Word of the Day... or the Early Morning

Hello world! 

Hopefully you've already read about this in my previous post, but for those of you just now visiting and not in the know, I am in Spain participating in a program put on by the Ministry of Education. I am a language assistant in a high school in Calahorra, and am living in Logroño, a good 45 minute bus-ride away. While I'm here to teach English, I'm finding (as expected) that I have quite a bit to learn...

What am I learning, you may ask? Well, I could write about everything, but honestly, I'd probably never finish (it is an ongoing process, you know) and even if I could, the post would be so long that no one would want or have the time to read it. Instead, I will write about the things I am learning little by little, one post at a time. That way, you can learn with me. Today, our lesson is a word: La madrugada.

And so it begins...

Exactly 4 weeks ago today, I left my friends, family and the comfort of 'home' to embark on this adventure in España. And now, here I sit in my very first "I'm a big girl and living on my own" apartment. It has been a whirlwind of a month, and since I haven't posted in, oh, a while (procrastination much?), I think it would be best to begin with a recap... with pictures...

First of all, within the week before I left, I received a very special visit from a very special someone. This was perhaps the most jam-packed, memorable 3 days I could ever have imagined. Tennis, soccer, coffee, movies, napping, risotto, picnicking, dinner with awesome people... basically in-person quality time.
The only downside was that it was also the shortest 3 days imaginable.

Sadness in the car at the airport when he had to leave.

Luckily, we have a long flight across the Atlantic to which to look forward. :)

A few days later, the parents and I headed to the airport for a second time, and this time, I was the one who'd be getting on the plane.

Madre y yo, before the send off.

And then, around 12:30, I was off. After a pitstop in Washington D.C. where I was