Hola Todos,
Boy, what a difference a week makes! Last Friday I checked out of my hotel and moved into my new apartment. I technically wasn’t supposedto move in until this weekend, but the landlady was very nice and she knew I was staying in a 
hotel, so she allowed me to move in a whole week early (for free!). It was kind of awkward at first because all of a sudden I was sitting in the living room with four people I did not know at all. But at the same time it was excellent to finally meet some people around my same age. Fortunately the awkwardness didn’t last long and we all hit it off pretty well. So that night I met the four people living in the apartment: Carlos from Mexico, Lilly from Berlin, Sonia from London, and Shteema from Tel Aviv, Israel (1 guy and 3 girls).
battle: the jet leg, the time zone adjustment (9 hours ahead of Seattle), the stress of not having a permanent place to live, the stress of not knowing where anything is, the adjustment to Spanish meal times, getting used to the siesta time, and basically dealing with the overall culture shock and the use of a whole new language. On top of all that, I think the most difficult thing for me to deal with right now is not having my friends and family around. I am basically completely alone right now. I don’t know anybody yet, and it is difficult for me to meet people because school has not started and my Spanish is not up to par. Thank goodness that I have internet access in my hotel room. I also bought a cell phone on my first day here, but calls to the U.S. are very expensive.
