When is Spain

 I made it! Safe and sound I made it Seville in one piece. I've only been here 2 days and I love it already. It's a beautiful place, Spain. But first, the journey.

I left good old KCMO on Tuesday the 15th. I have to say, it was a teary eyed goodbye leaving my mom and dad. They've helped me so much with this trip and I'll be so happy when the get to come and visit me!

Mama, Papa, y yo en el aeropuerto

Anyway, I left KC around 1:20 and low and behold, two girls on my flight were going to Seville, with the same program. I took it as a good sign. We got into Chicago around 2:30, and I exchanged some money, found my gate, and sat and waited. When the plane finally pulled up, IT WAS HUGE. It was the biggest plane I've ever seen. I've only flown internationally once (it was to Guatemala) and that plane was small. But I boarded the plane in Chicago, and when I found my way to that seat, I saw was sitting next to a friend from Truman who was also on the program, but flew to Chicago from Saint Louis. We talked for the first hour or two of the flight, we had dinner, and then we both fell asleep. When we woke up, it was breakfast time. After breakfast we only had about 2-2 and a half hours left in the flight. I read my people magazine, listened to music, and soon, we were in Madrid! We landed in Madrid and a few of us headed for Seville all stayed together, simply because the Madrid airport was very very big. The had signs posted saying how far it would take you to walk to a certain gate, it was so big! We went through customs, found our gate, then sat and talked.

After boarding the flight to Seville, I was really to excited too do anything. When we finally arrived in Seville, we found our luggage, but someone stole the camera out of my luggage! I was livid. After finding our luggage, we were met at the airport by people from our school. We got taxis and found our way to our house. My first experience speaking Spanish was trying to give directions to my house (which I didn't really even know where it was) to the cab driver. Not an easy thing to do.

When I finally reached my house, I was greeted by Ana, my house mother. Ana is so kind and welcoming, and she gave me a kiss on both cheeks and showed me around the house. I met Manolo, her husband, Vicki, the maid, and the two dogs Cocoa and Wendy. I share a nice size room with my roommate Shannon. We have a bathroom right next door and a balcony with provides a beautiful view of the neighborhood.

A view from our bedroom window this morning

The view of Betis, the soccer stadium next door

Another view from the room

The balcony next to our room

Today we had orientation at school and a placement test. Our school is a 15 bus ride or 30 minute walk from our house. I think I'm going to rent a bike from Sevici, which is a service where you pay a fee for a year, and then the bike is free for the first 30 minutes every time you ride. It's like a euro for an hour or more. So, a nice way to see the city, get to school, and get some exercise. After our orientation, we walked home and had lunch with Ana. Lunch is the biggest meal of the day in Seville. It's almost always two courses, and dessert. Today we had a first dish of spinach, carrots, and garbonzo beans, all cooked together, and it was delicious! Next we had eggs stuffed with tuna and lettuce. Dessert here is always the fresh fruit. We had mandarin oranges, which are the sweetest I've ever had, pears, bananas and apples.

After lunch we talked for about Ana and Manolo's family for a while, hung out in our room, then headed back to school. We had a meeting with the academic advisor to go over our schedule. Then, about 5 of us just decided to walk and see what happened. We found stores, cafes and lots of other little gems. We were going to go our for tapas and drinks, we but we forgot night life doesn't start in Spain until 10 or 11 at night and it was only 8. So, we went to the park and took lots of pictures at the Plaza de Espana. 

A tower at the Plaza de Espana

So far, I've had an amazing time in Seville and I've only been here two days. Here's a few things about what I've learned so far.

1. Sevillanos provide a warm and welcoming community.
2. Everything is brighter here, the colors, the food, the people, everything.
3. Meal are MUCH different. Breakfast, at 8 or 9, is toast and coffee/hot chocolate/some other drink. Lunch is the big meal of the day, and it's not until 2 or 3. You plan your day around lunch. That's when you sit down and talk. Dinner is around 9 or 9:30 and is very light, a soup and sandwich, or an omelet.
4. To Europeans, personal space is everyone's space. When you meet, be prepared for a kiss or two.
5. In Sevilla, anything below 60 degrees is cold and cause for heavy coats and boots. It is winter here.

6. These people know how to live. Living is not about the past or future, it's about today.