All Right, It's Official....

... I LOVE SPAIN!!! I've bee here for 3 days and I love it!! Everything. Even the winter. I told one of the girls while we were walking around Alcala just exploring, that I'm pretty sure that I could be hit by a train here and still be happy and excited to be in Spain.
Where to start. Not the Plane ride. Anyone who's been on a plane ride either long or short, you get it. I kept comparing it to the one I took to Japan. There are some big differences. 1) I could read the signs getting off and 2) I wasn't as scared and confused when I got off (luckily Sarah found me in the Narita airport just in time).
The Host Family:
Love them! They are amazing! Encarna and her son Roberto. They don't speak a lick of English. Which is fantastic! They correct me, which I really appreciate, and Encarna cooks great food. I've noticed some similarities in my family that I think are Spanish orientated. a) Our sweet tooth. We have a postre after pretty much every meal. b) we eat and then we sit and talk for a long time. The apartment that we are in is tiny. But I guess that is really all you need. Pic: Kelsie (in the group) and I with the others at a panadería.

My Roomie: Love her! Mckall Morris. Mckall speaks no Spanish. So Encarna takes the time to make her talk and practice. Its been really good for the both of us. Personality wise, she is a free spirit and super easy going. I love that about her and I am super lucky to have her as a roommate!! Pic: Mckall drinking chocolate. Literally it's not hot chocolate. Its more like fondu.

The group: 2 guys, a married couple, and 8 girls. We get along super well. I'm one of the older ones. One of the guys and one of the girls put in their mission papers and will be getting their call in about a month and are going to open it here! I'm super excited for them! We all seem to get along really well. All pretty mellow and easy going.

 We got chocolate y churros at the Famous Chocolate place in Madrid, San Gines. Incredible!

We (the girls) went exploring around Alcala de Hernares. I didn't take the picture. Some nice women in the street did. That's why it is kind of off. :)

The beginning.....

Since coming back from my mission, I've made it a goal to try new things. It's been a great journey. Running a 5k, really trying to put myself out there and meet people, and just do things because I get this opportunity and hey, when will I get it again? So one day at BYU, I used my handy little app on my new smart phone, and found out where the free food was on campus. There was an international study abroad fair that had free snow cones. Well, how can I say no? So waiting in line for 10 minutes, I saw some of the booths. There is the crowd pleaser of Jerusalem (that one is next) and the other cool ones like India, china, and Italy. And then I saw Spain. Honestly, I don't believe in that fairy tale of "love at first sight" "knew the minute I saw them" but when I saw the Spain booth, I just knew!! It was love at first realization that I could!
I went up to the professor with my Hawaiian snow cone and asked some questions, how long, when, where, how much? Obviously he was selling me on the trip. Not hard for someone who was already sold. I of course consulted with the magi before the final decision and we had some go around of if we were going to get enough people to go but signed, sealed, delivered, I'm here. Sitting in the airport. Hardly believing that in an hour I'll be on a plane on my first leg of the journey to probably one of the best adventures of my life!!!! It's taken its sweet time coming and now I plan to savor every moment!!! Here's to trying something new!!! Hasta luego Estados Unidos!!! Voy al Pais de mis Padres!! I'm so stinking excited!