Day 1

Today felt like three days clumped into one. The team and I got together around 3:30 am this morning, packed up, got coffee, and left for our flight. I was upset to find that Kendra was not joining us because she had lost her passport!!! I hear she has gotten a new one and will be arriving in Spain on Sunday! I'll let her fill you in on the details.
The flight went very smoothly and we arrived in Huston with time to spare. Unfortunately, when we got on the plane a thunder storm rolled in. We saw lighting hit the ground right outside our plane window! We didn't take off again for about an hour. Our next stop was Newark, New Jersey, and then a straight shot to Madrid. It was a long flight, but I was able to pass the time with some good movies, books, and friends.
When we arrived in Madrid we unloaded our things and my host family picked me up. The mother's name is Susana and she has two boys, Tomas, age 6, and David, age 9. There father is away on business and will not be around for the majority of my stay. They are the sweetest family and have made me feel at home here. I went for a swim with the boys and had a delicious lunch. They took me around Tres Cantos to show me around, and then went to watch the Spain v. Paraguay game. We watched it in a large gym with a big screen and screaming fans. Spain won! Everyone was honking, yelling, and running down the streets. So you see. it is not so much different here than little El Dorado Hills ;) Miss you all back at home very much! Keep me in your prayers. It's getting late, more tomorrow.
Lauren