Segovia and Los Angeles

Two weekend ago was Puente de Mayo. We basically just had a four day weekend for no reason whatsoever. My host family has a house in Los Angeles which is a town in Spain about an hour away from Madrid. I was continually warned by my host sister not to go because of the amount of spiders and bugs in the house but honestly I didn't even see one.
Similar to Arganda del Rey, Los Angeles isn't a bustling city with a lot of things to do. However, there was this really pretty lake that we went to a lot that had water and jet skiing. The weather was perfect for it but I was too much of a wuss to actually try. Apart from going to the lake, one day we took a trip to Segovia. It is by far one of the most beautiful cities I have seen in Spain. There is a gorgeous church and plaza and we got to go to the very top of a castle to look over everything.
Last weekend my friend Josie, another exchange student who I know from Bilbao, was in Madrid. I was extremely happy to see her again and it was fun showing someone around Madrid. It made me realize how well I have actually come to know the city. On the way back from Madrid on the metro I met two American au pairs who live in my town. It really surprised me because I have never met another American where I live! Arganda is pretty small so I assumed I was the only one. When we got off the metro one of the girls couldn't pass through the gates to leave the station. Because they had only been here for a few weeks and hadn't had time to work on their Spanish I had to talk to the station attendant so we could understand what had happened to her ticket. It's moments like these where I realize how much Spanish I have learned this year. I have really come to appreciate it and realize just how amazing and helpful knowing how to speak another language is. I find that people ask me a lot if I am fluent and I never really know what to say. I can basically talk about whatever I want but sometimes there are words that I feel like I should know at this point in the year and I still don't. I think everyone learns a new language at their own pace so even though I may not be completely fluent, I realize how much of the language I have learned this year. Whenever anyone comments on how well I speak, it makes me feel so confident with the language.
 Besides the traveling not much has been going on. At this point, I leave in less than a month. People have been telling me how much they are going to miss me which is super sweet but a little preemptive considering I don't leave that soon...


       

                                                                       Segovia!

                                                                     Los Angeles