Estamos Aqui!

Hola!!! We have arrived in Spain. I must say.... I think I'm in love already. Granada is breathtakingly beautiful. The flight wasn't even that bad! I sat next to a student from Madison and we talked a little bit which made the plane ride go faster then I watched The Hangover on my laptop... I forgot how funny that movie was, kind of embarrassing that I was laughing out loud but whatever! We got to Granada and I had had roughly 10 minutes of sleep for that 24 hrs since I had left my house to drive to O'Hare, but surprisingly I didn't feel that bad. We met Narea y Miguel Angel, our program directors. They are the nicest people and I have only been here for like 1 day, they are just so nice and cooperative and understanding and upbeat! A great attitude to have when working with over 70 US Students. So yesterday we got to our hostel, I'm staying with McKenna, Kelsey, and two other new friends from our program, one from Wisconsin and one from U of I! And we briefly explored the streets, and wow. It's just so different here. I guess the best way to describe it is a city feel and structure but at the same time a small, comfortable, neighborly town. For some reason I had some weird assumption about Europe before coming here. I don't think we learned much about it in high school and so I never really knew ANYTHING about it. But as for now... I like what I see! Also, the spanish speaking is going well. It's really just getting in the mindset and being comfortable enough with yourself and just going for it. It's very scary, but hey, practice makes perfect. This morning we had breakfast which was just coffee and bread, but perfect for starting the day. Then we had orientation and took placement tests, etc. Had a great lunch (interesting lunch ;) ), went on a 'survival tour', which consisted of all the popular places we need to know including banks, meeting places, shopping places, monuments etc. I can't wait until we're all moved in with our host families and feel a little more settled. Living in this hostel is great, but it'll just be nice to be able to be independent once we know a little more about the city. Tonight about 10 of us girls went to try out the Tapas Bars. You can go to a tapas (food kind of like appetizers) bar and if you order drinks, you get free tapas. So drinks are around 2-3 euros and then you get a plate of tapas for your table. Not the most filling things but they do the job for dinner. I had my first drink of Sangria tonight with basically a ham and cheese sandwich for the tapas and then at the next tapas bar we went to I tried Tinto Verano which is a lemonade/red wine/carbonated water type drink... I liked it because it didn't taste like alcohol! I guess wine is just an acquired taste that I'm not used to yet. So now a few of us came back to relax a little before we go to bed. I'll save trying out the discotecas for later when I am a little more rested and acclimated to the culture!

Well I think I am done for the night because I need to get ready for bed then write a few e-mails, but I wanted to post here and let everyone know that I am LOVING it, and I know this city and trip are going to be amazing for me. Thank you for everyone who has supported and encouraged me and everyone who is thinking and praying for me back in the states (or my other friends in Europe)

Also, I'm not very good at taking pictures but I promise I will get better. So here is a sneak peak of something I saw in Granada! A beautiful Cathedral... La Catedral de Granada.

Love you all!
Adios!!! -- Bre