This week has been one of those big "milestone" weeks for me. Not only do I now have my first full week of school under my belt, but it's also my first full week of what can technically be called my "senior year". On top of that, my eighteenth birthday was this weekend. That's right. I officially became a real American adult on Saturday at 3 am. Central U.S. time. To top that all of, this is my first birthday I've spent in a foreign country.
Because of how things run over here 18 is the age where, unlike in the United States, you are considered an adult in every aspect. By this I mean driving, voting, drinking alcohol, and just about anything else I could list. Of course, because I'm living in Sabi on exchange I'm not really planning on doing any of these things anyways, but turning 18 is still treated like a big deal. I've been wished a happy birthday by pretty much everyone I know here, and by several people in the States. Earlier this week I also received the birthday package my family sent me. When I saw the Redvines I freaked a little, then ripped open the package and ate three like the apocalypse was coming. Then I promptly clipped the bag shut and placed it in my desk drawer in an attempt to preserve them. Redvines are one of the candies you can't really find here, even in special American stores.
Friday night the "chicas" came over and threw me a birthday party. We ate pizza and "tortilla de Espana", kicked balloons around the basement, and danced to songs in Spanish. After that we went to a fiesta in the next town over. I consider that my main birthday celebration. The next day, or later the next morning considering how late these Spanish fiestas go, my host parents presented a cake of sorts after lunch and sang another round of "Happy Birthday" (half in English and half in Spanish). However, cakes here are different from those back home. They aren't spongy and fluffy. In fact, the cake we ate, or "tarta", was more of a light chocolate cream thing. Anyways, it was good and, honestly, unexpected. That afternoon some of the relatives came over to wish me "feliz cumpleanos".
This morning my host family and I went to Zaragoza where I met more family. We had lunch with my host mother's side of the family where they sang me another round of "Happy Birthday" over after dinner coffee.
That was pretty much my weekend, but now I have to study for my History of Spain test on Friday. None of you happen to know anything about the finer points of the Roman invasion of the Iberian Peninsula, do you?
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