AMAZING WEEKEND

Hello to everybody!


I have so many things I have to tell you! Last Friday it was the Diversity Day. We wore the typical outfits of our countries! I did not have the Spanish outfit, so I wore red and yellow (like the Spanish flag). Here I am posting a picture with one of my friends, Joyce, from Sudan. Aren't we pretty? I really loved the Diversity Day! After school that day, I met Eileen, my new host mother. She is very nice, I think I will enjoy a lot the time I will spend with them, as I enjoyed the time I spent with Mere, Lynne, and Don.

On Saturday I went to a lot of places with Lynne and Don. Mere was at a retreat, so she could not come, but I had so much fun. We went to Bernheim Forest. Here I am leaving a picture of the Snake Hollow, a sculpture made out of natural elements.




Then, we went to the Jim Beam Distillery (did you know that a 95% of the Bourbon Whiskey made in the world is made in Kentucky?!) and to the Old Kentucky Home. The official song of Kentucky, "My Old Kentucky Home," was written there by Stephen Foster. It was a pretty house, and the visit taught me so many things! We also went to the Abbey of Gethsemani, but the visits and the gift shop were already finished. If I can, I will go again eventually. It was a very busy Saturday, but I had lots of fun!



On Sunday I went to see my new house, and I met Brian, Pat (Eileen and Brian's son) and Tula. Tula is such a pretty, sweet dog! She is fantastic! The house was gorgeous, really. I was talking to Eileen, Brian, Cindy (my local coordinator) and Tula for an hour and we saw the different rooms in the house. I am excited for living with them. I am going to miss Mere, Lynne and Don, but I am happy that my new host family is so nice. They seem really fantastic people!

My Sunday School Class

Before visiting their house, I went to Sunday School at Mere and Don's Church, like every Sunday. Since today was my last day there, I asked them to take a picture all together, as a class. Here it is!




After visiting their house, I went with Don to two museums. I enjoyed them, one was 21C, a museum-hotel, and the other was the Science Museum of Louisville. I think that museums are great, they show so many things just in one place. I never regret going to them. At the Science Museum, there was a super interesting exposition about the human body. They were real bodies that had been donated to the science and treated to make the exposition. It was really nice, the human body is absolutely amazing.

Now I am watching the Oscars. Wow! The magic of the Cinema. They are making it so spectacular, I am enjoying watching them. I have seen several of the movies that are nominated to some Oscars, such as "Lincoln" and "Les Misérables." Even if I do not do it very often, I enjoy watching movies.

Next Sunday, when I write you again, I will be in my new house, with my new host family. I am a bit nervous, but really excited. See you next Sunday!

Bye Bye!

NEW HOST FAMILY

Hello to everybody!

I hope you all are doing great! It is weird that I update my blog on a Thursday, but there is a reason:

I know who my new host family are! I am going to meet my new host mother tomorrow after school. I am really excited! I am going to miss Mere, Lynne, and Don so much, and also Zeke and Kitty, because I love them all very much and I am really thankful with them.

Tula! So sweet!

My new host family are friends of a fantastic teacher at Pres and also of the parents of my friend Jenna. I am a bit nervous and very excited! They have a super pretty dog called Tula, here I leave you a photo that they sent to me.

Tomorrow I am sure everything is going to be great, that I will like them very much and that they will like me too.

See you on Sunday!

Bye Bye!

ST. VALENTINE'S DAY AND WINTER DANCE

Hello to everybody!

I am sorry I am updating on Monday, but yesterday was the Winter Dance and I wanted to talk about it. Well, let's see. I am going to talk about a whole lot of things I did last week and about a (in my opinion) interesting thought that I have had just after the dance.

Well, on Tuesday I had a Math Team exam! It was so hard! I was really happy because in the last exam I was first, but in this one... I do not know in which position I am going to be. Perhaps fourth or fift. I am really glad of belonging to the Pres Math Team, though. I love Math and I enjoy participating on the exams.

