Right before vacation started, my school had two days of "fiesta" where it wasn't obligatory to go, but if you did you could play games all day and be with your friends. My class set up some fundraising games in our class room to help us earn money for our end of the year class trip to Santander. We sold cookies and had karaoke competitions, almost all the students from the younger grades rushed into our classroom. It was jam-packed and really fun!
I started my break by going to one of my families villages a little over an hour away from Madrid. We stayed there with my host grandparents, played lots of board games, and ate lots of typical Spanish Christmas candies. On Christmas Eve I went to a beautiful old church with my host family. I really enjoyed the service, and hope that I can go again the next time we are in the village. Christmas was really different this year for me. It was a nice day and I had a great big dinner with my host family, but it didn't seem to me like anything really different from the normal vacation day. I did however watch a lot of "Little House on the Prairie" (in Spanish, of course).
The day after Christmas my host family drove me to the airport and I left on a very special trip to Zurich, Switzerland to visit some cousins of mine until the 3rd of January. I had such an amazing time! (Thank you Jill, Gilad, Gerald, and Yasmine! Miss you guys!) While there I went to the movies (in English) which I really liked and also to a museum! My cousins and I cooked, and played, hung out together, and spent lots of time in their new hot tub jacuzzi.
We also had a really great time on New Years Eve. We all went out to a delicious Chinese restaurant with some of their friends and had a full ten course meal, plus dessert and fortune cookies (in Swiss-German). After eating my cousins and I went downstairs and did some bowling. Then we went back to their house, changed into some warm comfortable clothes, and went to the center of Horgen to see the fireworks!
On the morning of the 3rd I got up nice and early and my cousins and I took the train to the airport, we say goodbyes and I returned back to Madrid. The rest of my vacation I was back at my host house in Torrejon with my family. Wednesday, January 6th was like what I think of an American Christmas. It the "Dia de los reyes" or in other words "The Kings Day". 'The kings' are just like 'Santa' they come and bring the kids presents and on the day of the 6th you wake up with presents under the Christmas tree to open. It was such a nice day for me! I got some gifts from my host family and gave them some things from Maine! Later on in the day I went to Madrid to have a sleepover with my friend, another American exchange student. We had lots of fun, and when I came back the next day I got to help my family make some American pancakes from the mix and Maine maple syrup I got them. I think they really liked it!
We were supposed to start school this Monday, but instead... MIRALE! We had a snow day! I was so happy I wouldn't stop grinning all day. The night before on my walk home with my friends from a futbol game the snow "storm" started and we had a snow ball fight. Everyone attacked me, underestimating my skills, but I got everyone back in the end. I guess they forgot that I'm from Maine, and anything dealing with snow is my expertise!
Well, now I'm back in school getting into the groove of things again. All is well here, and I hope that everyone has had a nice vacation and a happy new year.
Wishing you a year of health and happiness..
Xoxo Hana
Sounds like you are having the experience of a lifetime Hana. Glad to hear everything is going well for you. I will look forward to seeing you when you return. Take care of yourself
ReplyDeleteAlly xo