49 days until I fly to Madrid...

and I'm having a difficult time comprehending it! Where did the summer go? Where did the past year go? It seems like only yesterday that I was browsing the AFS website and dreaming of a year abroad. Yet here it is, 7 weeks until I depart. Parts of me are sad and other parts are terribly excited.
To practice my Spanish I've been reading poetry by Pablo Neruda and then translations. His writing is unbelievably beautiful, and I can't wait until I can read it in Spanish without needing to give myself a headache translating. I think my favorite poem of his so far is "Pido silencio", or "I ask for silence". He writes:

Se trata de que tanto he vivido
que quiero vivir otro tanto.

Nunca me senti tan sonoro,
nunca he tenido tantos besos.

 This roughly translates to:

It's a question of having lived so much
that I want to live that much more.

I never felt my voice so clear,
never have been so rich in kisses.

I always love reading poetry and coming across a fragment that you feel perfectly describes your life. It's like braving the plunge into a spring creek and chills you, yet leaves you refreshed. 

This is a map showing all the AFS placements in Spain so far (: (Thanks Amy!)

View AFS Spain Placements in a larger map

Art~

not a very good scan, pen and ink on watercolor paper

a page from the children's book I wrote and illustrated during second semester

random character, done with my tablet on Paint Tool SAI