I'm here!!!!

I'm sorry that it has taken me quite a while to make this first post, I was unable to because I didn't have internet in my homestay. I was able to get access to it for a limited amount of time in an internet cafe though. Hopefully my lack of communication hasn't made anyone worry. I'm here, I'm safe, all is well.

And now the blog starts:

To get here, I flew out of Omaha to New Jersey, from Joisy to Madrid, and finally from Madrid to Palma. My first flight was pretty uneventful, but it was on a very small plane. While waiting for my second flight, I met a girl from North Carolina who was flying to Spain to visit her boyfriend who is stationed there. I'm glad I don't live in the south... her accent was awful. We talked about the oil spill and a little bit about our plans for Spain. She was nice but I was glad to board the plane and give my ears a rest from her twangy banjo-mouth.

Once on the plane, I sat next to a Spanish couple who were from Madrid. We talked a lot, in both spanish and english about Spain and Spanish customs. They had a good time reading through the material that was provided to me by the program. They told me what parts of it were a little bit "off" and laughed at some of the stereotypes of Spanish people. This jet was very nice; every seat had its own TV with "on-demand." You could pick between movies, music, tv, games, and a navigational screen. Naturally I started out with "games" but they all sucked so I went on to watch an episode of 30 rock. Then I fell asleep to Alice in Wonderland.

Once I arrived in Madrid, I only had a little bit of time to make it to my next flight. I had to take a bus to my gate, and it took the bus driver forever to come. I sat on an empty bus for about 15min before the driver finally got there, it would have been easier if I could have just walked. Once I got to my gate, the lady behind the desk said that it was delayed 10 minutes. 10 minutes quickly turned into an hour. I wouldn't have minded waiting except for the fact that my gate was right next to a designated smoking area within the airport. I smelled like an ashtray by the time I got on the plane.

It was a short flight from Madrid to Palma (~1.5hrs) and my nap made it even shorter. I fell asleep before we even took off. When we arrived in Palma de Mallorca, I went to the international "belts" to get my suitcase. I watched all the bags pass, except for mine. I then had to report that my bag was missing with someone, and gave her the address of my hotel.

I got to my hotel (HM Hotel Jaime III) after my classmates had finished orientation. I was greeted by the two program directors Susan and Antonia as soon as I walked in. They were very nice and helped me get checked in. I shared a room with two classmates, Conrad and Andrew. I'm sure I'll have post pictures with them later.

That night we went on a brief walk to a couple of the plazas (above is the Plaza Mayor; the smaller of the two we visited) to get a feel for the city. The next day we went on a more extensive walk and met 2 of our Guardian Angels. These are students at the university who volunteer to help us and assist with the facilitation of the program. That day we also all went to Vodafone to buy cell phones. They only cost 7 euros, with a 12 euro plan.

That night we got to meet our families. I have a brother and a mother. My madre is very nice and is a nurse at a nursing home. She has to work a lot so I don't get to see her much. She cooks my meals for me and does my laundry so that helps a lot! My brother's name is Patricio but he goes by Pato. He is also very nice and is a student at the university as well. He is majoring in History there. He has a strong passion for art and he paints while his friends play music in various bars and other venues. His works are really interesting and abstract. I will have to take pictures of some of them and post them here when I have more time. My home is close to the city center which is very nice. It is only about a 10 minute walk to the Plaza de Espana and about a 15-20minute walk to the University. I have my own room which is nice too. Everything here is very simple and there isn't much technology. Before I shower I have to heat the water, which I learned the hard way. The first morning I showered in ice cold water.. I was shivering and breathing fast and wondering what I got myself into. Later my madre showed me how to heat the water and now all is well.

If you want more details about anything, just post and I will try to respond as quickly as I can.