I made it!

Wow! I'm here, I'm here, I'm here!! There's so much to talk about and not nearly enough time. I feel awful that I slept through la cena. My sweet host mom, Luisa, even tried to wake me up but I was out, dead -- stupid jetlag. I landed in Madrid about 9:30 this morning and the whole group was finally assembled about 11:30. We rode a charter bus 40 minutes to La Plaza de Cervantes in Alcalá de Henares (my home for the next 6 weeks) where our host families picked us up. I live about 3 minutes (maybe 4 blocks) from the Plaza, which is super lucky and convenient. I unpacked my stuff and then lunch was ready for us -- a delicious "tortilla espinaca"(omletish with spinach and cheese cooked in) and "pure de patatas" (mashed potatoes with onion and garlic seasoning). At the end of lunch, Luisa's youngest son, Javier, and his friend, Juan, stopped by to visit. Oh. my.Gosh. That is probably THE most beautiful man I have ever seen! I was literally speechless. I kept stumbling over my words and I felt like an idiot! I really hope he comes around often :) After lunch, my roommate, Catalína, and I met up with several other kids from the program at La Plaza y just walked around the city for a couple of square blocks. We found a great little park with a zipline and sweet jungle gym, delicious ice cream, kebob, and a Walmart-like store called Carrefour -- you can get everything there! Then, we walked home and I started to check my computer when I totally passed out! Now, it's past midnight and I'm wide awake. Tomorrow afternoon is our orientation at Alcalingua (the school I'll be attending). I hope by then my body will be on the right time. So I'd better try to go back to bed :) TTFN