hey! i am in madrid!! none of my bags were stolen and i have everything that i brought, so i am really happy! it has been a very long day though. i got into madrid an hour early, so the flight landed around 6 30am local time. i went through customs quickly and then my bags were one of the firsts to come out of the checked luggage thing, and then i met clifton (the program director). we went to coffee at vips which is a very cool place, it is a chain and inside it is half restaurant and half american store. so everything is very expensive, but i can buy newman's own caesar salad dressing. he gave me a lot of touristy info and it made me realize how little i know about spain, so eventually i am going to need to research the geography. then, i came and met my host family. the mom was the only one home, and so clifton, alicia (cliff's coworker) my host mom and i talked for a while. my host mom is so sweet, she just told me that whatever i need just tell her and she will get it. then my youngest host sister woke up. maria is 12 and cute, and about to go to an italian school. later, maria and my host mom and i went on a walk around the neighborhood seeing the metro, the bus stop, the "paneria" and such. when we got home i started unpacking and arranging my room. then we had a nice lunch of gazpacho and pasta. the family used to live in italy so they know how to make really good pasta and italian dishes. then the dad came home and he is really nice too. he helped me figure out how to get onto the wifi, which took literally an hour. then, i took a little siesta (not really common in madrid). i finished setting up my room, and then i met elisia (my oldest sister). she is really stressed because she has big exams coming up on monday, so she was at the library all day. she promised to take me out after her exams are done and she is on vacation. then we all went to dinner around 8pm. on our way to the cafe, we ran into my host mom's cousin. so we decided to sit down and talk and have a drink with the cousin and his wife. at the table they started speaking english and i was really surprised because everyone says they can't speak, but in reality they are very good. then around 9 we went to dinner. and now i am home and about to fall asleep. today has been a long but very good day, and i am sure the next couple of days will be just as hectic.