Hola familia y amigos!  Just so you know, this is going to be a VERY long entry because I have lots to catch you up on, then after this I promise they'll be much shorter!
Well, I'm finally in Spain....it almost doesn't feel real!  I left my house on Thursday around 11a.m. and arrived here on Friday at 2:00p.m.  It was my first time navigating airports and flying alone and it was quite an adventure.  Except for thinking I was going to miss my flight from Philadelphia to Barcelona because of a couple complications, all went well.  I was exhausted when I arrived; I think I only slept for 2 or so hours on my long flight and was really confused when I woke up because it was daylight outside and they were coming around with breakfast carts but at my home it was actually 2a.m.  I asked the flight attendant what time it was and he said 8a.m.  This whole jet-lag thing is interesting, 6 hours of my life magically disappeared.  
Friday and Saturday night the whole group of students stayed in a hotel and we had orientation stuff all weekend.  Most of that was pretty fun and our guides took us all around the city, learned what not to do, went tapas bar hopping, and everyone got to know each other a little bit. Things in this hotel were definitely different than what I've ever seen.  You have to use your room key to turn on any lights so I was hanging out in the dark for quite a while.  There was also some goofy wash bowl next to the toilet, maybe you're supposed to clean yourself with it if you #2????  I just left it alone.  The shower head location was perfect for someone who is about 4 feet tall, so I had a squatting shower.  I didn't find the full-size towels until the second day (they were BEHIND the door, who woulda thought, haha) so I dried off with a hand towel.....I know, I'm a dork.  We ate 2 meals per day in the hotel and it was interesting--I'm not very picky so I liked a lot of it but I had no idea what some of it was.  I do know that one of the courses was fish with red stuff all over it and the bones were definitely still in the fish, I must have had a bad one though because no one else had bones in their fish.
OK--about Sevilla:  This is the most beautiful city I have ever seen in my whole life.  The landscaping, fountains, architecture, trees, cafes, and little cobblestone streets are just beaaauuuutiful and the whole lifestyle here is just so relaxed.  It's completely different than the United States, people just aren't in a hurry here.  The outdoor cafes and bars are always packed with people starting at breakfast and ending about 4a.m.  with the exception of siesta of course, when everything closes down and people go home and nap!!! I'll definitely be able to get used to doing that everyday!  2 nights ago we got to go on horse & carriage rides through the city at night as part of orientation which was so cool and we were lucky because if you do that on your own I heard it costs between 40 and 50 euros.  Last night we went to a flamenco dancing show which was reallllllllly neat....I was far more impressed than I thought I would be.  Flamenco is the dance of Spain and the non-students attending our show paid I think 25 euros for it so I'm really glad I got to experience it!  The night life is pretty crazy...I don't think these people sleep except for their siestas!  It starts around midnight, really gets going around 2a.m. and doesn't stop til between 5 and 6a.m.  It's not just college students either, entire families are out!  The first 2 days here were HOT even at night, but yesterday and today it has been cooler even with a chance of rain! That's rare here in the summer so I'm enjoying it before the temperatures become sweltering....it's dry heat though which is much more bearable.
