España: Esto No Es La Vida Real: Oh The Little Things In Life...

So I have been in Spain now a little more than two weeks and I am finally settling down into a routine. The amazement of walking across the Puente de San Telmo everyday is starting to wear off and is just becoming another one of those things I do everyday. Being here as definitely made me appreciate the smaller things in life that I took for granted everyday at home. Not having internet at my apartment for the first week or so was beyond brutal. We instantly became friends with the local heladeria so we could use their free wifi (which is pronounced here as wee fee). Only being able to go on for an hour, every couple of days was rough and made me feel so disconnected from the world, plus the six hour time difference from home didn't help matters at all. Kelly and I were about to do just about anything for internet at our apartment at this point. We ended up finding a great deal on a router through a travel group just for study abroad kids here. Getting high speed internet at our house had to be the happiest day in the whole world for us. Its been two days now and I need to start weening myself off of Facebook and Skype again. Its comforting to know that I now have a constant connection to home if I ever need it. I feel like I might miss out on Spain if I focus so much on home, but my novel like inbox to my best friend does make me feel like we aren't 5000 miles apart and definitely gets me though the day.

Since we don't have classes here on Fridays, I figured I would make the most of my day off and wander around the city. Kelly and I met up with a friend named Jessie. Jessie is one of my best friend Alex's good friend from Elon, her university. Since she has two weeks on me in Sevilla, she showed us her favorite plazas and little side streets here. We wandered for hours, getting lost in the Parque de Maria Luisa and stumbling upon the Plaza de Espana. We were surrounded by Spanish couples so in love, taking row boat rides through a little river. When we couldn't take the Spanish PDA anymore, (the Spanish take PDA to a whole new level, most of the time I wonder if they realize they are in public) we went to a little kids park and acted like we were five again and spent so long swinging on the swings. It made me miss the 250 swing set...like a lot :( After that we had a nice walk back along the river, just as the sun was setting. It was gorgeous. I am so grateful to live in the beautiful city!

I literally spent all day yesterday telling Kelly how nothing in the world would make me happier than watching SportsCenter and finding somewhere with a chicken quesadilla and guacamole (I have no idea where this craving for quesadillas came from but I'll just go with it). It was like there was a higher power listening to my complaining because we went to this bar last night because they had cheap mixed drinks. Turns out it was a tex-mex restaurant so I knew we had scored on the quesadilla front. While everyone else was floored by the cheap mixed drink selections, I was in sheer heaven because my sports prayers had been answered. Not only would SportsCenter be on, but I found out that they would be broadcasting the Pittsburgh Penguins vs New York Rangers hockey game!!!! I am quite certain that I screamed when I found that out. I can hardly contain myself today with the anticipation of watching a hockey game again. I am going to go find my Sidney Crosby shirt and prance though the city with excitement now. I knew that shirt would come in handy here :)

I'll write again soon. Miss and love you all! xo