A few weeks ago, school started again after a week of vacation, during which I practically did nothing, and I have to say, I was even happy about it.
Weird, I know.
But it's just that during school, I have a lot of contact with the people here again, and I feel like I'm making progress with speaking Spanish and everything.
Of course, the Spanish class we have here is also helpful.
Otherwise, I notice improvements with Spanish, but I tend to speak English with people who can speak English.
Somehow, it works to communicate with the people who don't speak English. (The majority).
Otherwise, I notice improvements with Spanish, but I tend to speak English with people who can speak English.
Somehow, it works to communicate with the people who don't speak English. (The majority).
3 weeks ago was my host mom's birthday and the three of us celebrated a bit that day.
On the evening before, I made the pancake batter, which I then prepared fresh in the morning.
However, it took so long that I only went to school for the third period.
It's not like anyone cares here anyway. It's really convenient.
In the afternoon/evening, Marcos, my host brother, and I cooked.
He made tiramisu and I made hamburgers using the recipe from home, so it's something from Germany.
After all, we're from Hamburg haha ;)
The hamburgers were really delicious and I think my host mom was really happy.
On the weekend, a week later, there was a party with friends and family.
I even got to invite two friends.
It was really nice and there was a lot of food. Of course, there was barbecue again.
Afterwards, I went on a bike ride with a friend from here.
Yes, you read that right. Since I'm not as involved in sports here as I wish I was, I was really excited about it and had a lot of fun.
In the evening, my host brother, cousin, and a friend of theirs played billiards. It was Sunday night until around 12 o'clock, but they are very relaxed about it here.
The weather here is getting warmer. The past few days, we had real autumn weather, with rain and cold, but before that, we had summer weather for a while.
It's getting sooooo hot here and it's only spring. I'm starting to get a little scared of summer.
What I find really funny is that everyone here says something different about how hot it gets in summer. It ranges from 35-45°C.
But I think we already had 35°C here, so I think the higher temperatures are very realistic. Salto is also in the hotter part of the country, as there is no sea breeze here.
I'm starting to understand a little more in school, but still not much.
Also, I have to admit that my motivation is definitely less than it was at the beginning.
In some subjects, I don't even try anymore and just don't pay attention. Not good, I know.
But in math, for example, I always participate and even took a test in which I did better than some of the people here.
We're also making progress with the wall in our classroom.
Our classroom is in an annex to the school and we even have a garden with a pool. However, without water. But now that it's warm, you can sit in the garden during break and enjoy the sun. If it's not too hot.
On Monday, a friend from my class took me dancing and wow. It was so great and I realized how much I missed it.
The group dances contemporary, so it really fits well and I got along well too. I even had to dance alone in front of the others once because I dance a little differently (as expected).
It was really a lot of fun and I will definitely continue. I was so happy afterwards.
But I also realized how spoiled we are back home.
The dance studio here is so small and has a floor made of stone tiles. Our dance studio at home is like heaven compared to that.
Also, every Saturday I go to a kind of animal shelter near here. There are about 300 dogs living there.
They were all taken off the streets or given up, and yet there are still so many dogs on the streets. It's really sad.
There are dogs with injuries, like ears cut off, for example.
We keep wondering how someone could do something like that.
But there are also some super cute puppies. I would love to take them all, but of course, I can't.
I really hope that I can accomplish something to help them better during my year here.
It's really crazy how time flies. I've already been here for 2 months.
Soon it will be Halloween, which is a really big event here. I'm so excited to see how it will be.
Or Christmas and New Year's. With the heat and everything.
But that won't stop me from baking cookies. Maybe I can just put the baking sheet out in the sun. That would be fun for sure.
I'll keep you updated, although probably not as often, the more I settle in.