On Wednesday I went to... the Opera! We saw Don Giovanni. It was absolutely fantastic. We went there with the Language Club, and I have to say that it was wonderful. The voices of the singers were so powerful! The show was in Italian, but they had subtitles. I think it is a shame that we are not going to go to any more operas with the Language Club!

Do you remember what happened February 14th? Yes, you are right! Saint Valentine's Day! It was soooo fun! We gave balloons to our friends with heart-shaped cards. I gave and received a lot of them! Later, at home, Don and I went to see the movie "Warm Bodies." It was about a zombie that falls in love with a human. I enjoyed it, it was nice.

On Saturday I had the Regional Competition of Math. I did as well as I could, and I am happy for it. I already know the result: I did not make it to the State Competition. However, do you know what? It is fine, I am really proud of myself because I made it first to the Regionals!

Winter Dance! It was fantastic! Great! On Sunday I went with some of my friends to have dinner at the Waffle House and then we went to the Dance. We danced during the whole three hours! I really, really, really loved it! After the Dance was over, I went to a sleepover at my friend Bernadette's house. I am always saying that my friends are wonderful, they are fantastic! I am going to post a picture of the Dance when I finally get them (they are in Shelby's camera).

Here it is my thought: Do you remember that I told you that I have been feeling like a true American girl during the past months? Now, I feel it even more! After my first American Dance, I believe that being a teenager in America is not like in the movies, but even better! Don't think about High School Musical, because that is not the way how it is here, but I like it very much! Right now I am talking with my friend Jiachen, one student from China, and she was saying that she enjoyed the Dance so much too! You know, American Dances are popular all over the world!

Now, something I want to tell you all: Lynne (my host mother) has mononucleosis. I feel so sorry for her, I hope that she recovers soon. Cindy, my Local Coordinator, says that I have to move to other host family to not get sick. I know it is an opportunity to meet other people, but I am going to miss Mere, Lynne, and Don so much. I am very thankful with them and I love them a lot.

Well, people, see you next Sunday!

Bye Bye!

SPIRIT WEEK

I am Harry Potter!

Hello to everybody!

This week was the Spirit Week! During the Spirit Week all the students that want to get dressed as something different everyday. On Monday we did not have a theme because we had to wear our dress uniform (the formal uniform: I almost freeze with my skirt!). On Tuesday it was our "Favorite Character Day!" I got dressed as Harry Potter. There were a lot of different costumes: One Direction, Perry the Platypus, Luna Lovegood... It was so fun!

With Brittany (Mardi Gras)

On Wednesday it was our "Favorite Holiday Day." I got dressed as Christmas. On Thursday it was the "Pajama Day." This day was the most comfortable one. I believe that we should be allowed to go in our pajamas to school! Really, it was fantastic! I was wearing pink and white Hello Kitty pajamas, so imagine me! Normally I do not wear pink, people were surprised!

Bernie (St. Patrick's Day) and I

On Friday it was the "Spirit Day," and we had to wear Pres clothes. I wore the Spirit Shirt and a Spirit sweater. We even had a Pep Rally! On Pep Rallies we see the cheerleaders and the dance team dance, some girls act, and everyone has fun! They called me twice! At first because I belong to the Math Team (I won the last competition! I was first!) and then because I won in the Governor's Cup District Competition in Math. They even gave me a diploma and a medal!

On Saturday I went out to have dinner with Lynne, Don and Mere, and today I had to... do my homework. You know, the hard life of the student and all that stuff (I am just being sarcastic!)

Next Friday we do not have school, and on Saturday I have the Regional Competition of the Governor's Cup. Wish me good luck! This Tuesday I also have a Math Team exam. This is going to be a busy week!

Well, I have to go. See you next Sunday!

Bye Bye!

ENCOURAGEMENT

Hello to everybody!

