A smile!!

Helllllooooooo.

well, well, well, it has been a long time since I have had internet, and let me tell you, A LOT has changed. Meaning, I have a brand new Spanish family!! YAY! and guess who is my new Spanish madre? None-other than Mila herself. Yep, thats right. I have just moved in with Mila and her novio Juan. That means, that I have moved cities and schools. That also means that I don´t have school until monday! A mini vacation!

Switching families was a terribly stressing experience. There was SO MUCH miscommunication and honestly, no communication at all and it made everyones life a million times harder. I don´t think that Rebecca and Joe have slept a full night over a week. Yep. That is how it has been for a very long time. Do I feel guilty for leaving Fini and her family behind? Yes. Jew guilt courses through my veins with a vengeance. I feel bad that I wasn´t strong enough to live with them. I feel bad that I left so suddenly and without explination. and I feel bad because I thought I was different person. Oh well. I don´t like thinking about it, so I am not going to. And the first two hours with my new host family has been full of smiles and laughs. I made the right decision.

Today is Tuesday. I moved out of the Romera Rueda household on Thursday night. So where did I stay? With a woman named Marisa, a person who is especially called upon for "emergencies" with families. Marisa is a fun, bubbly, and very happening young Spanish woman who loves to dance the Salsa and who works at a phone store. Staying with her was fun and showed me what its like to be the loser roommate who is always home, reading. But it was fun. The best part of living with her was this-- Monday morning (I went to bed before she got home at 12 30) and when I got up at 7 for school, the toilet seat was up. hmmmmmm. Then as I brushed my teeth, I heard a man talking. WHAT! I lingered in the hallway, trying to get a glimps of this (possible) guy, but he didn´t show, so I thought it was the T.V. or something. Then, as I was making toast for breakfast, I heard coughing and then the door closed. Then silence. WHAT? When I got home from school, I asked Marisa ¿Hay un chica en la casa este noche? the response was simply ¨Si"
¡Que suave...! I said again, hoping to get some details. "Es mi novio Raul. Did he bother you this morning? I asked him to leave without talking to you.....¨ And that was that.

So, here I am. Happy, healthy (but putting on pounds!), and s-l-o-w-l-y learning Spanish. I have joined a gym and start taking Pilates three times a week very soon. The food here is good, the OLIVES. OH MY GOD. They are so good. I could eat a whole jar without stopping. The food is very rich, and often lacks in lots of spice or flavors. But all is well. My favorite part of Spain is the way the day is set up. Things open at 9, close at 2:30 for everyone to go home and eat and sleep and then open again at 6:00 until 11. Its quite nice. What else? oh yes, here is my address. for real this time. I PROMISE.

Violet Elson
Adva/Alameda
Solano 2, 3-E
Chiclana de la Frontera, Cadiz, Spain
11130

xoxox
I will post photos of the beaches here ASAP.