Late Nights

This week has been pretty busy. But I would like to first address the fact that if anyone ever moves here you better be ready to get fit! This week I walked about 18 miles. Last week it was about 24. The amount of walking you do here is ridiculous. You also eat healthier since there's not as much processed food and it's all like farm fresh fruits and veggies. When I get back to America I'm going to get so fat. Dang it. 

Anyway back to my busy week. Monday I had lunch with the old retired guy. His name is Eduardo and he goes to Iceland every year to fish for Salmon. I also met with him Thursday and we talked about UFO's. It was a little weird getting paid for talking about such random topics. But whatever it's a little extra cash. 

Tuesday I went to this huge mall in Marineda City with my friend Lauren (the American). It was so large that they had an Ikea connected to it. 

 We went to Ikea becuase Lauren had never been to one before. Who's never been to Ikea? And why wouldn't you go to Ikea when the opportunity presents itself? It's one of my favorite stores to go to, along with Target, Wegman's, and Trader Joe's.

Wednesday I didn't do anything noteworthy. The kids had the day off school because of Columbus day. They celebrate it on the 12th of October here. So we watched movies (Star Wars! Woo!), went to the park, and pretty much just played together. I'm really getting to like these kids. Sure they can be annoying sometimes but what kids aren't? The kids are beginning to include me in the things they play, Teo wants me to hold his hand when I put him down for a nap, and they like my made up stories that I tell to them. They think I'm flipping hilarious. It's pretty awesome to be thought as hilarious. They also dig my Ukulele skills. So that's something.

I already mentioned what I did Thursday, and Friday I spent most of the day with the kids. They have a different school schedule Friday that makes me have to pick them up earlier. I had Spanish class Tuesday and Friday. Not Wednesday because again the holiday. Now you people are probably like, "Marley I'm sure just doing one thing a day with people is not keeping you fully occupied. What else are you doing?!" Well I've been studying for the SAT and ACT. I've been entertaining the idea of going to college next fall but I'm not satisfied with my test scores. We'll see if it goes any better. Maybe this time I'll actually get into the school I want. However this time it's my goal to not get my hopes up about it. February when I found out I didn't get into the school I wanted it left me a little depressed and disappointed. My tests are set for the first and second week of December so wish me luck. Pretty much as soon as I get back I'm taking tests.

Anyway Friday I did spend most of it with the youngins as earlier stated, but I did have "coffee" (a.k.a zumos naranja) with one of my classmates from Spanish class. She's from Poland and followed her Spanish boyfriend here. She teaches English and is taking Spanish so she can know how to form sentences properly. So grammar I guess. She has a pretty extensive vocab of the Spanish language. I'm jealous of it. Fo Sho. She's really nice and super helpful to the other students in the class who are struggling. I love her and I'm excited to get to know her better. They apparently have these "after class coffees" all the time so I have more opportunities to get to know her.

Now to the fun part. Saturday.

 Saturday I spent the morning with the fam. Had breakfast which varies for everyone. I had toast with nutella, Sole always has toast with tomatoes and olive oil, cereal for the kids, etc. Then after clean up I was a free bird to do whatever I wanted. So I went and got a waffle with Linda (the Australian) and Chantell (the South African) It was pretty dang delicious and made me happy. But pretty much any good food will make me happy.

We chilled at Plaza de Maria Pita and chatted. Being an American kind of sucks out here. With the elections looming everyone expects me to have an opinion on the matter. They're like "Who do you want for president?" And I'm like, "No one?" Oh well. But we also talked about our different cultures and homes. One of my favorite things here is learning about all the different cultures. Yes I'm learning and adjusting to the Spanish culture but hearing about how the German, South African, Polish, Australian, etc. people live their lives is so interesting. It makes me want to travel, live, and experience all these different countries all the more.

 Anyway on my way home I saw a pulpo shop. Like their display? It kind of grosses me out to think that I've eaten this stuff. It doesn't taste gross or anything it's just a creepy looking thing that I've eaten. I'll probably never look at an octopus the same again.

