Han pasado dos semanas

Reading

I finished reading my first book in Spanish! El niño con el pijama de rayas (The Boy With the Striped Pajamas). It was easy enough to read because it is in the perspective of a little boy, so I understand most of it... very sad! I'm definitely getting better at understanding and a little bit at speaking (I am still very quiet, however... often sticking to monosyllables: si, no).

Out to eat

This is the last week of summer vacation and then school starts on Friday, but I have been told that it is not a full day. You go and see your classes and teachers and that's it... very nice! I am feeling so much better now and have been hanging out with Noemi and her friends and Anais and Ines. I went with some of Noemi's friends for a walk around town and we got icecram and then went out to eat and then went to a tea place. And the other day I went to watch Miki (a friend of the family) play basketball and his team won- yay! Then we all hung out playing games and later went out for Chinese. And then played more games. They are all so nice, and helpful... I feel so silly for not getting things and messing up but they are always asking did you get that, and repeating themselves and explaining things to me and encouraging me talk.

Miki's game (number 11)

Yesterday I went to church with "Gramma" which was interesting. The inside of the church was so beautiful. I understood some of the teaching but not all. It is a Catholic church and if I didn't think I knew what all the right responses were in English, I definitely didn't in Spanish. ha ha

The church

Later in the day we went to la fiesta in Villena. Each pueblo (town) has its own time to clebrate their fiesta. There are different groups of people who have different outfits and they have these parades with the groups of people in outfits and different bands playing music and everybody is so enthusiastic. And it lasts for a couple days. Sax has its fiesta in febrero, so unfortunately I will miss it. But Anais played music in Villena so we went and watched. The whole atmosphere is so cool... I loved it!

Today I am going to watch Ines's basketball practice with Jose Luis and Anais. Ines is so funny, always wanting to play and to fight, and she is so easily embarrassed... she cracks me up! 

la fiesta

I have been talking to people about the differences between the people here and the people in the States. To me, people here seem more open because they are more touchy and just over-all comfortable with each other. But Solene says that when she was in the states, Crystal complimented someone's outfit whom she didn't know and she says that they don't do that here, talk to people they don't know so freely. It is so interesting to see the differences in interaction!