Hello from Spain!

Hello everyone! Well, I have been living in Spain for a little over a week now, and finally found the time to start blogging. I hope to update my blog more frequently from now on, so I can share my experiences with you all and keep you updated on everything I'm learning and experiencing here in Espana! So far I'm having a great time! Adjusting here has been difficult, but a good kind of difficult, because I know it's helping me grow as a person. I must say, Ashley and I were in for a rude awakening upon arrival! Everything from setting up wi-fi to getting a cell phone plan to opening a bank account to finding our way around this huge city was a huge struggle! This is mostly because there are very few people here who know English so we've had to complete all of these tasks using Spanish. My English-Spanish dictionary has become my left hand. I'll admit there were a couple of breakdowns last week as a result of the frustration and jet lag, but we found the nearest T.G.I. Fridays and ordered a huge basket of buffalo wings w/ ranch to console us! Now that I've been here for 8 days, though, I finally feel it all coming together. I know my way around the city, my Spanish has improved tremendously, and I am finally able to sleep with no air conditioner and the possibility that a cockroach might crawl up my leg at any minute! Life is good! On Friday, Ashley and I moved in with our host family; Ana, Carlos, and their mother, Juanita. Juanita lives here with us and Ana and Carlos live down the street, but visit often. Juanita cooks us 3 meals a day and is always waiting by the door to greet us when we come home, ready to strike up a conversation!! Even though I'm usually very tired when I get home and am usually tempted to make a mad dash toward my room, I try to be patient and communicate with her as much as possible. I know my Spanish is going to be so much better once I leave Sevilla! We haven't had the chance to travel yet because we started our Spanish Immersion classes at "Clic" on Monday. Here in Sevilla, we have 4 weeks of classes, and afterwards, we move to Almeria to teach English at our schools. This weekend we are thinking about going to Cadiz to visit the world-famous mezquita, the beach, and we may take a ferry to one of the port cities for sherry tasting. I am going with Ashley and some other friends we've met here through the program. Everyone here, for the most part, is a recent college graduate (ages 22-25), so we're all kind of in the same boat here. We're loving it so far! More updates soon!! Check out my videos to see more!