Hi! I'm sorry to just now be getting around to this but I've been so tired! I got to Madrid on Monday morning and went straight to a hotel from the airport where everyone in our program was staying for the night. Leah and I got to room together at the hotel which was a relief! We had a big lunch with everyone in our program, followed by a safety meeting. We then had an hour and a half to rest before an optional walk around the neighborhood at 5:30. However, Leah and I slept right through it and kept on sleeping until 8:30. When we woke up we were still so tired that we did not have an appetite for dinner and ended up spending our dinner money on an hour of internet in our room.
On Tuesday morning we had to get up for a group breakfast at 8. As we ate our breakfast we noticed that it was still pitch dark outside and soon found out that it doesn't get light in Madrid until a little bit before 9 am. After breakfast we had a long orientation meeting and then packed up our things and went to wait in a room for our host moms to pick us up. My roommate Jessica and I found each other and anxiously awaited our host mom. We felt like we were getting picked for sports teams. We were so nervous and it seemed like everyone was getting picked up by their senoras except for us! Finally, Cristina, our senora, arrived and she was so cute. I knew we were meant to be as she was dressed head to toe in taupe. Cristina's apartment is nice and spacious. Jessica and I each have our own rooms, and Cristina's dog, Greta, goes back and forth to cuddle. She is precious!
We had a great lunch with Cristina and her daughter, Maria. Jessica and I then made our way to the IES center for the first time for more orientation meetings. We take about a 15 minute bus ride and then we have a 15 minute walk through a beautiful park to get to school. It will be so nice in the spring!
Jessica and I walked around our neighborhood together last night and grabbed some dinner at a questionable sandwich shop which I'm not too sure I'll return to. Our neighborhood is really cute and there seems to be a lot of restaurants and stores around us.
Today we had our first "language and culture class". We will have this class for another week and a half as part of orientation. My professor was hilarious so 3 hours of orientation ended up flying by! Jessica and I then came home to have lunch with Cristina and now I'm off with Cristina to finally buy a cell phone.
This weekend I get to see Zara and Elena and I'm so excited! We're going to go to "Zara with Zara" as Elena put it and then have dinner and go to a disco. I can't believe I get to see them again after all this time!
PETE! I can't wait to see pictures of your neighborhood, home, family and Greta. I'm sure that we'll all be waiting patiently while you get your camera married to your computer. Good luck getting a cell phone and a hairdryer today! I already LOVE Cristina! Can't wait to hear about your reunion with Zara and Elena!!! So fun! Give Zara a big hug for me! xoxo
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