School in Tenerife ~ I luv LATIN

So, I'm back High School. This time everything is in Spanish.   I don't read Spanish. And, I don't write Spanish. I don't speak Spanish. I don't understand Spanish. Oh! sure I can order at Taco Bell but this is way different. This is Spain, not Mexico. In Spain you eat Paella.
In addition, because I was late enrolling and because I couldn't follow the conversation between my Host Father and the School Principle, my course selection consists of all the classes taught by all the teachers that had space left. Hence the reason there is space for me. And, I mean a LOT OF SPACE. (I think it was my host father's way of ensuring I had something to occupy the time after school.) I was hoping for fine art, pottery and maybe film studies. I understood Spong Bob was very popular. And two or three spares wouldn't have hurt so I could sleep in a bit and not have to think too hard.

So here is what I am taking:

• LATIN,
• PHILOSOPHY,
• GEOGRAPHY,
• Math x 3, I think they are Algebra, Functions and Trigonometry
• BIOLOGY,
• SPANISH,

  

  The Smaller Library

• ENGLISH, 
• SPANISH HISTORY, 
• ANTHROPOLOGY
• SOCIOLOGY
• PHYSICS
• NANO-SCIENCE
• MOLECULAR CHEMISTRY; and
• I can't remember the rest or like the math couldn't translate the name.

So I sit in class and smile. I write down what the teacher puts on the board. So far I have been able to translate what the homework assignments are.
The exception of course is English, I'm on top of the World in this class or I was until Friday when I translated the homework assignment and learned that we start reading Shakespear's Macbeth next week.

My Mini Holliday

So I arrive and My Host Family says were going on Holiday.  .Thought Tenerife was the Holiday.. ..........Location, Location, Location....

• Volcanic Island in a clear blue tropical ocean.
• Lots of fruit juices to put ice and little umbrellas in.
• Sun all the time.

O. K. so whats do they mean holiday???????

Well I said Tenerife has a VOLCANO...We on the Canary Islands every were you look there is a volcano.

Let me explain about volcanos..

They are cracks in the earths's crust were really hot liquid rock and other unpleasant stuff like sulfur gas and dirt escapes.

Volcanic Island
She's ready to blow

Unlike grade school. The baking soda and vinigar used in these puppies is like a billion degrees and there is no way Mom could fit one in he back of the van to take to school.

Anyway there is only one volcano on Tenerife. It' sjust hugh.

Well each of the other Canaries have at least one volcano also. Don't know why they aren't called the Volcano Islands.

I thought Canaries. Well there would be those little yellow birds that sing real sweet until a miner takes it down into a mine. I haven't seen a single canary. In fact, I have a whole sack of bird seed that I don't know what to do with.



Well the purpose of the holiday was for my host family to compete in an open water swim. Did I say my Host Parents are serious swimmers. They compete in open ocean swimming. Forget Jelly fish and those small spinny sea erchins that I stepped on. These people swim like 2 to 3 kilometers out into the Atlantic for fun. They swim fast too. I'm thinking they are thinking sharks. 

But then sharks are not very much differant than the fish we catch in Canada. So I desided to post a little video that my father took while he was raising money to help Rotary help children by participating in the Rotary Club of Brantford Graet Northern Ride. http://www.greatnorthernride.com/.  Look it up. They always are collecting money. Frankly I'll take my chances with sea creatures. Doing anything other than modeling ski apearal is simply uncivilized and cold.

Needless to say they (my Host family) made record time. My host sister and I tried to appear really supportive. We did get good tans. Well sort of.

  I got really really REALLY SUN BURNED. My skin feels like molten rock and is peeling off like the skin off one of those snakes in the plane that I came over on.

Did I tell you I didn't sleep on the flight over.

My host family has suggested that I train with them. For a while I was training with my Host Sister, dana. Now I'm training with Dana's grandmother.



Rotary District Youth Meeting

So a meeting of all exchange students to outline the Rules. It was held in Madrid. Did I tell you I'm a raelly big scccer fan. Thats Football in Spanish. I mean REALLY BIG SOCCER FAN. AND REAL MADRID was playing .. 

Well last year the INBOUND got lost and lost their passports. Probably Club'n. So we were sequestered 45' minutes drive from civilization in some private University without so much as a dico ball, to learn about the 4 D's. There was no way for me to get on the wrong subway and get lost for two 45 minute halfs and a bit of extra time.

So what are the 4 'D's

• No Driving           
• No Dating
• No Drugs
• No Drinking

My Dad was really happy after learning of these rules that I was selected to do the Rotary Exchange.

The meeting was crazy. Lots of new faces and everyone feeling completely out of their element. Kids from everywere, but mostly Americans. And were all struggling to learn to communicate in Spanish.
So I traded pins and facebook addresses and invited everyone to visit me in Tenerife. I'll let my Host father have the good news when we meet on Sunday.