Monday, September 1, 2014

Los primeros dias en ESPANA!!!

Am I really in Spain??  Is Seville my home for the next 4 months?!  Is this for real???
Those are just a few of the questions I have been asking myself in the last few days.  I simply cannot believe I am here.   I don't know if that is a good thing or not yet! I am just waiting for the day when I am like--oh crap!! what did I get myself into?! I can't go home! I can't see my family!...-- but for now I am really enjoying & trying to take in all of the new sights, smells, and tastes of this beautiful city that I now am able to call home!  Seville is GORGEOUS.  That makes the transition all the more easier!  I really didn't want to leave home.  The night before leaving, I was a straight-up mess.  The last few weeks at home I wasn't excited AT ALL to come to this place.  I would've packed up in 2 hours and got on a plane and been fine going to Bolivia, that's for sure!! But another new place?  A place so far away from home where I know next to no one again and have to stay for 4 months?  No way.  Not excited at all.  But I did really quite well the day I had to leave!  I was very impressed with myself if you ask me. ;)  Barely any tears were shed the day of my departure! (which wasn't the case the night before! ha)

But I am here!  It is always quite the transition when you are in such a new place.  It's a completely different thing trying to get accustomed to a place where you know you are staying for quite a while & it needs to start feeling like home.  It takes time.  And I'm totally aware of that.  I've been telling myself to just continue to be patient & rest in the fact that this is where I need to be right now..

All of our flights and everything went so smoothly, which was seriously so nice.  I was absolutely exhausted upon our arrival, though.  We lost hours and I was completely lost as to what day it was when we arrived.  The jet lag really wasn't as bad as I expected, though!  I guess the daily, short siestas help with that. :) As soon as we got here, Leslie, the program director, and Jenna, the Student Ministries Coordinator, met us at the airport.  From there we got on a bus and drove through the city to our individual homes where our Senoras met us.  

Me and my roommate (Michelle) live with a sweet older lady named Rosa.  She is just the greatest.  I have so enjoyed living with her so far!  She is an amazing cook, which has been such a blessing!  She is retired, so she spends her day pretty much taking care of us!  Anything we need, she helps us with & she is always so willing and wanting to make us comfortable in her home.  We live in a tiny apartment  (I mean TINY).  Me and my roomie share a small room, and then all three of us share a bathroom.  There is a small living area where there is a couch, tv, and our dining room table & then there is a seriously tiny kitchen that can really only fit like one person at a time!  It is definitely hard to get used to being in such confined space!  We live on the second floor of an apartment building.  Unfortunately, our home is the farthest from the school, so it is a good half hour walk to school.  It has been in the 100 degree range all week-- it is HOT HOT HOT here.  I was not expecting that all!  There's no air conditioning, so we have fans on just to try to keep us cool!  I don't think I have ever sweated so much.  Hopefully it will cool down soon, so it's more comfortable & we are WANTING to be out and about doing things! 

The first few days we had a lot of orientation stuff--getting to know other students, the program, etc.  It has been good to get to know other students in the program and get to know the city.  We have spent quite a bit of time already just walking around, exploring, and getting to know the city.  I feel so lost here and can't wait til I know my way around and how to use public transportation--especially since live so far away from the school & the center of the action.  I thought Cochabamban transportation was tricky!--that seems like a breeze now!  It'll get easier I'm sure.  I'm already learning so much.  I have a bike pass, so I have spent some time getting to know the different bike stations where I can rent out a bike and ride around town a little easier.  There are just so many people out and about all the time, which I love, but it can make biking tricky sometimes too!  I will definitely be sharing more about this city and all the great things about it that I am learning to love! It is a completely new culture, and I love it!  This was kind of a random post, but I wanted everyone to know that I've made it safe and sound & am really doing well! :)

Adios y vaya con Dios, 
Breanna
The Plaza de Espana-- one of the places we visited on our tour and photo scavenger hunt throughout the city!

A beautiful mural of a sleeping child in the Plaza de Armas-- another site we visited during the scavenger hunt.


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