Cold hands, warm heart

I wonder, does absence really make the heart grow fonder? Or is that just some lousy phrase to make lonely hearts feel comforted? Well I guess it all depends. In some ways I appreciate nostalgia. It gives me a warm feeling to remember past comforts. And I refuse to believe that those same comforts can’t be discovered again and renewed. I don’t believe anything is lost forever, sometimes you just have to work extra hard to find it again.

This weekend was nice. Friday Lucy and I explored a new part of Madrid and found a few exciting nooks that we'll be revisiting. Saturday I stayed in Eurovillas. There was a good group of people about and someone brought a guitar to the center and we had sing-a-longs. Somehow I ended up alone singing "Wonderwall" by Oasis. But, despite having accomadated a pair of gloves and extra scarf from the kind Spanish folk, the cold was too much for me to handle and I called it quits at 3am.

It's Sunday afternoon. 7 degrees (celsius) and I’m longing for sunny days. Cold weather does mean at least one good thing is around the corner though-CHRISTMAS! The decorations are out. And I have my own baby tree. I’m happy Christmas isn’t any less hallmarked over here than in the US. I wouldn’t feel right without the corny Santa Claus statues springing up all over the house. I'm sure gonna miss my mom's delicious Christmas cookies though.

Off to make a cup of hot chocolate and watch Love Acually.

Ciao!

P.S. I'm still waiting for Spanish romance...does that even exist?

I really love her

No, I won't be afraid

Sometimes I just get this overwhelming feeling of how quickly my life is changing. Sometimes I wonder if this is all happening too soon. Am I really suppose to be here? Everything is so up and down, frustrating, raw, curious, intimidating and beautiful. Sometimes it’s all too much.


P.S. This really did make me laugh. Don't judge.

That's the way we get by

I really do find it strange how people’s moods seem to change with the weather. All of the sudden it’s rainy and cloudy and all of the sudden arguments and disagreements arouse. What are we going to do about this? Well I knew it was bound to happen, I just didn’t think it’d be quite this soon.

I honestly felt sick to my stomach with homesickness this weekend. It’s the first time I actually realized how very different my family here is compared to my family in California. I’m pretty lucky that back home I’m the 4th out of 4 children. Not to say all teenagers are the same, but to some degree my parents know what to expect from me and aren’t really surprised by my actions because they’ve seen a lot of the same things from 3 other children. Whereas here, I’m the oldest and my host parents have never had to raise 17 year old. Let me just share my favorite quote of the weekend from my host mom:

“No te quiero estar en las calles despues de la doce porque es cuando los chicos comienzan a fumar MARIJUANA y HASHISH y a beber ALCOHOL".

Oh you funny little Spanish lady.

Everything seems better now...although I don’t feel like anything got resolved. My host mom made amends by giving me her old Mickey Mouse shirt from Disneyland. She sure knows my weaknesses, I’ll give her that. I think I might buy her flowers tomorrow.

I miss my friends. Especially these two ladies.