Week One

Supposedly, the first week is supposed to be one of the most difficult, so I decided to keep track of what I did throughout the week:

Day one
1:15
I am now here. Honestly, I'm not sure how I am feeling right now. I think I am in a state of shock. It has really only just hit me that I am doing this.
1:50
Just finished unpacking, getting ready to have lunch. I think I have figured out how I am feeling - scared. I was thinking on trying to elaborate a little bit more regarding how I'm feeling, but I really can't.
3:20
Just had lunch. It was quite good. We had paella - it wasn't a very complicated one ( just rice and chicken) but it was very good.
8:50
Napped for the past five and a half hours. Feel like I should of tried to stay up and get to know my host family but I was exhausted and am still a little tired.
10:45
Just finished dinner. Again the food was very good. We had soup and fried eggs. I am quite happy with the host family i got. They are helpful, kind, and understanding of the way I am feeling right now. I'm going to bed again now - a plane ride in economy seating with a large lady in front leaning her seat all the way back does not allow one much rest, so it is catch-up time.
Day Two
1:15
Slept in a little bit (was woken up at 12:15) but was up in time for breakfast. During and after breakfast Dani (my host brother) and I watched motorcycle racing.   It was more exciting than NASCAR but not nearly as exciting as a real sport. My host dad's family is coming over this afternoon. I'm expecting it to be loud and chaotic, and I'm not really looking forward to meeting them (having a bunch of Spanish people asking me question after question is not my ideal second day), but I'll see how it goes.
2:22
Met the family that was coming over. They are very nice and are talking slow enough for me to understand.
8:00
All of the family just left. While they were over it was quite fun. Lunch was a multi-course meal that was, as expected, very loud.  Whenever they weren't eating they were talking. So, it was quite lively, and I found it very enjoyable. After lunch, we (meaning me, Dani, Julia (my host sister), three of the cousins, and my host dad's brother) played...
10:15
Sorry, I had to walk and then have dinner. Anyway, we played a board game called "Party & Co." It is somewhat similar to Cranium (for those of you that have played it) but with a slightly different way of winning. It was fun, but also rather difficult because it was all in Spanish. A little bit after we finished playing everyone left. My host family then took me on a walk around town to show me different parts of it. After that we had a small dinner and now I'm getting ready to go to bed. Overall, today was better (and easier) than I expected. Hopefully tomorrow will be the same.
Day 3
11:55
Somehow ended up sleeping 12.5 hours last night, which is somewhat strange seeing as I didn't feel all that tired when I went to bed. Anyway, everyone is gone right now except me, the maid, and Dani, whose asleep. So, I'm practicing my Spanish by reading Don Quijote. It isn't the most exciting or entertaining book, but the Spanish is simple and straightforward.
7:55
Didn't really do anything exciting so far today. I swam for a little while in the pool in the backyard and then went out for a little with Dani and his friends. The latter wasn't all that fun seeing as they didn't do much other than talk in fairly rapid spanish, which was a little difficult for me to understand. I think I have basketball practice at 8:30, but I'm not positive. Anyway, I'm not looking forward to it at all. I'm guessing that it is going to be difficult for me to understand what the coach is saying, so it isn't going to be very fun.
1:05
Going to bed now. Basketball was better than I expected. The practice consisted of an hour of conditioning, a half hour of dribbling drills, and a half hour of shooting and passing drills. It wasn't as hard as practices in the States, which was nice. After dinner, Dani and I watched a German movie on tv. I was extremely surprised by how well they dubbed it. It was much better than I expected, which is could because I hate watching things where the lip movements and the words don't appear to match at all. I had a very busy day today, so I'm expecting to sleep for awhile, but we'll see.
Day 4
12:55
Just got woken up. That was probably the shortest sleep I've had so far (only 11.5 hours). I'm not sure what we're doing today but hopefully it isn't much because I'm still kind of tired.
7:45
Haven't done a lot today. Around one thirty we went to a exhibit of photos of one of the concentration camps. Later this afternoon I went out with Dani and some of his friends. Other than that we've just been laying around relaxing.
