Ana doesn't think I'm supposed to have), then Philosophy.

Once the final bell rang, I chatted with some friends for a few minutes, then went to meet Salvador at the front of the school. He then walked me over to the bus stop, talked to the bus driver about where my stop was, then waved goodbye as I stepped onto the bus. Unfortunately, as I am the only person to get off at my stop (and I didn't know where that stop was), the bus driver forgot to stop and had to circle back once he'd reached the end of the route to take me home.

All was okay, though, because I did get home. Ana had lunch waiting for me (spaghetti with cream sauce and salad), then I went and took a long and needed nap.

School is going to be difficult, but I think I can do it. I might not be able to pass all my classes (especially Philosophy and Science) but I think I can do well-ish in English and Latin, at least. Basically, I'm going to do what I can and try not to stress about it -- I am going to enjoy this year, learn Spanish, make friends, and do my best.

I hope everyone at home is doing well :) Miss you all!
Love from Marbella,
Shona

The Train

I wrote this while attempting to watch Spanish TV, so I apologize if it's terrible. This isn't my usual narrative writing style, and I'm not sure if I like it. Hopefully it gives you a view of a few minutes of my trip to Madrid. Enjoy!

I'm sitting on the train home from Madrid. My feet are scrunched up on the seat next to me, slowly encroaching into Cj's spot -- personal space is quick to disappear between exchange students -- and Christine's arm is reaching across the table to snag the water bottle from my hand. Charissa has just returned from the bathroom to find her seat occupied by Cj's feet, but shows little qualms about shoving him out of her way. As I watch the countryside pass by, my heart swells with the friendship I feel towards the people sitting next to me; although I have only known them a few days, I cannot help but think we have been friends forever. At this thought, I smirk at myself - it is such a cheesy thing to think, but I feel that way nonetheless. Christine laughs, a big smile spreading across her Katherine Heigl-estque face, breaking my train of thought, "It's so funny to watch people look out the window," she says, and everyone turns to stare at me, "your eyes wander with no sense of direction." Glares from our across-the-aisle neighbors quickly turn our spirited laughter into quiet, behind-the-hands giggles and some typical teenage eye rolls (not in the view of our neighbors, of course!). From the way we're laughing, I can tell we're all exhausted: the giggling is a bit excessive, even for us. The laughter finally ceases and our eyes fall to the movie screens above; without headphones to listen with, we attempt to understand the movie, Tower Heist, from the Spanish subtitles which fly off the screen as soon as they appear. Christine understands some of the words, but it's Cj who can explain the movie best -- he's seen it, in English, before. All too soon, the movie holds little interest -- lack of sleep from the past couple nights is finally catching up to all of us. Christine is leaning on the window, eyes closed, "I've only had one cup of coffee today, that's eleven short of normal." On Christine's left, Charissa is texting her host parents, "Is this how you say we will arrive in Spanish?" she asks as she hands the phone to Christine, trying to figure out how we are getting home from the train station. Cj's head slowly moves to the table, and I can tell he is fighting the urge to fall asleep -- we all are. By now, I've turned myself around so that I'm leaning up against him, with my head resting on the seat. The slow lull of the train is calming and peaceful and I can feel my eyes start to go heavy; as I let them close, I think of my friends and family (both new and old) and feel, simply, happy.

 Charissa, Cj, and Christine "en tren."

Madrid Train Station

Cj is your typical 16 year old baseball player -- except he's really, really tall.

Christine is super smart and drinks more coffee that I ever thought humanely possible.

Crazy Charissa! The oldest of us all, she's always smiling!

I'm still loving Marbella, and will post more about my trip to Madrid soon!

Love from Marbella,

Shona

A Few Days in the Life of Me :)

Wow. This blog has over 1,000 views - I knew that there were people interested in what I was doing, but to have only written five posts (this will be the sixth) and have gained that many views... it's an honor I could never have imagined. Not only am I amazed by the views, but also by my worldwide audience -- people are reading my blog from Japan, Argentina, France, Italy, Germany, Russia, Switzerland, Spain, and, of course, the United States. It means so much to me that my words have reached so many different people, so many different places. Basically, I just want to say thank you to everyone out there who is reading this blog!

