Midterms passed a mere 2 weeks ago…MIDTERMS!! It was hard to believe when I heard someone saying “oh yeah, midterms are next week” I was completely astonished that midterms would be so soon. Now they have passed and we are into the second half of the fall trimester. To this point, my classes have been terrific. I knew I was going to challenge myself with two honors classes and a third level language course. I knew when I was picking my courses that my schedule would be a challenge and that the other components to my Thacher life were going to make this year even more interesting. With all of the other places I have involved myself with inside the school, I have been rather busy. Clubs, Toadblogs, Media assistant and continuing to train during the cross country season, everyday life has given me a rather full plate. Every night, I work for the allotted two hours of study hall as well as a few free periods to completely prepare for my classes. They have all been great, although the one which has stood out the most has been Spanish with Señora Ortiz. I found that being thrown into Spanish II as a freshman is not as easy as it sounds. Level two is primarily grammatical work, while level three is more focused on using the grammar which we have learned as well as adding copious amounts of vocabulary. Since embarking on a three-week homestay in Sanlúcar, Spain, my Spanish has improved greatly. Last year during Spanish, I would have trouble catching everything that my teacher was saying, but since spending three weeks in almost complete immersion, it has allowed me to understand Mrs.Ortiz much better than I would have been able to otherwise. Due to Mrs.Ortiz’s energetic style of teaching, and my improved ability to understand the language, Spanish has been the class I look forward to the most every single day.