The back of our house

Here I am again! Do you know what happened? We were supposed to have our Winter Dance yesterday, but it was snowing and we finally could not. We do not have to be sad, though, because what can seem bad at one point can be good later. Now not having the Winter Dance can seem awful, but they are going to reschedule it, so no problem.

It was snowing so much! I like snow (even if it is so cold!), I think that the landscapes are very pretty. Here I am posting a photo of the back of our house with the snow. I really like it!

I want to talk to you about something: here in America, they know how to encourage people to do whatever they want us to do. I really admire them. For example, when some months ago we had the Walk-a-thon, we could donate money to the school, so they could give more scholarships to girls. Well, they had several awards: for the person that brought more money, the second, the third... You know, they also had "If you bring more than (let's say $300) you get a day out of school" or "you jump for cash", or different prizes of that kind. I think that they knew how to motivate people really well. I am glad of learning different ways of leading a team so we can achieve a goal, encourage people and encourage myself to try to achieve want we want, always respecting others' points of view.

"If you get good grades, you will have an ice-cream pass in the cafeteria". Well, we try to have good grades not just because of that (most of us) but it is always very nice to have an award for our effort. I believe that it motivates us to continue making efforts and trying to do always our best.

"If you do your chores, I will give you your allowance". That is what my friends told me that a lot of American parents tell to their children. They are learning since they are little that they have to do something, that they can get good things for doing it (money, toys, cheers...) In my opinion it is a lesson we have to value: we  do not get things "just because" or without even making an effort to get them, but trying to do what we are supposed to and making people happy.

Well, Dear Readers, I have to go. I will see you next Sunday!

Bye Bye!

SLEEPOVER AND GOVERNOR'S CUP

Hello to everybody!

Bernie, I, Serena, and Serena's siblings

I went to a sleepover! That was eight days ago. I had so much fun! The reason for the sleepover was that my dear friend Serena is going to Australia, as an exchange student. I am going to miss her a lot, she is very nice.

I met a lot of new people in the sleepover, and they were great! The day after it, on Sunday, we went to Church with Serena´s family, and then we returned home. Here I am leaving one picture of the party. I hope you like it!

President Obama

On Monday it was the Inauguration of President Obama, and it was also Dr. Martin Luther King's Day, so we did not have school. I really liked watching the President's speech with Mere, Lynne, and Don, I felt very very American. I also think that it was a very powerful speech, that the things he said and the way he said them were really energetic and emphatic.





Do you know what I did yesterday? An exam! Why is that exam so special, Laura?, you would ask. Because it was the Mathematics exam of the Governor's Cup! I explain. The Governor's Cup is a competition that takes place in Kentucky where students of Elementary, Middle, and High School compete on numerous subjects that form the Written Assessments: Math, Language, Social Studies, Composition, Arts and Humanities, and Science. There are also two more parts: Future Problem Solving and Quick Recall.

I participated in the Math exam and in Quick Recall. In the Math exam... I won! First place! I am really happy. Our team lost in Quick Recall, but we did well anyway. Presentation won the first place as a team! I am glad that I was able to participate and to help making Pres be the first. Mr. Armstrong, my Math and Physics teacher at Pres, said that he was going to help me with the problems I did not understand, so for the following championship I know how to do them. I really like him, he is a great teacher!


This was the District Competition, now I have to go to the Regional Championship. If I win, I will go to the State Championship. Wish me good luck, Dear Readers!



Here I am leaving the link to find out more information about the Governor's Cup: GOVERNOR'S CUP

I have to study now, I have several tests this week! See you next Sunday!

Bye Bye!

SUMMARIZING 2012

Hello to everybody!

Here I am again! How was your week? Mine was pretty busy, going again to school and adjusting again to get up early (that is always the worst part!) Yesterday I went with Riley to the cinema, to watch Les Misérables, the musical. It was a great movie, seriously! And Riley was so nice, that she picked me up at home and then brought me home afterwards. You know, I do not know how to drive, and I could not do it anyway with this program. After the movie was over, we went to eat to a Chinese restaurant. I love Riley, she is such a wonderful friend!

