I'm here!

Parque del Buen Retiro

 

 

I'm so happy to be here! It has taken me a while to adjust to the time change and all of the changes in general.  I spent two days in Madrid with other Auxiliares (teaching assistants) and then we headed west for orientation. In Madrid, we didn't have much time but we managed to visit this beautiful park and La Reina Sofia.  We were able to visit the museum for free and we saw a famous painting of Picasso, "La Guernica".

 

 I have been staying with my teacher's family for the past three days and they have taken me in like their own daughter (very lucky).  As of now, my days in Spain have been filled with beautiful landscapes, nice people, muchas tapas (small little snacks at bars), and cerveza (beer).  My town is called Badajoz, to get all of the facts you can read about it on wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badajoz.  It is very cute.  It has everything and still remains a smaller city of about 150,000 people.  I am so close to the border of Portugal that my phone picks up a Portuguese signal, pretty cool. 

 

 

This weekend, the city celebrated an Arabic festival called "Almossassa".  The people set up Arabic shops, food, and music for everyone to enjoy because it is the city's history.  I couldn't help but mention my only reference of Aladin..which says how much I know about Arabic history.  

http://www.google.es/imgres



Today I am moving into my piso (apartment) so I will be busy setting that up and then school starts on Tuesday.  I found out that I will have Mondays off and I work from 9am to 1:30 pm. I think I will be able to manage this schedule :)  I'll post again soon!

Not a fan of this goodbye thing...

So tomorrow is THE day!  I'm pretty sure that my checked bag is currently overweight but maybe a smile at the luggage lady will allow me to get away with it.  My last purchase of 2lbs of peanut butter has put me over but hey, I'm American and I loves me some peanut butter! I have tried my best to prepare as much as possible up to this point and I am now over the waiting game.  I cannot anticipate this trip any longer and I am excited to get there.  Tomorrow I leave from New Orleans and after 18 hours of travel, I will be in Madrid!

Today I think I cried on average every 45 minutes and thought about how hard it is to say goodbye but luckily we have Facebook, Skype, Whatsapp, and this blog.  Also, it is comforting knowing that I won't be alone!  My two good friends will be on the flight across seas with me and many others who are doing this same program.  Having never been to Europe, I don't know what to expect or how to feel about it but I can tell you that soon you will find out :)  For my family, friends, and boyfriend, I hope you all are able to stay tuned with my blog and keep in touch with me as much as possible.  For the new followers, welcome to my blog and feel free to contact me if you have any questions about this program--