España... the journey has now begun!

Hey friends! The day has finally come! Yesterday I left ATL at 9 AM (Wednesday) and flew to JFK in New York, met up with my group which I must say is incredible, boarded the flight to Madrid at 6 PM Wednesday and safely arrived in Valencia around 12:30 PM today (Thursday).

The journey to Spain couldn't have gone any smoother. I have to admit I was a little sad after mom dropped me off at the airport. She started crying which lead me to crying, but then I quickly thought about how I was going to see them in like 5 weeks. The flight from ATL to JFK was a little overwhelming, probably because that was when I really realized how adventurous I was becoming and how it would be a long time until I return to the USA. Upon arriving in JFK, I met some people with my group who couldn't be any nicer. And we were all sharing the same worries... not knowing anyone, for many it was there first trip to Europe (luckily I've been to Europe and Spain before, however Valencia was a new experience too), and we all shared the "we haven't spoken spanish all summer worry" too. That definitely made me feel better. After a 5 hour bus ride from Madrid to Valencia we arrived in Valencia and met up with our families. Let me just say that Valencia is nothing like what I envisioned... it is a thousand times better than that! There are huge parques or parks all over the place, the architecture is definitely spanish... the city is clean and the city is pretty big, so there is lots to do! We met up with our families or señoras at the huge soccer stadium and I automatically loved my señora Marite... she is really sweet and although right now my Spanish is terrible because I haven't used it in three months, I feel like we can talk. At least she talks a lot, I occasionally talk and nod or say sí if she acts like I'm supposed to respond even though I have no clue what she is talking about. But I feel like in like a week my spanish will already be so much better since I'm having to speak it all of the time. After arriving at home, I ate lunch and then took a siesta aka a nap, which happens to be one of my favorite things about the spanish culture. I only slept for 2 hours because I knew if I slept longer it would be hard to sleep tonight. I definitely needed that 2 hours after getting maybe an hour of sleep total in the past 30 hours. So after sleeping I awoke and began to unpack which took a while, however everything is now in my new home and organized just how I like it. Now I'm obviously working on my computer (which I am so so so thankful we have internet in my house because that's not normal and I was worried about not being able to access it all of the time, but no need to worry I have it in my house). I'm going to go to bed as soon as I eat dinner because I'm still exhausted. We have orientation tomorrow at 9:30 AM which is early, but I know I will feel more prepared and in the loop when I see the city and get acquainted with everything including the school. I will definitely keep you guys updated... Thanks for all of the thoughts and prayers... this day couldn't possibly get any better.