Hasta Luego Ponteareas, Hola Marín!

On December 5th, the course of my exchange year changed a lot when I switched host families. The only reason why I changed host families was because we didn't have any much of a relation. They were a great host family and I appreciate everything they have done for me. The whole week really sucked because I was really sick and had a fever, right before moving to a different city. I couldn't go to school for the whole week and only went back on the last day to say goodbye to my amigos and profesores. It was kind of tough because I really enjoyed being in that school. I am definitely going to visit my friends and my instituto, if possible.

As of now, I live in Marín, a small town near Pontevedra (the capital of the province). It is 40 minutes away from Ponteareas by car, but almost 2 hours by autobus. I have to admit that it is more appealing than Ponteareas because it is by the river. (Ria de Pontevedra). It is famous for its beaches and is also home to the first Escuela Naval Militar (Naval Academy) in Spain

http://www.concellodemarin.es

My host family is double hosting me and another girl called June from Bangkok, Thailand.  My host dad  is a profesor at the Universidad de Vigo in the Pontevedra campus, and teaches fisioterapia. He also has a fisioterapia clinic in Marin. Because he is really into biking, he helped by doing fisioterapia stuff for the Spain National Cycling Team.


http://www.uvigo.es/uvigo_es/Centros/pontevedra/



On the other hand, my host mom writes novels. Her most recognized series is Dragals. This series is written in Galician but there is also a version in Spanish and also one coming out in English, Catalan, French, Itallian, and Portuguese soon. I've only on the first couple pages of the book because I am a slow reader. It's pretty cool, or "chulo", as the Spanish would say. There is also going to be a TV series or movie, but as of now they are only writing the script. They are also making a video game for sure. My host parents are volunteers that help in the Galicia chapter of  AFS , so they help plan our orientations. 

http://www.dragal.eu/


http://www.galicianliterature.com/elena-gallego-abad

or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FJDAGFlk6I














My host dad's daughter is in France right now with AFS, so I don't get to meet her. He also has two sons but they are a lot older than me and already have their own kids. Every Sunday, we eat lunch with everyone, including sons, and their families. After lunch, I usually just bike or play soccer with the kids. His sons, Roi and Paulo are pretty athletic and do lots of sports. Roi plays soccer in a league, darts, and triathlon. Paulo is also into Triathlon and biking. I didn't know this before, but he is friends with Oscar Pereiro, the 2006 winner of the Tour de France.