Winter Vacation: I had fun with friends, and then my host family and I went to Madrid!
Jan 6: Día de los reyes magos (Day of the Magi Kings). Although Spain celebrates Christmas for the cultural tradition, the 6th of January is when the Magi come and leave presents for all the children. I got some beautiful earrings from my host parents, and we had a great time in Madrid with my host dad’s family.
January: School started again. I now understand 99% of daily conversation, and have very few problems communicating. I am hesitant to use the word ‘fluent’ until I completely understand a few elusive grammatical concepts, but I’m almost there! Almost bilingual! I’ve made some good friends, and heard a lot of interesting questions about America along the way. Some of my favorites are: “Does the most popular girl in your high school drive the most expensive car?” (No one really cares what car you drive). “Does everyone have a gun?” (No.) And, “Do you really have high school graduation ceremonies with robes and everything?” (Yes!).
Every Wednesday and Friday: I, Caroline, have joined a marching drum group. However, these kinds of drums are much more samba or tribal than a high school marching band. And at the moment I am playing the tambourine. But everyone in the group is very nice, and the music we make is so fun to dance to! We are playing in a parade for Carnaval this Sunday, and I have a little tambourine solo that I’m pretty excited about.
In other news, I am done with all of my college applications (13!!!), and now I am waiting to find out where I’ll be accepted. Wish me luck!
