OTTAWA

CANADA´S CAPITAL :D
We went for four days and I couldn´t ask for a better weekend!

We left on Friday morning and after 6 hours driving we arrived there. Ottawa is a huge city in the province of Ontario, but it is right in the border with the province of Quebec, divided by the Ottawa river. In my opinion, Quebec is completely different, it is much more like an European area, and they speak French with a really funny accent haha. We stayed in a hotel in Quebec (the province, not the city) so that I had a chance to speak French, at least to try to speak it ;P

I went with my friend Natalia, from Vigo, that is staying in Orillia, and her host family, they are all really nice with me and I alway have a great time everytime I´m with them. Her hostmum, Heather, told us her cousin lived in Ottawa so we also had the chance to meet her and her family.

Ready for 6 hours driving!!

Entrance to the province of Quebec

Parliament building

On Saturday we got ready to go to the city and we first went to the Market. It is outdoors and it remined me like the ones in Spain, there were plants, fruit, Canadian food, clothes, jewellery... and a lot of people. I loved it!! After that, we had a walk around the Parliament and we saw a guard change at the World War I monument, like the ones at Buckingham Palace when they played a bagpipe and they walked really straight, it was really cool!! At around 3pm, we got tickets to go to a touristic bus that went into the water, no kidding xdxd. We went arund Ottawa and we went boating around the river, where we saw really cool views. 

Ole ole ole !!

I couldn´t leave Canada without trying a Beaver Tail :P

Dejando claro de donde venimos

Ottawa Canal

Heather is as photogenic as us ;)

Mar + Heather + Natalia + Earl ... shortest to tallest

World War I monument

Guard change

Feeling like a Canadian bear

 Bus? Boat?

The bus into the river, I was not kidding

The selfie stick is more useful than you think haha

We also visited the famous spider at the National Art Gallery

We had so much fun that day!! At night, we went to Heathers cousins, Sharon and Len, to have dinner there. We had a great time and they were really nice with us. We talked about so maaaany things. Besides that, we also saw a racoon hahaha.

Montreal Canadiens vs. Ottawa Senators

RACOON !!!

Selfie with the racoon haha

Sunday was as fun as the day before. We had breakfast with Heathers family again and we drove towards the Parliament House. We got tickes to visit it inside but before that Natalia and I went shopping at the downtown mall. The Parliament was absolutely great, we saw and learnt so many things. Furthermore, it was really interesting (idk if this is the right word tho) because of the assault that took place last October when a man went to the World War I monument (where we had been the day before) and shot one of the guards and killed him, after that the man ran towards the Parliament and went to the same tour we were doing that day. 

Terry Fox

Girls day

Loved the library in the Parliament

Once we were done with the Parliament, we went out for dinner with Sharon and Len when we had to say goodbye to them. We were not ready to leave on Monday ...

We left at noon and it took us just 4 hours to get home. I arrived home and I was exhausted ......... too much fun and things to do just for a weekend haha.

I really liked Ottawa and I had so much fun with Natalia, Heather and Earl, thanks for inviting me :) 

This is almost done, less than two weeks left and I can´t believe yet, so many things to do in only 10 days ... 

"She turned her cant´s into cans, her dreams into plans"

Girls just wanna have fun

Cottages are best places in the world!! For those who don't know, a cottage is kind of a house by the lake, with a dock, may me made of wood, far from the city ... relax and nature.

Luckily, Allegra owns a cottage in Georgian Bay, just 40 min from Barrie, and she invited me and some friends to stay over to celebrate her birthday. 
Melissa, Pitt, Avery and I arrived there on Saturday morning and we went boating the whole afternoon. Driving a boat is not like driving a car, but it is even better. Of course we were wearing bathing suits. and of course we froze haha. It was sunny but too windy, and we soaked in the boat on the way back to the cottage. We had so much fun tho!! I've been before on a boat, but never drove by a teenager so it was kind of scary too haha. 

Once at the cottage we got changed, ate pop corn and went to the dock. We took some really cool pictures and played twister there. Later at night we had dinner, ate cake and slept in a bunkee which was really funny too haha.

Next day, we went swimming in the lake!! I couldn't believe I swam in the lake!! (with fishes, rocks and seaweed) Can't believe how Canada is changing me, making me braver and stronger :D

I got home at night and I can say cottages by the lake are exhausting !!! As soon as I got home, I had a shower, watched tv and went to bed!!! 

GREAT WEEKEND WITH FRIENDS AT THE COTTAGE :)

And I have to say that cottages should be more popular in Spain. I know we don't lakes and pretty landscapes... but we could try to build these in the North ... or by the beach ... or even in the interior of the country ... just to spend weekends and holidays ... why not?

Canada's Wonderland

YES! These are most of all the international students from Barrie who went to Canada's Wonderland!! We had a great time in one of the highest theme parks in America. 

Brazilian, Japanese, German, Canadian, Spanish ... we all left on the Tuesday morning from Innisdale High School. We spent the day in Wonderland, and it was great cause it was not so busy so we didn't have to wait in the lines. The worst part is that we didn't have time to have a break after each ride, so we got a little bit dizzy :P 

We had so much fun!! 

Just a little bit wet ...

Spain !!

Natalia, Jaime and Dani ~> Spanadians

10 reason why studying abroad ruins your life

1) You’ll never be able to have all of your friends at the same place at the same time because they are spread all over the globe

2) You are going to want to cook all sorts of delicious foods from the country you studied,

but they never taste the same

3) You annoy everyone around by starting every story with “When I was abroad…”

4) You know stereotypes are untrue or incomplete

5) You will never stop wanting to travel

6) Everytime someone mentions a country you say

1) “Oh I’ve been there”
2) “I know somebody there!”
3) “I want to go to there!”

