Weekend and things I've done.

I wanted to do this in my last post but I didn't get the time! I just wanted to do a recap of all the things I did on my first week... it was an exciting and overwhelming one!

My first week I...

..made my way from Hong Kong to London to Madrid to Sevilla. More than 20 hours of traveling.
..had my first taste of Sevilla.
..had sangria.
..and churros con chocolate.
..saw mounds of trash everywhere. Then learned about "la huelga". (update: it's over! Sevilla is clean again.)
..got lost. Naturally.
..reunited with Shelby and went exploring on my second day.
..started in speaking in Spanish. Haven't stopped.
..had Orientation for school.
..met some of the other students!
..met my roommate Corinne Nelson. Find her blog here.
..moved in with my family española for the next few months!
..fell in love with them in an instant.
..took a placement test for class.
..went to Córdoba.
..was mesmerized by La Plaza de España.
..met my intercambio Pablo.
..explored El barrio de Santa Cruz. 
..spent afternoons just walking around and taking in the sun and talking about life and other things. All in Spanish.
..spent a whole weekend speaking Spanish in Badajoz.
..was adventurous.
..drank too much cerveza.
..got to really know someone in just 2 days than people I've known for years.
..found my new favorite drink. 2/3 "manzania" + 1/3 7-up. Yummmm.
..climbed castles and drank 2 bottles of wine without any glasses in freezing 0 degree weather at midnight.
..woke up 7am 5 days a week (something I haven't done since high school).
..visited the cathedral in Sevilla and climbed to the top of Giralda.
..had about 100 loaves of bread. True story.
..got the sniffles.
..almost froze to death.
..started school.
..got really homesick for the first time.
..experienced culture shock for the first time.
..had breakfast at 8am, lunch at 3pm, and dinner at 10pm.
..tried tapas.
..bar-hopped around Sevilla.
..and more.

All in all, I'm completely smitten.

Here are some photos from the past weekend in Badajoz (a small town on the border of Portugal and Spain)...

Playing in castles and stuff. 

There was a huge parade in Badajoz. I took about 100 pictures of it. It was awesome. Around 42 different groups. 

Everyday is an adventure. I certainly didn't expect to find myself in Badajoz this past weekend. I didn't expect a lot of things... and that's the beauty of it. Because it was all so unpredictable and I wouldn't have changed a single thing.