All the little markers have pointed to its passing... 2007 transitioning into 2008, marking off 152 out of 304 days, and now, this week, changing host families: My exchange is halfway over!
It amazes me, if I stop and think about it. I can hardly believe that this is what I was so nervous about back in August- the passing of 10 months just seemed so.... painstakingly... slow...
Now that I'm in it, now that half of it has gone by, I wish I'd done some things differently! I wish I hadn't worried so much about it, and I wish I had made the very most of my first months. Even though I was really busy, I still have this feeling like I wish I'd done more. Mayb I would have had this feeling regardless. Who knows.
The first months were really a blast. I got to spend a TON of time at the beach; I counted it up last night and between mid-November and now, I spent about 20 days at the beach. I also spent a ton of time at school, of course. As an exchange student, school feels like a blessing instead of a burden. For me, it was an opportunity to meet people I could go out with instead of sitting home. It was also a perfect environment to practice Spanish, both speaking it with classmates and working on my ear for it while teachers gave lectures. Plus, I learned a thing or two- actually, I learned a lot, not just in classes like Ethics, National Reality, and Psychology, but also in English: rules on grammar and word order and even spelling that they learned as basic steps to speaking that, because I grew up speaking it, I was never formally taught.
I also got in with a fantastic host family, one that took me in truly as a member of the family. I'll be sad to be leaving them soon! My next family is very different; for one, the host siblings are younger than me, instead of older. The house is inside a gated community called Stella Mar, and it has a pool and a gym that are accessible to residents, so I can busy myself during this long break from school. It should be really interesting. I just hope it all goes well.
The next 5 months supposedly go really fast. That worries me! But I'm pretty sure that when I leave here in June, it will not be forever. I'd love to come back and visit when I get older, maybe even get a house here. It just has a peaceful, slow pace. Especially on the beach. I guess you'd have to see it for yourself!
The next few weeks are going to be busy for sure. I have my family change, then I have to give my presentation to Rotary, and then we have the option of going to the Amazon for a few days in February. Exciting stuff...!
28 January, 2008
11 January, 2008
It's good to be on vacation...
A short background note: because Guayaquil is just south of the equator, and because we're on the coast, the summertime is relatively cold, meaning low 70's, and the wintertime is a little warmer, up to around 95.
Due to these two factors, the school schedule is different here than it is in the United States-Even different than in the mountainous regions that don't have the same type of rainy season.
So... Today was my last day of school! I'm on winter vacation until April, when I will go back as a senior [ FINALLY going to rule the school :) ] until my return home in June!
Aside from that, we [the exchange students] are starting to settle into a fairly normal rhythm; that is, Spanish classes are over, we've done our sightseeing, our Spanish is much improved, and we've been here for- wow!- 5 months. This settling-in has been gradual since we got here, but now that it's more or less over, now that we know our way around the city and have memorized important phone numbers and know when a cabbie is ripping us off, I, for one, am starting to feel boredom- Not in the sense that I'm bored, per se, but more that I'm not so easily thrilled anymore. It's a good thing, for sure! But it's important in this period to keep busy [which makes summer vacation a mixed blessing], because homesickness is also a lot more likely when we're vegetating with our iPods or our telenovelas on TV.
The saddest even we've had as of late is Liz's departure: Liz is an Australian exchange student who, since she's also from south of the equator, was on a January-January year as opposed to an August-July year, like many of us are. Her going away party was Tuesday, and she will be greatly missed. She's been a great influence on us all: Never broke the rules, bonded deep-down with her host family, stayed involved in school, and really enjoyed speaking Spanish. I remember meeting her in August and thinking that she was the kind of exchange student I'd hoped to be. We wish her the best down undah!
That's about it. I'm happy, healthy, and about halfway back to Albany- Tuesday marks 5 months down, less than 5 to go!
Due to these two factors, the school schedule is different here than it is in the United States-Even different than in the mountainous regions that don't have the same type of rainy season.
So... Today was my last day of school! I'm on winter vacation until April, when I will go back as a senior [ FINALLY going to rule the school :) ] until my return home in June!
