So today is Monday and I have a whole bunch of mixed feelings about this week and my summer to come. My week is jam packed with a little bit of everything and I don't know how I am going to be able to do it all. Plus, I'm not really motivated to do everything so that makes it even worse.
I'm starting to feel a little nervous. Whenever I see or hear anything in Spanish, I start to feel how I do before a basketball. Then I start to think about my week and I get stressed out and unmotivated. I don't really want to clean my room or do my AP summer work but I really should so I don't have a lot to do when I get back and I can enjoy the rest of my summer. I think tomorrow all I am going to do is read and work on the first book for English. I say that now but what I will probably end up doing is turning on the TV and watch Avatar (which is one of the best movies ever). We'll just have to see what happens.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Friday, May 28, 2010
HOST FAMILY!!
Ok so I finally got my host family assignment. It was probably last week when I got it but I have been so busy with finals and basketball and everything to get ready for Spain.
Well...I have a mom and dad and a sister named Sara who is 19 and a dog. I'm glad I have a sibling so I can hang out with her and do what teenagers do! There is also another girl who will be living in the house as me. Her name is Tori and she goes to Martinsville High School. I have been talking to her on facebook and she seems really cool. She like sports so that is really good. I hope she plays basketball!
I'll write more later!!
Well...I have a mom and dad and a sister named Sara who is 19 and a dog. I'm glad I have a sibling so I can hang out with her and do what teenagers do! There is also another girl who will be living in the house as me. Her name is Tori and she goes to Martinsville High School. I have been talking to her on facebook and she seems really cool. She like sports so that is really good. I hope she plays basketball!
I'll write more later!!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Final Blog (Not really)
What kind of mind are you?
I think I am a respectful mind. This sort of mind notes and welcomes the differences of others and tries to work effectively with them. I know that people are different and don't judge them on differences. Instead of rejecting them, I welcome them and try to understand their differences.
Exhibit Curiosity
I exhibited curiosity by explaining what I am going to do in Spain. I, as well as other, are excited about this trip and will want to know more about what I do and everything I experience there.
Engage in Intellectual Discussions
I engaged in intellectual discussions by describing most things that are going on with the process of going to Spain. From payments to host families, readers learned about what I went through in my journey up to this point.
Generate Hypotheses
I generated hypotheses by predicting what my experience will be like. I explained what I would like to do in another country and what my family will be like.
After developing my blog, I realized that blogging is actually really fun! I can share what ever I want with whoever want to follow me. I think I will share this with my family to share my experiences with them. The only downside to that will be that I will have to write in Spanish starting June 6 because of the no English rule! But that will be okay since my sister will be able to translate it to my immediate family and everyone else can use Google Translate.
I think I am a respectful mind. This sort of mind notes and welcomes the differences of others and tries to work effectively with them. I know that people are different and don't judge them on differences. Instead of rejecting them, I welcome them and try to understand their differences.
Exhibit Curiosity
I exhibited curiosity by explaining what I am going to do in Spain. I, as well as other, are excited about this trip and will want to know more about what I do and everything I experience there.
Engage in Intellectual Discussions
I engaged in intellectual discussions by describing most things that are going on with the process of going to Spain. From payments to host families, readers learned about what I went through in my journey up to this point.
Generate Hypotheses
I generated hypotheses by predicting what my experience will be like. I explained what I would like to do in another country and what my family will be like.
After developing my blog, I realized that blogging is actually really fun! I can share what ever I want with whoever want to follow me. I think I will share this with my family to share my experiences with them. The only downside to that will be that I will have to write in Spanish starting June 6 because of the no English rule! But that will be okay since my sister will be able to translate it to my immediate family and everyone else can use Google Translate.
No Letter
Still no letter. Today my dad got the mail and I asked him but he said he didn't look yet. So he handed me the mail and I dug through it. I thought there was a letter since there was an envelope with a hand-written name but it just ended up being a letter to the wrong address. It was a great deal of excitment then followed by imediate disappointment. Not such a good feeling.
