"Vale!" (Okay!)

Finally all settled in my new home for the next three months in Seville, Spain! These past couple days have been very crazy with traveling, lugging around 50 pounds of clothes, a 20 pound backpack and of course my pillow. None the less I am happy to say everything is now stored in a closet and have my pillow on a comfy bed in the apartment I am are staying in. Right after I got off the plane and promptly arrived in Madrid. We than got a walking tour of Madrid, went to the Plaza Mayor, Debod Temple, A giant cathedral and walked through the gardens. It was very beautiful but Emily and I were exhausted after being up for 31 hours of traveling. The next day we traveled to Toledo which is beautiful and rich in history. It was once totally Muslim but after the Spanish Inquisition and the switch of power it was overthrown by the Catholic monarchy. We got to see the fourth largest cathedral inthe world, the Rosary Cathedral, we saw a synagogue, the famous photo done by Grecco and also got a walking tour of the city. Finally we got to Seville and met our families. 

I am living with a mother and daughter named Ada and Anna. It is great because Anna is my age and is very sweet. Our room is super nice and we have a view of the whole city. We live in Nervion which is a central and nice part of the city where the metro is only 5 minutes away and our school is only a 15 minute walk! Today we had a tour of the city and met our mission mentors with Veritas. They are very sweet and welcoming, definitely helps me feel more at home with people who are open and willing to help whenever I need it. It has been a blast getting to know everyone in the program and becoming closer friends with the people in my Veritas group. there are around 90 students in the ISA program and 7 in the Veritas group. I am so looking forward to becoming better friends with everyone! 

Now for the High Low of the experience thus far. The high is that I absolutely LOVE it here (Don't worry mom and dad I am coming back home). I love everything from the food, which is mainly a Mediterranean diet with lots of coffee, to the laid back lifestyle as the normal time for a meal is an hour. I love walking through the city and seeing all the people on the street. I love my sweet little apartment. I love all the history and color Seville has to offer. It has been such a huge blessing for far and God has been so faithful to me. Now for the low. When we first got here I cried like a baby. I was so overwhelmed with the language barrier and with the culture shock. I really do wish that I was fluent in Spanish because that would make everything better! It has been difficult at times to adjust to the differences like eating a 10 at night and being a guest in someone's house. I do miss my family, I wish I could give my mom a hug every morning and than annoy my sister with questions about which boy likes her today, I wish I could go over to my best friends house and have her make me french press coffee than laugh our butts off, I wish I could eat peanut butter (as they don't have it here). But alas I cannot and it is OKAY. I know there many changes that I will need to make and time will help me adjust here better. Sending love to everyone back home! Besos <3