When I last posted, I had just gotten over being sick; I'm all better now :) On Thursday I met Vanessa Lusa, another Rotary Youth Exchange student living in Marbella, and accompanied her and her parents on a tour around Marbella. My host mom had already given me a similar tour around the city, but it was incredibly interesting to see Marbella from someone else's point of view (plus my Spanish has drastically improved over the last two weeks, so I understood much more of Vanessa's parents explanations of the city). Vanessa is a sweet, always smiling sixteen-year-old from a small town in Connecticut. Her Spanish is about ten times better than mine -- she studied it in school for three years before coming here (hmmm, why didn't I think of that!). Still, I have a two-week's advantage when it comes to the slang and common words here; it's very satisfying when she turns to me to explain or translate a word (usually it's the other way around). She's also writing a blog, so if anyone wants another view of Marbella visit http://vanessall.blogspot.com.es/2012/09/beaches-and-much-more.html.

On Friday I went with Ana, my host mom, to her work. She is a teacher, but school hasn't started yet so  she has a much shorter work day filled with meetings. While she sat in meeting after meeting, I helped the counsellors in the office with their filing, then went into the schools library and attempted to read some Spanish books. 

Saturday morning I was up bright and early (8 o'clock haha) to go to Bolonia with Vanessa, her host mom, and her host cousins. Bolonia is in Andalusia, like Marbella, but it is on the other side of Gibraltar (on the Atlantic coast). Bolonia is famous for two reasons: firstly for its beautiful sand dune beaches, second for the Roman ruins. Lucky me, I got to visit both in one day! 

The Roman ruins are in the process of going from an archeological dig site to a museum: in some places you can watch the archeologists digs artifacts from the dirt (which I find really cool!). Because I've studied Latin and ancient Roman culture, I was really excited to be walking on the same stones that Roman colonists walked on around two thousand years ago (!!). We walked around a temple dedicated to the god Osiris, who is actually an Egyptian god, but whom the Romans in this area dedicated their homes to. Houses, aqueducts, public baths, a forum; everything that I've studied in school was there before my eyes! I even got to walk through a Roman theater, touch Roman statues, and (attempt) to read Latin inscriptions. 

After spending an hour or so in the ruins we made our way to the beach. Unlike the beaches in Marbella, the sand in Bolonia is incredibly fine. There are seashells here and there, and the dunes are worth walking up. After a good long swim in the not-so-warm water, Vanessa and I ran along the coastline until, BOOM, we arrived (unknowingly) at a very, very nude beach. Trying not to laugh too hard, we took some photos at the beautiful rocks (which stick out of the water like knives) then headed back to stuff. Our lunch consisted of sandwiches, fruit, and melting chocolate cookies. Vanessa unsuccessfully tried to teach me how to do a cartwheel, but, upon realizing her attempts were futile, we made our way up the beautiful dunes. It was such a great day -- lots of laughter and goofing around with her host cousins (a 5-year-old boy and a 9-year-old girl) -- I was absolutely exhausted when I got home!

Sunday morning Ana, Salvador and I went to the AAA (the animal shelter); the shelter was hosting a fundraiser fiesta and Salvador was making paella to sell. I helped Salvador to make the paella, then got to walk around the vendor booths - so many people donated clothes, books, jewelry, food, etc.! I was surprised by the vast amount of people who turned up -- the people in Marbella (both tourists and natives alike) really care about the animals.

A little before three, Salvador and I returned back to the house; he had to get to work and I had to change for the movies. One of the teachers at Ana's school has a fifteen-year-old daughter who invited me to go to the movies with her. We went to see Step Up -- it's the second time I have been to the movies, and again I was surprised by how much of the storyline I could understand. Even if I cannot comprehend each and every word, the theme, characters, and plot was easy to decipher. It was a fun night, and it's always good to meet new people.

Today was a relatively relaxing day; my host parents and I did a little bit of shopping and Ana showed me how to use the bus system in Marbella. Now I'm writing this blog! On Thursday I am going to Madrid for Spain's Rotary Exchange Student Orientation; I'm incredibly excited to see the city and to meet all the other exchange students!

Just a quick note -- in one of my earlier blogs I said my Rotary counsellor's name was Linda, but it's actually Nina :) sorry Nina!!

