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Published: February 11th 2008
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Picasso's Corner
This is the hostel! Pretty cute, eh? Here there friends and family...so I have finally found time to start this blog. Seeing as this is my first blog and I generally hate to write, I cannot guarantee a huge entertainment factor; but at least this will keep you somewhat updated on what I have been up to. Well, since I missed doing this for the first three days I will try to briefly summarize my trip thus far.
A) Spain and Malaga is pretty amazing.
B) I have done more walking in these three days than I ever thought possible.
C) I am not going to lose as much weight as I thought, because the food is dang delicious. At least I am
getting some exercise though (so much walking!).
D) Hanging with my host family and my group members is going to be entirely too much fun, but as for my
classes...well that's a wait and see.
Now for some elaboration. My flight was pretty good. I pretty much passed out and slept through landing in Madrid and Malaga. Once I arrived in Malaga I to wait 45 minutes for the city bus that was to take me
Picasso's Kitchen!
Here is the kitchen at my hostel. Pretty nice if you ask me. We chatted with some pretty cool german dudes here while they cooked. to the hostel I would be staying at. Then once on the bus, some man who had helped me with my bags told me that I needed to get off at the train station, so I did. If I would have stayed on for two more stops, I would have been in right place (a fact that I did not know until later). So I had to take another bus, and while waiting for now bus number 4, another man tried to help me but I couldn't understand everything he said. Finally, he got frustrated and just walked away. Now keep in mind that during all this adventure I was accompanied by my bags, collectively weighing around 150 lbs. Luckily, God was smiling down on me, because no matter where I was, someone always stepped up to help me with my bags. I wouldn't have gotten very far without the help of some very special people. So, I ended up on the right bus, but got off a stop too far. Hence, I had to backtrack, me and all my gear, and I had to walk the rest of the way to my hostel; a location approximately 1-2 miles away.
the sun patio/dining room
This was dining al fresco for real! I was sweating heavily, my arms were numb, and I was being seriously stared at with looks that said, "dumb American."
It's all good though, because this story has a happy ending. I made it to my hostel which was wicked awesome (as you can see in the pictures), and I met up with some of the girls in my group. That night we went out with another study abroad group and hung out, walked around the historic center of the city, and just chilled. We were all beat, though, so we turned in early. The next day saw yet more walking, taking a train (really more of a subway), walking again, getting lost in the airport, and being an hour late to meet our families. Again, lot's of sweat, no breath, big bags, and intense stares, but also more people who helped me with my bags (one of which closely resembled William Hun from American Idol).
God blessed me again when I finally met my family. It is a mother and father with two children, ages 8 and 10, along with two pet turtles. I love them already, and their home is more than I could ever
have hoped for. And the biggest blessing of all...WiFi! I have the internet at my fingertips, something quite a few of my group members cannot boast of. The only thing I do not like is their shower, even though it is my very own. It has one of those showerheads that you have to hold. Very awkward. The weather here is also pretty mild at the moment, but still better than freezing temperatures and snow.
Yesterday was tour day with the group. It was also the first time the whole group was together. They are some pretty cool kids. I like them all a lot. It kind of reminded me of freshman year in college, where you get asked the same questions over and over again. It was fun though, and I think that we will all have a good time together throughout the semester, and become pretty tight-knit. We'll see. Anyway, we had lunch at El Pimpi, where we drank wine and ate tapas. Actually, I spilled my wine on my pants. Smooth, eh? Kate saved me with her Tide pen. After lunch we went to a castle, the name of which I cannot remember. It was pretty
Breakfast Bar
This is where we sampled some jelly and toast, along with yogurt. I also watched Platoon in spanish on the back wall here. sweet though, and as you can see I took a lot of pictures. I also missed the bus back down the mountain, me and three other girls. So I got to ride in a taxi with a crazy driver and the program director.
So as you can see it has been a heck of a time so far. Orientation started to day, but it was long and fairly boring so I won't detail it here. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the pictures, and I will try to keep this up as often as possible. Chao!!!
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Grandma H.
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Awesome!
What can I say...awesome! Great blog! Can't wait to see you and Spain!