"You can observe a lot by just watching." Yogi Berra

I would like to start this post with an apology for last weeks random and rushed post. Sorry if it was at all confusing! I am doing my best. Blogging about my new life in Spain is tough, especially since I am also emailing a lot of people on the side. I forget what I have said here, and what I have said to them, and it gets all muddled. If you have any questions, suggestions, or if you just want to say hello, feel free to email me! I check my email as often as I can.
-lazuba1226@gmail.com

Today I went out shopping with Maria and two of her friends, Isa and Miriam. I had an awesome day. I really should have studied for philosophy, or done my math homework (and I should probably be doing that now....), but it was worth it. Plus, as my uncle (here in spain) told me, "you need to study less, and party more!".

I admit, I do work very hard, especially on the weekends, and sometimes that gets in the way of me being social with the kids here in Spain. AFS does want us to succeed in school, but they also want us to form friendships that will ultimatly make or break our experience here. So, in summary, in need to work on my school and friends balancing skills.

For a bit of an explanation about last week´s post, what Annika and I have decided is that IES Mayorazgo (my school) is for those kids who cannot go anywhere else. Mayorazgo is the "last resort" school in Malaga. The kids here are thrown together from all different areas of Malaga, all different social standings and economic backrounds, and many different levels of intelligence and motivation. These seemingly random compilation of students is because either 1. they cannot afford any other school in the area, or 2. they went to another school and flunked out, and Mayorazgo is the only school they have got a shot in.

I feel harsh making this extremely judgemental statement, but I swear to God its true.

Also, because these kids come from all walks of life, they identify together into two groups (only two groups because my school is just that small...). One group is the kids that don´t care about school and are here just barely getting by, or not...a lot of them are just flat out failing. They identify together by the fact that they all like to smoke and drink. They other group of kids are the ones that do care about school. This is tough for me, becuase I would like a middle ground. I would like to be able to be respected for doing well in school, but also have friends to hang out with out of school. The kids in the second group don´t do much after school becuase they are studying, all. the. time. The other kids I don´t want to hang out with afterschool because, literally, all they do is drink and smoke.

Despite that, I have a collective group of kids that I talk with during "recreo" (break for snack) and during any other downtimes. Their names are Franco (he is from argentina and I absolutly adore him. He is by far the most supportive kid I have met here, and he is extremely understanding), Anca (she is from Romania), Marieley (she is spanish, she is a runner, and I really like talking with her. She spent a couple weeks in England over the summer). These three are in some of my classes, not all, so it makes it tough to really form a good bond with them. With Franco, however, I have definitly become good friends, but he falls into that catergory of studying a lot and doesn´t do much on the weekends.

Franco has also introduced me to other kids in the class below me. Two girls, but I cannot remember their names at this moment. They are both super nice, but again, not in my classes, so I only see them during the 30 minutes we have for break. So, as you can see, bit by bit, the pieces are falling together.

So enough about my social life in school. In extension to last week´s blog about things to do in Malaga, I have been looking. I have been looking real hard, but I have yet to really make big steps in finding something to do. I now know how to use the bus system to and from the center of Malaga. This is one step, becuase now I can go anywhere I please, for the most part. This has opened a lot of oppurtunities previously impossible due to implications of how I would get there. I love public transportation.

I also went with my host mom to a photography school. I am now officially signed up for classes, the only problem is that those classes do not begin until January....
One more thing...I believe that I will be having a piano lesson tomorrow. I am excited and worried for this at the same time. I am excited to finally be able to play piano again after two months, but I worry that I will not meet their expectations. I think that they expect me to be a magnificent piano player. I am not bad, but I am certainly not magnificent. But, I will take what I can get, especially with my passions.

After visiting that photography school I have been thinking about what types of things would make good photos. Literally for everything I have looked at recently, all I think is, "oh! from this angle that´d be an excellent shot" or "that person would be a perfect subject" or "this would tell an intriguing story in a photograph" and then I kick myself in the back for not having my camera with me.

To explain the quote:
Today, while I was out with my friends we sat on a bench for a good half an hour, waiting. Even now I am still unsure exactly why we waited there...because after a half an hour nothing changed. But, I didnt mind. I people watched.
People watching in the center of Malaga is incredible. Becuase Malaga is a tourist city you can see all different types of people. Being in Spain I have gotten very good at stereotyping (unfortunatly). You can tell what part of the world people are from by what they are wearing. I now can pick out of a crowd someone who is american, someone who is german, someone who is french, and the people who are native spainards. Yes, the whole outfit tells the story, but quite often all you need to see are the shoes. The shoes, especially telling apart the Spanairds, give it all away.
I have pledged to return to the center of Malaga with my camera, and I am prepared to lay on the ground and get shots of the people´s feet. I can´t wait.

One last thing: Christmas stuff is already up in Malaga. My birthday is in two weeks. Annika leaves in two weeks. All these facts have led me to be filled with homesickness. But this homesickness is different from the homesickness I had back when I first arrived here. That was a longing for being able to speak my mind, to be able to communicate, and for things to be easier again. I wanted to go home back in September becuase I was homesick for normalcy. That has all passed and these past two months have been incredible. But now, with the holidays coming and Thanksgiving just around the corner, my homesickness is back, and more confusing than ever. One minute I would give anything to be home with my family to celebrate turkey day and my birthday with everyone that I love in the US, and the next minute I am dreading ever having to leave Spain and everything that I have here. Most of the time, I find myself wishing that my family and friends could all be here with me, but then I remind myself that the whole point of this trip is to try new things and meet new people and start a new life here in Spain. I have to remind myself that we have Thanksgiving every year, and that next year I can celebrate thanksgiving with the family.

In conclusion, everything is going great. Don´t worry I have not forgotten any of you and I miss you all everyday. My life here in Spain is getting better each day despite the "holiday nostalgia". Now...I really must go study for philosophy. I have slacked off a lot this week and I need to catch up!