The destination.

To begin,

Miguel  & Papita= host parents

Paige= My friend that I came with, and live with

Maria Jose= group director in Spain

After arriving in Madrid and being in Alcala for three days it has been completely clear to me that it is all in the destination. After nearly breaking our backs and fingers getting our luggage onto our bus all 26 of us drove into Alcala where we met all of our host families. Seeing all the parents standing around was beyond exciting. Paige and I stood next to our 280 lbs of luggage making bets on who we thought were going to be ours. I put my money on an old man about the age of 80 wearing brown corduroys with hair protruding our of his ears, Paige bet upon an adorable little short couple that were holding hands talking to their fellow amigos. Luckily, Paige won. We were introduced to our darling Pepita and Miguel Calvo. Fortunately for us Miguel enjoys driving around the small city so we didn’t have to carry our luggage. Given the size and amount of suitcases that we brought no one could fit into the car so Pepita Paige and I walked to our apartment which couldn’t be located in a better area. We are a 15 minute walk to all of our classes and the centrum where we meet with our fellow Alcalians to tour the area and before we go out at night. Once we arrived at our apartment we were comforted by high security door with a beautiful entrance, to the right we saw Miguel had already hauled our entire luggage up the fist 5 steps to where the elevator is. To give yall an idea of what our apartment looks like, we walk into the door on the left is a small kitchen with a washing machine dish washer sink fridge and a four person table. In the kitchen is a small room with produce, a stove and an oven with a window that has a clothing line directly out side of it. Walking through the front door going strait there is a living room with a big tv with a bunch of electronics. Connected to the living room is a cute little sunroom that has a drying rack, sewing machine, steamer, and a large computer where Paige and I can connect our laptops to an Internet cord. Through the living room there is a door that leads to all of the bedrooms. Directly to the left is Paige’s and my room, directly on the right is our bathroom that contains a sink and a toilet. In that hallway there is also 2 spare bedrooms, Miguel and Pepita’s bedroom and their bathroom where we take showers. The shower is a bathtub with a low faucet, connected to the faucet is a hand held showerhead. In order to take a shower we have to turn the water on and off as we go through the steps of showering or else the bathtub will fill up to our knees. Paige and I leave a note on a post-it that we stick to the door with “TIME- and Por Favor”, Miguel wakes up every morning just to get Paige and I out of bed. He prepares us a piece of toast and makes us coffee. The second day, Miguel put hot chocolate on the table, I guess for me and Paige to try. I thought it was to put in our coffee so I was drinking coffee/hot chocolate, until I realized that Pepita and Miguel were confused by this, then I realized that they were two separate beverages. WHOOPS! In Spain lunch is the main meal. Pepita LOVES to cook. She makes a huge lunch. So far Paige and I have had, pasta with cheese, soup with roast beef chick peas and broiled chicken wings (interesting) while we ate the roast beef Miguel “pigged out” on his most favorite meat, PIG HOOFS. As courteous as he is he offered Paige and I a try, naturally we declined. For dinner we have a smaller dish, Chicken cutlets with a side of eggs, tortilla (layered fluffy eggs with potatoes, and spinach and fish. The food is pretty good here, a little bland. Most of the time Pepita makes Paige and I a special meal, While we has fresh broiled fish, Pepita and Miguel ate tuna out of a can. Paige and I like to endure a long hour and a half walk around Alcala after dinner, which usually ends at around 10:30. On these walks it is not uncommon to run into our friends because Alcala is so small, and walking is the thing to do. Today when Paige and I came back from touring the city Pepita and Miguels grand daughter was here. Paige and I love babies and little kids so having a little baby around is just what we need. Before Paige and I go to bed we get in our petite little beds and watch a movie on my computer that is set up on our desk. “Buenos Noche” we say to each other.