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.