I hope everyone at home is doing great -- I miss you all but am enjoying my time here!!

As always,

Love from Marbella,

Shona

Estamos Perdidos

Sorry too all of you worried about the fires; the ones near my house have been clear for the past couple days. We didn't have to evacuate, although it certainly came close to that! I've been sick for the past couple of days, hence the lack of a blog.

On Saturday, Salvador and I woke up early (8 o'clock) to go on a hike with two of his friends. We drove for about an hour to a pueblo called Juzcar, which is famous for it's bright blue buildings. In a promotion for the Smurf movie that came out a year or so ago, an entire Spanish pueblo (typically famous for their whitewash buildings) was painted Smurf blue. From what I had gathered about Salvador and his friends, they were experienced hikers who enjoyed hiking along ancient paths. For this hike, which they had never attempted before, Salvador and his friends were using a book written by their friend which describes (with words, not pictures) some of the ancient pictures. As we left Juzcar, I was excited to get some exercise and to see more of Spain; part of that excitement quickly dissipated, however, when, still on the roads out of Juzcar, Salvador and his friends were arguing, passing the book around, trying to decide whether we should take the right path or the left path. We were barely five minutes into our hike and already had no idea where we were going. Finally, they decided on left, and we were on our way. The trees and plants we passed were so similar to home, oak trees, grapes, fig trees, blackberry bushes -- I could have sworn we were hiking through California! We crossed a beautiful river that, at the moment, had very little water; apparently the water level raises so much during the winter that it can be a dangerous river to cross! About ten minutes after we passed the river, there was a disagreement about the direction again. Salvador kept looking at me and saying "We are lost" -- not exactly the most comforting thing to say to a girl out in the wilderness with men she has just met. After a bit of discussion, I was told to sit down with on of the men while Salvador went walking in one direction and his friend went the other. They both returned after about 10 minutes, and they discussed whose path was correct. Eventually, we continued on. We were "lost" with the same process about five or six times in the entire hike, sometimes turning back on ourselves, bushwhacking, or splitting up.  The hike itself was relatively easy, but by the time we made it to our destination (another pueblo) it had taken us three and a half hours to do an hour and a half hike! I was exhausted! After eating some lunch at a local cafe, Salvador and I wandered the pueblo while his two friends hiked all the way back (this time not getting lost) and then drove the car to pick us up. At that point, I was starting to show signs of a fever - chills, exhaustion, paleness, etc.

That night I was very sick -- hot and cold spells and a terrible fever. I won't go into the details, but I was sick for a good two days, barely able to eat anything, sleeping most of the day, and just feeling poorly. By Monday evening, I was starting to feel better, although I still didn't want to eat anything my host parents put in front of me -- it was all fish lathered in butter and oil. Comfort food to them, but not so much for me. On Tuesday, I went to spend the day with my Rotary counsellor, who is from Denmark and speaks fluent English. She helped me to understand that I was most likely sick because my body was rejecting all the different food, especially because I come from a home where we eat many vegetables and everything is fresh but here most things are really rich and/or fried, with very few vegetables. Not to mention they they buy milk that doesn't have to be refrigerated and will last more than a year (!!! yikes!). My counsellor, however, believes in organic and fresh foods; for lunch we went out to a New York style restaurant famed for it's use of organic and local food, and for dinner she and I cooked a wonderful meal: rosemary chicken in foil in the oven, spinach, potatoes, and salad.

When she took me home, my counsellor explained to Ana that I might need to eat some simpler foods for a little while; she emphasized less fish/seafood and more vegetables.

Today I spent the day with my host aunts (my host father's two sisters). They were incredibly nice; only one spoke some English, but she only used it when necessary -- we had most of our conversations in Spanish! Together, we walked around Puerto Banus, which is well-known around here as a place that the wealthy park their yachts. There are many expensive designer stores on the waterfront and expensive cars clutter the streets. Eventually we made our way to lunch, where my host cousin joined us for lunch; I had a caesar salad (trying to stick to "normal" foods until I'm feeling 100%) and they shared different types of tapas - fried and breaded white fish and fried pork, both with fries. After lunch, we went to "la Canada," the biggest shopping center in Marbella, to window shop. On our way back home, my host aunt popped into a bakery and bought some pastries to share with Ana and Salvador.

