It's been a while...

Wow so I haven't written a blog in over a month. I don't really have a reason for not doing it. There was a period in October after my last blog entry that I stayed in Sevilla for 3 weekends straight. I had projects and tests at school, so nothing really exciting was happening. Another reason for not writing is just that the overall mood in the residencia has diminished significantly. People are getting homesick and more and more people fall victim to it everyday. Being homesick is normal, but letting it affect your time in Europe in a negative way is an absolute waste. Everyone loved being here in the beginning, and as you get more and more homesick you have to remember what you enjoyed about being here in the first place. Anyway all my roommates stay confined to their rooms for most of the day emerging only for school and meals. I sometimes wonder what this experience would have been like without wireless internet and laptops because it would force a lot more social interaction. One of the girls in our group wrote a note on Facebook about how she is loving Spain, but how it is not for everyone. She wrote that you have to be able to appreciate the culture and its differences or else they will drive you crazy. Everything moves slow in Spain and the laid back attitude is the exact opposite of the "hard working American" ideology. People do things on their own time, and in turn you get to do things on your own time as well.

As for me, my Spanish ability continues to fluctuate. Some days I can understand almost everything being said to me and have conversations with people. Other days, I feel like not even the most basic words make sense. I know overall I have improved tremendously, but I have reached the top of a hill only to find a mountain ahead of me. I also have found myself exhausted lately because of Spanish. I didn't realize how much always thinking and speaking a different language takes its toll on your mind. I sometimes come home from school mentally exhausted, unable to muster up energy to do anything. I'm still waiting for everything to just click. I have no idea when it will happen, but I feel like the time I have put into getting better should eventually pay off. One thing working to my disadvantage is the accent here. The best way to describe it is if you were learning English and had to go learn it in Ireland. I, being a fluent English speaker, can't even understand people in Ireland... and there are fluent speakers here who have a hard time understanding the Sevilla natives. I hope to someday live in South America to finish learning Spanish. The Spanish there is much easier to understand; the people pronounce every letter and don't shorten sentences.

I also have a couple trips coming up that I will be writing about and also a trip I have already been on. I'll try to get pictures and a report on Paris up in the next few days. For now I need to get back to reading my Spanish children's detective novel (assigned in one of my classes). I'm pretty sure nine year olds read this book here. It's alright though, I'm doing well overall and am hoping to enjoy my travels ahead.