MARCH

I AM SICK

For me, March began with annoyance. I was sick of being sick! We had already been to a Hospital and so as we left for the second I wasn’t feeling very happy. I had nothing to fear, my host mum and dad helped me get to the Hospital and José helped me talk to the doctor. By the end of the day, I had a new medication which worked wonders! Over the next two weeks, I took it regularly until it was completely gone.

AUSSIE ROAST

On the 9th of March, I cooked my family an Australian roast lamb. It was a hassle getting it but once it was here and did my best on it! It was a standard Appel roast, stuffed with rosemary herb and garlic, then covered in oil, salt and pepper. After 30 minutes of cooking just the meet, I added the potato fritters, chopped onions and carrots. Another hour and it was ready to eat, I think they liked it.

I HATE CORONAVIRUS!

On the 13th, the disease known as the Coronavirus took hold of Spain. After school, I found out that the rest of the trimester, (three weeks) was cancelled and that we would be receiving our work online. Rotary then let me know that the Camino de Santiago has been called off as well as any recently organised events, hosted by either Rotary or school. The next day we sat in suspense, waiting for the president of Spain to tell us whether Spain is going to close its borders and go into quarantine and whether all shops are going to be closed except for Pharmacies and Supermarkets. (I do not blame Rotary, I know they are doing the right thing but it is still disappointing.) At about 7:00pm that we heard the Presidents speech. He talked about how we are strong and will triumph over the coronavirus, then he said that the country was being closed for fifteen days.

I also found out that the Corona Virus has reached my home city of the Blue Mountains and has been found in the biggest school there. This reminded me of how easily this disease spreads but really, I am not worried. Already kids on Exchange are coming and going from Spain like fireworks, I think it is an overreaction, seeing as the Coronavirus is less deadly than the common flu and the fact that it will probably go everywhere anyway. I plan on enjoying this exchange fully before going home as I have had the most amazing time so far!

FAMILY

My relationship with my host family is better than ever! They are so much fun to be around and I always feel safe with them. I really think I hit the jackpot with this one! I have been talking with my Australian family a lot, every week in fact and I think it was the right decision as well. I don’t feel even slightly homesick and I don’t feel like I am missing out on anything either, it just means that my family gets recent updates on all my amazing adventures! I have great fun with my host family.

EXPLORATION DAY

After finding out that I had no school for three weeks I decided and I didn’t want to spend that time doing nothing, I wanted to explore! So, after lunch one day I put on my shoes and headed out into Las Palmas. I have been in the main part of the city and so decided to head uphill, where it is a maze of tiny little streets and steep flights of steps. It was very interesting up there even though it was a bit smelly and had hundreds of cats wandering around it, I saw some really cool street art and got to experience the more dark side of Las Palmas.

THE MONTHLY

Panic comes in many forms but they all strive for the same end. panic is the servant to survival and yet its loyalty never seems to make surviving easier. Most people have experienced dangerous situations and see that the best way to deal with them is to think and stay calm. So why does panic exist? Why has nature embedded in us a seed that can take control of us and destroy us at any moment? I do not know the answer and neither do you. All we know is that we must be aware of our panic, and try to fight it because our instincts of panic and stress are now our enemy.