As I promised last Sunday, here there is a reflection about my year. The good and the bad sides. The happy moments (most of them) and the not-so-happy moments (just a few). It was not perfect, but almost.

Ele, I, and Raque

I do not really remember what was going on from January to April. Well, I do remember that in Carnival I went with my friends in Spain dressed up in our pajamas! That was so great, I still remember that afternoon. You had a snake, didn't you, Ser? Ele, Raque, Ici, Ser, Sara, Lari, Xini. My friends.





I was in a new class, all with new people. I mean, I knew them before, but not really. This year I realized that Amara, Marta, Xiang, Kimberly, Patri, Emma, Alex... You all are not the people that go to the class next to mine, but friends. I am glad I got to know you.

I, Raque, Ele, Ici

I also remember how happy I was when I knew that I was going to come here, to the U.S. (Thank you, Barrié and Amancio Ortega Foundations! Thank you again!)

In April I had a wonderful weekend in my birthday. Raquel, Elena, Icía. You all are great friends. I miss you. Even if we had some problems after my birthday, I believe that friendship sometimes is hard. I love you, girls. I hope you are having a great time.

I, Lula, María, Marta, Oihane, Irene

From May... I just remember how stressed I was because of the final exams and all the projects. We should not have so many (well, yes. We are students. Anyway, I would like to not have so many!) I remember that then, at some point, I hanged out with my friends that I met in France: Lula, Irene, Oihane, Marta, María, Alexandra... You are great!

In Salou!

Then in June, Salou! Those were very nice holidays! (I am always saying that my friends are wonderful. That time with you was great!) I was very glad that I had more time with my family. Mami, papi, Vito, Al. I love you.

My family

Lari, Ici, Ser, Raque, Ele

Friends

July happened so quickly... I spent that time in Vigo with my family and hanging out with the people that were coming with me to the U.S. (not to the same state). I made great friends there. Nico, Raquel, Mariña, Aitana, Rocío, Yeneva, María, Lauras... I miss you, people. I know that you are having a great time each one of you with your new families, schools, friends... That is fantastic!




Suddenly, it was August. What? August already? Really? The 29th of July (Mere's birthday) was the first time I talked to my new family. Two days in New York and twelve hours of flying later, I arrived to Kentucky. I could not believe what was going on. Even now, if I think about it, I am a bit overwhelmed. I barely remember my first days here. They are kind of blurry in my head. I was so nervous!

Exchange students

My family

September, October, November, December... The first time I saw Mere, Lynne, Don. The first time I went to Pres, a football game, or to the mall. The Fall Break, Halloween, Thanksgiving. Cinema, restaurants, conversations. Friends, family, my new sister. Midterms, Christmas and New Year. Summarizing my first months here, that's it. I cannot say how much I love and treasure all of the special moments that I had with my family and friends. There were not good, but all of them were unique. We had our arguments and little problems, but in general we knew how to get along really well.

Hannah, Riley, and I

Bailey, Serena, I, and Bernie

After thinking for a long time in a word that could summarize my 2012, the best option that I have is "Thank you". Thank you to my two families for being who they are, my friends for supporting me, the Barrié and Amancio Ortega Foundations for making my dream real... Thank you.

It will be difficult that 2013 is as great as 2012 was, but I am sure it would be even more fantastic. Now, I hope that you all have a super great 2013!

See you soon!

Bye Bye!

NEW YEAR

Hello to everybody!

Today I am updating because it is the Three Kings Day! Happy Three Kings Day to everyone!

Alex, I, Mere, Lynne, and Don in front of the Xmas tree!

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day we stayed at home. It was very nice, and all my presents were so pretty! I got jewels, clothes, ornaments for the tree... I also think that everybody liked my presents.

On Thursday I went with my friend Riley and her mom to the Frazier Museum, to see an exposition about Princess Diana. It was nice, very interesting. The museum was crowded! I was delighted, that so many people like learning more about not only Princess Diana, but also American History.

