I´m here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I´ve finally made it to BA! I had an eleven hour overnight flight. It wasn´t too bad. I watched "Almost Like Heaven", had a fairly nice little dinner of cheese ravioli, bread, salad, cake, grapes, and cheese and crackers, and a couple glasses of red wine (complimentary from the male steward *wink). I enjoyed checking out the digital map to see where we were and watching all the beautiful city lights go by below. Then I spent the rest of my time trying very had to sleep. I got lucky and had no one sitting next to me, so I was able to spread out a bit. But, I still didn´t get alot of solid sleep.

The CEA rep, Gabby, picked me up from the Airport and brought me to my hostel. It didn´t look like that much from the outside. I could tell she wasn´t very happy about leaving me there. But, inside, it is really nice and cool. It´s huge and very Europen looking, it´s tall and narrow with an inner courtyard, lots of tile and plants, and eclectic touches. The elevator (which I discovered after trekking all my things up to the third floor) is even one of those old fashioned ones that you have to physically open the gates too. They have lots of amenities for young budget travelers (including free internet). They also have daily activities. I already missed today´s free Spanish lesson. But, tomorrow, there is a walking tour at 11 a.m. So, I think I´ll do that. There are lots of people around in the common areas and American punk music is coming from somewhere. My room is cute and cozy. It has two bunk bes, but I am the only one in there so far.

I haven´t seen much of the city yet. It doesn´t seem quite as modern as I was expecting, however, I am in love with all the old European architecture. Gabby said that this is an older part of the city, so I´m sure I will see more modern parts. I am glad that I have plans tonight, because, I am surprisingly feeling a bit intimidated about going exploring right now. It´s two thirty now. I am really hungry. So, I think that I will go out and try to find something to eat. Then, I think I´m going to come back here and chill and have a small nap. Then, I´ll get ready for my date. Ben is coming to get me at 9. But, the rooftop bar opens at 7, so once I´m ready I can just go up for a couple drinks. So, I don´t think that I´ll do much exploring today, but I´ll do that walking tour tomorrow.

I am supposed to move in with my host family Friday afternoon. Then I have orientation on Saturday all day. On Sunday, they are taking us out to a bar or something. Monday is testing. On Tuesday classes start. I will have Spanish language classes from 9 30 til 2 30, Monday through Friday for the next month. Gabby says that they will have activities and trips planned for us three times each week. That´s alot more than I expected. Hopefully the other people in the program are fun to hang out with.

Anyways, that´s about it for now. I´ll write tomorrow and tell you how things are going. By the way, the weather is perfect. It´s a cooler day, so it isn´t terribly hot. It´s kind of like Spring. Also, I just remembered that I have to get some local currency. I was planning to go to the ATM at the airport, but I forgot. Well, I´d guess that I´d better go out and do a bit of exploring before my nap!