Has it been a while? It sure seems like it! Summer has been going by so SLOWLY, yet so fast! Does that make sense? I cannot wait for Spain! There isn't a day, possibly an hour, that I don't ponder about what my days in Spain will bring. I would tell you how many days there are before my departure, but I still don't know the date :( Some friends from my district (D6000) are actually leaving pretty soon though (like first/second week of August). I'm somewhat jealous of them because they get to go so soon, but somewhat relieved because I have a little more time to get my visa and do other various preparations like packing and putting together host family gifts. I should know the date of my departure soon though. I have submitted all SEVENTEEN of my Visa documents to ITWT (It's Your World Travel) too. They will get them to the Spanish Consulate in Chicago, then when my visa is ready I'll have to go to Chicago to pick it up. That shall be fun! So right now is basically a time of lots of waiting - but then again, isn't most of the time before exchange one big waiting period made of little waiting periods? hahh :)
The last Rotary event for the outbounds in D6000 was last weekend. We had a picnic with some rebounds and Rotex and it was just great to see everyone one last time before our exchanges. It was so weird saying bye to people for one year! How does one do that?? Well I said "bye" to everyone except for Matthew, the other outbound to Spain in our district. We knew that we were going to be in the same district, but we just realized that we're going to be attending the same school! How cool is that?? Also, about a month or so ago, Paola (first host-mom) emailed me their address so I could send a document to them, and it turns out that my address is actually is Estepona! From my house, the center of Marbella is roughly 20 kilometers (about 12 miles) east. Matthew will live in Estepona also, so I know that there will be at least one other American in my city!
Two weekends ago I had my last garage sale fundraiser. I was able to raise nearly $1,000 for my exchange ($998 dollars to be exact)! Thank you so much to everyone who made this possible! Everyone's support means so much to me - you guys are awesome. I should be able to buy my plane tickets and go on exchange just fine.
Remember how I was telling you guys about the orthodontist? Welll, I just went the other day, and I should be done on time just fine! Everything is coming together. (<---Haha)
Now to the title of this post. Yes, it does have a little bit of significance, but not too much ;)
Significant word one: Cross*.
I am going to miss cross* country so much! I've been going to practices this summer for the fun of it and to stay active, but it's so weird to think that I won't be running with my teammates this fall. However, my coach said I might be here still when we have our first meet and if I want, I can run! I still don't know if I will though if I am still here.
Significant word two: flashin*
I cannot tell you how many times I've heard "Learn the language now!" So, I have been brushing up on my Spanish lately by trying to read, write, or speak at least a few words every day. I have had two years of Spanish already at high school, and over these two years I have attained maaany flash cards - a whole shoe box full, in fact! See?!
But sadly, some of the flash cards are lackin' the flashin'*. I'm working on it though. When I'm bored I just grab a handful of flashcards and start practicing! I feel like by the time I arrive in Spain, I'll have a really good base to work off of.
As for the "apple sauce" part of the title, I don't really know . . . IIII hope there is apple sauce in Spain? Yeah, we can just go with that.
Congratulations if you've made it this far. This post turned out to be pretty random! Hopefully my next post is more interesting; I'll try to keep you guys updated!
Until later,
Josie