Afterwards I came home and read a book for a couple hours. I'm reading the Scarlet Pimpernel. That book is hilariously dramatic. I just want to laugh at it. I was about to get ready for bed at 11:30 when my dear friend Lauren messaged me and was like, "Hey there's something going on outside my house and I won't be able to sleep. Want to get tapas!?" Which I replied, "HECK YES!"

 This is what was going on outside her house. A drag queen band was playing. It was a very um.... interesting thing to be keeping these people out so late.

We stayed for like 5 minutes then proceeded to one of the many bar streets of A Coruna. Seriously though there are dozens of streets just filled with Cafes and Bars and late at night they're all open and full. We settled for one at random. I think it was called La Luga or something. Not that it really matters. I got myself a coke and some tapas. I think I've found my favorite food here. It was hand cut freshly fried french fries with a really delicious seasoned chicken and some creamy sauce on top. Soooooo freaking good. I really love how fresh everything is here. Like I don't feel like I'm going to die of cancer when I eat anything. No offense America. Instead I feel weirdly healthy. The orange Juice is to die for and pretty much my favorite thing to drink. And now my favorite dessert is tied between the Galician Crepe and Tarta tres chocolate. I had it last night and dang it was good. It was more of a pie than a cake but it was creamy chocolatey goodness that filled me with joy.

 After our tapas adventure we just strolled around the old part of the city. We found a cool marble plaza with carvings of random cartoon characters carved into it. So in case you ever wondered Charlie Brown is called Carlinos in Spanish.

 There also was some old man.

 Hello old man. I like your broken nose.

I ended up getting home around 2 in the morning. I felt like such a rebel. The funny thing however is that that is considered an early time to go home here. People often stay out till 5 or 6 in the morning at the bars drinking and partying to their hearts content. I think they're crazy. Partially because I like to sleep but if they want to party let them party! In a way I think it's cool they like to party like this. I feel the party attitude shows that they're a chill people. That could just be me though.

 Anyway that was yesterday. Today I had church. I got myself all prettied up and took the bus to the church building. It's really convenient that the bus stop is only half a block away from the building. Today I was actually really proud of myself. My few English speaking friends offered to translate for me but I said it was okay. And guess what?! I understood a good chunk of what people were saying in class! I was so happy and surprised! As much as it's really nice to have things translated for me I feel it disrupts from the spirit. Not a ton but enough so that I can't feel it to it's full potential. So it was really nice to know that I'm at the point where I can get through church on my own. Of course there was some things that I didn't understand what they were saying and I had to ask but I got most of it. So not only is it amazing that I got to feel the spirit more today I also got to know that my Spanish is really coming along. Now can I have a conversation? Not really. I can reply to basic questions and such. I just struggle at asking questions back. It's coming along though and that's what matters.

I also had my first dream in Spanish this week. It was like as long as I asked for things correctly in Spanish I could have whatever I wanted. Or something like that. I do know that I kept asking for pastries though. My dream self really likes to eat apparently. I mean so does my awake self it's just kind of sad that it's prevalent in my dream self as well. Anyway that's what's been happening. Till next week!

It's been a Month!

Well I've officially been here in Spain for a month and two days. It's really weird how fast time has gone by. I'm already 1/3 done with my time here. So weird. Anyway I feel bad for you reader. I feel that the longer I'm here for the less pictures I take and the less new things I do. Oh well. I'll try to make it interesting for you. 

This week Matilda was gone until Thursday night at some farm as part of a school field trip. I missed her. She's my translator and her being gone made it a lot harder to communicate with the other children. I managed though. Of course. 

 I've said it many times but I really do love the architecture here. It's just so detailed, intricate, and colorful. Why can't we have more buildings like that?

