Como se dice "freaking out?"

As of 2 pm this afternoon I have safely made it to my home stay in Granada! However, it is safe to say that this did not occur without a minor strike of panic.

When I wrote my last post in the Madrid airport I was feeling great; kind of nervous but overall, feeling ok and ready to go. I had left Boston and made it to Spain. I was ok, despite how unreal it still felt that I was no longer in America. I slept the entire plane ride to Granada waking up in time to peek out the window during the landing. Here's where the panic starts. First of all, in that moment, I realized that as soon as I got off the plane, it was a lot of Spanish, all the time and I wasn't just on vacation, I was here to stay. The whole study abroad experience was actually real and that was kind of scary. Secondly, as we approached the ground, I saw a lot of trees and open space; not much of anything resembling this city I was to be spending the next four months in.

After disembarking from the plane and claiming my luggage with my two new GRIIS friends from BC, we met Teresa (assistant director of the GRIIS program) who was to bring us to our home stays. We got on a bus (not what any of us were expecting) and as we made our way into the city, Teresa gave us our folders with a schedule and a map of the city. She drew on little dots to indicate each of our new homes and told us to pay attention because after tomorrow (Friday) morning, we are essentially on our own; great...

Throughout the entire bus ride, Brittany (GRIIS student from BC who I met at Boston Logan Airport) and I chatted about our nerves and general opinions of Granada. Teresa chatted with us, telling us things about city and some of what to expect. Between our nervous conversations (most of which regarded the overwhelming map we were just handed and the fact that we felt like we couldn't remember any Spanish) Brittany and I asked Teresa questions. My personal favorite of the day was when Brittany looked at Teresa and said, "Como se dice 'freaking out?'" (hence the title of this post). In my mind, this was a totally valid question. I was freaking out - were the just going to drop my off at the bus stop and let me fend for myself? Would my host mom be nice/like me? Would I actually remember how to speak Spanish? Would I ever be able to find my away around this city? In response to our question, Teresa just laughed telling us there was really no direct translation for such a phrase and telling us that we had no need to worry, we would be fine.

Obviously, she was right. I was the first of the three GRIIS students to get off the bus. Teresa helped me gather my luggage and Amalia (director the GRIIS program) and Belen (my host mom) were at the bus stop to pick me up. I greeted them both and then Belen and I took a taxi to my new home on la Camina de Ronda. Belen's apartment is nice, it has a living room/dining room, four bedrooms, two bathrooms and a small kitchen. I was given a small room in the back of the house next to the kitchen. It's nice and quiet and I think it will be a nice place to come home to. Belen has three children; her two oldest sons are married with two children each and her youngest, her daughter, lives with her en la Camina de Ronda. When we arrived, Belen's daughter-in-law was here with two of her grandchildren. It was nice to meet them and get settled. We had lunch around 2:30 and then I went back to my room to unpack and rest. I ended up sleeping for three hours since I was still incredibly jet lagged and worked on unpacking all of my belongings (which may or may not all fit in the drawers I have been provided - we'll see how the rest of the unpacking goes). We had dinner which consisted of a sort of grilled ham and cheese sandwich at about 9:30 pm. Getting used to these new foods, big late lunches, and small late dinners will be interesting but Belen assures me that within a week, I will be used to my new schedule, new foods, new living arrangements, etc.

I also forgot to mention that I'm staying alone with Belen's and her daughter. Originally, I was supposed to have a house mate but she unfortunately had to drop out of the program at the last minute. As bummed as I am not to have a fellow American my age here, I am hoping that this will give me an opportunity to more fully immerse myself in Spanish life and the Spanish language and form a close relationship with my host family. I know this little challenge will benefit me in the long run.

Unfortunately, I didn't have a chance to explore the city at all today but I am very much looking forward to our first orientation tomorrow morning. I know I am going to have the time of my life here in these next few months and I'm trying really hard to stay positive, live in the moment, and take it all in. Here's to hoping that day one is a success and leaves me with many more stories to share!