On Saturday I went with Mere and Alex (her boyfriend) to play with lasers (shoting with a laser to the members of the other team). It was very nice, really, lots of fun. Then we went to the mall. I like Alex, he is a very cool guy.

Christmas ornament

On Sunday I went to the mall with my friend Karly, and we went to Starbucks! I was happy, it was my first time that I asked for something there.

On New Year's Eve, I went to a New Year's party in one of Meredith's friends house. It was fun. I did not know that one of my friends of school was going to be there, but she is the sister of that boy! We said "Happy New Year" at twelve and had pizza then.

Exchange students

On Thursday we had to return to school. Bye, bye Holidays! I was missing my friends and teachers, but I will miss sleeping until late. Seriously!


Yesterday, do you know what I did? I went to ice-skate with the exchange students! It was so much fun! I really like being with them, they are all so nice.

Our house

At some point during the break, it was the first time I saw snowing! I have already been to the snow before, but seeing the snow falling... That was unique. Everything was so white, so romantic and pure... I absolutely loved it.

My hand

Next Sunday I am going to post a summary of all the year, with its great moments and its not-so-great moments, with the changes and the wonderful opportunities. Don't miss it!

Today, Three Kings Day, I want to share with you my best wishes for you, your families and all your beloved ones. I hope that all of you, my dear Readers, have a great 2013 with lots of happiness, love and success.

See you next Sunday!

Bye Bye!

AROUND CHRISTMAS

Hello to everybody!

How are you going? I am going very well, very excited for Christmas.

Singing carols

Did you know that I have already been to three Christmas parties? The 9th of December I went to one with my neighbor, Janet, at her Church. It was very nice, we played I game that was completely new for me: "White Elephant." We have to give the most awful presents that we have at home. The present that I got was pretty nice thought. We went caroling too. It is singing Christmas songs to people's houses. I do not sing well at all, but it was fun. Here I am leaving a picture of it.

The Exchange Students

The 14th of December I started the midterms. What are the midterms? The super scary exams that we have to take at the end of the first semester. You may not believe me, but they are difficult. I studied a lot!

The 15th, Saturday, I went to my second party! It was with all the other exchange students, at the house were Augusto (from Brazil) lives. It was so much fun, I laughed a lot with my friends. Now I can say that I have friends from Germany, Italy, Ecuador, Brazil, China, Tailand, Korea, Russia, Denmark, France, Colombia, Venezuela... and, of course, the United States! Wow! It sounds amazing, doesn't it? We are going to go ice-skating the 5th of January (probably) so I am going to see them again. They are all so nice! Here I am leaving you a picture of all of us. Enjoy it! (We are not even all of us, we are really a lot!)






What else, what else...? Well, I had such a stressful week last week! Seriously! I studied so much. However, I think I did well the midterms. I already have the marks of two of my subjects, Contemporary Literature and Honor Pre-Calculus (Math) and I had in both a 99%!

Serena, me, Bernadette, and Sarah!

On Wednesday we finished school and I was thinking: finally! I finally can sleep! Yesterday I slept twelve hours during the night, what do you think of that? Well, on Thursday do you know what I did? I went to my first sleepover! My first American sleepover! It was in Bernadette's house, one of my friends, and at first we had a party (my third) during the afternoon. It was great, I had a lot of fun with my friends. Thanks, Bernadette! Here I am leaving you a picture of my friends and me at... two in the morning! Don't we look great for that time?



The last thing... Today, Sunday, it is Saint Victoria's Day. Happy Saint, Victorias! Well, today we went to Karen and Craig's house (Karen is Don's sister) to have a Christmas dinner there before Christmas. It was very nice, I really liked them. I ate so many desserts! You know, American people make cookies and goodies for Christmas (like in the films!). I helped Lynne making them and then, of course, I helped eating them!

