A Spanish Adventure : Mid-way Orientation

So we haven't had an orientation since like September or October...I can't even remember when it was. Then after what felt like forever, we got an email saying we had another orientation. And just my luck, it happened to fall on the weekend of my exams. I've talked about the exams in other blog posts before. Three times this year, we have these three days of no school, just 2 or 3 exams everyday that last 1 1/2 hours. I was so stressed out because I knew that having to go to orientation would mean that I had a lot less time to study, as orientation was from Saturday morning to Sunday evening. I didn't even want to go, but I'm actually so glad that I did.
I think every time I find out we have an orientation, I complain and I say I don't want to go, but after orientation, every single time, I say I had such a good time and I actually look forward to going to the next one.
So orientation this time was in Vitoria which is a city about an hour away from where I live, but I went about 2 hours later than anyone else, so when I got to Vitoria, I was all alone and had no idea where I was going, because I had never been there before. So the "director" or "boss" dude from our Bilbao group came to find me and walk me to the hostel we were staying at. After only like 2 questions about how things were going, he stopped me and told me I speak REALLY well in Spanish. He said that I know a lot and that I hardly have an American accent. That is honestly like the best compliment. I love when people tell me how well I speak. There's this one girl at my school who says I speak better than her, which is obviously an exaggeration but it still makes me feel good. It's like a reassurance of everything that I'm doing, of my experience here, and of all the work that I've been doing. There was also a girl at orientation that is the Spanish sister of one of the students and she said that if she didn't already know I was a student, she would think I was from here because I speak so well, so colloquially, and with hardly an accent. God I love speaking in Spanish.
Anywho, we got to the place and did a bunch of activities, like normal. Activities and talking about our experience. I feel bad because a lot of times I complain about little things in my situation, about my family, my school, whatever it may be, but there are people here who have situations a lot worse than mine. Honestly, I'm so lucky to have the life that I have here, so I guess that's reassuring.
It's funny to think back to the first orientation in Bilbao when they wanted us to speak in Spanish and no one had any idea how to speak Spanish. We ended up talking in English the whole time. Then at the second orientation about a month later, it was easier to understand them when they were talking in Spanish, and we could say certain things in Spanish, too. But I remember that when we wanted to explain our situation, complain, or really talk deeply about a certain thing, we would break down and speak in English. But then we went to this orientation, and it was almost always in Spanish. I mean yeah we would talk to each other in English, but for all the activities and talking to the volunteers, we would speak in Spanish. And it's so crazy to see how much easier it is now. I mean we can really explain things, talk deeply, complain, etc in Spanish. But it's also weird because sometimes I catch myself speaking in Spanish and then I say a sentence in English, or the other way around. It's just weird going back and forth between the two. Or like someone talks to you in English and you respond in Spanish. Or you start talking to your friends in Spanish and then you're like, wait why are we talking in Spanish, we're not with the volunteers? It's just so weird actually being fluent in two languages.
Anywho, the volunteers from Bilbao are probably the coolest people ever. They're young, so they really understand our situation, they can give good advice, and they know how to cheer us up. Plus they're just really fun. We all ended up staying up til 4 AM talking and laughing and just having an incredible time.
Then the next morning, we went to some really old church that is in Vitoria, which I actually didn't like at all. First of all, it was slightly terrifying because it was built so long ago, and it rains so much in Vitoria that it was like sinking into the mud. So they had to build reinforcement columns and things like that, and we went underground to see all of that, but we had to wear hardhats because it's dangerous. Plus, we had to wear them inside the church, as well, because the church is like falling apart. There are cracks in the walls and cords holding the different columns up because the whole place is falling in on itself.
The thing I really didn't like though was that it looked more like a bathroom from Hogwarts than a church. It's all white tile. Maybe that's just me, but it just felt like a bathroom haha.
Then we got to go up to the second floor, and they told us that if we don't like heights or if we're claustrophobic, maybe we should stay on the first floor. Now mind you, I'm very claustrophobic, but it didn't look too bad, and everyone else was going up, so I was like screw it let's go. No....horrible decision honestly. I was freaking out the whole time. You walk up this incredibly narrow spiral staircase and it feels like the walls are going to fall in on you. Then there are parts where you have to bend down really low because you have to walk through a dark tunnel. I thought I was going to hyperventilate... But then you get up to the second floor, which shouldn't even be considered a second floor. It's honestly just a tiny little passageway that goes along the wall throughout the church and you can see down to the first floor. Not my cup of tea to be honest.
That's pretty much it. I mean we did go back to the hostel after and talk. It's great to talk about the differences in culture that we are really seeing now. Like at first we see little differences, but as time goes on, we find more and more, and every time, we understand them a little more. And it's also great because now that we really live here, now that we know how Spain is, we can talk about the things we like here or the things we like more about USA. It's just interesting to see everyone's different opinion.
If anyone reading my blog is going to be a future AFSer, go to orientation and make the most of it! Because these are the only people that really understand what you're going through, the only people that can really help you. You can talk to your parents and your friends, but they're never going to understand this situation and this experience the way the other AFSers and volunteers will. So enjoy your time at orientation!!!