Keira’s Journals
Mi segunda familia de acogida y su estudiante de intercambio corriente
El trono de los Reyes Católicos
Flores de San Valentín del instituto
Alitas de pollo para el Super Bowl
March 3, 2025
More Than Just the Halfway Point
Month #7. I can’t believe that I have already been here for 6 months. One day I’m telling myself that I am only at the halfway point and the next, I’m counting my remaining weeks that I have here in Spain - which isn’t as much as you would think. At the outbound orientations before leaving, we talked a lot about the exchange cycle. For those of you who are hearing this for the first time, it highlights the fluctuations of an exchange student’s mood throughout their exchange year. The highs and lows are shown in the form of a graph that is full of curves every few months. For me, all those curves that are formed throughout the entire year have been compressed into this past month. There are several moments when it is easy to lose sight of what’s important and I get stuck in my head. In these past few weeks, I have been fully preoccupied with tests and projects for school while I look at the stories of other students traveling and exploring the country. I become frustrated with myself, thinking that I could be doing so much more than studying every afternoon. However, every student has different experiences and it's impossible to compare them. Every student grows and is shaped by their exchange year but all the details in between are significantly varied. In these times of frustration or self-doubt, I have to remind myself to be grateful for the life that I have made here and everyone who has helped me reach this point. That includes every person at Rotary, those who are a part of RYESE and even the members of the Rotary club of Dunwoody who are still learning about the details of the program, and my family who supports me. Especially my parents who were willing to let me go for a whole year, entrusting me with a family that they only met over a video call and resisting the urge to checkin and see how I am doing every week. This also includes my Rotary family that I have made here in Spain and my host families who have made this experience truly memorable. It’s the small moments like cooking with my host dad, watching movies with my host family on the weekends, and going to the supermarket near our school with my friends during the break that make up this year.
It has been a little strange hearing that all my exchange friends from district 6900 and those in Spain are settling in with their new host families. Because my situation is slightly complicated with the host families, I don’t know if I will move to my second host family. I don’t mind this as I absolutely love my first host family. However, my second host family recently invited me on a day trip to Segovia with the exchange student that is currently staying with them. We left in the morning and during the hour and a half car ride to Segovia, my second host parents told me everything I needed to know about the city's history. Both of my host families can recite history like a documentary. They can tell me all the details down to the year and who was the kind during that time. I loved getting to know them as we explored yet another historical city in Spain. We arrived at the city and headed straight to the aqueduct which is pretty hard to miss standing at 28 meters tall (92 ft) and it streches on for about 794 meters (2605 ft). We then entered the Alcázar de Segovia (an ancient castle in Segovia) and toured the different rooms including the throne room of previous kings of Spain. One of my favorite memories from that day is sitting in the park in front of Alcázar as my host dad played the recorder. It was as if time stopped and all of our worries were carried away in the wind. I have fallen in love with the idea of spontaneous adventure in the small towns of Spain. No plans, no rush, just a bucket list and we’ll see where the day takes us.
I mentioned earlier that lately the schoolwork has been piling up but thankfully, all this hard work will finally pay off. I have seen improvements in my grades which also reflects my progression in the language. I am no longer mentally burnt out in classes trying to understand what the teacher is saying. I find myself following conversations better and it's easier to express myself in Spanish. There are times when I pause while speaking english because I can only think of the sentence in spanish. There are some expressions, in both languages, that just don’t have an accurate translation that will convey the same emotion as the original phrase. Of course, I still have many grammatical errors and my Spanish literature teacher will mark off points on the tests for every single accent that I miss. I’ve learned that even my classmates make the same writing errors as I and we are all struggling through these classes together. After all, how can I even think about improving if I'm scared of the mistakes I haven't made yet. This year is anything but perfection. I am going to make mistakes, I can say something that makes absolutely no sense, I am going to miss my train stop at night, or mess up on my english test. These are the moments that make this year special and I wouldn’t change this year for anything because in the end, I correct myself (or someone corrects me) and I find my way home. At the moment, it can seem like the end of the world but when we look back, these are just memories to laugh about.
Well in February I didn’t have too much going on but in a few weeks I have a school trip to Rome! I can’t wait to share with you all the adventures from that trip, but until then, ciao!