First off i apologize for not posting in so long! Its been an adventure to say the least. On the 18th of this month i will have been here two months. It already feels like a lifetime. Ive forgotten the routines of the US and replaced them with my strange new routines here. Like for starters on monday-friday i wake up at 6am (yes mom i actually wake up when my alarm goes off!) and get ready for school. I have a very attractive uniform i get to wear...... Knee high white socks, a navy pleated skirt that reaches my knees, on monday a blouse tie and blazer and the rest of the time a white polo red sweater and jacket. My favorite day is thursday because i have pe. I get to wear comfy clothes! blue sweatpants, a white red and blue shirt that says my schools name and a white jacket that is actually kinda cool!
There are a lot of differences between my school here and my high school at home. First off my school is k-12. Its weird to be going to school with my 7 year old brother. Here the teachers move, the students stay in class (with the exception of lab time in the science classes and PE). School starts at 710 and gets out at 110. I have two 20 minute breaks in the day and there are FOUR places to buy cheap-really-good-but-bad-for-you food. I think the biggest difference here than at home is that even though their are cliques, they dont determine anything. It isnt like there is a popular clique and then everyone else. People actually get along and are nice regardless of class, gender, age or appearance. It was quite refreshing to have friends on the first day of school. I have five super close girlfriends that adopted me on day one; Pame, Gabby, Maurlita, Cathy, and Vivi. They are so wonderful and make sure im never alone. The thing i have noticed about a lot of latins is that they take a while to warm up to you. i mean just last week my brother that is my age started to actually treat me like a sister. He would invite me out with him and his friends and even tickle me from behind (NOT FUNNY). My little brother is on his way to warming up to me. He no longer whines and gets upset when i walk in a room. He even invited me to play video games with him the other day. As my brother starts to warm up to me so are a lot of my classmates that just ignored me for the first month of school. Now when most of the boys walk in the class they come and say hello or if they see me on the playground its a "Hi Hailey!" its been truly wonderful to start getting pulled into my life here.
My spanish and slow but coming a long. Now that juanfris left i think my family will speak more spanish to me. Juanfris left for canada last night. It was sad. Me and my mother cried. he was really fun to have around. At dinner yesterday he came up behind me and tased me when i wasnt looking (tasing is when you come up behind someone and poke them in the side). For someone like me who is SUPER ticklish i fell over. The goodbyes sucked like normal. I knew him a little over a month and he was already my brother. I think what really made it real to me was when he added me on skype he labeled me Naña (short for hermana (sister) and only used when really close to someone). I almost cried right then and there. I so very excited for him! I know his exchange is going to rock! But at the same time i wish he was here with me so i could enjoy his company!
Coming up i have Rotary's trip to Manabí. It a HUGE beach trip where all exchange students meet for the first time. At the language camp i only met one third of the kids. We are going to get to hang at the beach, go to surrounding cities and just enjoy each other! I'm super excited!
I would also like to make a shout out here and ask a big favor. My friend Alex Horsey is an amazing person. In middle school we were both bullied for very different reasons. He took his pain and in high school created this awesome group called project believe in me. He teamed up with this girl who makes music CD's and they are creating a mixed CD with artiest from all over the US to help people experiencing depression due to bullying. Music is an amazing outlet to express yourself, either through singing, writing, recording or just listening. There is five days left in his money raising campaign. He is half way to his goal to be able to produce the CD and hold an opening in Portland. There are a bunch of great prizes if you help by sponsoring. Here is the link to the cite http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/839502552/hold-on-another-day-songs-for-project-believe-in-m?ref=home_location. If the goal isnt reached than everyone gets their money back. Please share this on FB and with all your friends. This cause is important to me and hits close to home. Please support it, even if you can only give a dollar. Thank you!
