Maybe I´ll try a roller coaster when I get back...

Buenas Noches!

Sorry I haven´t written in a while... I have been really busy. If I´m not home, I´m at school. If I´m not at home or school, I´m with my friends. If I´m at home, I´m talking with my family, doing homework, or writing in my journal. It´s hard to find time for anything!! It´s alright though. :)

I can't believe how much I have learned already. I'm beginning to be able to understand conversations and discussions between people here. It's really crazy to think about. I keep seeing things that are different. The birds here sing different songs. I think it's because they sing songs in Spanish here. I've also began noticing very obscure and minute differences. Everything smells different here. I swear even the air has a different scent to it. I smell new odors all the time. Some of them are incredible, and others not so much. For example, I can take a deep breath and it's air, but it has a minutely different tambre. I miss the songs and smells of Indiana. That is honestly something that I thought I would never hear myself say. Like I said before, I have a new appreciation for home. Yeah, I may have said in the past that I can't wait to leave home. Woohoo! I'll be gone from Martinsville in a year! But now... I'm not so sure. I never realized how important my home is to me. I have my parents, my house, my family, my memories, my roots... In Martinsville. I grew up there. Home. Words cannot explain how important that is. I miss it so much. It's strange though. The clearest memory that I revisit in some form on an almost daily basis, is the last hour that I spent with Ian and my family in the airport. The day I left keeps coming back and visiting me. I have yet to figure out why. It's intense here.
Now onto more interesting things...

Cosas buenas:

1. I went to Guanajuato Friday. It was beautiful. The houses there are all built into hills and painted different colors. It was a good, but long, day.
2. I tried ice cream of crazy flavors in the city, Delores Hidalgo. I tried the flavors corn, cheese, tequila (non-alcoholic), roses, kiss of an angel, butter, and some others. Corn was REALLY good. And i felt like someone sprayed rose-scented perfume in my mouth when i tried the rose. It was baaaad.
3. I saw and climbed the balcony of Callejón del Beso. It's the balcony from a legend here. When two forbidden lovers were about to unite on two balconies, the father of the girl killed her because she disobeyed him. Then the boy kissed her even though she wasn't alive. Very sad... But I have a picture.
4. I can see improvements in my Spanish! I had a whole 5-minute conversation with my 15-year-old brother who has a very heavy accent! I was sooooo proud.
5. I'm in an arabic/hiphop dance class with a group from my school now. Its SUPER fun. I'm also in a class with my friends AJ and Hailey of hiphop Tuesdays and reggaeton Thursdays. I love it.
6. I finally met my 16-year-old sister! She has been at a summer camp this whole time. She left again until the 5th right after I met her, though.
7. I saw Toy Story 3 in the theater in Spanish and loved it!
8. My friend Jill is much better now. She was a vegeterian in the U.S. because her stomach couldn´t handle meat, but now she´s on medication that allows her to eat anything! She´s very excited.
9. I FOUND DR:PEPPER! And, it only costs around 50 cents for a bottle a little smaller than you would get from a vending machine. Yeaaah!
10. I rented Hairspray! and The Proposal with my sister in Spanish!!! I was so happy. They were just as good in Spanish as in English. Lol.

Cosas malas:

1. My mosquito bite count is up to 32.. But i have a screen in my window now and a Raid wall plugin thing. Things should get better.
2. I still have a bad day every once in a while when I wanna come home, but who doesn't?
3. My shin splints are gone, but my muscles hurt now because of my new dance classes. It's all good though because I love my classes.
4. It's hot. Lol.

Cosas interesantes:

1. I thought I would need Pepto while I was here because the food is so different, but no. I haven't opened it yet. Ibuprofen on the other hand, I have taken one at least half of the days that I've been here.
2. I never realized how important soccer is here. When Mexico won a game in FIFA, the whole CITY had a party! People were driving around with flags, honking horns, etc. It was crazy.
3. I FOUND ROOT BEER! But, it´s not root beer like I´m used to. I´m still searching for Barq´s or some A&W action.
4. I want to give Sra. Uebel a big hug when I return. My grammar class isn´t exactly the best in the world, but I understand everything perfectly because of the things that she has drilled into my head for the past 2 years. So thank you Sra. Uebel!!