Yesterday after a walking city tour and tapas, our host families came to the hotel to pick up their students.  Everyone was super nervous.  All I knew was that I would be living with a man named Juan and his 25 year old daughter Mar (who is never home) and a roommate who is a student in the same program as me.  He came to pick us up and was very friendly so we loaded our suitcases and took off for his house.  That might have been the most awkward car ride ever.  He only knows a few basic english words but we only speak spanish anyways so that's fine.  I live in what they call a piso.  Basically, it's a spacious apartment in the city that sits on top of a bar/nightclub type place.  After I arrived, I discovered that I also have an 18 year old japanese guy living with me.  He knows about 8 english words and minimal spanish so trying to talk to him is interesting.  He's here studying abroad from Japan and really nice and cool.  The girl I'm sharing a room with is very very nice also, so we stick together a lot since we barely know our way around at all.  I honestly spend at least 2 hours of every day wandering around lost.  We walk EVERYWHERE here, it's about between 2 and 3 miles to school every morning on very winding narrow and confusing streets and the main hang out spots at night depending on where you go are between 2 and 5 miles away.  It's ok though, walking is good for me.  GOOD NEWS:  The place I live is one of the very few spanish homes that have wireless internet, I got SO lucky!!!  Everyone get excited, I'll be able to update this thing a lot!  :)  My bedding includes 2 flat pillows which even on top of each other are too flat, a sheet, and a table cloth (ak.a. my comforter) which is really pretty and embroidered just not the best for sleeping.  The towels he gave us for the shower feel similar to sand paper, no exaggeration.  They hurt.  Today was the first morning in my host home and there were already problems.  My roommate and I accidentally flooded the bathroom and then it went pouring out into the hallway, it was a disaster.  Juan woke up to us trying to mop up the mess and then I had no idea what he was saying in spanish and he had no idea what I was trying to say when I was explaining what happened.  The small flood really wasn't our fault though.  The drain is hardly functional and when you turn on the sink nasty stuff gurgles up from the shower drain.  Oh and yesterday about 20 minutes after I arrived, I broke the door.  Like the entire door came off of the hinge.  We fixed it but I wanted to crawl in a hole and die.  Juan has been really nice in spite of all this and he fixes really weird food but it tastes alright.  Lunch today was some type of thick grey chuncky soup which sounds and looks disgusting but it was YUMMMMYYY.  Reminded me of a strange version of bean soup from home.  Conversation at the table is funny, I point at stuff and ask him how to say it in spanish and then he points at stuff and asks how to say it in english.  I usually try to tell him stories about the day's happenings in spanish and I think he kind of understands me but he chuckles to himself while I talk.  When he talks I just act like I understand because if I say "no entiendo" (I don't understand) then he just keeps saying it until I feel like a complete fool and still don't get it.  Overall, I have a good homestay and the people that live here are very patient and friendly.  It's a nice apartment that is kept very tidy so that's good. 
I always have to stop while I'm out and get snacks though, they seriously don't eat often enough here.  Like the norm is breakfast between 8-9, lunch around 3, dinner at 10 or 11 and that's it.  Almost all the water is carbonated though, which I LOVE!!!!!!!!!!!! It's so hard to find in the U.S.!   
The language barrier can be quite a challege but it's also very funny at times.  Learning spanish in the classroom and then showing up in a country full of native speakers are two entirely different things and on my first day I might as well have never had a spanish class when it comes to understanding the locals talk.  They go reallllllllllly fast and have super thick accents and they also don't pronounce the letter S or D usually and just cut off the endings of words.  Then there's the whole verb form of vosotros that they don't teach us in America for some terrible reason.  I kinda freaked out at first and was thinking that I was just never going to know what was going on but even now just 3 days into it it's getting a lot easier.  I've had some hilarious conversations with the Sevillanos, they are very patient with me and my terrible Americanized version of spanish!  I'm so excited because I can tell how much I'll be able to improve while I'm here.  All of the students from America I've met and started to become friends with are so great and locals are really friendly too, overall, I LOVE it here.  
This morning was my first day of class.  They go from 10a.m.-1:30p.m.  I'm in intermediate spanish and my professor is really cool.  I will learn a ton from him, he teaches us very practical and useful things.  The building that I go to class in used to be some sort of a palace cathedral or something so it is BEAUTIFUL, there's a fountain on the inside, a rooftop terrace type-thing that overlooks the city, and all kinds of cool decor.  There are about 12 students in my specific class, all of whom I already know and like from orientation stuff.  I'm SO thankful that I have the chance to experience all of these new things, it is going to be an amazing 10 weeks, I love it already!!!!
OK---I think that's all for now if anyone is even still reading after my mini-novel that I just wrote, haha.
I'll write again soon, and everyone feel free to send me messages, email me, etc. and let me know what's going on in all of your lives!  Those of you that already have, thank you so much!!!  They make me very happy while I'm far far away :)
Love and miss you all! Kristin
p.s. I'll post pictures soon!