Aside from that, we [the exchange students] are starting to settle into a fairly normal rhythm; that is, Spanish classes are over, we've done our sightseeing, our Spanish is much improved, and we've been here for- wow!- 5 months. This settling-in has been gradual since we got here, but now that it's more or less over, now that we know our way around the city and have memorized important phone numbers and know when a cabbie is ripping us off, I, for one, am starting to feel boredom- Not in the sense that I'm bored, per se, but more that I'm not so easily thrilled anymore. It's a good thing, for sure! But it's important in this period to keep busy [which makes summer vacation a mixed blessing], because homesickness is also a lot more likely when we're vegetating with our iPods or our telenovelas on TV.
The saddest even we've had as of late is Liz's departure: Liz is an Australian exchange student who, since she's also from south of the equator, was on a January-January year as opposed to an August-July year, like many of us are. Her going away party was Tuesday, and she will be greatly missed. She's been a great influence on us all: Never broke the rules, bonded deep-down with her host family, stayed involved in school, and really enjoyed speaking Spanish. I remember meeting her in August and thinking that she was the kind of exchange student I'd hoped to be. We wish her the best down undah!
That's about it. I'm happy, healthy, and about halfway back to Albany- Tuesday marks 5 months down, less than 5 to go!
04 January, 2008
2008....
2008is here and we've hit the ground running. My host family and I spent midnight on the beach in Salinas with thousands of people throwing confetti, popping champagne and lighting fireworks and all that. We made a short video to send to Diego in Germany and then one to send home to my dad. It was nice to have everyone put in like that. We burned a "viejo", a papier-mache doll that represents the year that's passing and all the regrets or unhappy events of the year before. From there I went out with my friends and we had an absolute blast on the boardwalk until 5 AM. New Year's night was only part of a perfect beach weekend, relaxing, sunning, riding on one of those banana boats until it flipped and we all got soaked, drinking banana smoothies, and doing typical girly teenage things.
Since I got home I've been paying my post-beach dues, picking at a bad sunburn and trying to catch up on laundry. I checked in on school today, talked with my teachers whose final exams I was worried about and even took the first final of the weeklong testing-got a 95% in history. If only I could get credit for it back home...
Other than that, time is moving along as usual. I'm so close to halfway done, I can smell it. School ends in a week, and at the end of the month, I change to my new host family, the Stacy family, with a mom, dad, brother [13] and sister [8] in a gated community further into the city, but still on the outskirts. Their current exchange daughter, Karlijn, will come to my house. I'm going to miss my family but I'll also be glad to change.
61 days until I turn 18... The excitement is building...
[EDIT] PS: Here's some photos!
Karlijn, me, Nils, and Eden on the equator!
Trip to Quito, 15/12/2007
Nia and I shopping for Viejo dolls on a street named "March 6th"- My birthday!
25/12/007
Nia and I during the gift exchange, around midnight
25/12/2007
Christmas dinner: Nia, Marco, Abuela, Marco Antonio way in the back, me, and Mirta
That's it for now. More soon!
Since I got home I've been paying my post-beach dues, picking at a bad sunburn and trying to catch up on laundry. I checked in on school today, talked with my teachers whose final exams I was worried about and even took the first final of the weeklong testing-got a 95% in history. If only I could get credit for it back home...
Other than that, time is moving along as usual. I'm so close to halfway done, I can smell it. School ends in a week, and at the end of the month, I change to my new host family, the Stacy family, with a mom, dad, brother [13] and sister [8] in a gated community further into the city, but still on the outskirts. Their current exchange daughter, Karlijn, will come to my house. I'm going to miss my family but I'll also be glad to change.
61 days until I turn 18... The excitement is building...
[EDIT] PS: Here's some photos!
Karlijn, me, Nils, and Eden on the equator!
Trip to Quito, 15/12/2007
Nia and I shopping for Viejo dolls on a street named "March 6th"- My birthday!
25/12/007
Nia and I during the gift exchange, around midnight
25/12/2007
Christmas dinner: Nia, Marco, Abuela, Marco Antonio way in the back, me, and Mirta
That's it for now. More soon!
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