Miss Louise

I was going to wait until after this weekend to blog, but decided to fill you in on Miss Louise.

The English teacher, and my homeroom teacher, is named Miss Louise. She’s from Britain and today I was eternally grateful for her. Suffice it to say that today was an unusually frustrating day and by Math class, I was on the verge of tears.

During our study time in the library, Miss Louise asked if she could talk to me for a few minutes, so I followed her into one of the conference rooms. She was really friendly, and asked how everything was going so far and how I had come to study in Spain. I told her all about the process of going on Rotary Exchange, and how everything was going great for the most part, but it was very frustrating trying to communicate. She laughed and told me she remembers her first year here and how much of a struggle it was in the beginning. My favorite was when she asked me “Do you have those times where you’re forming a sentence in your head, and just when you have it, they’ve changed subjects and the moment has passed?” I nearly hugged her. It was so good to have someone who understands.

She told me that before I had started school, when people described me to her they said “She’s a lot like you Miss Louise….tall, blonde, and pale.” Haha. Then she asked when I arrived and when I told her Friday she said “Oh my gosh! Have you cried yet? I cried my entire first week here!” So, of course, I started crying.

Now, those who are reading this, please do not worry. In truth, I have really been having an incredible time. I just think that all the exhaustion and frustration over not being able to understand or be understood finally caught up with me, and it was absolutely wonderful to have someone so….well, nice doesn’t do her justice, but you get the idea. We talked for almost an hour, and by the end I felt much, much better. I won’t bore you with the entire conversation , but basically she told me that I am to enjoy this year and not worry about anything. They switched my schedule so that I go to a different class every day instead of English, but she told me that if I ever want to just stay in English and not go to Philosophy or History twice in one day, I can just stay and “read in Spanish….or take a nap.” She promised me that the language will come, and that this will truly be the best year of my life.

Three cheers for Miss Louise.