¡Bienvenida a España!

Three flights, one bus ride, and 48 hours later I have finally made it to Valencia, Spain!  These past few days have been filled with many emotions...I'm excited, nervous, stressed, amazed, and overwhelmed all at the same time.  It just seems so surreal that I'm living in Spain right now!

To my surprise, I was able to fit everything I wanted to bring with me in my one checked bag and two carry-ons.  Even though it was a pain to haul them all over JFK International Airport in New York and the Madrid airport, it was definitely worth it.   Little things that may seem unneccesary, like my MSU blanket, just make my new room seem more cozy and help subdue my homesickness.

All of my flights went really well, although I wish I would've been able to sleep better on my flight from JFK to Madrid.  I've decided that it's impossible to be comfortable in an airplane.  No matter what you wake up with some part of you cramping haha.  I got my first taste of what life would be like in Spain on my international flight.  All of the attendents spoke to us in Spanish and all of the announcements were made in Spanish before being translated in English.  Quite the reality check when you can only make out every 5th word they say.  Needless to say, my Spanish-English dictionary is going to become my new best friend.

After arriving in Madrid, we all hopped on a bus to Valencia.  I told myself that I would not fall asleep on the bus in order to try and overcome jet lag, but as soon as my butt hit the seat I was out cold.  I woke up every half hour or so to take in the scenery we were passing.  My favorite part was the huge fields of sunflowers :]  Here are some pictures that I took:

The bus from Madrid to Valencia

I've never seen so many sunflowers!  So pretty :]

The majority of the fields are filled with wind turbines!

I was beyond excitement when the bus finally pulled into Valencia.  I snapped a photo of the Torres de Quart, which are one of two twin-towered stone gates that are all that remain of the old city walls.  They date back to the 15th century, and they definitely made me feel like I wasn't in the US anymore.

The bus took us to the fútbol stadium in Valencia, where all of the host families were waiting for us.  We joked that we felt like puppies at the pound waiting for our owners :p  My host madre, Adela, picked me up in her baby small car and off we went to her apartment, where I'll be living for the next 4 months!  It's a good thing she drives a small car because I've never seen an undergrand parking garage as tiny as the one she parks in.  Adela is sooo sooo nice, and extremely patient with my lack of communication skills.  She talks nice and slow for me and repeats everythings at least twice.  Since I've met her, I feel like I've already learned so many new words and am a little bit more confident when I speak.  I was able to hold an entire conversation with her during dinner tonight!  She's had several study abroad students like myself live with her the past few years and says she loves it.  Her apartment is very nice and I love my room.

The location of Adela's apartment is perfect:  15 minutes from school, ATM right next door, bus stop right outside, and supermarket a block away.  The hardest part of the day was figuring out which shampoo and body wash to buy at the supermarket...I probably stared at the stand of soaps completely confused for a half hour haha.  

Despite all of the language confusion today, I do know that this is definitely going to be an eye-opening semester full of so many new experieneces.

Well it's getting late here and I have a full day of orientation tomorrow.  I hope my sleep pattern isn't too messed up and I'm able to get some much needed zzz's tonight!

Hasta luego!