So...since you "haven't had time to update", what have you been doing?

Well somehow Spain has changed me and made me actually want to do things and meet new people and spend time with my friends. So in December not only was I very busy with school, I was really busy with running and hanging out with people (my Spanish friends and AFSers).

Speaking of school, the first trimester is over! I got my grades on the 17th, I think, and passed all my classes except for Lengua, but there's a re-test sometime in January so I might still be able to pull my grade up.

(4 and below is failing, 5 and above passing. People are perfectly content with just a 5, 6 and 7 are reasonable, 8,9 and 10 VERY good.)

Another random thing about school is that in March I will be going to London with a bunch of kids from Primero Bachillerato! It's supposed to be like an "English Immersion" ahaha... I'm super excited!

grades

Annnd speaking of running, as of the other day I have officially run 1,000 miles this year! A big leap forward from the accumulative 300 I had last year. On the 31st my host mom, uncle and I are going to run the San Silvestre in Burgos but I'll talk more about that later.

So, things I have been doing...I guess about 2 weeks ago, now, I went to the Hobbit with a bunch of AFS friends! We went to a theater in the center of Madrid that had it playing in English with Spanish subtitles. It was so fun. Beforehand, I went to a Mexican Restaurant that I found by accident with my friend Sofia and it was quite shocking to have spicy food again! I was a little disappointed by the Hobbit but at the same time...I can't help but have loved it. It's probably one of my favorite books of all time, and being able to be transported into that world like that is the best.

Mexican food!

awkward photo of me with my Hobbit ticket and POPCORN

The Friday before we all saw the Hobbit I went to El Prado with Ilhan and Boom and we saw the Goya exhibit which I swear contains the most haunting paintings I have ever seen in my life. I am completely enamored with the way Goya can paint the darkest side of humanity, the terror, the brutality. El Prado, in general, is such an amazing collection of work, and I've barely seen a part of it.

At some point I also went to a friend's house for lunch after school and then we watched Castle in Spanish (an old episode, sadly) and went looking for a dress for me for Nochevieja (New Years Eve). It really amazes me sometimes how I can have full conversations in Spanish now (even though my Spanish is FAR from perfect). We didn't find a dress (I still haven't...) but it was a lot of fun.

A few weekends ago there was an AFS potluck for Navidad, where everyone had to bring something from their own country. I made sugarcookies with my mom and brother (: I love all of the AFSers in Madrid so much, they are a fantastic group, and it's amazing to watch everybody be able to speak in Spanish after not even four months!

Although...the four month mark IS coming up. I can't really believe it's been that long!