One thing that was challenging for me today was watching as friends were reunited after a summer apart. Watching them run to their friends and give them a bear hug that almost knocks the other to the ground it was heart wrenching for me. Just a reminder that two weeks ago, that's what my American friends did, reunited after a summer apart. So to my friends at FVL this year, I miss you all, and I'm thinking about y'all. I hope school goes well for you, and that you love your senior year as much as I love mine.
Would you believe me if I told you school was not the hardest part of today? It wasn't. My host dad's sister runs an after school tutoring program at a preschool not 500 yards from my house. So when my host dad asked if I wanted to walk over there and help some kids learn English, I was thrilled. Little did I know that he had asked my tía to help tutor me in Spanish. So there I sat, in preschool, reading a picture book that every other person in the room could read in two minutes. No, the hardest part of today, was swallowing my pride, and surprising my growing frustration, and learning the way every other preschooler does. So there I sat at the preschool table, in those itty bitty chairs, reading a book about Bruce, El Maquinista. ( Bruce, The Train Conductor) Chooo Chooo. But in all honesty, I can tell that going there four times a week will drastically improve my Spanish. It will help me achieve my goal of becoming fluent in the next six weeks, and I do get to volunteer and help kids ( ages 8-10) learn some English.
Today was a big step for me, starting school and taking Spanish lessons, so now, as I sit in the comfort of my room, I will allow myself to have four of my precious peanut butter M&M's, and I'll consider this a day well done.