Other than that, not much happens. I miss my family, home, boyfriend, friends, city, etc. I have good days and bad days. I keep trying new and exciting things.
1. Tomybolys - a snowcone in a bag with much more flavor, yum
2. Taxi with 2 of my friends - easy and nicer than any taxi I´ve ever been in, good
3. Churrizo (i think) with potatoes - meat and potatoes, delicious

I am really starting to love this place. It´s awesome. It´s different, and awesome. I really appreciate my family here. They are absolutely wonderful. My mom and dad both talk to me every day about different things. My brothers and sister are brothers and sister. Lol. And overall, I´m happy.

Thanks again to everyone who helped me get here and is still supporting me. I could not begin to do this without you.

P.S. Four weeks from this moment, I´m going to be back in Indiana. :)

This is me reaching for my forbidden love on the balcony of Callejon del Beso. No worries, my dad is safely 1000 miles away in Indiana. :)

My friends and I bought crazy-flavored ice cream in Dolores Hidalgo. I have elote (corn) and tequila.

Guanajuato is absolutely gorgeous.

I took this from a bus window. I LOVE the way the cloud and the shadow cover the landscape.

AJ, Oscar, and I were in the middle of a hip-hop number I think. This is my dance studio here that I attend twice a week.

Now I know why I have never liked roller coasters

Hola again everyone!

My life here is like a rollercoaster. My life, my emotions, my feelings, my ability to speak... This is definitely the hardest thing that I have ever done. It´s also probably the hardest thing that I will ever do. I mean, some days, I´m wonderful, life is grand. Other days, I just cry and want to do nothing but come back to Indiana. It´s just really hard. Anyway... let´s begin with the happenings in my life.

Like I said, there are good things and bad things. I´m gonna focus on the good things right now because I´m in a good mood right now. Lol.

1. One of my best friends down here, AJ, had a birthday Wednesday, and a party. It was sooo much fun. I have an amazing, tight-knit group of friends here. Me, Jill (Columbus East), AJ (Zionsville), Melanie (Elkhart), Hailey (Martinsville), and Sophie (Carmel). We laugh and cry and support each other ALL THE TIME. If we are on an excursion, some of us are always together. It is great. But we all were at AJ´s party and had a marvelous time.
2. We went to San Miguel de Allende yesterday. It was SOOO pretty!!! And I bought a bunch of things in the mercado (like a BIIIG market). I even bargained with the people sellin things! In spanish! It was so cool. I bought these keychains with my and Ian's names on them (Ian for me, Maggie for him) and WATCHED a man carve them out of brass. It was soooo padre!!! (Padre here means cool. Lol)
3. I have had Starbucks three times since I arrived. I don´t think a drink from Starbucks ever tasted so good.
4. I have rediscovered MANGOS! I eat one almost every day. They are soooo good. It´s definitely my favorite fruit now. Too bad we don´t have good mangos in Indiana.
5. THE COKE HERE IS SOOOO MUCH BETTER THAN IN INDIANA! I think it´s made with real sugar here instead of corn syrup and that´s why. I know for sure that it tastes magnificent.
6. I can understand way more than when I arrived... but that´s subject to change. Lol. It depends on what kind of day I´m having. If I´m frustrated or sad, it´s much more difficult to understand and comprehend everything.
7. I bought some magazines and 50 First Dates the movie in Spanish. They are really really cool.
8. The other day I heard my host brother playing the piano. He was playing Jump by Van Halen. I want to learn how to play it before I come home. Lol.
9. I am one of the only people in my group of 22 students that has not had to take some peptobismol because of the food here. I thought i had an ironclad-gut before, I am absolutely sure of it now.

And now onto the not-so-good...

1. I have shin splints (again) right now. I ran with some friends in the park Thursday, and they returned with a vengance. Then yesterday it did not help that we walked all day. Right now, I´m in bed. Resting. Lol.
2. I have homesickness like it´s going out of style. I miss soo much and I think I really appreciate more. I have a new kind of appreciation for home. I don´t know. Im learning a lot about myself here.
DISCLAIMER - I don´t cry every day like it seems here. Lol. I cried because I missed home the first 2 days, then I was good until Wednesday because I had a bad day Wed.
3. I think I sleep with mosquitoes. Every morning I wake up with more bites. I think I have some 19 today...
4. My friend Jill was a vegetarian in the U.S. and it made her stomach really weak. Yesterday she had to go to the hospital because she has the thing you get before you get an ulcer. The food here was just too strong for her stomach. But shes at her home here now and feeling better.
5. This is the worst thing of all... THEY DON'T HAVE ROOT BEER HERE!!! I can tell you, the first thing that I want when I step off that plane in Indiana is a big glass of A&W. They have Coke, Pepsi, Sprite, Dr. Pepper, and all kinds of fruity flavors... BUT NO ROOT BEER. Its very sad.

