I'M HERE!

Hey guys!
So I know that it has been almost a complete week since my last post but I have FINALLY been able to get the internet. It's been a little frustrating because I don't have internet at my homestay and I haven't been able to find a good internet cafe yet so right now I am sitting in the CIEE study center in downtown Seville in order to use the internet. I got here on monday night and before this, I was able to use the internet for a grand total of five minutes. This week is still orientation week so I'm hoping that once school starts, I will be able to get in a routine of getting to use the internet everyday, even if just for a little bit.

Sorry if this post seems long, but I have to update all of you on everything that has been happening since I've gotten here! The flights were completely fine. I slept well on the plane and having Stephanie and Kelsey (my two good friends from school who are both in the same program) was a huge blessing because I wasn't as nervous. Fortunately, we all got our luggage because there was a HUGE amount of people in my program who didn't. The night we got to the hotel after our flights, I decided to go out with some people from my program. It's really interesting because right now all the Spanish natives at the University are taking finals so the bar and street are completely dead at night because they are all studying but it was still fun. Me and Steph broke off from the group and went to this small little bar where the bartender was SO excited that we were american and then proceeded to get everyone's attention and introduce us to all the people there. We also got a chance to speak some spanish. The next day was the first day of our orientation and we were placed in groups. The guide for my group is named Esteban and I have a little crush on him. All the people in the group are afraid to talk to him but I do every chance I get because I really like to practice spanish. He took us all around the city and the university and then that night he took us out for tapas (a Spanish custom where you order dmall snacks and drinks). We also went to a Flamenco show which was kind of interesting because I had never seen Flamenco before (it's intense) and all of us were so jet lagged that I probably saw 15 other students who had fallen asleep during the show. There are 14 girls in my group (there are a lot more girls in my program than guys) so one girl called Esteban a "pimp" and he said "peemp? que es un peemp?" when we told him he turned bright red. It was hilarious. That day, the weather was amazing. I also got a chance to walk around the city and take some pictures.

The next day I got to meet my host family. My senora's name is Pillar and she has a son and a daughter who live with her. Her daughter is named Piluca and she's 25 years old and he son is named Jesús and he is 28. Pillar's husband died a while ago but she has a boyfriend. Because I have been with CIEE almost all day everyday, I haven't met Piluca or Pillar's boyfriend yet but I have met Pillar and Jesús. In Spain, it's not unusual for older people to live with their parents because family is very important here and it's much cheaper to live with your family until you are married. I've had a really good time practicing my Spanish with Pillar and she is an amazing cook. I live in a neighborhood across the river (there's a large river that cuts down the city and the downtown area in one side and los barrios or neighborhoods are on the other) from where the study center is and it's about a 25 minute walk and about 15 with a busride. I have my own room with my own bathroom attached. The rumors were true. In Spain there don't have central heating and they have all tile floors so it is COLD. Today I was absolutely freezing and had to put on 3 layers.

The city is beautiful. Most of the building are white, red and dark yellow (the colors of the Spanish flag). I'm still getting used to the food. I don't mean to sound close-minded but I really don't like it at all. Everything my señora has made for me has been really good, but everything that I have had at tapas (I've gone for tapas twice) has made me want to gag. They are really into mayonaise and cold soup. I've tried everything I've ordered so I'm trying my best not to be picky but it's really hard. This week has been really crazy but I'm hoping that when school starts I will be able to bring back some routine in my life because right now it's like one thing to the next to the next. I am a lot better at Spanish than I thought I would be and I'm not really nervous about trying to use it. I also have already seen a lot of improvement in my listening and conversing in the few days that I've been here. I love the girls in my Orientaion group. They are from all over the United States and all of them are so much fun. I'm a little frustrated because all the girls in my Orientation group are not trying to speak Spanish so I feel like kind of a suck up to Esteban because I won't stop asking him questions or trying to talk to him. I really want to speak Spanish but I haven't met a lot of students who share the same desire so I'm hoping that I can work more on going out with just Steph or Kels so that we can meet more Spanish people. Plus, because all the Spanish students are studying, it's been hard to meet a lot of people while we are out anyway.

I miss you guys a lot, especially my mom and dad. There are so many times that I just want to call you guys but I can't. But thank god for the internet and skype! Sorry this post was so long, it's been a while so I don't think future ones will be as bad.

¡Hasta luego!
Michelle

I think that you can see my pictures by going to this link:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2355632&l=6b424&id=10235591