¡Bienvenidos!

"Welcome!"

Well, I made it! The trip was relatively easy and I didn't have too many problems finding my way through the various airports. My luggage weighed in at 40 and 45 lbs! So I didn't have to take anything out. The flight leaving Dallas left about and hour late because a passenger became ill and had to leave. So then they had to find her luggage and remove it from the plane as well. Somehow, we still managed to arrive in Madrid relatively on time, thank goodness, because I had just enough time to get to my gate for the flight to Sevilla. The airport in Madrid was definitely the most confusing. I had to go up and down countless escalators, through passport control, ride a train for 5 minutes, go through security again, and then up and down more escalators. The most confusing part was trying to find my gate though. Every screen I looked at told me to go to Terminals HJK but would never give me a specific gate. So eventually I stopped at an information booth and they found the gate info for me. I arrived at that gate about 15 minutes before departure.

When I arrived in Sevilla I claimed all my luggage with no problems and left the airport. For some reason I wasn't able to find the woman meeting me there but I found a taxi myself, showed the driver my address and away we went. At the apartment building I had trouble finding the correct one but I found some other tenants who were very friendly and helpful. So finally I arrived at the correct apartment and the only person home was a housekeeper who speaks only a little Spanish and a little English. Needless to say, I was a little overwhelmed at this point. The three daughters (Maria 18, Blanca 14, and Candela 6) arrived home shortly followed quickly by my roommate (Stephanie from New Jersey). After such a long day it was a huge relief to meet someone who speaks English. As we started to unpack Maria prepared lunch, Gazpacho and a pasta dish with red sauce and cheese. I wasn't sure how I'd like the Gazpacho. It is a cold tomato soup. However it was actually very tasty and refreshing in the heat.

Stephanie and I walked down to the International College of Seville where she will be taking classes. I will actually be taking classes at the University of Seville which is in the Center of the city and a little farther but I will still be dealing with the International College so it was nice to visit. Tomorrow I have nothing scheduled so Stephanie and I will probably go exploring together and drop by ICS again to pick up our cell phones. Then on Friday we have Orientation. I'm looking forward to getting things started. I don't really know what to do with myself yet but I'm sure I'll figure it out.

Pictures to come soon!