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This entry is almost word for word out of a recent diary entry.

Exciting news: I'll be home in eight days. But perhaps more important is the fact that I don’t need to go home. Yes, I want to go home. I can’t wait to tackle Minerva on the rug in the living room, wake up to fresh farmers market orange juice made fresh by the best mom in the world. I can’t wait to share music with my dad and just talk on car drives places. We have some of our best conversations in cars. I’m looking forward to hanging out with Ben and seeing my friends, going and smoking hookah and having fondue parties. I’ll be able to cook again and I’ve got a whole line up of recipes I’m ready to attempt. But I don’t need home. Not right now at least. I’m happy in Barcelona right now. I’m living here. I’ve been making Christmas cards, I bought a poinsettia, I put up paper snowflakes on my window, and colored paper chains are strung up. I’m doing things here that I would be doing at home or at Juniata. And like home and Juniata I am surrounded by people that I enjoy spending time with and that I love. I’ve made a new little home here. And maybe it’s not as good as San Diego, but I’ve still made it mine. And that, beyond all else, makes me happy.

Other kids have been having a really hard time this last month. (Finals stress and 15 page Spanish papers in size 10 fonts don't help) But, I think it makes it harder when kids focus on what they don't have. The Christmas lights here aren’t as good here as at my house, it isn’t a white Christmas, my friends are having fun and meeting up without me... But the sad thing is what they miss when they focus on home. They miss the fact that the lights here are beautiful and special, that no, we don’t have a white Christmas but it’s sunny and beautiful out and we don’t have to shovel snow, and maybe their friends are hanging out without them but we've all made new and important friends here and had our own very fun adventures. So yeah, I missed Madrigal and Caleb and Rio's big soccer Thanksgiving dinner but I've met one of my best friends in Spain and I'll treasure that relationship for the rest of my life.

I think that to be able to thrive in another place you have to accept that things will be different. Vastly different from anything you are used to. But that's the whole point isn't it? Being different doesn’t make it bad. It doesn’t make it good it just makes it different. And different is ok. Different is what makes life special, new, and fun. Difference is the spice of life.

Peace and love.