Day 5
9:50
Having to get up much earlier today in order to go into Madrid. I don't really like getting up earlier, but I think going into Madrid will be quite fun and worth it.
10:10
Just finished dinner. Earlier today we went into Madrid. We picked up Lorenzo's brother Jose and went to a temporary museum exhibit called "Bodies". It is very similar to the Body World exhibits we have in the states, except the content was less specific and instead of meandering through and talking and seeing whatever they gave you one of those guided tour devices with headphones that took the user through eight different rooms all containing different systems of the body. Overall, it wasn't as good as the one in the States, but I still enjoyed it. After that, we went back to Jose's apartment and watched the Spain-Germany basketball game while eating lunch. We made a couple of brief stops (to get Dani shoes and to get me a prepaid phone card) on the way home. Once home, I left again in order to go to basketball practice, which wasn't good but also wasn't bad. I think I'm probably going to go to bed now because I think I have to be up somewhat early tomorrow.
Day 6
8:45
This is the earliest I've woken up so far. It is very quite. Looking outside my window, there are almost no cars out on the street. I'm thinking that this is similar to the time just before the sun rises at home - the earlier risers are up but none of them have really gone out yet.
3:15
Now in La Adrada, a town in Castilla y Leon. We are staying at the house of Esperanza's parents. A couple of Dani's cousins are also here. We just finished a large lunch. Earlier we went to the pool for a while, which was fun. We played a volleyball-like game in the pool and then a mini game of soccer on the lawn.
1:00
Went to the pool again before dinner. Part of dinner was a Spanish tortilla made Madrid style. It was amazingly tasty. After dinner we hung out with some neighborhood kids and played soccer under the streetlights. I also learned how to play a Spanish card game called "mus" (I'm pretty sure that is not the correct spelling) which I won at.
Day 7
2:15
This morning we went to a marcadillo, which was kind of a mix between a farmers market and a flea market - there was lots of fruit but there was also clothes and shoes and other little trinkets. From there we walked up to the castle and walked around it's walls for a little. After that we walked up into the mountains. We walked to a river and the rock-hopped down the bank. It was very fun and the river was beautiful. About two minutes into our walk back down, two guys in a jeep stopped and gave all six of us a ride down to the cars, which was really fun (it was like in the movies where there are a bunch of people all hanging off the sides of a jeep).
11:05
Heading back to Madrid in order to be able to go to our basketball game in the morning. After lunch we went up to a pool made by a small dam across a river. It was fairly crowded, but, because the water was so cold, there were barely any people in the water. There was an opening in the railing of the stone stairs along the side of the pool. It was about 12 feet up and we all had a good time jumping off of it. After we dried off, we took a walk up to a hotel/restaurant with a beautiful view of the valley. And now we are heading home.
Day 8
10:05
Just got up. I have a basketball game in 45 minutes that I'm not that excited for for two reasons. First, it is too early for my liking. Second, I don't think I can play because some form is having to be sent to the US in order for me to be fully registered, and that form was only sent two days ago. So, it will probably be fun and good to watch (so that I can see what type of plays and techniques the team uses), but I'd rather be sleeping.
1:35
Basketball was more fun than I thought it would be. We built a big lead early, so the rest of the game was quite fun. I probably got about 15 minutes of playing time, which wasn't too much but also wasn't too little. I didn't play great (4 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal), but I didn't play horribly either. I'm going to go for a swim now because I am extremely hot.
11:30
Rest of the day was relaxing - I watched The Social Network in Spanish and then took a nap. Tonight, I went out with Dani and some of his friends. We hung out for a bit and then went to a pizzeria. Now I am going to bed because, despite my nap, I am still a little tired.

Overall, my first week was much easier and much more fun (as well as much longer) than I expected, which, in my opinion, is good.