I'm Here! (Estoy Aqui!)

Jan 9, 2008
Hello everyone!!

Sorry it has taken me so long to get this going but things have been a little crazy as you can guess. I feel like I have been here a month already and it is only the end of my second day in the city!

To catch you up: my flights were good and I met some interesting people as you should when you are in an airport. My parents drove me to Charlotte Sunday morning and from there I flew to Cincinnati to New York to Madrid. I arrived in Madrid around 10am Spain-time (4am at home). From the airport I had directions to take the metro to the bus station. Well if you know me at all you know that directions and I don’t get along well. Luckily (not luck – blessing from God) I met 2 guys on the plane and they took me all the way to the station and made sure I was on the right bus. I cannot thank them enough (and now I have 2 new friends to visit in Salamanca and Madrid!) So, then I rode the 5 hour bus to Granada. 5 hours is a looooooooong time when you have been traveling for almost 2 days with not much sleep – But there was a beautiful part when we drove through the mountains. Mila (my program contact) met me at the station with my host-mom, Maria Luisa, and her daughter, Inma. Inma dropped us off at home; I ate dinner, unpacked and went to bed. End day 1 (or does that count as 2?). I think it added up to about 35 hours!

Tuesday we met the other girls with ILYC, took our placement exams, walked around the city, got cell phones (yes, I already have a phone – do you really think I can survive without one??) It turned out to be a good idea because I got mucho mucho lost trying to find my way home for lunch – a 20 min walk turned into a 2 hour meander through town. (For y’all at Clemson I figure it was like walking to Lehotsky from let’s say University Place because Daniel Square seems too close. Then you realize you forgot your something and have to go all the way home to get it, but you get so turned around you end up somewhere in Anderson before you finally make it there.) But let’s look at the bright side, now I know a lot more of the city than I would have! J haha After 2 days of my wandering around in circles Agustin finally walked with me from ILYC to my home to show me the way. I have only gotten confused once since then. (again that whole thing with me a directions) In my defense, the street signs are not on every street and sometimes you have to look really hard to find them. I’ll put pictures up next time to show you.

Today, Wednesday, we started our Spanish-intensive classes at the Centro. Two 2-hr classes from 9-1. Monday – Friday until Feb 29. I am in the classes with Catherine (a girl here with ILYC, like me, who went to Clemson her freshman year – Go Tigers!) We are in intermediate level B which means our class of 8 can understand the two teachers for the most part and can answer most of their questions. We played some games to help us start talking with each other and learning new vocabulary. Both teachers are very animated in their speaking and it helps us understand more quickly. I would definitely pick the second teacher to be on my team for charades!

Okay I know this is a long one, but it is hard to leave anything out! Spain is wonderful. There are so many tiny little shops everywhere. I am afraid I will find one I like and then never find it again! The streets of the city are more like alleys and I cannot believe cars and buses can fit on them. (It reminds me a lot of the streets in Venice – except in Venice there are no cars, only mopeds.) Tomorrow we will take a tour of the Old Arab quarter of Albayzin. I don’t know what that is but I’m sure I will find out tomorrow.

It’s been good hearing from you on facebook! J I will send my address when I can make sure I have it right. haha


Good night to all! Much love,
Sally



Okay since that last one was just full of what I’ve been doing, I wanted to post again with funny things I’ve seen and noticed, and that remind me of people from home.

Sims: You need to come visit. The dread mullet is in fashion over here. I think the chicks dig it. So just shave the top of your head, leave the rest in dreads and come on!

Lolly: When they put prices on things if something costs 20 euros, they write 20,00 € … so my quote would sound silly over here.

Frank: All the men wear scarves here. All of them. So you should too. Bring the fashion to America. Also, I have not seen any soccer socks yet. I will keep looking – it’s only been 2 days.

Casey: The purse is awesome. It is the only thing I use and feel a lot better about having a lock on the zipper. Nobody’s pick-pocketing this little American! The backpack was heavy but much better than anything else I could have used of my own. Muchas gracias chica!