Prezettes at the Concert

I almost forget! Presentation Academy offered a Christmas Concert in the start of December, and I did not tell you about that. It was very awesome, moving and exciting in the same time. My sister, Meredith, has a wonderful voice. She is a Prezette, what means that she is one of the best singers at school. Here I am leaving a picture of the Prezettes at the Concert. I absolutely loved it!




Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and then it is Christmas Day. I hope that everybody has a great Christmas!

See you next Sunday!

Bye Bye!

THANKSGIVING AND THE TOWER

Hello to everybody!

Here I am again! I am sorry! Where you missing me? I had some very, very busy weeks!

Two Saturdays ago I went to watch Twilight with Riley and her mom and on Sunday I worked Open House. What is Open House? It is a day at school that we have to receive people from other schools and show them about Pres, give them a tour around the school and explain to them what we do. When the four hours of work was finished, I was feeling exhausted!

On Monday and Tuesday we had class (well, on Tuesday it was the grandparents day and we had a liturgy), but on Wednesday the Thanksgiving Break started! That day I did not do much, we had a little Thanksgiving dinner for Ellie, my oldest host-sister, because the true Thanksgiving Day, on Thursday, she had to work.

All of us at Rainforest Café

On Thursday we went to Karen's (Don's sister) house to have the Thanksgiving dinner. Everything was delicious! I ate a lot. It is exactly like in the films, with turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, and stuffing. And... a lot of desserts! I love desserts! Lynne made them and they were awesome!

On Friday it was Black Friday, with great sales. The mall was crowded, I went there with Riley, then I went to Riley's house to help decorate their tree. It was very pretty!

And do you know what I did last weekend? I went to Nashville! Yes, Nashville, the capital of Tennessee! Can you believe that? It is awesome! I really loved it, it was fantastic! We went there on Saturday morning, to a hotel that was so big and with a lot of gardens. Then we went shopping to a huge mall, and then we went to see the Rockettes! Yes, cabaret! Before that, we had dinner in the jungle! The Rainforest Café! Seriously, sometimes it was so real that it was scary (you have to ask Mere, I was sitting next to her and a couple of times I was jumping because of the noises the tigers made). However, I loved it so much, it was very nice. Here I am leaving a photo of it. You will like it!

My friends, Santa and I at Light Up the Tower

Finally, last weekend I did not do much, it had been such a busy week! On Sunday I went to Light Up the Tower, a kind of party that takes place at Pres (and they light up Pres’ Tower). I had fun, I was there with my friends. Then I went with my friend Morgen to the cinema to see a film for an assignment in History, Lincoln.

Now I want to share this thought with everybody: in Spain we do not have Thanksgiving, which is a pure American holiday. But… do you know what? I really found a lot of things to be thankful for:

Thank you to my host family for being here with me, sharing all those wonderful moments.

Thank you to my parents, that allowed me to live this dream and are with me even when they are four thousand miles away.

Thank you to my siblings, Victoria, Alberto, and Meredith, because they are fantastic and I would not know what to do without them.

Thank you to Pres, because it is a great school with all my friends and teachers there.

Thank you to all my family and all my friends back in Spain, because they support me with their love even if they do not realize they are doing so.

And finally thank you to the Foundations Barrié and Amancio Ortega, because they gave me the opportunity to live this amazing American year.

Thank you to all of you for making me like I am now. I wish to everybody a wonderful year full of happiness, love, and peace.

See you next Sunday!

Bye Bye!

BYE BYE BIRDIE AND SPANISH RESTAURANT

Hello to everybody!


Friday night I went to see "Bye Bye Birdie" in the theater of Pres. It was so nice! It is a musical, and all the girls and boys had very powerful voices. I really enjoyed it.



On Saturday I went to a service opportunity. I had to help the kids making Gingerbread houses. It was very very cool! I met some friends there, they were from other schools but I hope I can see them again!

