Complete Immersion

I can't believe I am moving in with my host family tomorrow. I think that is the only thing left (besides enrolling in University of Seville courses) to be completely settled into my new country of residence for the next six months. My friends and I have decided on a theme for the trip and we have entitled it "Complete Immersion". What does "complete immersion" entail? Well at this point, it is definitely more of a joke than anything because we say it whenever we have an experience we wouldn't normally encounter in the States. We refer to these experiences as "complete immersion". It's kind of like we are acknowledging the fact we must respond to the various culture changes on our own without a facilitator there to hold our hand every step of the way. But in reality, I think the theme of "complete immersion" is an excellent way to describe what the next six months will bring for me and my friends. This trip is not a temporary vacation or an "extended stay" by any means. I live here. I think that is the most difficult thing to grasp at this point. Living with a family, going to school at an actual Spanish University, and spending each day with a schedule and routine is what I think of as being "completely immersed". The transition to "complete immersion" is made easier with the presence of other USA students though. I have met a lot of nice people. The Cornell and Penn students are fun to be around and have some pretty interesting stories and backgrounds. We talk in Spanish about 75% of the time with each other, however we do speak in English with sometimes for the mere purpose of getting to know one another. I look forward to spending more time with them once we move into our respective neighborhoods. I hope we all hang out even though we will be moving to different locations within the city. The orientation classes are from 3 to 7 PM, so I am always free in the mornings. I use them to do homework, and explore the city a little bit to get my bearings before I move in with the family. The orientation classes are very helpful so far. The professors are excellent mostly because they speak clearly and make the classes interesting. I actually look forward to them, which I don't think I experienced since kindergarten. And what's even more fun than the classes??? -- The nightlife. But we will save that post for another day. Until then.... Adios amigos.