This week I had a small tinge of homesickness. It was really weird because I've never really experienced homesickness before. I was studying in my room when I realized it was really quiet. Then I thought about how my life is never quiet and how lonely it is to be alone in a quiet place. Then I thought about how I miss my loud and obnoxious family. Thank goodness for phones though! I was able to call mom and talk to all the kids and it was fine. I'm really grateful for the level of communication I'm able to have with my family. Imagine if I lived in the time where I only could write letters and it would take months to receive them. That would really suck. Man would it!

This coming Monday I'm going to start having conversations with an old guy twice a week so he can practice his English. Plus I'm getting paid for it so that's awesome! I met him for the first time Wednesday. He seemed nice enough so we'll see how it goes. Linda, my Australian friend, was the one who got me the job.

 Thursday night there was some kind of parade going on at like 11 o'clock. I have no idea what it was for but boy they were loud.

 Friday was some kind of holiday. I asked people what they were celebrating but no one really knew. That or they just didn't know how to explain it to me in English. So yeah a holiday celebrating nothing. I had half the day off though. Woo for freedom!

 With my half day I decided to go to the beach with my American Au Pair friend and her Italian boyfriend.

 It was really warm and beautiful. The weather was anyway. I tried to go in the water but it was too freaking cold. Like no.

 I also got a letter from my dear friend Paige this week. My family is slacking in the letter sending. Looking at you Ephraim! (and I guess everyone else too) Maybe when I write Paige back I'll write to my family as well. I better set aside a good couple hours to do that. Dang it. Sometimes it's hard having a big family. In case you were wondering. It takes a long time to do anything for them. :)

 Saturday the parents left for pretty much a whole week for their anniversary. I think they're going to Italy while I am left with all the children. So far it's been pretty good. I mean it has only been two days but hopefully it just stays as it has. Yesterday we went to the park.......

 and to the movies! We watched Ciguenas. I'm pretty sure that's Storks in Spanish. I could be wrong. It's been very interesting watching all these T.V. shows and movies in Spanish. Today I even watched Star Wars in French. Nice thing about television is that it's very exaggerated and I know what's going on without them speaking my language. Especially the cartoons.

 Anyway today we also went to the park. A different park but still to the park. I swear I go to the park practically everyday. But at the same time it's amazing how many parks they have. I think it's because they don't have any yards so they have to have a place for the kids to go outside and play.

And now as I write this Teo is taking a nap and the two older children are playing with Legos. So chill time! Woo! What I'm going to do with them for the rest of the day is a little uncertain but I'm sure I'll figure it out. Well that's all I've got for you this week. Till next week!

Conference Among Other Things

I think this week I've finally found my place. Meaning I now feel comfortable here. I know for the most part what is expected of me, I have a fairly set schedule, and I feel like the kids have learned to respect me if not even maybe love me. Who knows. 

This week is General Conference for my church. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. In case you were wondering. But anyway I've been looking forward to conference for the past couple weeks. I feel like it'd be nice to have a little extra guidance while I'm out here on my own. We've only had the Saturday sessions as of yet and so far I feel like they're all about being a missionary with those around you. Strangely enough before I left for Spain I had a blessing from dad saying something very similar. I feel like conference is confirming my belief that the reason I'm out here is to share my beliefs. Already I've had so many opportunities to share what I believe in with my host family, other au pairs, and many other people I've met. More opportunities than I've ever had in the states. It's really amazing and I think it's cool that I get to bare my testimony to these people. 

For instance just this past week I was watching Women's Conference and crying because I felt the spirit. That's how the Judd's roll. Anyway Soledad came in to ask a question and saw I was crying. I got to explain to her in slight how the holy ghost works and how it sometimes makes me as a lucky individual cry buckets of tears. Well not exactly but I did tell her about the holy ghost and how I believed it worked. Then I shared President Uchtdorf's talk with her. She watched it and said she liked the message it taught. So that's awesome! I love that it came about naturally! I've always felt that missionary work is something I've had to force and I feel like I've always come across as awkward. That's not the case apparently! Woo!

