Week One: Adjust.

Before I begin, I want to emphasize that adjusting does not mean adjusting in a bad way, rather getting used to a situation that is different than what you're used to. Where to begin...

Abby and I met our host mother the first day of the trip in Plaza Cervantes in our little town called Alcala de Henares (the last a has an accent but I can't copy and paste it without it looking weird.) Her name is Andrea and she is 77 years old. She lives in an apartment on Calle de Ferraz that is small but charming. This was the first adjustment: our apartment is probably 600 square feet, maybe less, and it does not have internet. Coming to Spain without my beloved cell phone was enough, but take away internet access before bed and I am definitely out of my element. At first this was a shocking realization, but Abby and I are both grateful for it now. We have found a cafe called Rodilla that has free wifi and come here occasionally to send emails and upload pictures. With all the free time on my hands from not being on facebook, I have already been able to finish a book called Water for Elephants that I HIGHLY recommend reading before the movie comes out.

Only having one cell phone between Abby and I posed a large problem initially. Here we are with this cell phone that is arguably worse than the first cell phone I received with zero contacts in it and no way of accessing my email to look up the phone numbers of other members in our group. Luckily, on the second day we ran into a couple people from our group who were on their way to Madrid. They showed us where to pick up our bus/train passes and then we were off to Madrid. From Alcala, you first take a train to Atocha where you switch to the metro to Sol that takes you right in the middle of Plaza Mayor in Madrid. It is an incredible sight. I've since been back two other times and it's always equally exciting!

The food schedule is very precise here. Every morning we wake up and have breakfast, cereal, mini muffins, and fruit. Lunch is the biggest meal and is at two. We've had everything from pasta to fried lunch meat and cheese. It's always a little bit scary to look out from our bedroom to the table and see what Andrea has prepared, but we are grateful that she is so sweet and diligent with her responsibilities as host mother. She doesn't miss a beat-she adjusts to our schedule and takes it upon herself to be there for us when we need her.

The most fun I've had so far was yesterday when Abby, her father and I went to El Escorial to a historical palace! The weather was beautiful and there was so much to see and hear about. It made us really excited for the weekend trips that we are going to take with the group to tour all of the beautiful cities in Spain. Also, we went out to Media Pinta, a bar in Alcala, with our good friend Sofia (Andrea's granddaughter who is our age) to watch the Athletico Madrid vs. Real Madrid game. I LOVE being in a place where everyone loves and looks foward to watching a good game. Abby and I are looking forward to going to a game in the near future!

Next week is our first full week of classes and first trip as a group. Segovia here we come!