Hola!!!

I made it! I’m here! It’s been a whirlwind of 48 hours but I can finally say that I have made it “across the pond” by myself! I have met some great people and eaten some interesting new foods.  I cannot wait to move into the families and actually have a structured schedule though.  I think that will help me sleep better.

The flights were good.  The first one was about 2 hours so I just read.  The second was 9 hours so we got 2 meals as well as there were movies and drinks constantly.  I am thinking that I like Delta a lot better than American Airlines at this point.  Even when each person does not have their own screen in front of them at least the screen there is it’s not only like a 19” one.  On the third flight which was only an hour long, I sat next to this guy who was kind of cute and unbeknownst to me a famous football (soccer) player.  Apparently the whole U21 Real Madrid team was onboard the plane with us. 

When we got to Alicante and the hotel we had a few hours to burn before we had to meet for the introductions and then dinner so a few other girls and I went wandering around the area near the hotel.  We had dinner at a tapas bar and it was really good food but most of it was seafood so that caused a bit of an issue.  I did however try the calamari and thought it was pretty good.  Then we walked back to the hotel to turn around again and go out for a drink in “El Barrio” which is the old part of Alicante.  After we came back to the hotel and went to bed. 

Today we went on a walking tour of Alicante after a wonderful continental breakfast. We got to see all the places that will become places that we hang out and go to in the next few months.  Then we had a “coffee break” and a session on Spanish culture and health and safety.  Next came lunch, which was paella, which was very good.  Paella is a rice dish, which you can put almost anything in.  The 3 options we had were carne (meat), veraduras (vegetables), and mariscos (shrimp).  After that we had an hour of free time during which we went to Corte Ingles which is a big department store in the shopping district.  After that we had another session this one on Goals and Communication/Transportation, followed by free time before we go to dinner.

Adios!