Anyway I'm really excited for the next sessions coming up. I have to stay up till midnight to watch them live but I think it's worth it. 

And now to what I did this week. I told you people last week I was going to make cookies. I did! I had to cream the butter and sugar by hand, which flipping sucked. I also had to cut a candy bar into pieces for the chocolate chips and bake them in a metal pie tin because they didn't have a cookie sheet. I'm under the impression that since there are so many bakeries around here no one feels the need to bake for themselves. It's sad. But anyway the cookies were good and made me happy!

 Oh it's so pathetic looking. Man.

 I also went to the beach last Sunday and just read a book. It was pretty beautiful. I might have also taken a nap but I'm not really sure.

 Someday this week I went to the market and bought fish. My weekdays really just blur together. They eat a lot of fish here. Going and buying fresh fish and seeing what it looks like before its been flayed and all that other crap makes me wonder who thought fish would be edible. Fish are freaking scary looking! Sorry for that random thought.

 This is a part of my daily walk to and from school with the kids. Speaking of school this next week they're in till five and I'm so excited since that means more free time for me! Woo!

 This is someones courtyard. I think it's beautiful and wish I could live there.

I also started my Spanish course this week. It's pretty fun. I like most of fellow peers. I especially like this girl name Susi from Germany who is also being an Au Pair. Maybe because I can relate with her. The teacher is super nice and makes sure we understand before moving on. Which can be difficult sometimes considering that the whole class is in Spanish. I didn't realize it was a immersion class when I signed up. But I guess it's a better and quicker way to learn the language. It was just a little surprising at first.

This is a statue that I thought was interesting. Partially since I'm coming to hate seagulls. When in Virginia I'd love seeing seagulls. They reminded me of living in down town Tacoma. Now I find seagulls irritating and bothersome. They are so loud and decide to make their stupid noises every morning at about 6. They wake me up and just..... ugh. Simply put, I now I hate them.

 Yesterday we went to Playa de Oza. At least I think that's what it was called. It was this cute little beach that had wind surfing and kayaking.

 The water was muy frio and there was no way I was getting in. I opted for just chilling on the beach and reading. I'm getting a lot of reading in I guess. You must all think I'm such a book worm.

 I liked this weather vane.

 Then after this beach we went to a restaurant in what felt like the countryside. It overlooked an inlet with these beautifully colored houses of blue, yellow, and orange with orange tiled roofs across the way. It made me feel like I was in a movie. (pictures below)  At this said restaurant I ate Pulpo, whole fish excluding the head, and fried baby calamari. The calamari wasn't to bad. I think because it was fried.

 After we ate we went down to this beach and chilled for an hour. I liked it. It gave me time to really appreciate the beauty of the area.

 Anyway that was yesterday. Today I decided to go explore the old city. I didn't get to explore as much as I would have liked because I was starving and I didn't have any food with me. Alas I will have to go back at another time. I found this really cool door knocker. It's just so random but so vintage. I love it.

 I discovered this cute street of colorful houses. Why don't we have more colorful houses in America? I feel like we used to but now houses are all boring colored. My family's house included. Is it because we want to be "modern"? Note to self: When I have a house paint it blue with red steps.

 This is the other end of the steps only with a really cool side view of Plaza de Maria Pita.

 I really love all the courtyards here. They're all so cute! I also love that people take the time to put flowers everywhere. It makes the city great.

I think I'm now going to go for a walk and maybe go to the beach and read for a bit. I still have a couple hours till conference and I don't feel like missing out on the nice sunshine. So till next week! 

A Gratitude Realization

This week made me really grateful for the life I was born in and to have the family that I have. For instance the housekeeper, Liz, is from Nicaragua. You know what she's doing? She came here to Spain to work and save money so that her two daughters can go to school and have a better future. She's working for 3 years and won't be able to see her family till then. It makes me want to cry for her. It's such an insane sacrifice that I almost can't even comprehend it. And she still laughs and makes jokes and seems really nice and friendly. I say seems because I can't really talk to her seeing as she only speaks Spanish. I just love her and think she's a really impressive person. 

