MY 18TH BIRTHDAY!!!

You know it’s gonna be a good day when you wake up and the first song that gets stuck in your head is “Oh, what a beautiful morning!...” And it all flows from there. Today I am eighteen, and it kinda makes me laugh and cry at the same time –because I’ve pondered over who I might be at eighteen plenty of times and, the funny thing is, I’m still pondering the same thought! The tears come in somewhere between the realization of my own individualism and the knowledge that I am really so dependent on others, and not only my loving parents who are paying my way through college, but also the love of others.
Which brings me to the most important topic of conversation: Have I told you how incredible all of you are?!?!?!?! When that package of letters came on Tuesday with the bright stickers embellishing it I was so exuberant and content that I cannot even express in words the state of my happiness! I, with the help of my (almost) equally excited eight-year-old host sister, opened it up right away and got to the fourth wonderful card before my brain caught up with my hands and I realized that it wasn’t yet my Birthday!!! So I stored the rest without looking at them and, every day, stuck my hand inside the mystery envelope to whip out the next surprise of the week. Let me tell you, every card was a glowing moment in my day. Thank you, thank you, thank you. It was the best gift I could possible have received: the love of friends. I might add that they now adorn my wardrobe and make me smile each morning. :-)
Well, a quick recap on the day: I went to Terra Mitica with three other exchange students and my local coordinator to enjoy roller-coasters, spinning rides, belly dancers, a Pirate adventure show with buff, shirtless guys and fun fight choreography included, and even a haunted house that was exceedingly fun (a fact that will surprise many of you who know me and my inability to handle even parodies of scary movies!). The park is organized into different “worlds:” Greece, Rome, Egypt, etc. Each section is decorated and themed around this world, such as the hieroglyphics, sphinxes, and pyramids of Egypt or the Trojan horse and Roman fighters from Rome. A highlight of the day was the water rides; we bought crummy plastic ponchos to keep as dry as possible. Needless to say, the multiple holes that quickly formed beneath each sleeve and at the neck didn’t contribute to my dryness, but they certainly served for a roaring good time as all of us huddled together, knocked into each other, compared states of wetness, and, finally, braved the water and went full out with arms up-stretched and hair drenched! We were falling all over ourselves after the third time round on our favorite one. (Thank goodness everyone thought it was gonna rain today, because we didn’t have to wait through a single line!)
Back at home after a full-day’s fun, I had a lovely 50 minute phone conversation with mom, dad, and MaryEllen -a weekly tradition. I dinned, and then the movie Matilda came on the TV and I suddenly knew how I was going to spend the rest of my evening! Man, I love that movie! The scene where she sends everything flying and dances around the room… :-) It makes me happy!

Well, anyhow, tomorrow I will have my Birthday lunch with my host family, coordinator and Madelin –a fellow exchange student. We will be joined after lunch by Ignacio (the climbing friend) and his parents for cake afterwards, which is all sure to include 18 ear-pullings for me since that is their equivalent of the birthday spankings that we have in America. *sigh* I will be strong and survive the ear tugging! After that haunted house, that I braved head on at the front of the group and without a single scream, I can tackle anything! I take that motto to heart: do one thing every day that scares you. Today’s project was the haunted house; next Sunday’s will be a climbing competition! More on that later. Anyhow, I’m off to bed. I’ll write more about my week in another entry tomorrow.

Thank you for being my friend! It is a childish statement, but children often speak truths that we should admire. When I grow up, I want to be just like those children. Wait. Technically, I am grown up! … Nah!

Love and best wishes,

The Queen of Haunted Houses and 18-year-old Goddess
Aka
Jocelyn