It's the Start of Something New

So, sorry I really slack at this.  I really have no excuses though expect for that I’m in a new country trying to get into the swing of things.  Well I guess I haven’t written much yet because there is just so much I could say.  But I guess I should start with my host family and the place I’m living.  I have been here about half a week and I already love this house.  Here, I am living with Shelby, my tennis partner from school and we are definitely in this together.  My host mom, Imma, is really lively and speaks Spanish at the speed of lightning.  She tells great stories (when I can understand them) and is super helpful when Shelby and I ask her for any help at all.  There are also 3 more girls from Mexico living with us.  Two are in high school and one is in beauty school here.  As you can see, it is just one big (well kinda cozy) house full of chicas!  Everyone is awesome!  We have all bonded really well and I love every one of them.  I’m really excited to get to know them even more as the months go by!  And they have been really helping Shelby and me with our Spanish which is awesome!

At a birthday dinner in our house for Daniella with her 2 friends from school.

And Imma telling her to blow out the candles mas rapida before the ice cream cake melted all over the place.

I have snapped a few pictures of our room, but not too many.  Our room is cute and we have a great balcony with glass French doors.  Really pretty!  And mom this is for you…crown molding and one of those tin things on the ceiling of our room.  We also have a tv (all is Spanish) and a fairly large closet.  The apartment is en el primer piso, so we have a sunny terrace as a backyard, which most people don’t have in this city and is a nice place to relax.  All great stuff!

The closet before Shelby moved in...

...and after.  muchas cosas!

After we moved the big table to do some p90x in our room.

and the beautiful French doors

Hmm other than my house, Shelby and I have gone on a few adventures.  We went up to the top of the mountain yesterday for an awesome view of the entire city.  The atmosphere up there is a lot different than the atmosphere where we live downtown.  It is very laid back and super peaceful.  I will definitely go there often to get some peace away from the hustle bustle of everything down here near the beach. 

Today, we went to the Arc de Triomf after class and found this beautiful park right near the heart of the city and only one stop away from school on the metro.  It looks like a great place to sit back and enjoy the grass with a little homework while the weather stays warm!

El Arc de Triomf 

Life size Mammoth in the park 

Pretty fountain in the park

Well, there’s a lot more stuff to talk about like food, venturing outside my comfort zone, transportation, topless beaches, the people at IES…I could go on and on.  Maybe I’ll write about that later, but for now dinner is calling.  ADIOS!