First days in Espana!

Hola friends, I hope this blog entry finds you all well and happy. As for me, I am finally in Jerez, the town where I will be living for the coming months.


I left New York in the middle of the day last Thursday and was off to the LaGuardia Airport. After what felt like a lifetime, I was in Madrid, going through customs, collecting my luggage and exchanging money. It was seven AM in Madrid and I was completely exhausted. I dragged my 2 suitcases and backpack behind me, and somehow, by the graces of God, made it to Yesenia's apartment in Madrid.

I showered and took a short nap in Yesenia's room, and when she returned from school, we left Madrid and went to the home town of one of her roommates, a small town called Segovia. Segovia was beautiful, and like all of Spain, very old. There were castles and churches everywhere and we were also able to go out and enjoy some of the nightlife in Segovia. In the tapas bars here, they give you free food with your drinks, so I had the opportunity to try the calamari, potatoes and mini sausages on my first night in Spain. We spent the following day in Segovia and returned to Madrid the next evening.



I stayed in Madrid for the next few days, trying to get my bearings and doing a little sightseeing. I will definitely have to return to Madrid later on in my trip as I did not get to see all if it that I wanted to. I met some good people in Madrid, and it was a great introduction to Spain.

On Monday, lugging my bags for the second time, I hopped on a train to Jerez. It was a 4 hour train ride more or less and I am sorry to say I passed out for the majority of the trip, so there is not much to say about what it looked like!
My host parents and their one year old daughter picked me up at the train station and it was a quick drive to their home. The one year old is absolutely adorable, although she is not 100% sure what to think of me yet. She spent the entire car ride home staring at me with the most serious look on her face. My "family" here lives in a flat, which is a HUGE apartment. It feels like a one story house when you are inside, but we are on the 6th floor of the building, so we have great views of everything. The flat is very modern and clean and I have a cute little room that looks out over a park. I share a bathroom with the girls (ages 10, 7 and 1) but I have all the privacy I need.

So far I have only been on one little walk in town. The rest of my time has been spent getting to know the girls and the family, familiarizing myself with the home and getting my room set up. From what I have seen of the town, it is quite beautiful. The buildings are old and there is a church every corner. I have a good feeling about Jerez, although that is not to say I don't miss certain aspects of home!

Well this was a long post as there was much to catch up on, but my following posts should be shorter.

Sending much love,
Rosa