We've Arrived!!

After a 7 hour flight, a 3 hour train ride, and two taxis...we have finally arrived! Maria and I are now settled safely into tiny little nooks at Los Abedules, the residence hall here at La Universidad Publica de Navarra. When I say tiny, I mean tiiinnnyyy. :) But we're lucky to have the 4 nights free here, in order to look for an apartment in the city. The past two days have been quite a whirlwind, which is why I didn't post on the first day. The arrival was a huge adjustment. The mixture of jet lag, exhaustion, and the culture shock of a totally different county did not make for the best mood. But we made the best of it and explored the town a little, once we had finally gotten settled into our rooms. After much walking, we came upon a grocery store to buy a few things to hold us over for our few nights in the dorm. However, by the time we found the grocery store, we had completely lost track of our whereabouts. We did find our way back though, after trekking through what seemed like miles of city roads. We finally broke down and asked a native what direction the university was in. She responded with the equivalent of "You're standing right next to it!" I guess our sense of direction wasn't so bad after all. It was simply a view of the university we had not seen yet. :) Then, following a less than satisfying dinner, we headed back to the dorm to catch up on some much need conversation with home and SLEEP.  The second day was much better though!! :) Sleep definitely does the trick. Today we found the mall, bought cell phones to use here, looked at an apartment, and had dinner in town. And this was all following our orientation this morning. Needless to say, it's been a long day, but a good day. I believe some classes start tomorrow, but its kind of hard to tell, as everything here is super confusing and all the directions are VERY vague. Well, another adventure it will be. Oh and for everyone who is wondering.. almost NO ONE speaks English here. We have only come across one person thus far, other than the other study abroad students of course, and he was just a random guy on the bus. So, it's been very challenging and sometimes draining. But it is so worth it, because I think our Spanish skills will increase immensely in our time here in Spain. There is not really much of a choice actually :) but that's what full immersion is all about!!!

Love you and miss you all back home! :) Hasta!

B.T.W. Pictures are hopefully coming soon. With all the hustle and bustle, taking pics hasn't been a top priority. But I promise to get on it!!