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