hola ethpaña

I MADE IT! The plane ride was a beast, especially since I flew four hours to LAX then 11 to Madrid... Pero no me importa ahora. I don't care now, because I'm here! On the long flight, I sat next to a man from Córoba, and during our dinner of pasta rellenado we talked (in Spanish) (yeah I was pretty proud of myself) about how to identify thieves in the city. That seems to be everyone's favorite subject.

Here are some excerpts from an email to my dad about yesterday evening, and meeting my host mom Pilar.

"pilar, haha when i met her on the square i was a little worried. she's got puffy reddish hair, and she was wearing this bright blue eye shadow and red lipstick and a long fur coat and heels. but she is so nice. like really, super nice. she teaches at the university, and i guess she's really used to working with us rusty students. but no, she does not speak english. she told me i speak well, which is funny because the guy i was sitting next to on the plane also told me i have a good accent, but i'm still worried everything i say is wrong. 

"jackie is the third student living in this flat, and she's from australia! she knows barely any spanish... but she's also very friendly. pilar and jackie are neither members of the church, but pilar told me on the way home (we walked from the square, multiple blocks, very heavy luggage... that was fun) that she loves the members of the church. i guess a girl lived with her last year that made a really good impression."

Now, I'm going to get ready for the day! Pilar's giving us a walking tour after she gets back from the peluqueria, and then we're meeting up with the whole BYU group after lunch. Let me just say: the Spanish schedule is definitely to my liking. Wake up when you want, eat when you want, have a nap, late dinner, and then go to bed. I could probably stand for another day of sleep, but that will have to wait. Alcalá esta llamando mi nombre, mis aventuras están esperando!