Then you have my host family. Every week the parents go to Madrid for work for a whole day sometimes a couple and the kids don't see them. They have me but I'm not their parent. I'm not the same kind of comfort.  And when the parents do get back it's practically absolute chaos because they want their parents to do everything for them because they missed them. 

Just from these two experiences it makes me really grateful that I have a mom who has stayed at home and taken care of us kids instead of choosing to work. And I'm thankful that my dad is willing to work so hard to support all of us crazies. But I'm also glad that I get to see him everyday after work. Not now of course but when I was at home. I don't know I'm just really grateful for my family and how we've been able to be together my whole life. This week just made me really realize that. 

 Anyway this week a saw several cruise ships come in and out of port. So that was pretty cool.

 I hung out on the beach with an American Au Pair that I met at the language school. And speaking of language school I went to my first class yesterday. Only there wasn't a class because the teacher didn't show up, but I did meet some of my other classmates. They're all a lot older than me. Of course. But they're all super nice.

 Since there was no class I decided to go for a walk.

 And then I stopped here and read Anne of Green Gables. I'm pretty sure it'll always be one of my favorite books.

 This was from today. I went to a grocery store that sold baking soda. It was a 20 minute walk but I really want cookies. So it's totes worth it.

 I also thought that you would like to know that they don't refrigerate their milk.

Or their eggs. I'm kind of scared to eat their dairy products. Is that bad to say?

Anyway this week has been pretty good. The same as last week schedule wise. It's Saturday as I write this so I haven't done any super fun things yet. But I have plans to! I'm going to get hamburgers and ice cream tonight with my Australian friend Linda, my Spanish friend Sofia, and my new American friend Lauren. I'm pretty excited. Plus tomorrow is church so I get to see all those friendly people. And as soon as I'm done writing this post I get to make homemade cookies! or at least try to. Hopefully they turn out. The family went out of town again this weekend so I get the house to myself. Woo! Dance party! Anyway I'm ready to go make cookies so I'm gonna call this blog post done. Till next week!

Guys! I Met People!

Now I've done a crap load of things this week but I'm just going to cover that briefly and talk mostly about being social. Or more like just talk about the weekend and what feels like thousands of people I've met. You'll see. Also I know it's not Monday. Oh my gosh! How scandalous! I've discovered recently that I'm quite busy during the week and on Sunday I have to go to bed fairly early since I have to take the kids to school early in the morning. So I've pretty much decided to blog whenever I have the time. Which will most likely be Saturday. Or Sunday. Who knows.

This is just a cool building I saw in the city. No significance. Sorry. I'm going to sum up my week days really quick for you. Ready? Yeah? Good.

So I wake up every morning at about 7:45. Now that may not be early to all you folks. But gosh I hate waking up. SO FREAKING MUCH! Anyway I help give the kids breakfast, get them ready for school, and then walk them to school which is like 15 minutes away. Then I usually go grocery shopping with Soledad. We get home and then I have like a half hour of free time. Then I pick up Teo from school. We play at the park, go home, eat lunch, and then I put him down for a nap. I have another half hour to myself before I have to pick up the two other kids from school. Then I play with the kids until dinner time. We've gone to the park a couple times or we've played Clue A.K.A. Cluedo. It depends on the day. Then we go home (if we go to the park), I give them a bath, they eat dinner, and then they go to bed. And then repeat. For five days.

I've discovered while out here that I love coke. I actually usually really hate coke but I think since it's the same wherever you go it appeases my slight tinge of homesickness. So I like it now. It's weird.

