La Castanyada and Halloween

After living with my current roommates for almost a month, they finally found out that my name is Kelsey and not Kasli. I had never bothered to correct them before because I though it was funny.
.
What have I been up to lately? The usual English classes, Catalan classes, French classes, tutoring, and choir. I also went to a fair in Andorra la Vella which wasn’t too impressive. There’s another one tomorrow that I’m going to with a friend of my roommates, but I think it is mostly cows. Then on Saturday I leave for Tots Sants (All Saints) vacation in France! (Nice, Aix, Marseille, and Toulouse). I am a lot busier than I thought I would be! It’s always interesting to reflect on the different thoughts that pass through my head each day regarding my schedule and how I choose to spend (or waste) my time here. Sometimes I get greedy and jealous of the other Fulbrighters that have more hours of private tutoring than me. Then I stop and think of how busy I already am! Other times I consider dropping one of my language classes because they take up so much time, but then I remember that one of the main reasons for living here this year is to learn and improve my foreign languages. I also feel like I have no free time. If something isn’t scheduled, there is still always something to work on. At least I’m being productive (even if I’m not always too efficient).
.
At the end of the year I hope I have seen everything I want to see in Andorra (though there’s really not a whole lot here, so I shouldn’t be too worried). But when you live somewhere for awhile and have a normal routine and work, it’s hard to find time to get out and do all of the touristy things.
.
The past couple of weeks have been focused on Halloween, and I’ve developed a new appreciation for it. It’s always been a holiday that I enjoy, but it’s never been my favorite. Compared to the Andorran holiday that occurs around the same time, though, it’s fantastic. Here they celebrate the Castanyada, but all they do is eat castanyas (roasted chestnuts, of which I had my first while I waited for the bus this evening) and panellets (a marzipan pastry). Some visit the cemetery, but not all. Halloween is so much more interesting (though reading, no, yelling the same description of Halloween over and over again can get old, but I had to laugh inside every time I had to shout “Some Christians are not so happy that people celebrate Halloween. They believe the holiday is un-Christian because of its origin as a pagan festival of the dead.”) Today my class watched an episode of The Munsters, The Adams Family, and Michael Jackson’s Thriller video. The Halloween party is on Friday and it should be a hit! After that, it will be much harder to come up with topics for class (though Thanksgiving will be just around the corner).
.
It surprises me sometimes how little some people know about the United States. Living abroad can make you really start to appreciate where you’re from. It’s such a different experience being an immigrant: not being completely settled, not knowing where things are and how things work, having few friends, not speaking the language very well, and owning little more than can fit into two suitcases (when we went out Friday night my roommates had to dress me up because I didn’t have anything to wear!) I think it’s less common for people to move outside of their hometowns here, so there is less sympathy and understanding for me, the lonely English lectora. At the same time, the majority of Andorrans are immigrants! How does that work?
.
Some events of this week: One of the Oxford students, Risha, moved from her homestay up in the mountains into the city, so we got to hang out on Saturday. I went out a couple of times with my roommates this weekend. I was very happy to get home at 1:00 Friday night, but exhausted after staying out till 4:00 on Saturday. So exhausted I forgot to turn back my clock for daylight savings and ended up at church an hour early. Oops. I felt silly complaining about being out till 4:00 when Risha nonchalantly told me she’d been out until 6:00. I am so not used to this! Today I found folders from previous lectoras at my school and am happily sorting through all of their material. There was even a letter written to me from last year’s lectora. Another thing: I feel like I am constantly thinking. Having random times during the day, usually walking or waiting for the bus or riding the bus, has allowed me to reflect a lot on my experiences here and what I’m learning. The only problem is, I never have a journal to write in when this happens. Not that it would be extremely interesting or profound for other people.
.
Last but not least, Fall colors are here and I am going to attempt to make caramel apples for my Catalan class on Wednesday!