And thus begins my journey

Let us start at the beginning. It was Sunday, the 5^th day of September in the 2010^th year of our Lord (note the official language used to emphasize the significance of this event)…On this day, I attended church with my family. Simple enough. While walking out, I exchanged hugs and well-wishes with several mothers of family friends. One would typically think of this as a nice gesture. It was; however, this gesture initiated a variety of emotions in my mother, who immediately began to tear up (lo siento madre, pero este detalle es tan importante en la cuenta)…Eventually we arrived at the airport in Chicago, where a man directed us to the incorrect line, where a curt woman told us to get into another line, which also happened to be incorrect. In that line, however, a very helpful woman told us where to go and said that she would take us to the front of the line if necessary, because what had happened to us “just wasn’t right.” We graciously turned down this offer because we were in no hurry. I then found out that my suitcase (I packed everything into one suitcase and one backpack used as a carry-on) was 49 pounds. A single pound under the “free” limit (there is an overweight fee of $50)! That’s talent, if I do say so myself! I went through security with ease, feeling as though I missed something because I expected to have to undergo some sort of extravagant procedure to leave the country. Nothing.

                

On this plane, I encountered a flight attendant from New York who strongly favored the young gentlemen near me.  Listening to their conversation, I discovered that they were brothers from Manchester, England traveling to Yosemite National Park to mountain climb, simply because it was on their bucket list. I knew from that moment that this was going to be an exciting adventure.  After arriving in Dallas, I found out that about 1/3 of the passengers on my plane to Madrid just happened to be students studying abroad in the same program as I am.  Small world.  I chatted with a girl from Baja, California who planned to study architecture in Sevilla, but was going to rent an apartment with some friends for a semester. She was fluent in Spanish and got us through the airport in Madrid pretty quickly as a result!

                

Upon arrival at the hotel in Sevilla, I became nervous because I was jet-lagged and had a difficult time understanding everything the study abroad program guides were saying.  After about 27,000 attempts to call my parents (for anyone trying to call a US number from Europe, you need to first dial “00” and then the country code which is “1” before you dial the complete number), I decided to take an hour nap and then wander in hopes of finding my friend Claire or making some new ones.  While walking the streets, I met a guy from Africa who has family in New York and London, and recently moved to Sevilla because he has friends here.  His Spanish was only slightly better than mine, so we chatted for a while and walked to the river. He was an interesting person—safe (no worries mom and dad). When the orientation officially began, I met my group and guide and felt much more comfortable. I thoroughly enjoy them. Also, I met my current orientation roommate, whom I love. We are now friends and we practice Spanish in our room before we go to our meetings, etc., in order to sound more knowledgeable around others. She is from Indiana.

                

Today (technically yesterday now—Tuesday, to clarify), we toured a bit of the city with our groups and ate muchas tapas! My guide, Fran, is really nice. He speaks clearly and loves food.  We had interviews with various professors to determine the level we need to be in for our intensive language course.  I think it went well, overall. I just hope I get credit for all of my classes here! That’s all. We also saw a flamenco show (that’s the national dance of Spain. It’s a very intricate art-form with a rich cultural history.) We saw the university, which I am excited to study in, and were given our housing assignments…drum roll please….I will be living in el barrio Triana (a region of Sevilla—a burrow or neighborhood, more or less) with a married couple and their 19 year-old daughter! I’m excited and nervous to meet them tomorrow morning (today?)…oh boy!

                

Long story short, so far so good.  I’m excited to be immersed in the culture and soon speak in only Spanish (mas o menos).  I can’t wait to get into a routine and officially start my life here.  I sweat a lot here.  Also, apparently I will get no more sleep here than I do living on campus back home...and in case anyone was wondering, writing this in English has been difficult for me because I kept starting to use Spanish. This is awesome!

                

Ciao.