Maddy’s July Report
It certainly sounds like Maddy is having a fantastic time and gaining a lot from the experience. Maady also visited Nici. read below.
At 6am on the 6th July 2010 I woke up with butterflies in my stomach knowing today was the day we were flying to Spain and spending a whole week in the magical place. By the time we arrived in Italy and waiting for our connecting flight to Barcelona we were all feeling pretty relaxed and confident thinking we’d made it this far with no troubles that do normally occur. Sadly that was not to be, in the airport in Barcelona my host fathers bag we discovered was missing, but we didn’t let that break our holiday, simply just hoping Luftansa would keep their promise saying it will arrive tomorrow. We arrived at our hotel (that’s 1 hour away from Barcelona) reasonably late that night and all immediately ran to the beach for a swim as soon as we could. I’d say it was the most magical night I’ve ever had, there was a full moon shinning brightly giving us the perfect amount of light needed, the water was a superb warm and to top it all off, my host sister running desperately to reach the water tripped over nothing and fell flat on her face in the sand (she always laughs about my clumsiness). To say it was a perfect night does not give it justice.
The days in Spain were hot, so we would spend the whole day by the beach that was just a few steps away, then later in the day tour the place. On the 3rd day we drove to a beautiful city called Tarragona, it was my heaven, with thousand year old buildings with a history that sent waves of recognition and admiration through me. On Saturday we drove to Barcelona and in the first 5 minutes there I knew for sure this was my city, I first liked it, then as the hours past I fell in love, I know I will live there when I’m older. We toured the city and it just so happened that on this precise day at the exact hour we had arrived was the start of a huge protest. The protest was about the state Catalonia to become an independent country from the rest of Spain, it was a huge protest with 1.5 million people protesting in one huge street.
It seemed it was meant to be that I- Madeline Jane Stroot was to witness Spain in the most amazingly busy and best time because on Sunday Spain was to play in The FIFA World Cup soccer Grand Final- Holland vs. Spain! It was a torturous game to watch without knowing what was to happen; with the Spanish screaming in all directions the atmosphere was overwhelming. Spain of course won and even when we went to bed at around 3am the horns and screams were still as loud as 6 hours ago.
The next day was the last full day we were to spend in Spain so we planned to enjoy it by simply spending it as a normal day. Waking up and eating breakfast together, soon after enjoying the sun and water by the beach, Julia and I walking to our favorite restaurant and ordering the same we had for the whole week for lunch- Batats Bravas. Then shopping for a little while and eventually back at the beach, then later that night heading down to bar and playing card games.
Looking back at Spain now fills me with joy because I have such fond memories and experiences that I will remember forever.
This week I also went to Kapplen to visit Nici! Nici was an exchange student in Australia from Germany for a year and she stayed with my family for about 5 months, while I was there Glenn Methven from Australia and Lisi Casper from Germany who was also an exchange student in Australia were there. I was there from Sunday till Wednesday and it was so much fun, I met Nici’s beautiful family and saw more of Germany.
I have to say August is going to be the beginning of a very different and new month for me, I shall be moving families on the 3rd August and school will be starting again on that Thursday and there I will be moving onto the 11th class with all my friends but we’ll all be in different classes.