From Spain!

I made it to Spain!! Which, so far, is more than half my group can say. With the terrible storms in the East, half of my group is still stuck in the US or just now making to Madrid, where they are navigating taxis, busses, and trains to get to Caceres. Those of us lucky enough to get here on time met our host families last night. Mine consists of two parents and a son and a grandfather. There is also another girl here from Michigan and she leaves the 10 of February. I move into her room after she leaves. Last night my family made me dinner, but we didn't eat until 10:30!! I knew the Spanish ate late, and I was ready for it, but I was SO tired! Although my plane was very very empty, and I got to lie out and was really comfortable, I could not sleep. I hadn't slept in 48 hours by the time I finally went to bed at 11. We had tortilla patata for dinner, as well as a fish dish. I was surprised that I liked the fish, since I don't normally, but because it is fresh it is much better. Today we went on tours and looked at phones; I am buying one tonight. Then we got our bus passes and our library cards. My group and I are going out tonight first shopping and then we are having tapas for dinner. I am really excited. The weather is chilly, in the 40's, but so much nicer than Iowa!! Everyone here is complaining about the cold, but I think the weather is fantastic. If this is the coldest it gets, I will be one happy camper. I did have an adventure on my way home today. I found the square with a giant cross, and my apartment building is close by, but there are like 8-9 streets going off of the cross, and I didn't know which one was the right one since I've walked around so much that everything looks familiar now! I was lost for about 15 minutes, when the girl from Michigan came home!! We met as she was crossing a street and she totally saved me! She pointed out all the important things to look for to find our building, so I shouldn't get lost again!

I still haven't talked to the boy, but I did get to talk to my mom last night, which was nice. I miss everyone, and am trying to keep up on the flood of emails I've gotten. My roommate makes this incredibly difficult with her string of Facebook comments and posts! It is siesta now, but I slept so well I am almost not tired. I am trying to talk to my sister, but she is not responding, so I guess I will just lie down for a bit. Loving Spain, and excited for the best 4 months of my life!