It's been a long couple of days, but I'm finally started to feel better! Hopefully I remembered all the important things about my weekend -- if anyone has any questions, feel free to ask!!

I miss home!
Love from Marbella,
Shona

Frozen Pasta

Yesterday I got another taste of what Marbella life is like; my host parents and I went my Rotary counsellor Linda's home to discuss my stay here in Spain. Linda is about 60, and is married adult children. Her home is much different from mine, where my house is simple in its beauty, Linda's home is decorated in many different colors; art pieces, rugs, and flowers everywhere! Unlike my host home, her house has a pool and many up to date appliances. Both she and her husband speak English (they are originally from Finland, I believe) and are incredibly kind. Ana starts work this week, so I will spend a couple of days with Linda at her home :).

After meeting with Linda, my host parents and I went to the supermarket to do the week's shopping. By far the weirdest thing I saw was the frozen pasta -- I had always considered pasta to be one of the easiest things to cook, but apparently it isn't easy/fast enough for some of the people here... Lol. Everything else in the store was mostly recognizable - they have a larger variety of meats but less fresh fruits and vegetables than California.

On a much darker note, the sky here is filled with ashes - everything smells and tastes of smoke. The fires are getting much closer, and the neighborhood next to ours has been called to evacuate. Many of the roads into the mountains are closing, and some of the people in our neighborhood have taken their pets and valuables with them to a safer location. Ana and I are still at the house, Salvador is at work. There is a constant noise of helicopters and planes overhead carrying water to the fires and the sirens of emergency vehicles on the roads. Ana does not seem to think we will need to evacuate, but I am uncertain as to what exactly is going on. I really wish I knew more Spanish right now -- it would be calming to understand more of the situation!! At the moment, though, I am safe and I trust Ana to do what is right.

Love from Marbella,
Shona

Fitting In

I'm finally settling into life in Marbella; staying up late and waking up late, eating a big lunch and smaller dinner, going out with friends until after dark... it's starting to get easier to feel at home here.

I was warned that it can take months to meet and make friends, but I am lucky in that I have already found some people who I think I can call friends. The people in Spain are mostly very nice, and they welcome me into their lives without a second thought. Spending so much time listening and conversing in Spanish has helped my speaking skills very much. I know so much more Spanish now than I did when I stepped onto the plane -- it is amazing how quickly you can learn when you are immersed in the language. That is no to say that I speak Spanish very well, but I understand quite a bit and can say enough to get my thoughts across (most of the time). Also, English is a mandatory class in Spain's public high schools, so all the teenagers know at least a little English. I find it much easier to try out my Spanish when I am around friends, rather than my host parents. My host parents switch right to English whenever they don't understand what I am trying to say in Spanish, and expect me to do the same. My friends are more helpful with the Spanish and patiently wait for me to figure out what I am trying to say. Also, they will correct me if my Spanish is wrong, unlike my host parents who just go along with what I am saying, or they switch to English.

Today I was invited to my host Rotary club's lunch meeting, which takes place every Wednesday at 2:00 PM in a very nice restaurant. The food - salad, salmon and mashed potatoes, and cream puffs -- was excellent and the people are very friendly. I am lucky, I think, to have a good host club!

I can feel my English skills rapidly disappearing. For some reason that I cannot explain I add an accent and am less grammatically correct when I speak in English to the people here. Hopefully my writing is still okay (?) haha.

I hope this blog is living up to expectations -- if there is anything that anyone is curious about, comment, send me a message on facebook or email, or ask my parents to mention it to me -- I would be happy to answer anyone's questions!

Love from Marbella,
Shona

Nuevo Vida

It is amazing to me how different and similar two places can be. For example, in Marbella, the weather is very similar to Pleasanton, but there is no air-conditioning. Seeing things I recognize often remind me of home, which can be both a comfort and a sad reminder of what I have left behind. Whenever that happens, I try to focus on all the amazing new things around me. One of my favorite things so far is the incredible colors all over Marbella; the center of the old town, especially, is full of color -- brightly painted buildings, clothes, foods, and plants are everywhere!

