Viva España!

I can't believe I am here in Spain! First, I will finish up Barcelona and Sunday:
This was the first Hostel where we actually had a packed room...with no air conditioning...with scary looking irish kids...it was an adventure. Adam and I went to get kebabs and then got ready for about. I woke up every hour because I was suffocating but one hour was a little scarier than the others. I woke up to a figure that I couldnt make out (due to my blindness and it being pitch black) and thought it was adam so I just said, "go back to bed!" and rolled over, I am such a nice friend to not even ask if he was alright. Then I hear in broken english, "hey, i sleep heeer wit you?" I thought it was adam joking around so I stayed rolled over and said "no" and tried to go back to bed. Then I feel an arm and feel the person get closer, and he says it again, "I sleep here?" I look a little closer and soon realized it was a very drunk kid and I said out of panic, "umm no? Im going back to bed!" and then took up as much of the bed as I could! The rest of the night I seriously slept with an eye open because I was so freaked out. That morning I told Adam and he said, "oh yeah I thought I heard something going on." Looks like we are both awesome friends, I didn't care when I thought it was him who needed something and he didn't bother to check on me! Good times.

So we caught the train and after a four hour ride, made it to Logroño!! Adam's mom found him right off the bat and I searched around to find my family. It was such a relief to finally find them! My sister Maria is 22 and a journalist at a nearby news station, Javier is 28 and works as a mechanical engineer and my mom Carmen is around my mom's age. They started asking me question after question, and only the kids know a few words in english. I was officially on my own after saying goodbye to adam! But it was an exciting feeling, like it was finally time to learn some spanish and speak well. We made it to their piso (apartment) and they had cleared out Maria's room for me, so she is with her mom. I felt so bad! But they are so wonderful and try their best to make me feel at home and to make sure I have my own space. Carmen is hilarious...she is always doing something and it makes me feel like I am at home! She talks to me and uses older spanish words that I have never heard, then the kids tell her to speak in more simple spanish, then she tells them to talk slower...meanwhile I am just watching and listening to them argue about how to talk to me, it is pretty entertaining!

My schedule is pretty laid back. I wake up and get ready for school, have breakfast with Javi and Carmen at around 8, I walk to school through the beautiful town of Logroño, attend my classes till 1:30, catch a bus ride back and eat lunch around 2:30. Everyone is home for lunch here, it is more important than dinner. Carmen makes THE BEST food!!! My favorite so far was tortillas de patatas, and its really just eggs and potatoes in a little pie and it is so yummy. Everything is delicious, the fruit...chocolate...icecream...bread...I am in heaven! I then go swimming or meet up friends from school and hit the town or go on little adventures to check out churches and other things like that, but make it back for dinner because, again, it is important to them to have that family time. It's pretty different for me though, usually I am not a huge talker but here they make me be the center of attention to make me practice spanish. It is hard now for me to think and write in english, it is crazy what a few days with nothing but spanish can do for me.

It is so exciting to be here, especially during the world cup! Last night our group went to a local bar and sat outside to watch the game with the ciudadanos of Logroño and it was a blast. They were all singing and dancing and laughing..I took a video and I will add it soon! I went home to watch the last half with the fam and it was hilarious to see Carmen get all into it too! How cool would it be to say that I was in spain when they won the cup?? I hope it happens!

Well, I have learned so much and my little book of new words is already getting pretty full. I have never eaten so well and I think I am going to have pretty dark skin by the time I get back, it's sunny here until dinner time, which is around 10 pm! I am having a blast and will update pics and videos and new fun things very soon. Hasta luego!!!