Another Home

There's a dart board on the righthand wall, three green and three red darts stuck nicely in place, holes on the surrounding wall memories of games long over. I'm curled up on a blue, green, and yellow checkered futon, a fuzzy blanket wrapped around my legs and toes. The room is just warm enough that I don't need to get up and turn on the heater that is nicely placed in the center of the room; I can imagine the whirring of it's fan, the heat radiating in my direction, and the slight blinking of the red light that would constantly catch my eye. My school books are stacked (mostly) neatly in the corner, and my head aches just the tiniest bit as I think of my science exam this Friday. I wonder if I can hear the quiet footsteps of my host dad coming through the door; it is him, he shouts "Hola" down the stairs and turns back out the door to take the dog for a walk. "Ding" goes my laptop, signaling a Facebook message and causing me to grin involuntarily. A cootie catcher sits on a shelf to my left, surrounded by CDs, DVDs, cords, pens, and other nicknacks; it reminds me of Callie and the countless times she's asked me to "pick a color" (or a number, or an animal, etc.). I miss California, but I already feel at home in my new family. It feels fantastic to be welcomed here with such open arms, not just by my host parents but also by the grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. I'm looking forward to the wonderful months to come, and am, quite simply, happy.

Moving Day

Well, I've moved! Woke up this morning at 8:30, finished up packing, cleaned my room, and ate my last breakfast in Campos household! Well, I had a cup of coffee, was feeling a little too nervous to eat much of anything. **Shout out to Christian for talking me through my nerves this morning, thank you!!*** Nina rang the doorbell at 11:00 sharp, and Ana and Salvador helped me load all my things into the car. After many "thank you"s and hugs goodbye, I hopped in the car and was on my way to my new host family. Though I was sad to leave my old host family and the comfort I had found in my life there, I was looking forward to getting to know Mamen and Patricio (my new host parents) better; they had been hosting Vanessa for the past five months so I had spent plenty of time in their home and company. In typical Mamen fashion, I was greeted immediately with a hug and "dos besitos," not to mention huge smiles and even a "bienvenida" sign by the front door.

 After carrying my belongings upstairs, my new host parents, Nina, Pentti (Nina's partner) and I sat down in the living room to discuss life in my new house. After going over house rules, chores, questions, and quirks, Nina and Pentti left and I went upstairs to unpack my things! Though it took me a little while to figure out where to put things, I eventually got all my clothes and "stuff" to fit (thank goodness!!).

  We lunched on (can I say that? or is that not a phrase? sorry, my English is deteriorating at an incredibly alarming rate!) a delicious spaghetti bolognese, lettuce with cheese dressing, followed by a pear and some ice cream cake (sorry mom, totally forgot to take photos! next time I promise to remember). After lunch, my host dad helped me set up the internet on my electronic devices, and I made my way down to the den to get some homework done (and write this blog). I already feel quite comfortable here, which is a wonderful feeling. My new host parents are wonderful and I can't wait to become part of their family!

kitchen

 kitchen

my bedroom

 neatly stacked books and random belongings

 the "den"

no matter where I am... there's always homework to do

Sending Love from Marbella,
Shonabell

A Jumbling of Thoughts

There are so many things running through my head that it's hard enough to keep them straight without trying to coordinate them into coherent phrases. Not to mention that spelling in English has become obnoxiously difficult (I just spelt coherent as "coherant" and obnoxiously as "abnoxiously" -- thank goodness for spellcheck).

My room is a mess, clothes strewn all over the couch, a half-packed suitcase and unused boxes covering the floor. In the corner a pile of boxes sit, leaning precariously to one side waiting for the right breeze to blow them all over. It won't be my room for much longer, but by then I will have erased my presence from every wall, every shelf, every corner. I wonder if my host brother will, when he comes home, be able to feel any remnants of my five month stay here. Most likely I will never know.

The blue Rotary blazer hangs on my door, decorated in pins and dripping with keychains. A constant reminder that this year is more than just a year of my life, each time I see my jacket I feel the need to go out, experience more, and make the most of this every-so-quickly fleeting year.