My sister got a book for me. I can't remember what the title is but she said it was good. I guess I'll have to take her word for it. I think reading a book in Spanish will be kind of annoying because I will have to stop in every sentence and look up the word that I don't know. And there are a lot of words I don't know. I do know that this will eventually help me in the long run. It will be just like random facts that I know but don't know how I know them. For example, President Woodrow Wilson's wife took care of all the paper work he had to do since he was disable from a stroke he suffered while campaigning to increase support for the League of Nations and his Fourteen Points. Her name was Ellen. Random fact that I read somewhere. Hopefully the vocab words will stick like that.
My sister got a book for me. I can't remember what the title is but she said it was good. I guess I'll have to take her word for it. I think reading a book in Spanish will be kind of annoying because I will have to stop in every sentence and look up the word that I don't know. And there are a lot of words I don't know. I do know that this will eventually help me in the long run. It will be just like random facts that I know but don't know how I know them. For example, President Woodrow Wilson's wife took care of all the paper work he had to do since he was disable from a stroke he suffered while campaigning to increase support for the League of Nations and his Fourteen Points. Her name was Ellen. Random fact that I read somewhere. Hopefully the vocab words will stick like that.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Host Family
Everyday when I get home I run inside to see if I have any mail. They said that a letter would come from host families sometime in May. It's May 10 and still no letter! I know May 10 isn't even halfway through May but if you knew how anxious I am to get that letter, you would understand.
I absolutely can't wait to get a letter from my host family. I think it would be awesome to see what they are like, where they live, and what they like to do. That would give me an idea of what to get them as a present. I was thinking something along the lines of a scrapbook thing of my life and where I came from. And maybe something else too like Pampered Chef since my mom sells it. It all depends on my host mom and what she likes to do. (Pampered Chef is a company that sells cooking things and stuff like that.)
I hope my family is really cool. I am sort of nervous about not getting along with them. I don't think that should be a problem because I normally get along with everyone. I just wish they are something like my family. It would make the trip that much easier since it's going to be hard anyway!
I absolutely can't wait to get a letter from my host family. I think it would be awesome to see what they are like, where they live, and what they like to do. That would give me an idea of what to get them as a present. I was thinking something along the lines of a scrapbook thing of my life and where I came from. And maybe something else too like Pampered Chef since my mom sells it. It all depends on my host mom and what she likes to do. (Pampered Chef is a company that sells cooking things and stuff like that.)
I hope my family is really cool. I am sort of nervous about not getting along with them. I don't think that should be a problem because I normally get along with everyone. I just wish they are something like my family. It would make the trip that much easier since it's going to be hard anyway!
27 days. There are 27 days until I go to Spain. I am really getting excited. Since my AP History test is over, I now have time to practice my Spanish and get a head start so I don't sound like a fool while I'm over there. Today I started practicing with some pages from my grammar book. Although it is only comparisons and superlatives, I find it very difficult. This really scares me because if I am not able to do Spanish things here, I have no idea how I will able to do them in Spain where I cannot ask for help in a language that I actually know.
Its a good thing that my sister is home though. She took a bunch of Spanish classes so she will be able to help me do some of the worksheets. And I have someone to talk to in Spanish. I think I will suggest the idea of watching some movies in Spanish too. I think she would like that, and since we go by majority rule at my house, we will outnumber whoever watches TV with us. I asked my sister if she had any book that I could read that was in Spanish and she does from some of her classes. That is really good because I am not allowed to bring anything with the English language on the trip. That includes books, music, and whatever else. So that six hour plane ride over the ocean will be VERY boring without anything to do! Oh, well. It will soo be worth it though!
