Sorry I haven't updated in two whole days (mother) but i finally got a chance to sit down, so here goes.
FRIDAY:
I woke up friday not feeling well. I'm not sure if it was tiredness or homesickness or something i ate, but I was so nauseous. And unfortunately in Spain, food is constantly being shoved down your throat. So after a while I was able to get away without eating, but I had some coffee...which was dumb haha. But I didnt have much time to think about it as Carmen and I rushed to the metro so I could go to my first orientation at school. We stopped about halfway to Deusto to meet up with Carmens nephew and his host "brother" and another of Carmen's friends and her host son. All of the host families have been doing this for so long, they are all good friends. So I made two new friends, Andres y Ben. Ben actually goes to Grand Valley so we talked about that on the ride to school. The metro stopped and we walked about 5 minutes to campus and the parents left and orientation started. We began with a spanish placement test, which was harder than I expected and worse because of my tiredness/nauseousness. But, we'll see how I did on Monday. Then we had the Bilbao orientation. We were given a lot of practical information but it was so hard not to sleep through the entire thing. Finally it was over at around 12 (it had started at 9) and we walked a ways through Bilbao to the restaurant where we were going to have lunch. Luckily I was feeling better and luckily there was already coke on the table. But, like I said...there is so much food here. We were served pasta with spaghetti sauce for the first course. It was more than I would be able to eat normally and it was only the first course. Then we got three little fillets of chicken and french fries for the second course. And then, dessert. Which was delicious. It was tiramisu-ish with a creme brulee like top. It was lovely :) Then, at around 2 we went on a tour of Bilbao. Bilbao is such a gorgeous city, I'm in love. We walked through El Casco Viejo (the old quarter) and it was beautiful. Old churches and government buildings and tall apartments on narrow streets...i loved it. Then we went into other parts of Bilbao and saw la plaza and some of the bars and shops, like El Cortes Ingles, a seven story department store that I can't wait to visit. Finally the tour was over and Selma and I took the metro back to Algorta. Once we got off the metro I knew where I was going, but when I went that way, it didn't lead to my apartment. Now I know that there are two metro stops in Algorta and on the way back we got off at a different one that I had gotten onto that morning, so my directions didnt work haha. But I got extremely lost and tried calling my host mother, which didnt work. So then I called my dad and sobbed to him on the phone as everyone stared hahaha. He told me to write down my address and ask someone where it was, so I did and it worked. I asked an older man and he showed me right up to my door. My building ended up being the building I thought was mine all along. But when I tried the key earlier, it wouldnt work. Apparently, turning keys is a more complicated process in Spain. But I survived, although a little traumatized. Once I got in, I took a nap since I wasnt feeling well again and Carmen made me some lighter food for dinner. I went to the supermarket to buy sunscreen and made it back without getting lost haha. And then I went to meet up with some friends at the metro station. We didn't specify which one so when I arrived, there was no one there. I went home and started skyping with the parents, when Selma called my house and said they were at the other station. So Carmen and Ricardo walked me there :)  Then a group of about six of us walked around until we found a bar we liked. We planned on bar hopping, but ended up staying there until around one when we just went home. It was so fun, and I met some Spaniards and learned some new slang haha. Besides the sickness and getting lost, it was a very good day!
TODAY:
Today I woke up around nine and got ready to go to the beach with Carmen, Ricardo, Carmens sister and her husband and their host son (who I met yesterday), Carmen's friends and her host son (Andres who I met yesterday as well) and a few other of their friends. We drove probably close to an hour to go to a gorgeous beach, but when we got there it wasnt very sunny. So, we walked around and took some pictures of the ocean and then while the parents went to sit at the beach, Andres, Ben and I went up to the bar nearby. We stayed there and talked for a while, Andres is 25 and verrry good at Spanish so he's very helpful to talk to.   Then we went back to the beach and ate a huge lunch that I of course couldn't finish. After lunch we went swimming, because in Spain they think its better to swim after a mean, instead of before like we think in the US. The water was freezing, but I sucked it up and went in anyways. When we got back out of the water, everyone was eating again hahaha. Andres said "Oi que los espanoles comen tres veces cada dia pero parece mas" which means that he heard Spaniards eat three times a day, but it appears to be much more. Ben's host father, Javi, who is hilarious, agreed saying that two things Spaniards do all day is eat and drink. From what I've seen, this is very true. So, we just sat around in a circle and talked for a few hours. I didn't say hardly anything, but it was good. I needed a day to just sit and listen and process and begin to understand the speed and the accent.  Today was very relaxing and very fun. I'm not sure if I'll do anything tonight, but I'll let you know later :)
Hasta luego,
Melissa