The First Day of the Rest of the Year

The "bus stop"

Now that I have been here over two weeks, I've got some tall tales to tell. First off, this past weekend was one of fun and a bit of normality. That might sound strange, but once things begin to feel normal, and not unbelievable or exciting, that's when your exchange is beginning to become your life, and not just a trip. But of course, there are always some new and exciting things, like learning to take public transportation all alone in a foreign country... That's right, I have gone out and taken the bus multiple times in the past week. (Even though the first time I had a hard time finding the bus stop.)

Us girls out on Friday afternoon

Anyways, this past weekend began with my first outing with friends from school! On Friday, We went to the mall and took pictures and ate lunch. On Saturday, I finally got a cell phone that works here, and am now able to keep in contact with my host family when I go out. I also had a sleepover with the other exchange student from the U.S. that goes to my school, and we made cookies! On Sunday, we all went to church together, and ate lunch at the church, then me and some friends from church all went to the mall and just killed time all afternoon, which was surprisingly fun. Like I said, nothing spectacular, but the beginning of a normal life here. 

Jordan and I baking cookies!

Let me just start this paragraph saying that I have not drank any water that hasn't been boiled or bottled, and have only eaten clean food. So, even though everything has been going pretty great, I also got sick over the course of the past few days. It was just a cold and sore throat with a bit of a fever.. I know, it's always a little scary to be sick in a foreign country, especially with my history. But don't worry too much, because I am feeling much better now and will most likely go back to school in the morning. 

Surprisingly, the first bit of palm trees I've seen here were at the mall!

Well, I think that's all for now. Thank you for reading, and don't forget to follow (top right corner) if you want to get notifications when I post!