I never would have thought I could go this long without a haircut; my hair falls down in it's usual not-quite-straight, not-quite-curly fashion, and I can't wait for summer to turn me blonde once more. 

Marbella is beautiful and sunny, and my host dad keeps complaining that winter seems to have already passed us by. Myself, I'm fully enjoying the sunshine and looking forward to wearing shorts again. That, and being able to go and lie out on the beach :).

Things seem to be moving forward: I've made more friends recently, which should help my Spanish improve. My teachers are expecting more of me this trimester than they did in the last one; I'm glad they think my Spanish is improving, but I very much enjoyed the relaxing aspect of these past four months. Looking back at the beginning of the year, when I had to use google translate to understand the textbook, I'm incredibly proud of how far my Spanish has come. I may not even have to try much harder and my grades will still continue improving (one of the pros of being an exchange student).

For those of you waiting to hear more news about the mysterious blue-eyed boy, I'm sorry to disappoint but my life has taken a turn in a different (but still very cliché-movie-moment-esque) direction.

I'm finding it very hard not to laugh in my Spanish Literature class at the moment: my teacher has taken to using a microphone in class. No one is exactly sure why she does it, but she's a bit frightening so we're all to afraid to ask. She also wants me to start writing essays for her, but in English. Though I've tried to explain to her that I'd rather do it in Spanish and receive no scores for her class (I don't need credit for the course), either I'm not doing a good job getting my point across or she's just ignoring what I'm saying. I've talked to some of the other teachers about it, and they said they would talk to her for me.

Just the other day I sent in my confirmation for Spain's Rotary Trip; we get to travel through southern Spain, go to the world conference in Lisbon, and then make our way up through Portugal. I'm sure you'll hear much more about it as I get closer to the trip, which is in June.

Well folks, that's pretty much all the stuff bouncing around in my brain at the moment. I switch host families on Friday, so look for a post about that in a week or so. I hope everyone at home is doing well and enjoying being back to school.

I miss you all!
Love from Marbella,
Shonabell

The Magic of A Pink Unicorn Balloon

Children run through Marbella's streets, plastic bags flying behind them like parachutes. The sound of their laughter is mixed with the slip-slap of wind as it catches the bags.  I can sense the excitement in the air. A group of four children grab hands and twirl together; one girl looses her bag and her friends scramble after it, the excitement in their eyes shining brighter than any of the twinkle lights that adorn the trees and street lamps.

A grandfather bends down across the street from me and takes the hand of a young boy, whom I presume to be his grandson. They exchange secret smiles and lean their heads into the street, both straining for a glimpse of the oncoming parade. There's a tenderness in his gesture that seems to emanate through the throngs of people that line Marbella's streets. Everyone has come out for this important day: the old, the young, even the I'm-too-cool-teenagers have managed to show up. My eyes meander through the people and I notice the typical Spanish tradition of stoppin and talking to everyone you know. One woman, in her elderly years, walks down the street with what I assume is her family. Every few feet, she stops to greet someone: a child, an adult, a girl, a boy. Each person she calls out to smiles at her approach and greets her as an old friend; a kiss on each cheek and a catch up on life.

My attention drifts to the balloons that every other child seems to cling to. I see their mothers glance worryingly upwards every few seconds, as if nervous that the balloon will disappear and their child's special day will be ruined. I feel a sudden urge to buy a balloon, wishing that it would lift me off the ground and take me back to my childhood. There's a part of me that aches terribly to laugh freely like these children that run around me, to have their freedom of thought and their honest trust in the magic of the world.

Suddenly, a quiet hush comes over the street. I can hear it, just barely, the magical whisper that has begun to fill the air, "vienen ya." The words echo through the crowd, bringing smiles to their faces and causing the children to rush to their parents sides, plastic bags open and at the ready. Anticipation is building, the thrum of drums is coming from some place not so far away.

A cheer! Children rush gleefully to see the floats pass by, tugging their parents along behind them. As if reminiscing the days of their youth, the grandparents seem to glance amongst each other knowingly. My camera goes "click click" as I snap photos of the beautiful parade; I take a deep breath and let all my inhibitions go.

Los Reyes are here, and I am smiling.