HI!!!

Hi everyone!!! I am so sorry for not posting on here for such a long time and keeping you in suspense!! I really have not had a chance to use the internet until now! Ok, let me start from the very beginning!

So I left for the airport on Sunday at 1:45 for my 4:00 flight to Philly...well lucky me it was delayed until 4:45...which ended up being 5. But it was ok because I had a 2 hour layover in Philly. However, when we got to Philly, the pilot announced that he had never seen the airport so backed up in his 20 some years of flying and that he couldn't imagine us getting to our gate for 35 minutes at the least. LOVELY! So I had to literally walk as fast as my little legs could take me to my next flight to Madrid, and what do you know, that plane is delayed too. So we finally took off en route to Madrid about 2 hours late after waiting at the gate and on the runway...which caused me to miss my connecting flight from Madrid to Sevilla, of course. So then I had to navigate through the Madrid airport (which is SO CONFUSING), figure out how to get on the next flight to Sevilla (no one spoke English), which was several hours later. There ended up being about 40 people on my flight to Sevilla that were also in my program, so I met a bunch of people at the airport which was good. After an hour flight to Sevilla which I had my own row and slept the whole way (the only break I caught the whole day), I then had to wait another hour or so because there was so many of us that the program's rented bus could only fit half...and I of course was in the second group to be taken back to the hotel. So I effectively missed the first day of orientation, and made it just in time for dinner.

The first night was fun- I met a lot of people and we went out to a couple bars for a little while. The next day was full of walking around Sevilla (I have never walked so much in my life)...we had some presentations at la Universidad de Sevilla about classes, homestays, etc. I did not feel well (either because I was dehydrated or because I'm not used to the water here) so that was a big bummer, especially considering I had to keep on walking everywhere. Then we had a scavenger hunt which was sort of ridiculous but I got to see a little of Sevilla. That night we went out with our orientation groups (the whole program is like over 200 kids, but they split us up into groups of 15 or so) for tapas, which were interesting. I think that was when I realized I am going to have a very difficult time with the food here haha. A lot of jam, lots of weird sauces and consistencies...all my favorite things (not)! That night I went back to the hotel and talked online (only my ichat was working so I couldn't even update then!). And before I knew it, Wednesday morning came and it was time to meet our homestays!!

My homestay consists of me and my Señora, who's name is Charo (but she told me to call her Tita Charo). She is an older woman, a widow, who has two daughters around 28-32ish, and two grandsons. She lives in a small apartment in a part of Sevilla called Triana, which is where a lot of people in my program's homestays are. She is very, very nice, but so far I have had a pretty difficult time understanding her. She tries to speak slowly, but in Sevilla they drop so many sounds off their words that it is very hard to understand! I also have found that everyday conversational Spanish is VERY different than what I've learned in school my whole life, so I have to learn a whole new vocabulary basically. My room is nice, pretty small but not bad. There is no central heat in apartments here, so my only source of heat is a little space heater. It is very different than home! Showering tonight was not the most fun thing I've ever done...only a little water comes out and it is SO cold in the bathroom (no heat!). Also, there is no place in the bathroom for me to put my toothpaste, pills, anything like that so I'm not quite sure what to do about that yet...hmmm.

Not surprisingly, I have been having some major stomach issues. The food and water here are so different that my stomach has been going crazy, which even caused me to not eat dinner last night (first time ever in my life!) and to go home early even though my entire program was going out to a club! I was very sad about it, but I came home and got a lot of sleep. Today, I feel much better. My stomach is still not very happy but I am trying to be more optimistic (even though it also rained the whole day!). This morning we had some more presentations about safety, health, etc at the CIEE center, which is about a 30 min walk from where I live- I told you I do a lot of walking! Then I came home, we had lunch which was salad and soup, because she knew my tummy was hurting! She is also making sure I drink lots of water, she has been very worried about me and continues to tell me she will worry about me like my mother haha. If only she knew how much my mother actually worries...But anyways! After lunch we watched tv for a little while then I took a little siesta. After that, I met a friend and we did a little shopping (I got some shampoo and stuff, and then my INTERNET CARD!). I came back, finally connected myself to the internet (Tita Charo does not have it, so I had to buy it), ate dinner, showered, and now I am waiting for another friend (named Jillian!) to text me and tell me she is ready to go out.

Overall, the beginning has been a little rough for me, but I really did not expect anything different. I have a hard time dealing with lots of change, and being away from my family, friends and Aaron has been very difficult. But I know that once I get settled in, start a routine, and start doing more things with friends, that will all go away and I will start to have more fun! So for those of you that are still reading (sorry this was so long), no need to worry about me, I am doing much better and hopefully within the next few weeks will be able to tell you that I am loving Sevilla and am never coming back (joke)!

Love and miss you all...more updates soon!