Arrival in España

So I'm finally in Spain! After 3 planes, 2 taxis, and a bus ride, I have finally arrived with all of my stuff. (which I probably have too much of, of course) The flights were pretty uneventful- the real fun came when I had to get both of my 50 pound suitcases and my 2 carry-ons from the Bilbao airport to Rosa's (my host mom) apartment an hour away in Santander. I ended up dragging the 2 big ones while I had one carry-on on my back and another on the front. Got some very interesting looks from the locals at the bus station...

Finally arrived, however, and Rosa was there to greet me! She is an older Spanish divorcée, whose only income is by lodging exchange students in the summer. She speaks very fast Spanish and I can't really keep up with everything she says, but I usually get the general idea. Her apartment isn't huge, but it's very well-kept and homely. My room is pretty small but really cute. She has it decorated with pictures from old James Dean movies.

The town itself is very pretty- I haven't had much time to explore yet, but from what I've seen, I can't wait to! Rosa insists that I must go to the beach tomorrow. I'm pretty such she loves the beach. One of the first things she showed me upon my arrival was my "toalla por la playa." So I guess I'll check it out tomorrow.

Today I went to San Sebastián with another American girl who was staying with Rosa and her mom. They are leaving for Barcelona tomorrow, but invited me to go to San Sebastián so I wouldn't be bored. So beautiful!

We enjoyed the beach in the morning, then did some walking in the afternoon. We walked up the hill/mountain in the far left of the picture to see the statue on top and the fabulous views of the city. Will post pictures and write details soon, but it's late here and I need to get some sleep...so...adiós!

Hill