7) You have to send your international friends lots of these

8) You are always planning to go back

When you see cheap flights

9) You will feel more nationalistic, yet at the same time also not.

10) Because studying abroad was the best year of your life and whatever comes after might never live up to the time you spend abroad.

100 gaviotas dónde irán

Almost June and I can't believe yet how fast it went...

It seems to be yesterday when we celebrated Christmas and today the countdown on the phone says there are less than 30 days left. Yes, one month!! My host mum said this was kind of a "bittersweet" feeling, and I think that's the perfect word. I'm happy and excited to meet my friends and family again, after 10 months using skype and facetime to talk to them. I can't wait to see my cat, sleep in my bed and have lunch at my grandmas. But on the other hand, I'm going to miss this sooo much... taking the school bus to go to class, playing with the dogs at home, or going kayaking in the lake (just to mention a few things). 

What's going to happen when i finally arrive home? It is going to be the same? Is the people going to be same? The same places to hang out or the same teachers I used to have?

Believe it or not, but that scares me the most. I'm going to feel like an outsider in my own place... Being away for so long has made me to see how my environment has changed. Sounds stupid and a little bit crazy, but that's how I feel. 

I used to talk to my friends almost every day and they have told me a lot of things about them, and sometimes those things made me laugh or scared me... (like, what the fuck is going on with you guys?). We are not kids anymore and this summer is going to be a GOOD summer, can't wait for it! But at the same time, there are going to be some awkward moments where I will not know how to react or say. 

What about when the summer ends? I'll be back to school and what? Is it going to be as it used to be?

Of course not. Here in Canada school is, most of the time, much more easier. I don't know if "easier" is the best word, but I haven't worked as much as I used to work in Spain. I used to spend the whoooole afternoon studying for my tests and getting ready for projects and exams. Here, it is pretty different, I do a lot of things in class but we don't have as much homework or tests. The difference may be than in Spain teachers and students get more focused in theory parts, which have to be shown in the tests. It doesn't work like this here, where they are more focused in working in class, more practice than theory. However, I have forgotten my studies techniques and I wouldn't be able to spend the night studying, it is impossible for me right now.

What I'm sure I'm going to do this summer is that I'm going to study everything I haven't studied in one year, and I'm going to hang out and party as much as I haven't in one year. As I said, I'm not a kid any more, and I can say that this year abroad has made much more responsible and mature, so I'm able enough to know how to behave, both studying and partying. 

I can feel how all the Spanadians are feeling and I can't guess what's going to happen once we get home. What I'm pretty sure about is that I'm going to enjoy my friends and family as much as I haven't in these months !! 

Algonquin Park

Nothing better than spending a long weekend camping in Algonquin Park.

We left on Friday right after school and we drove two hours north to the park. It is a gorgeous place, with trees, pines, leaves, birds, beaches, lakes and nature. But it was much more crowed than I thought it would be, because it was the first weekend of the year when the park is open (after a long and hard winter). We took the trailer and slept there for three nights. We came back home on Monday, on Victoria Day (holiday in Canada).

We met some friends there, and we had a blast! Games, bike rides, books, food, bonfire, marshmallows... I loved it!! I have been camping before but I am going to remember this forever!! The weather was perfect as it was not cold, and we enjoyed it all together. Three days in a campsite, nice weather, with no wifi, no showers (haha), family and friends... sounds good eh?

Some funny facts ... 

On Saturday morning I was playing baseball with Emma using this heavy ball when it was my turn to pitch. Unluckily, my non-really-good experience in baseball made me throw the ball to her head... and believe me, it was heavy, really heavy. She started to cry, and I felt so bad.

Then, on Sunday morning I was playing baseball again, but with Milsy this time, but I was batting. She threw me the ball and when I batted the ball just went to her face (it was not that heavy ball I used with Emma). She started to cry too when she realized her nose was bleeding... I couldn't feel worse haha. 

Finally, we came to the conclusion that if they are going to play baseball with me, they should play in my team and not against me :P

I found this really funny ok? haha

Milsy creating a master piece in the sand

Waffle cones filled with mini marshmallows, mini m&ms, skor and peanut butter bits ... all roasted and melted :,,,,)

Visions of sunshine, the leaves trembling as the trees slowly sway in the wind, sand and waves gently crashing around your toes.

May

No me puedo creer que solo queden 2 meses para volver la casa, no se si asustarme o alegrarme, pero todavía no me creo que haya aguantado 8 meses aquí. Sin mi familia, sin mis amigos, sin mi día a día ... ha sido duro, pero ahora, no se si quiero irme o quiero quedarme por más tiempo.

Me cuesta mucho hacerme a la idea de tener que hacer maletas... Porque, para ser sincera, fue difícil hacer la maleta para 10 meses, pero es incluso más difícil, meter esos 10 meses en una maleta... no solo ropa, sino recuerdos, regalos, comida, y la mas mínima tontería que me haga acordarme de esta experiencia.

Los Spanadians 3 se están preparando para lo que va ser uno de los años más importantes de su vida... no me creo que haya pasado más de un año de cuando me dieron la noticia y cuando contaba a todo el mundo que estaría en el extranjero por 10 meses. 

Parece que fue ayer cuando fui con Jaime a pedir caramelos en Halloween, o cuando celebramos Christmas, o cuando vinieron las japonesas a casa ... cuando en octubre pensaba "puff, ya llevo 2 meses", y es ahora cuando pienso "el mes que viene vuelvo por fin a casa".

Es ahora cuando empiezo a agobiarme, a intentar hacer todo lo que no he hecho en 8 meses, a estar al máximo con mis amigas y familia canadienses, y a aprovechar al máximo los dos últimos meses.

Porque una cosa que tengo claro es que... time flies