For dinner on Saturday we went to a Spanish restaurant, De la Torre. I absolutely loved it! I was missing a lot of things, like Spanish ham (jamón serrano) or Spanish Cheese. I am very glad I finally ate them! Lynne, Don, and Mere liked the things, they said it was nice trying new food from other countries. Here it is one photo of the four of us at the table. Aren't we cool together?

See you next Sunday! Bye Bye!

HALLOWEEN

Hello to everybody!

Halloween! Halloween! The day between the dead and the living people!

Our pumpkins!

The day before Halloween I carved a pumpkin, and it was very very nice. I mean, it is a very complicated design! Lynne carved other pumpkin. Here I am posting a photo of both of them, mine is the one with the witch and the other is the one that Lynne carved. Mere was going to carve it, but she had a lot of exams at school. Seriously, a lot of times I feel sorry for her! So much homework!

At school dressed up

The day of Halloween was fantastic! I ate food Halloween-related and I gave candy to the children! And... we went to school dressed up! I was a Pink Lady, of Grease. That is ironic, because I have never seen the film. Mere was Hermione, of Harry Potter. Oh, I was so happy when she told me that! I love Harry Potter universe!

Mere and me. Aren't we cute?

Yesterday I went to a Halloween party at a friend of Alex (Mere's boyfriend) house. He was very nice inviting me too, and I had a lot of fun. In fact, I do not have any photo, because I did not have time to take them! We played Twister, ate pizza, were around the fire, play cards... I will never finish. It was awesome!

Today I did not do anything outside, I had a lot of things to do at home. I was talking to Mere for a long time while she was doing her art homework. I love talking to her, she is so nice and friendly and intelligent and awesome and fantastic and pretty and wonderful and lovely and adorable and tolerant and peaceful and... Again, she has so many qualities that I cannot describe her with words. I do not know if she would be pleased if she knows that I have talked about her like this in my blog, but I want that everybody knows how much I love Mere. You have to meet her!

It is late and tomorrow is Monday. So, I have to say,

Bye Bye! See you next Sunday!

POWDER PUFF

Hello to everybody!

I have to say sorry that I did not update yesterday, I arrived home late and I did not have time.

I went to the Powder Puff, the feminine football girl. Pres played it against Holy Cross, another school. We lost 16-14, but we played very very good. Well, I did not play, but... I was giving candy to the children! All the children were dressed up and said Trick or Treat to us. They were so cute!

Here I am leaving photo of the Powder Puff. Some of my friends were playing there, and my History teacher was encouraging them. She has a very big voice!



I had a lot of fun, but it was freezing! And Lynne told me that in winter we are going to be at -9 degrees Celsius (16 Fahrenheit). I am going to die of the cold!

Here is Meredith dressed up to go to a Halloween party. Isn't she pretty?



I will see you next Sunday!

Bye Bye!

WEDDING

Hello to everybody!

The wedding cake

Do you know what? Yesterday I went to a wedding! My first American wedding! I have asked Mere, and she told me that it was an average wedding, typical here. For me, it was really original!

It was a Methodist ceremony, and the bride was very pretty. I love weddings, I always cry. The groom was Don's nephew, and I met a lot of people of Don's family. Everybody was very nice to me. At first I thought that I was going to be a bit embarrassed because I did not know anybody, but I had fun.

Then we went to the reception in a museum. It was original! It had low lights, and after the dinner was over, everybody started to dance modern music. Of course, the first dance was a formal one between the bride and the groom. They made such a nice couple!

We ate salad as the first dish, and then very nice chicken and beef. And... macaroni and cheese! Cody, the bride, loves macaroni and cheese (and I really like that too). The cake was awesome! It had a lot of different cupcakes of several flavors.

Weddings here are less formal than in Spain (I think, I have not been to a lot of weddings). However, they are very nice. People here get married with twenty-six years old, more or less. In Spain, people get married in their thirties, so it is different.

Anyway, do you know what? I had lots of fun and I learned how American weddings are. But, either American or Spanish weddings, I always cry! Weddings are so moving!

I will see you next Sunday!

Bye Bye!