mi vida está fantástica

i´m on the computer of my ¨sister¨here. she is back from the school for the weekend and she has to go back for exams monday. first off, i need to tell you about her. (by the way, my spanish dad is here too!) ok amaela (i think that´s how you spell it, it´s a basque name, which is another language spoken in this region cuz i´m in basque territory when i´m in spain. it´s pronounced a-maya) is soo so cool. she´s an art student, i think i told you... at a college nearby in bilbao. she´s like exactly how you would expect a spanish artist to be. super creative looking and really original. she came in wearing an argyle cardigan with this shirt that said in english ¨i like my men how i like my chocolate - sweet and rich¨haha and had this sweet clip in her hair. she dresses almost exactly like noodle does! in a spanish version though. anyhow, she came is kind of hard to understand. but i guess she is looking for a flat with her boyfriend. she told me all the best bars to go to and it was quite funny because my spanish dad was being silly like real dad and telling me not to stay out too late (but in a joking way, of course - kids here stay out til like 6 or 7 in the morning!) when we went to one of the bars she told me about, it was the coolest thing ever. i guess only i and two other girls i was with thought so. the others didn´t think it was as cool. but it WAS cool because it was like a bar version of the donkey. they played jack johnson and matt pond pa and i just about freaked out when i heard it. matt pond pa in spain? good music! we were talking to these nice spanish boys who were informing us about the city and how they studied abroad in michigan. they told us more places we could go... and then we left.

but this is all straying off topic - basically, amaela is really really cool. it was just so great to have the whole family home here. they were so happy to see each other and when they interacted, it was as if it was our family was here. i saw the same sarcasm, jokes, teasing, everything! and i guess it was just really encouraging to me because it´s just so true that everyone everywhere is exactly the same. people are all the same. the culture could be different, so much could be different, and people still laugh, love, cry, throw fits, and everything. it just makes me emotional to think about their interactions, and i think it´s because i miss you guys so much. i am just wishing i could be sitting in my own family room. but i do love it here... everything about spain is just so great. i love it. but i just feel like i left my life behind and i am excited to pick it up where i left off. like i´m living, but not really living. i love every day, but i know it´s just a snippet, and then things will go back to normal.

luggage arrival has made my life so much more comfortable already. i can´t tell you how happy it makes me. i felt like i was on survivor or something. i would never survive on that show. it was tough. i think pilar liked her gifts... the chocolate maybe more than the cd. they haven´t listened to it yet. i´m hoping maybe amaela likes it.

i really am loving every minute of this. i just know how lucky i am to be seeing all this for REAL in person. it´s just beyond words. i hope that i am still feeling so excited when i get used to life here. but it´s gonna be wonderful to be able to understand the people around me and communicate better.

yesterday was our first excursion. we went to olite, an old town in navarra, the region that pamplona is in. it´s very close to here, but it is just beautiful. it´s a town of many vineyards and bodegas. i think that´s what they are called... the wine factories. we visited a bodega where we got to see how the wine was made in this huge, huge metal things and the barrels it is stored in and everything. it was interesting... wish i would have understood a little more of what the tour guide was saying though. we also had a wine tasting right there at the bodega and i have come to the conclusion that white wine is my favorite... so sweet! and besides white wine, i like younger wines (jóvenes) more than older ones (crianzas, reservas, and gran reservas - the oldest). the younger ones are frutier. anyhow, we also went to the museum of wine and learned more about it! wine is such a huge thing here. The people drink it with every meal... almost. it´s been pretty weird to have wine at every meal, especially when we are on school sponsored trips. it´s hard for me cuz if i drink like two glasses i´m feeling tipsy, so i have to refrain. it´s gonna be a miracle if i don´t come back an alcoholic.

just kidding! alcohol here has a different meaning really. it´s not so much drinking as a mode of getting drunk. it´s a very social thing, but the attitude is very different. it´s just strange for me to adjust because i´m used to not being allowed to drink alcohol at all, and here, i am offered it at every single place i go.

anyhow, we also saw this amazing castle that was restored from the middle ages. it was fantastic. gorgeous. beautiful. the insides were very simple, but the architecture was just incredible. what a day. we played tag and soccer with the little kids who lived in the village, and they were ADORABLE! loved it. we also saw another church, maybe the third one i have seen in spain. they are very important historical landmarks. it is pretty interesting, which is suprising to me, cuz i´m not a big history buff. i have learned in spanish more about rococco, barouque, romantics, and gothic stuff than i ever have in english.

what else? lunch was good again, there´s like 7 courses for every lunch. it´s their big meal, not dinner. today i had this brothy soup and steak for lunch. i´m feeling pretty weighed down right now. i need to do some serious running here. haha! my parents here are watching spanish soap operas - telanovelas. ok, the other thing is this. they keep claiming that the food is really healthy. well, yes, it is all extremely fresh, that´s for sure. but there is so much meat! i don´t know if that could be very good for me. my mom here keeps cooking more and more things for me. i need to escape so i´m not obese.

anyhow, i hope everything is well at home. i miss you guys incredibly.