Those are really the only bad things that I can think of.

The food here is different, some good, some notsogood. Im learning. Little by little. And Im having all kinds of fun adventures.

Any questions? Just ask in a comment. =)
I love you all. So much.
And I miss you all. A LOT.
But I´m alright.
ADIOS FOR NOW!!


And here are some pictures. Currently, I have taken almost 600 while here.


This is a picture of Melanie, Sophie, AJ, me, Hailey, and our teacher Stephen, with STARBUCKS!! This is in the centro of San Miguel de Allende, in the plaza.



This is a picture of Jill, Hailey, and I with tipiokas. They are drinks that have different flavors, kind of like smoothies, and they have big tapiokas in them. Tapiokas are kind of like the ones in pudding, but they´re much bigger and chewy. My brother here works in that shop behind us. I still can´t figure out why I look so awkward. Lol.



This was taken at AJ´s birthday party. It´s Jill, Sophie, Melanie, me, and Hailey. I´m not sure where AJ was... Lol.

My First Day

Okay, so this is a LOT harder than I thought it would be. Everyone speaks sooo FAST!! It´s so hard to try to figure out. I´m doing alright though. My host dad drove me somewhere today, and traffic down here is CRAZY. It´s like a freeforall!! Oh well, it´s different. My house is really pretty. I love it. I miss my family and Ian a LOT. And I hate to admit it, but I´ve cried a bit from homesickness. I´ll be okay though. Poco a poco. Little by little. That´s what my host dad told me. He caught me crying and made me feel SOOO much better. Other than that, I hung out with my host sister´s friends today. They are crazy, but they´re all really welcoming. The funny part about all that? My host sister is at camp and she wasn´t there with me. Lol. Anyway, other than some homesickness, it´s wonderful down here.
I MISS YOU ALL!!!
Love,
Maggie Rose

General Information

I know that I have talked to a lot of people about what I'm doing, but this program has so many details to it that it is hard to tell everyone everything about it. I'm going to try to cover the basics here.

1. I am not allowed to speak English.
2. The exception to number 1 is my hour per week on the internet. This is my only means of communication while I'm abroad with this program. I cannot call (exceptions: when I arrive safely, my 18th birthday July 6), and I cannot text. I can, however, send letters.
3. The program that I am going with is called the IU Honors Program. It's a rigorous study program that is designed for high school juniors who wish to become fluent and well-spoken in Spanish, French, or German.
4. I am going to San Luis Potosi, Mexico. It's halfway between the border of the States and Mexico City. Look it up on GoogleMaps if you really have the motivation and curiosity. I leave June 10, and I will return July 26.
5. I am staying with a host family as part of my experience. I will be staying with my host-mom, dad, brothers (18 and 15), and sisters (16 and 11), and dog (golden retriever).
6. I am going to go to school Monday through Friday, but there will be excursions, or trips, most Fridays. I will NOT be going to school with local kids, but I will be going to school with the 30-ish other people at my program site. There will be 4 teachers from IU that accompany us to this city, and they have designed a curriculum specifically for high school juniors from the U.S.
7. I am definitely going to miss my parents, sisters, boyfriend, friends, aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, cats, home, etc... but I'm going to make the best of my time there and live my life to the fullest to the best of my ability.
8. I will be taking 2 flights to Mexico and back. I will leave Indianapolis Thursday evening. Then arrive to Houston 2 hours later in the evening. Then I'll fly from there straight to San Luis Potosi. That is also a 2-hour flight. With any luck, I will be in my new home by midnight.
9. I must adhere to a strict Honor Code while I am there. That means no drinking, drugs, dating, riding in cars (exceptions: with my host parents and other approved adults), risky activities, etc. So don't worry about me being bad. =)
10. I am excited. I am nervous. Both.

This is going to be the experience of a lifetime, and I am going to remember it forever. I can honestly say that I dreamed about doing this when I heard about Sarah's and Andy's trips when I was in the eighth grade. I can't believe that I'm actually about to live it. In 48 hours, I will (with smooth sailing through my flights) be in my new home in Mexico for the summer.

Thank you to everyone who made this dream come true.

"If you don't dream big, what's the use of dreaming?"
-David Cook, I don't know the original source

Tester

This is just my first blog entry to test out this site. I probably should have set up a blog a little before this, but I'm more of a last minute person... I work better under pressure anyway.
I plan to use this blog to update all of my friends and family about my Mexico adventures and experiences while I'm abroad. Hope you all keep up and enjoy it. :D