Its a good thing that my sister is home though. She took a bunch of Spanish classes so she will be able to help me do some of the worksheets. And I have someone to talk to in Spanish. I think I will suggest the idea of watching some movies in Spanish too. I think she would like that, and since we go by majority rule at my house, we will outnumber whoever watches TV with us. I asked my sister if she had any book that I could read that was in Spanish and she does from some of her classes. That is really good because I am not allowed to bring anything with the English language on the trip. That includes books, music, and whatever else. So that six hour plane ride over the ocean will be VERY boring without anything to do! Oh, well. It will soo be worth it though!
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Stage 2 Materials Complete
I received an email today saying that the IU office got my stage 2 materials. All i can say to that is thank goodness. I have finally finished all of the paper work and writing and filling things out. After 5 months of worksheets, i am finally done. All that is left with the official paperwork and stuff is the final payment due May 15. Once that is in, the only thing keeping me from Spain is the date!
I don't really have anything else to say today so i'm just going to attach some pictures of Spain and some of the places i am going to see.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Flights.
Yesterday, I was talking with my mom about prom (which was on Saturday) and stuff and the topic of the ash cloud from the Iceland volcano eruption came into discussion. She thinks that we need to contact the travel agency about the fights to Spain in regards to the cloud floating above Europe. She seems to believe that the thing will still be there come June 6. I think otherwise. I really doubt that it will still be there in two months. I mean come on...there's wind and rain and other weather stuff that will move it, right? Right.
In other news, I am supposed to be working on the advanced grammar i will have to know with my current Spanish teacher. I got all of my books for the classes i will have in Spain and I wanted to get a head start on some things so I wouldn't do too bad or far behind. I showed her some of the worksheets and she made copies, but i just don't have enough time to get around to them. Last week was horrible. I was so stressed about regular school work, getting my Stage 2 materials in on time, and of course, prom. On top of that, there was some other issues too, but that's a different story. There was no way i could get to them. (Honestly, I don't know if i remember where i put them!) I think this week will be the same as last. I have AP tests to start studying for and basketball and a lot of other stuff to do. Oh, i hate being this busy!
In other news, I am supposed to be working on the advanced grammar i will have to know with my current Spanish teacher. I got all of my books for the classes i will have in Spain and I wanted to get a head start on some things so I wouldn't do too bad or far behind. I showed her some of the worksheets and she made copies, but i just don't have enough time to get around to them. Last week was horrible. I was so stressed about regular school work, getting my Stage 2 materials in on time, and of course, prom. On top of that, there was some other issues too, but that's a different story. There was no way i could get to them. (Honestly, I don't know if i remember where i put them!) I think this week will be the same as last. I have AP tests to start studying for and basketball and a lot of other stuff to do. Oh, i hate being this busy!
Friday, April 16, 2010
Stress!
So yesterday, my Stage 2 materials were supposed to be postmarked. Thanks to my mom (Thanks Mom!) I got them in on time. All of this stuff is just sooo stressful. I had to get a medical assessment and have all of my medical records filled out. Then one of my parents had to fill out a parent assessment. And I had to get all of this stuff in the mail and yeah... Along with these forms, part two of the payment was due too. Keep in mind this trip is expensive.
School just got out so I shall write more later!
School just got out so I shall write more later!
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Intro Into My Trip
Hi! I'm Alyssa and I am a student at Roncalli High School. In February of this year, I was selected from numerous high school applicants to participate in the Indiana University Honors Program in Foreign Languages. This is the first of many posts that I will share with you about my trip to Spain. I will be going to Leon which is a large city in the northwest region of Spain. I leave on June 6 will return on July 22 (just in time to make it to the Jack Johnson concert the next day!). I will be in Spain for seven weeks while being totally emerged in Spanish. There is a strict no English rule so I will be writing in Spanish while I am there (sorry! you're just going to have to translate it on Google Translator). I hope you enjoy this as much as I will!
http://www.euroresidentes.com/euroresiuk/guides-spain/guide-to-leon.htm
http://www.euroresidentes.com/euroresiuk/guides-spain/guide-to-leon.htm
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