Halloween - Castañada

This week is only a 3 day week in school and I am so happy! Halloween is tomorrow but they call it Castañada here and I think people just go around and handout castañas or something. Can't quite remember the description someone gave me... Anyhoo, I might go to France again this weekend or just stay with a family friend. Normally, every Thursday night I go to church. It is actually a cute little Evangelical church with some of the most lovely people you would ever meet there! The pastor speaks English so we talk a lot! It is really fun to go there because I walk past one of the best smelling bakery's in the world on the way! You can smell the amazingness from a block and a half away. I do admit, I always buy a sweet little pastry on my way and it is just precious. I think I might go to a party on Friday if I can stay here for the weekend. Then, Saturday I am planning on going to a HOMELESS OUTREACH thing with a different church I started attending. I have to go to Plaça Catalunya during the day and we are handing out clothes and food to those homeless and in need. My friend's Nuria and Mo are probably the people I am closest with here and I hangout with them almost everyday. They speak English so I have a bad habit of switching to English when I get tired of speaking Castellano. But, we are probably going to watch a movie (like The Lion King or something) for Halloween because we all get scared really easily. But we are going on Saturday night to the church choir together and they came with me to the youth group! They said they liked it a lot which is really good! I actually felt like I was in America for a while during the youth group. When I went to the International Church of Barcelona last Sunday (SO similar to American church) I ran into an Asian girl about my age who started freaking out because I was from Minnesota. She said she knew a guy who was going to go study in Minnesota soon and that he wanted to learn the accent. She then proceeded to run off screaming and looking for him. It was awesome :) I have realized lately that my Castellano is definately not as good as I want it to be, so I am starting to actually study it. Kind of. When you hear a different language all day the last thing you want to do is go home and study it. I still don't understand ANYTHING in class. Nothing. It is really boring and now I am just writing letters or staring blankly at my desk. Yesterday after school, I didn't want to just go home and sit alone for a while so I asked my friend Emma and Gemma if they wanted to go get some crêpes with me in Plaça Catalunya. We ended up going to Burger King and ordering like everything off the menu. They have different options here and different foods. The chicken was was WORSE. It was so much...healthier. Then we went shopping and I bought a cute shirt, some earrings and leggings. I told them I wanted to look really pretty on Halloween so while we were shopping we called it OPERACIÓN GUAPÍSIMA. I still laugh whenever I hear Emma saying that in my head... Today I am going to Plaça Catalunya again to meet up with my liaison! I think we are going to eat somewhere but I am not sure! Time flies here, it is already November. I really hoped my Castellano would be a lot better by now, but maybe it is and I don't realize. So many people like to here me say "Minnesota" with the accent (which I can't help by the way) and they laugh. I think it is pretty funny too. It is turning into winter now and I have to say it is actually legit cold sometimes. It makes things a little easier when it comes to missing home though. I don't need to be reminded of the freezing weather even though I like it sometimes. Quick note for those people who are reading this who want or are planning to be a foreign exchange student: actually listen to AFS. They know what they are doing, when it comes to sleep and contact with the family. If you need to talk to your mom, talk to her but don't if it isn't necessary. It makes you more homesick. Here are some random photos: Mo, me, Nuria. Castanas, and a sign I took a picture of!