Mi Familia

Okay, so the preparations are nearing an end. I'm basically just waiting on UT to get me some stuff back (which is like cutting teeth) and then turning that stuff in. Exciting things have happened today! I've been MATCHED TO A HOST FAMILY! My mother's name is Isabel who is a 65 year old housewife. I do have a sister who is 26, but she lives in Madrid most of the time. Her name is Estefania, and is an "artist". I have been matched with a roommate too! He goes to NC State. I was given a list today of all the participants in my program and it is so exciting to see where everyone is coming from. So many different states and universities: University of Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Kansas, NC State, Kentucky, just to name a few. The most interesting aspect of the list of participants is the Lawrenceburg, TN is listed next to Chicago, NY, Salem, St. Louis, Dallas and lots of different towns, mainly ones I've never heard of. After I got the address of my house, I explored the neighborhood using Google StreetView, which is incredibly cool. I saw restaurants, convenience stores, pharmacies, furniture stores, and many more. I'm in the neighborhood called "Triana", which is one of the more famous quarters of Sevilla. I'm about a 20 minute walk from the university, 10 minute bus ride, and 10 minute Metro ride. There's so many things left to explore when I get there, though. 20 days, my friends! Probably the next post I do will be like the night before I leave, so be prepared!