Arequipa, my new home : )

I promise i will not update my blog on a daily basis, but I have a new family and I thought they deserved a post of their own.

I have been in Arequipa for about 18 hours and already I have spoken more spanish than I have in the past 2 years... I have 5 new family members - Mami, Papi, Andalucia, Mari, and Orlando Paz (and the dog gordita). My new sisters and brother all go to La Universidad Catolica de San Pablo where I will be studying so that is super convenient. They are all very receptive and eager to talk to me even if that means they have to repeat things several times and talk much slower than they normally would. We went to the Plaza del Armas last night which is the main square of downtown. We had desserts with their family - cousins, and aunts - and then walked around the square. There was live music, sort of like a mariachi band but less annoying. There were people EVERYWHERE but Mari said that's just because of the holiday weekend. Tomorrow is the city's 451st birthday and we start school on Tuesday. We were downtown until almost 11 (which was like midnight to my body because of the time change) and then I had to unpack everything in my room before I could sleep. It was a late night but I now feel organized.

Speaking of my room... I've got a pretty awesome set up here. I have an entire floor of the house (the 3rd floor) to myself. I have my own room with a bed, armoire, desk, chair, night stand, cable t.v. and huge windows with a view of El Misti, the big volcano. I have my own bathroom too. This morning my shower was FREEZING. Perhaps I misunderstood when Senor Paz explained how to get hot water last night. I'll have to ask him again today...

Andalucia just came upstairs and asked if I'd like to accompany her to the mall. I think I will : ) more to come later.

Adios!