Back-To-School Special! *

Back to school sales. Patent leather Mary Janes and matching hair barrettes. Dragonflies zipping through the trees at sunset. The smell of crayons and freshly sharpened pencils. What do you associate with the back-to-school season? I admit, as a child, walking the halls of my elementary school before classes began gave me a thrill. I loved shopping for new outfits with my grandmother, I loved the first few days of introductions and rules, and I loved to chase the leaves that fell from the giant trees at recess. I was certifiable nerd, and proud of it. The end of summer was bittersweet; I’d miss the freedom, but looked forward to another year of learning.
I’ve changed a little since age eight, (most people have) but I never expected that back-to-school would feel like this. I’ve been nervous, I’ve been excited, and I’ve even outright dreaded the return, but never have I been so…calm about it. In the next week or two I’ll be starting the first third of my senior year, yet no strong emotion grips me. This may be because of the time difference. I’m not talking about the five measly hours between Bolivia and Alaska. This is much different. This is almost seven months different. This is almost seven months, a hemisphere, and a language different. That’s right, I’m about to start my senior year—in Bolivia.
I’m curious as to what the next six months will bring. I’m returning to the school of my junior, well, I can’t say year, since it was only two and a half months. In those two and a half months, people learned quite a bit about me. You might even say I had a reputation. Of not speaking Spanish… Before summer vacation began, my literature teacher leaned toward me and annunciated in crisp, overly-precise Spanish, ‘’Maybe you can read some books in Spanish this summer, so you can come back and do real work.’’ (Translated for your benefit.) I followed her instructions, and expect to finish Harry Potter y la Piedra Filosofal before the weekend. Despite my growing vocabulary, however, my Spanish is far from fluent. I know I’ve improved, but I don’t know if it’s enough to be a real member of class. If only Bolivians had a habit of repeating everything loudly and clearly!