Jumping right in...

You may be wondering what "kiosko" means in this context... well, since you go to a kiosko (or kiosk in English) to get news, I thought this blog title would be appropriate. I'm not sure how often I will journal my thoughts or stories here, but at least I have a place to do it now!

Today is my first full day in Spain. I am feeling much more cummunicative now that I've had one night of sleep. It seems so normal for me to be here. That sounds strange, but I think that's the best way to describe how I'm feeling. Once culture shock truly sets in, I'm sure I will not feel so normal, but so far, I feel at home. God's good like that. Maybe He knows that I couldn't handle too many different emotions now, so He's letting me work my way in a little at a time.

Getting here was so un-tramatic, it had to be God. I was expecting a really emotional time of goodbyes and difficult closure, but somehow, I wasn't very torn up by it all. Yes, tears did fall, but the actual goodbyes weren't as painful as I would have expected. And about my flights- well, that was probably the quickest overseas flight I have ever made. I left Dayton, went through Detroit, watched a bunch of movies and slept over the ocean to Amsterdam, then flew into Madrid at 10:00 AM. Other than having to do my pathetic version of "speed-walking" through half of Amsterdam's airport to catch my flight to Madrid, the flights were great. I had empty seats next to me through every flight, so I was much more comfortable than I typically would have been (especially with my messed-up knee).

It was wonderful to talk with Bruce and Merly (the Bundy family who I am staying with for the first month) and get excited about everything I will be doing here in Spain. It's awesome to talk about things that will be happening in the months ahead and to know that I will be here to experience them!

After catching up a bit, drinking some good Spanish coffee, and enjoying "lunch" with Merly's parents and the whole family, it was still hard not to fall asleep. I made myself stay awake by unpacking my stuff and joining a house group last night. It was great to connect with people I met last year and to see how God is at work in people's lives. I think I was in a state of partial wakefulness through most of the get-together, but I somehow made it until close to midnight before sleeping.

This morning I was able to sleep in a bit, then Merly and I took the Metro downtown to visit my language school (since I'll need to make my way there on my own Monday). We attempted to open a bank acocunt for me here in Spain, but we found out (in typical Spanish fashion) that we needed some signed document first. Merly thought she might be able to talk the banker out of requiring that form if we joined him for coffee at the neighborhood cafe (something that is a big part of the relational nature of Spanish culture), but that didn't work out. At least he treated us to coffee :)

I'm excited about the trip to Barcelona tomorrow. Maybe I'll have some good stories to share when I get back. If not, I'll probably have something to relate from my first day of language school on Monday... What an adventure!