Tonight Shelley celebrated her 40th birthday. We met for her party at a place called the Phoenix Bar. The food was free (i.e. on Sean, you only celebrate 40 once) which was nice. I met some cool people from England who are celebrating their wedding/honeymoon by traveling around Europe in a van for a year. They are awesome. Their engine broke down though, so they are stuck in Sevilla for awhile, but God has provided for them just when they needed it, more than once. It's really cool to hear their story, especially with the accent. I really enjoyed meeting them. Sean was nice enough to drive me home. It was a fun night.

Saturday I went to the Sierra Nevada mountains. Pictures later (hopefully). I went with the youth group from the Baptist Church down the street. I met some new friends, that actually don't go to the church, they go to one in town and they visit this one. They were all family, a brother and his wife and his two sisters, so they adopted me for the day. They were really sweet. Two of the girls spoke English, Adriana spoke really well because she lived in the states for 7 years. The other girl, Noelia, spoke a little because she had taken class at the university for three years. We had a lot of fun playing in the snow. We found some cool igloos and we sledded a bit too. It was a good day. The hot chocolate at the top of the mountain was fantastic, the lack of bathrooms wasn't.

So I don't understand the names in this city. Yes, I did just start a sentence with so. Anyway, I've seen buses traveling to and from Kansas City. Now I don't know where this Kansas city is...but I know that I'm NOT in Kansas. I've also seen a bus with the heading "La Paz". Now for those of you who don't know...La Paz is in Bolivia...which is in South America...across The Big Blue. There are buses going to this place. They must have taken notes from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Now I'm guessing that these are places in which people are dropped off and picked up, otherwise known as plazas, or "paradas"-meaning stops. There is, in fact, a Plaza de America, a Plaza de Cuba, and I've also seen Guatemala and Mexico. San Diego is also included in this odd mix, as well as Puerta de la Carne, or, Door of the meat (beef). I have no clue what that means. So my question is, are these people for real? I mean, I know in NYC we have little Italy and Chinatown, but do we go as far as The Beef Door? I really do not understand...

I'm starting to think keeping a blog is harder than I thought. I've been very busy the past few days. Tuesday and Wednesday I went walking, trying to find my way around town and manage bus schedules. I finally found a bus map after walking around the world, and I managed to get lost, and then find myself, multiple times. I did accomplish knowing where I was at any given moment, though, so now I will be less lost. The city has many small roads and alleys, which makes it difficult to maneuver. I ate lunch with Sean and Shelley and Shayln and Shaphan yesterday at a Tex-Mex restaurant called Tijuana's. I miss El Mexicano. I also bought some groceries yesterday, along with an alarm clock that doesn't work and a set of hangers I don't need. I am going to return the latter two items. Today I went into Bormujos to see some people and get some things from the other house. While I was there I got a cell phone, because a guy named Nathan ended up not coming, so I got his cell phone, and I got some hangers. I also finally figured out how to get a bus pass for the city, because the one that I have only goes from the city to the pueblos. I had to get a yellow card, called a tarjeta mensual, or monthly card. It is one of three different kinds, but it offers the best deal for my situation. It is unlimited travel for 30 days. It took me forever to find one of those, too, but Abby told me where to go. Tomorrow I am going to take my test, finally, for my classes. I hope all goes well!

Today I wrote a poem.

Me and my Kit-Kat McFlurry

Took a stroll by the river today.

I don't think my friend quite enjoyed it

For he started melting away.

I desperately tried to save him,

My attempts to no avail.

Though I tried my best to succeed,

I somehow abysmally failed.

So I offered him words of comfort,

On this, the prettiest of days.

"I will remember your presence,

and the taste of your goodness, always."

Sunday I met the family. Maria's son and his wife and child came over  for lunch and then they took me to the park. There we met his cousin and his cousin's wife. It was a really good day, and we had a lot of fun. There are two museums, one of art and one of architecture, in the very large park, and I am looking forward to going back and checking those out. Here are some pictures of the day.

I moved in today!!!! TA-DA! I'm so excited! I finally got to unpack everything, with the exception of the clothes that I need hangers for, but everything else is put away! The people I'm living with are Maria and Carmelo, but Carmelo is at the beach with his son at the moment. Maria made me a lunch of fish soup and salad and pizza, which I thought was very nice of her. I am eating the salad and pizza as we speak, because it was too much at lunchtime, but she made sure I wouldn't go hungry. We've been communicating fairly well I think. I went to the baptist church that Sean told me to visit tonight. It was a lot of fun but I mostly sat and listened. They tried to include me though and everyone was really nice. They have youth group every Saturday night at 7 and next weekend they are going skiing. I might go. It sounds like a good deal, only 15 euros, and I could make some new relationships, as well as get out that heavy sweater i've been dying to wear since Christmas. So it's been a good day, and I'm ready to really learn my surroundings and get going. I might even have a ride home from school if I'm lucky!