I had lunch at this little cafe on Monday. I had fried fish and carne. It was pretty good. So far I haven't disliked any of the food I've eaten. I do wish it had more flavor though. It's all just kind of bland. There's not really a usage of spices. Not even salt and pepper. As much as the food is good I personally think it can be better. Oh well watcha gonna do. And they don't even have salt and pepper on the tables. So I can't even add it if I want! It sucks. Monday was the last day that the French grandparents were in town. As much as the most I could communicate with them was "good morning" and "bonjour" I kind of love them. They would always give me the European cheek kiss thing when they saw me and buy me dessert when they got the kids dessert. It was the small gestures that made me like them. I don't know they were just cute.

View from the play ground. Again no relevance I just think the buildings here are cool.

After school with Teo. I swear we were on this teeter totter for a good hour. It's weird how kids can be so hard yet so easy to please.

Fun reflection picture with Matilda and Diego after school. It was raining. So I don't know why we stopped. Cause I'm fun. Obviously. No but guys seriously the weather here is crazy. It's so erratic and spontaneous that it's just a good idea to always bring a coat and an umbrella with you.

This is the children's school. It's quite large but still looks like a prison inside. I may be biased but all schools in my opinion look like a poorly decorated prison. Now seeing schools in two different countries this confirms my beliefs.

Fun graffiti. Guys the graffiti here makes me laugh so hard. You get the stuff in Spanish, which I have no idea what it says, but then you get the stuff in English and it's gold. Like obviously hooligans. But I've also found noobs, skate, and punks. Like what? Why those words? It just makes me laugh.

Now for the fun part! You guys should be really grateful for all the pictures you get. I'm the worst at photo documentation. I think it's the main thing that sets me apart from other teenagers. But I'm especially bad when I'm having a fun time. I just don't think about it. You can blame my parents for my poor upbringing. Anyway ready for the social stuff that's oh so exciting? Here we go!

 Friday after I dropped Teo and the other wee ones off at school I went and had "coffee" with two German girls who are also Au Pairs. I had never met either of them before but I was like, "I need to meet people so let's do it!" I had chocolate a la taza in this fancy cafe called pandolinos. It felt kind of awkward as I felt like they wanted to speak German to each other but were being nice and speaking English because I was there. I don't know I'll probably hang with them again but it wasn't like an instant friendship. It's going to take some work. But that's to be expected.

Anyway then I picked the youngins from school. Took them home and got them ready for the beach and sent them off with their parentals for their weekend at their beach apartment. I went with them last weekend and as much as it would've been cool to go with them I wanted to go to church and do other fun things here in Coruna. So after they left I took a short nap and then I left to hang out with my Australian friend who at this point I had never met before. We met at pandolinos and this time I had a milkshake. Which was more like a smoothie with milk in it. It was interesting. Two other girls were there too. Sophia and another girl who's name I can't remember. That's really bad of me. I've met so many people this weekend though that it's amazing I remember anyone's name. Sophia and Linda are flipping awesome though. Sophia is Spanish but all she wants to do is practice her English. And MAN is she active doing it. She talks so fast. Anyway it was a really fun little "coffee" I had with them and I'll probably hang with all of them again. After the "coffee" me and Linda went and had tapas at a bar with her husband and their friends. And while they all had their beers I had my cola. Cola all the way man! It's a little weird that everyone expects me to drink. Especially since it's legal at the age 18. We had Spanish tortilla, Russian salad, and fish and chips. A Spanish tortilla is pretty much a gooey omelette with potatoes and Russian salad is pretty much a potatoes salad. They're both pretty good.

After the tapas we went to the concert of this Spanish guy named Alex Copper who apparently was in a famous band in the 80's. His music was very obviously late 70's early 80's. It was very happy music and it was fun seeing all these Spanish people belting it out. It was great. Halfway through I went with Linda outside by the ocean and we just chatted. Guys I can't express to you how beautiful the ocean is. It's just gorgeous. I love it. I saw Torres de Hercules in action so that was also pretty amazing. The concert went till 1 in the morning so I didn't get home till 1:30 but that's okay. The people I met Friday night were all amazing and I can't wait to hang with them again. Especially Linda. I just love her and her funny little Australian accent. Btw the picture above all this crazy writing is from the concert.

