3

Here we are again, another month later. I can't tell if that is a good thing or bad thing right now. Another month of practicing Spanish, doing sports, making friends, going to school, and adventuring in the world. Another month closer to when I go home. But I won't be going home until at least the end of June or July you might say. This is true, but if my first three months passed this quickly already, then the next six or seven I can imagine will come just as quickly, if not faster. I am not going to think about that right now... So onto what I have done recently!

Mmmmmm... Homemade empanada, guacamole (courtesy of Xenia and me,) and some veggies! 

'MURICA!! YEAH! Xenia and I folded all the napkins to look like bananas! Only took us 45 minutes...

Left to right: Katie, Hope, Xenia, me

All the exchange students! Left to right: Eric, me, Hope, Xenia, Katie, and Max (Connecticut.) Max is part of a different program, but he came to have dinner with us as well! 

Look at how colorful the train station is!! Love riding the trains here!

So Thanksgiving happened, and I went to Vigo to spend the weekend with my exchange friends since I wouldn't be alone and not feast! Maybe I was just imagining it, but I did seem to get oddly hungrier that weekend... For the most part, I helped set up, do light cooking, eat and eat and eat and eat, watch some Doctor Who and then go home. Remember when I started off this year with terrible luck traveling? (If you don't, check out my Consuegra video blog post from the beginning of my exchange.) Well, you guessed it, my traveling luck has failed me yet again. My host mom's car broke on Sunday so she would not be able to pick me up from A Coruña. In lieu of that, I changed my train ticket so I left two hours earlier, was picked up by a friend in A Coruña who got me to the bus station, took a bus from A Coruña to Ferrol, found ANOTHER bus stop in Ferrol, took that bus to Cedeira, and finally arrived home. I left Vigo at 3:45PM and walked into my house at 10:00PM. WHAT A LONG DAY.

This week starts finals week at school, but hey, I already graduated so I will only be taking the English final. This means I get to sleep in for two extra hours every day but 1 day for the next week and a half. I also don't know what to do with myself this week because it is the first year since sixth grade that I have not taken a final... How does one "relax"? When I relax, I usually sleep a lot, and I don't think that is how you are meant to relax... Especially considering the beach is 5 blocks from my house... I should mention though, it only is about 40ºF-50ºF outside this time of year. Minnesotans react by saying, "that's nothing! We have snow and cold!" and when I checked the forecast last night, it is only supposed to be 0ºF this weekend. However, the cold here is really humid as well as windy so when you get cold, no matter how many layers you wear, you are still cold.

This weekend I will also be playing in my first soccer game in about 12 years. Never ever in my life time would I have thought I would be playing in a Spanish soccer match. I am no good at soccer! I haven't played in so long! It will be an experience, and I can't wait! My coach just tells me to have fun, so that is really what I do all of practice. This means I laugh at my mistakes often and just go on the field to enjoy myself rather than winning since I just am not that great of a player! I am making awesome friends in soccer and I adore being a part of a team since running is such a solitary sport and it reminds me of my rugby days, where we all had to work together, communicate, and operate as one machine (not individuals.)

As of yesterday, I was accepted into the University of Minnesota - College of Liberal Arts! Yayayayayayayayayayay!!!! 

It is high up on my list of colleges and now I wait to hear back from 3 more and begin filling out any/all scholarship applications... But at least I am going to college and at the very minimum, somewhere I love and with lots of people!

Update: My dad just Whatsapped me and sent me a picture of my acceptance into University of Northwestern St. Paul! WOHOO!

And, the most exciting news, in my opinion at least, is I am organizing a worship/fellowship night via Skype for my Christian exchange student friends around the world!! EEEEEEEE!!! (That was my squeal of excitement.) I CAN´T SLEEP I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS!!! My fingers hurt because I keep practicing my guitar so much for the songs we will do, and AH!! God gave this deep desire to be with others and worship Him with them, so He told me to make it happen. We have the technology and I have a guitar, so what was stopping us?! I decided to give us a cool name so "We are the SALT of the Earth" and SALT stands for Separated Abba Loving Travelers. Witty, right? Needless to say, they are excited, I am excited, and God is great. I also have begun to read my Bible diligently with my friend Lauren in Minnesota... Wow. Have I been missing out on life. I am learning so much and we are only on our second book! If you can't tell, I am on this God high right now: I am filled to the brim with joy and excitement for life and everything He has to give to me! I know these highs don't last forever, but usually they only happen once a year at summer camp time, yet I have learned that I don't need to rely on a camp to see God in a new way or feel like He is actually here with me without having to remind myself too much of that ever so important fact.

~Ashlyn