Here I am in Sevilla, and it is more than I could have ever imagined it to be! So much has happened so far, so I’ll start at the beginning..

I left Sea-Tac at 5:45am on Tuesday, August 28th and arrived in Chicago where I met the group for the flight to Madrid. I was really fortunate and actually got to meet my two roommates, Dani and Elyse, at the airport and got to spend some time getting to know them there. After a long, sleepless flight we finally made it to Madrid early in the morning on the 29th! Then we hopped on a smaller plane to get to our final destination, Sevilla!
The Sevilla airport was quickly filled with many, many suitcases and students that were looking forward to meeting the host families! We loaded all of our luggage on the bus and started the drive to the host homes. Once we got a couple blocks from the street, we hopped off the bus and quickly grabbed our luggage before meeting our Señora.
Our Señora is Maria Luisa and her husband is Miguel. They are the most hospitable people I have ever met!! The food Maria Luisa makes is delicious and they are always checking in with us to make sure we are having a good stay and making sure we have everything we need. On top of that, Maria Luisa has been making me special meals that are easy for me to eat since my mouth is still sore from getting my wisdom teeth removed! The house is small, which is expected in Europe, but there is plenty of space. I have my own room and Elyse and Dani share the other one. We are getting along really well which has been really awesome because that was something that I was stressing about a lot before I came here. I dont think I could have asked for better “compies”!!!

This is the view of the river Guadalquivir and the neighborhood that I live in called Triana. I took this while I was walking home from the school on the second night that I was here.

On top of my living situation being great, we also had a wonderful first adventure out of the city together! We decided to go to a beach called Matalascañas. It is about an hour bus ride away from Sevilla! It was beautiful! It is on the Atlantic Ocean, and Im proud to say that it was my first time swimming in the Atlantic! A huge group of us from the school went so we were able to walk around and swim without having to worry about who would watch our stuff because there was always someone from the group that wanted to just hang out on the sand. That was a day that I will not forget!
Classes have been really good so far, too! Its only the third day and I’ve already changed my classes 3 times….haha but I think I am finally settled in the ones that I need!! I have to remember that I am here to study not just to have fun 🙂

This semester I am going to be co-leading a small group with a girl here named Kris! It will be a time for us girls to get together and talk about where we are spiritually while we are away from home and our churches and everything. We would love prayer for the group throughout the whole semester.

Every day there is a new adventure of some sort…new friends, not understanding the natives, weird looking food, getting lost, strange smells, beautiful people, ordering coffee, and many other things. It is so different here.. but I am thankful for each situation that comes my way and I am so excited for the weeks to come!

My friends Señora said the greatest thing the other day. She said “Si puedo, lo hago. Si no puedo, no lo hago” which means “If I can, I will. If I can’t, I won’t” and I think that is the best attitude to have in this city! I can’t tell you how many times the “Americana” in me gets in the way and stresses me out! Everything here is relaxed and stress free. People are more important than time. We even take 3 hour “siestas” every day! I am learning that I need to slow down and enjoy where I am and who I am with. It is no secret that I miss home like crazy, but home will always be there and I won’t always be in Sevilla 🙂