New Everything

Hola, hola, hola! I need to give you an update on the last couple of days. So, Friday we landed in Alicante. Cynthia and Armando were planning on picking us up but they were nowhere to be found in the Alicante airport. So, my travel buddies, Cassie and Virginia, and I got a cab. They could barely fit all of our luggage in there but they somehow managed to fit all 6 bags plus 3 girls in a pretty small taxi! We took the 25 minute ride to our hotel and the view was amazing. Although it is VERY cold for here, about 40 degrees, I thought it felt awesome. It was a brisk cold but the sun was shining. We rode along the coast the entire time. I can't believe I live here! Then, we arrived at the hotel and Cynthia and Armando were waiting for us. They said they had looked at the airport for over an hour, and we had waited for about an hour so we must have just missed them! I thought maybe they just didn't recognize us but Armando said you can't miss 3 American girls with that much luggage! The Hotel Porta Maris is beautiful! I think I am going to tell my parents to stay there when they come because it was very nice and I think affordable. Plus, I learned very quickly that their breakfast is the best thing ever! Can't wait to go back!

After checking in, we all passed out for about 6 hours. We woke back up at about 7:30ish and Armando and Cynthia took our group to dinner. Some people still had not arrived but we had a group of about 20, Missouri and ASU kids, and we all went to dinner. We went to this cool restaurant, it looked kind of Italian to me but I don't remember the name. We had a good meal but my throat was still hurting so I was particularly hungry. The ice cream was the best part... Hmm helado!! We all sat around and talked. At dinner, I learned that Cynthia and Armando are married! I could not believe it! I had thought this whole time that they were simply co-workers and good friends, but, no, they are a couple! How cute!

Anyways, after dinner, I had some energy and some of us wanted to walk around. So, we walked up and down the boardwalk a little. Then, even though it was early for Spain to go out, about 10:00 PM, we went to a little bar that had a 5 cervezas for 5 Euros deal. About 7 of us sat in there and just talked till midnight. Then, we headed back to the hotel to go to bed.

Saturday we woke up somwhat early and Armando showed up some museums around the city. Then, we had an afternoon meeting and went to dinner. I had my first taste of PAELLA. It was good but it had too much seafood for me! We went back to the hotel and slept. Then, at night, we all went out for tapas and drinks. There were two dinner groups. Mine stayed out until about 2 AM eating and drinking and then went back to the hotel. But, the other group went out and didn't return until about 7:00 AM which is normal for Spain. We had to be downstairs at 9:00 AM for a tour of the university so they were hurting in the morning. We had to walk to the bus stop and they were all carrying huge water bottles. I had never been so happy NOT to be hungover. Ha!

At about 1:00 we returned to the hotel to meet our host families. I was excited to meet Aurora but also nervous because I don't know what to expect. A girl in my sorority, Bryn, had Aurora as her host mother last Spring and said nothing but amazing things about her. So, I had emailed Cynthia and asked if there was any possibility that I would be matched up with her and she said yes! Like, I said I was nervous. I was nervous because I knew that Bryn and Aurora had an amazing relationship. And, I was/still am a little hesitant that I won't measure up. I know that sounds silly but it is how I am feeling. Right now, I am at Aurora house, in my room! One by one the host families showed up to pick up their student. I was one of the last students and I was so nervous! But, right away, she put me at ease. She was with her friend Pedro. He is so nice! He knows quite a bit of English so if I was confused he tried to explain it to me which helped. Pedro and Aurora are just friends, he lives in a different part outside of the city and works at a bank. However, I think he has a crush on her! Ha! Anyways, we sat at the hotel for awhile and had a beer, enjoying the view of the ocean.

Then, we came back to her house. It is smaller than I expected. It is just one long hallway with rooms off of it. There is my room, then an extra spare bedroom that she keeps for her son, Juan Carlos. There is also a room with a TV and an ironing board. There is her kitchen, two bathrooms (but we only use 1), her bedroom and la sala. La sala has a table, couches and a TV. It is where we mainly hangout and eat. Her house is very different from houses in the US. I mean, it is an apartment, but there is not a lot of open space which is something we value our houses back home. Anyways, we sat down in the sala and ate lunch. It was HUGE meal and I wasn't that hungry. But, she made paella which was good. She kept thinking that I didn't like it because I didn't eat the whole thing but I was just full! So, we ate lunch about 3:00 to 5:00. Their meals are very lengthy because there are different courses and they like to talk. After lunch (I keep wanting to call it dinner because it was so late), we sat around and watched TV and drank tea. I really liked the tea she had. We also ate some dessert cookie things. Some of them were just ok but I tried this one with nuts that was awesome!

After la sobremesa (the time we spent sitting around, drinking tea after our meal), she poured a little bit of carmel vodka in a shot glass. She made a little toast, we clinked glasses and I took my shot. It was good! But, I quickly realized that Aurora and Pedro were laughing at me because they sipped on their drink, they didn't chug it like I had, they actually enjoyed the alcohol, what a concept! Stupid American... Ha!

After dinner, I went to my room and unpacked a little. Then, Aurora and Pedro showed me my bus stop and we walked around a little. We stopped in this little Irish pub and talked for a little. At this bar, Aurora decided she was going to start calling me her "bebe." She said she usually has students that are 21 but I am 19 so I am young, or a baby! Ha. Aurora saw some people that she knew, she knows everyone it seems! Pedro walked us back to the apartment and said goodbye. Once we were back, Aurora showed me some pictures on Facebook. Then, I showed her some pictures of my family and we became "friends" on Facebook. She even commented on a picture of Jimbo, "Muy guapo!" Ha, I thought that was funny. She says "que mono" a lot. Mono means monkey in English so I was a little confused but she explained that mono means what a cutie, not what a monkey! Ha.

Now, I am back in my room. It has a been a long day and a bit overwhelming. New school, new friends, new home, new language, new everything! But, I can tell that coming back to Aurora's is going to be a daily relief from me. She always tells me I can do whatever I want, she is very comforting and grandma-ish. I am really tired now and I have to wake up at 6:30 in order to get to school on time so hopefully I won't be late and won't get lost!

I miss everyone but I try not to think about it, I can only take it one day at a time. Goodnight!

Love, Me.