Recent Thoughts

¡¡Holaaaaaa!!

¿Qué tal, familia y amigos? Pues, ahora esta lloviendo muchisimo, como Seattle. Jaja, hoy y me levanté a las 10.00 y me quedé en cama hasta 12.00... y todavía, no he hecho nada hoy. Pero, bueno, voy a Barcelona y me quedaré con mis amigos de la iglesia (ingles). No he hecho mucho en la semana pasada, pero quiero escribir aqui... entonces, estoy escribiendo en español para practicar. La semana pasada, mis compañeros de clase y yo hemos empezado aprender subjuntivo... y ya sé no me gusta porque hay muchos irregulares. Pero, estamos aprendemos muy despacio.

Haha, okay, English now. I really haven't done much the last week, so I don't have much to report. I am feeling much better, which is great. I guess the main things that have been on my mind the last week are the following:

1. My future travels. I have plane/train tickets to Madrid, Geneva (Switzerland), and Paris and France. So far, I have not planed an ounce of any of those trips except for Madrid. I'm going to Madrid the following weekend and have only figured out where I'm staying. I have no idea yet what I'm going to see or anything. Luckily, I have two friends of friends who I've been in contact with. I'm sure it will be great. I just need to figure out the touristy stuff I would like to do. Switzerland is going to be great, I think. I just need to figure out where I'm staying, what I'm going to do on my two days off, and where to go. I was thinking about snowboarding in the Alps one of those days, but that looks like a huge hassle (and very expensive) for only one possible day of snowboarding. So, I'm thinking that I'll take is easy and just hang around Geneva and check out the city. I'm having a hard time finding hostels in Geneva. I'm super excited to go to my friend, Mike's wedding though. It is going to be in an incredibly small town about an hour or two by train. Lastly, Linnea and I are going to Paris and Rome during Semana Santa (literally, Holy Week - which is the week of Easter) and will hopefully be in Rome for Easter. I'm stoked for that. We're booking our hotels/hostels this next week.

2. My future plans - Stay in Spain for another year? I'm still seriously considering this and my trip to Madrid is also in part to check out whether or not I would like to move there. So, I'm still working on the application, but it is in Spanish and is a horrible layout, so it is very slow going. I don't think I'll apply to work in Barcelona another year because I would love to be in a place where Castellano (Spanish) is the main language. Nothing against Catalunya at all, but I would prefer Castellano over Catalan any day.

3. My Spanish studies. I've decided to double my studies... which means that I'll actually study. :) I feel like I should be retaining more Spanish that I have been, which is also in part due to the fact that I speak way over 25 hours of English a week with the kids and family that I'm staying with. I'm a little disappointed that the family that I'm living with does not speak Spanish as their main language (it is Catalan) because I feel like I would be improving SO much faster if they did... especially if the kids spoke Spanish. I know the general grammar rules, the basic vocabulary, and how to speak most phrases, but it isn't very natural because I don't have very many chances to actually practice conversing in Spanish. There are a couple other au pairs who live with families who speak only Spanish with each other and the au pairs definitely comment on how much it helps them with their knowledge and understanding of the language. I definitely wish I had that... but, I don't hold it against my host family at all, especially since they've been so amazing to me... plus I'm very blessed that they speak English, so there haven't been any language barriers.

Anyways, that’s pretty much what’s been on my mind this last week. That plus my frustrations with still being sick (it’s been 4 weeks now). But, all in all, things are going great here. I really love Barcelona and I love speaking Spanish. I really hope that I can extend my stay. If I do decide to stay another year, I might come home for the month of August to be with family and friends, attend two weddings, celebrate my birthday perhaps, and just hang out. Nothing is set in stone though… but I can tell you one thing: I’m very happy to not be job hunting right now. From what I’ve heard, the economy and job market is looking grim in the States. Vale, I’m off to Barcelona. Abrazos!!!

Take care,
Linnell

P.S. I love the kissing on both cheeks here. I actually prefer it to handshakes now (handshakes feel really awkward to me now)… and in some cases, I prefer kissing cheeks to hugging as well. Hugging seems so much more intimate and close now, haha. The English word, "awkward", is also a fun one to try to explain to a Spaniard in Spanish. ;) The best translation is incomodo, which literally means uncomfortable.

P.P.S. A popular name over here is "Iu", pronounced "Ew", as in "Eww! That food is so gross!" Haha, I would feel bad for any boy named Iu who moved to the United States. He would never hear the end of the jokes.