Saturday was quite a lengthy day but really fun. I had a YSA activity with all the YSA in the Galician region. I woke up at 9. Which isn't that early but when you stay up till 2:30 it can be. I was picked up by a girl named Andrea. She's super nice and likes to laugh but she doesn't speak much English. I like her anyway. There were 3 classes. One about getting married and finding a husband, one about finding a job and being self reliant, and one about serving a mission. I feel like the usual topics but they were all good classes. I had an elderly missionary couple who are from New Mexico translate some of the classes and then my new friend Vicky who I may have mentioned earlier translate the first class for me. She served her mission in England so that's how she knows English. I was weirdly worried that I would get to church and I wouldn't be able to talk to anyone. Luckily there are at least 5 people just in my ward that speak English. It may not seem like a lot but it's better than none.

After all the classes we had a dance. Which pretty much consisted of line dances. The dance turned into Karaoke. It was interesting but really fun. Every time an American song came on they'd rush over and be like, "Marley! Marley! Marley!" It was great. I ended up singing a lot of Justin Beiber. I made a lot of friends from all over the place. I'm kind of the baby here though. Everyone is like 24+. For instance I made friends with this girl named Luisanna who is studying for her masters in history at Santiago and she's 30. Good thing I know how to be friends with people of all ages! I made friends with another girl named Vimar who is going to BYU in January. Another girl who worked in Canada for a year named Bela. Both of them are from Vigo. And a girl named Kati who lived in the states for like 7 years or something and she lives here in La Coruna. So I had a lot of fun with a good chunk of English speakers. I met a lot of other people as well and I feel bad for not remembering their names. But again I'm amazed at the names I do remember.

This is the view from inside the church. There's chickens sometimes in the yard and it makes me weirdly happy.

After the activity I got dropped off and decided to go on a small adventure. I went to Zara and bought a really comfy slightly weird looking hoodie and then I went to a bakery and bought cookies for dinner. 'cause I'm just so healthy.

Today was similar to yesterday. In a sense. I woke up at 8:30 and got ready for church. Andrea picked me up again and I had a small conversation with her. We talked about yesterday and how it was fun. I sat next to Kati during Sacrament and she translated for me. The Patriarch and his wife were visiting from Madrid and talked about the blessings of tithing and fulfilling your calling. It was pretty cool hearing how the patriarch travels all over Spain to give blessings. There was a YSA Sunday school that I went to. They talked about the signs of Jesus coming again and how it's similar to the signs when Jesus came to the Americas. Relief Society is the same no matter where you go. Like exactly the same. The lesson was on honesty and they asked the sisters in the class if they had any personal experiences. Can you guess what their personal experiences were? "oh yeah this man at the store gave me to much change so I gave it back." etc. etc. I bet if I were to go to America and have the same lesson they would give an example like that. It makes me laugh. So yeah that was church!

I met so many people in the last three days. It's been amazing but I always feel bad. This is why. It turns out when I greet people for the first time I have an extremely bad habit of shaking peoples hands instead of doing the double kiss thing. This proves to be really awkward almost every time I meet a new person. Sometimes I remember to do the kiss thing but for the most part I forget. It's okay though I think for the most part people are understanding.

Anyway after church I came home and took a nap. Because what else do you do after church?! I then went out of the house for a while and took a stroll around La Coruna with Linda and two of her friends. One was from South Africa and the other was either from Australia or England. I forgot to ask and her accent was somewhere in there. They were pretty nice and I had a fun time meeting them.

Here I feel like a baby. I'm 18 right and everyone here is at least 23 usually older. The German Au Pairs were 19 but still. Everyone's all like, "Oh I thought you were at least 21." It's because I'm so tall or something. Or maybe I'm just super mature.  

So that was my week! Now to face another one filled with mystery and adventure. Till next week!