I'm in Spain, Safe and Sound!!

FOR PHOTOS: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2027733&id=152001486&l=d5a417896a

I made it here safely and uneventfully! I'm getting all settled in with my sen~ora. Her name is Angeles, and she seems nice but kind of distant right now. I hope that improves throughout the semester. Lisa and I share a cozy bedroom with two pink twin beds, two closet/armoir type things, a desk with workspace for both of us, a dresser, and shelves. Everything fits nicely into our room. :-)

If I could pick two words to describe Sevilla, they would be "enchanting" and "sweating". It is so STINKING HOT here. I'm talking like, "four miles from the surface of the Sun" kind of hot. Since landing in Spain I have not stopped sweating. Our room has a window, which is open 24/7 (no worries, as we're on the 9th floor) and a fan, but there are no working outlets in our room, so the fan is kind of pointless as of yet. I also choose the word enchanting, because I am quickly falling in love with the city. It is so inspiring to be walking along the river under the palm trees and gaze up at bright blue skies, the ancient Torre del Oro, and the sunlight glistening off the river. My experience so far in walking around exploring with Lisa have given me the impression that the part of the city I will pretty much spend all my time in is clean and safe, which is reassuring, as it is a huge transition to live in a major city.

Lisa and I did our first walk to our school today, and we clocked it at almost a half hour exactly, which is one of the longest walks out of all the students as far as I've heard, but it is a nice walk along shop-lined streets and across a beautiful bridge to get to the other side of the river. We met some of our fellow SIS students at the McDonalds right by the school this afternoon and decided to walk around and explore the area immediately around the school, as it has many beautiful old buildings. We walked through the open halls of the stately Universidad de Sevilla and ended up in the governmental palace courtyard kind of by accident, but it was an amazing place to stumble upon.

Jet lag is getting the best of me right now, and I think I shall go relax with Lisa a bit before supper. Meal times are different here in Spain, so lunch is around 2:00 in the afternoon, and dinner comes anywhere between 8:00 and 11:00. Crazy! Lisa and I were discussing how it would be nice to not have to wait up for dinner tonight, because the only thing that's keeping us from going to bed right now (approximately 8:30) is the fact that we're waiting to eat dinner. :-)

Tomorrow is orientation and a city tour (which I really hope is by bus, as my feet are very tired already). I'll hopefully be able to post tomorrow night about the events of the day.

Much love and many blessings,

Katie