"Wait, what time is it?"

I feel like I've lost a day somewhere between sleeping on the flight, changing time zones, taking the train, napping a mi casa... Yikes! It's all very disorienting, but at least now that I've arrived in Cádiz, I can finally begin adjusting to life abroad.

Of course, this is easier said than done! With my internal body clock stuck nine hours behind, meals and rest are awkward, uncomfortable things. When I calculate what time it is in Seattle as compared to here, I realize that I'm eating lunch at 5 AM and taking a siesta when I'm sure my friends back home are just getting the party started.

With all this in mind, my host mamá is wonderfully accommodating. "Sé que no come la carne roja, sí?" She also must have excellent cardiovascular health, considering the woman practically flew up the three flights of VERY narrow stairs to her home with my 50-pound luggage and myself in tow. Marie has been wonderful in helping me get settled in here.

Again, I'll have to get some photos up at a later time, but for now, a quick description of my new home will have to suffice: As previously mentioned, we are located on the third floor, above a man who lives with two dogs, one cat, and what sounds like a million birds. Like my own parakeet at home, they seem to settle down after sunset but at any other time during the day our entire floor is flooded with incessant chirping and squawking. It's pretty funny! The entire span of the Guzmán residence is like one long hallway, with windows facing the northeast and the salas, bedrooms, bathrooms, and kitchen along the opposite wall. Everything is burnt orange, rich yellow, terracotta, or azul, which brings me some minor sense of comfort knowing both my host mother and my real mom have similar tastes (miss you, mommy!).

While our orientation at the University doesn't begin until Monday morning, there is enough to keep me, Jason, and the other Dawgs busy until then! Tonight at the Plaza de San Francisco we will be celebrating Pastiñada as part of the events leading up to Carnival. I've heard that there's free food, free drinks, and we will get the first chance to listen to some of the groups that will be participating in the carnival competition in February. Jason's host mamá also made very certain that we were aware that there will be plenty of cerveza gratis tomorrow during the rest of the pre-carnival events (more on Erizada and Ostionada later, I'm sure).

I miss you, America!