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