Yesterday I went to the beach for the first time - my host mom, dad, grandma, and great aunt and I spent hours sitting on the beach, in the water (which is much colder than I expected, apparently it gets much warmer around September), and walking up and down the shore. When we came back home we watched a movie - it was originally filmed in German but was over-voiced in Spanish. I had a hard time following the story and ended up falling asleep half way through.

According to my host dad, families in Marbella traditionally spend Sunday at the beach and then go home and cook Paella together, which is exactly what my host family did! Paella is delicious - I was surprised that one of the ingredients is yellow food coloring (traditionally used saffron), it adds no flavor but is an important part of the dish.

Today I was much more quiet than usual - I didn't sleep much last night because of jetlag and therefore don't really have the energy to attempt spanish conversation. My host parents tend to speak to me in English more than I expected - sometimes it is frustrating when they speak only in English. I find it most helpful when they talk slowly in spanish, then I can ask them to explain in english the words I don't know (I haven't quite figured out how to explain this to them).

I'm beginning to settle into my life here, but can't help but miss life in California (especially when its very hot with no air conditioning!) I miss everyone at home very much!!!

Love from Marbella,
Shona

To Live will be an Awfully Big Adventure

When I was a little girl, I used to dream about flying away to NeverNeverLand with Peter Pan. I would often be conflicted in my dreams, trying to decide between adventures and the safety of my parents and my home. Yesterday morning, I made the decision to leave my parents, my friends, and my home and left on my very own adventure.

The early decision-making process was relatively simple: did I want to go live in a foreign country? yes! did I want to learn another language? yes! did I want to meet new people? yes! But when it actually came down to saying goodbye, I was in total denial of my departure. As I walked towards security and my parents and siblings told me they loved me and would miss me, it was difficult to hold back the tears. 

My flight was the easy part; I could focus my energy on keeping myself safe and getting to where I needed to be. Landing in Malaga was at first intimidating but turned out to be uncomplicated. Granted, I was quite worried when my phone didn't get any service and Ana and Salvador were nowhere to be seen. The five minutes of waiting for them, not knowing what I would do if they didn't show up, were incredibly nerve-wracking. But when they finally arrived, all was well. We got in the car, and I was treated to the exquisite scenery of Malaga and Marbella on our 25 mile drive to their home.

I don't know if it is visible from Google Earth, but right across the highway from my house is a giant CocaCola Can. My neighborhood is beautiful, with many white or brightly colored homes. Blue tile, which reminds me of the Pacific Palisades, where my grandparent's live, is everywhere, especially in my house. There is a garden which wraps around the entire house, with many cherry tomatoes that remind me of home. Most of the plants here are very similar to those in California - fig trees, tomato plants, squash, melon, pumpkins, mint, lemon trees. I have a medium sized room, with a bed, desk, and large closet (yay!) plus my own bathroom (!!).

Sitting down for some breakfast (here consisting mostly of coffee and biscuits) I started to tear up. It finally hit me that I was going to be living here for a whole year, and would be away from my family for so long. As excited as I was, my exhaustion, stress, and homesickness overtook me for the first time.  I felt terrible for Ana and Salvador - they welcomed me into their home and were so nice, and all I could do was cry. 

After I had unpacked and showered, Ana and I went into central Marbella. WOW. So many colors decorate the walls, streets, and shops. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. Part of the town is centered around an old Islamic castle that was built in the 11th century. Many of the buildings which are now Catholic churches were originally mosques. To accompany the history and culture, however, there are the tourists. Germans, Italians, British, Russian; it's hard to tell where the natives are! 

For lunch, Ana and I had tapas at a restaurant downtown; meatballs, tuna salad, pork in a tomato sause, and a potato pie sort of thing. It was all delicious!

When we got back home, Ana wanted me to take a nap. I slept for a couple of hours, then we went to the animal shelter where she volunteers. I was incredibly homesick seeing all the dogs, and had a difficult time holding back tears the whole time we were there. Then we came back home, had a delicious pasta with olives, tomatoes, and anchovies (I didn't like the anchovies very much). Portion sizes here are really big - Ana was worried I didn't like the food but I was so full that I couldn't eat it all. Not sure what to do in that situation :/. 

At some point, I will start taking pictures and putting them on Facebook.

Hope everyone at home is doing good. I miss you all very much!

Love from Marbella,

Shona