First days in León

I don´t know where to start so much has happened since Sunday and I´m exhausted. In short: I left Reykjavík at 13:30 and my flight to London, Heathrow departed 16:10. When I got to London I wanted to take a taxi to the Oasis hotel, but found out that it would cost me 170 punds!!! I went back to the information desk and they told me it would probably be a good idea to take mini cab, so I called a number they had and about 10 minutes later a tiny little guy around 50 came walking with a sign that said AFTA. That was me! The driver was from Afganistan. He told me about his wonderful country and I asked him what he thought of the Taliban. It was fun, although the almost 1 1/2 hour drive was exhausting. I found out that the hotel wasn´t even in London, but in Harrows... oh well..... we made it to the hotel ok and then the old fellow tried to rip me off.... bastard! Anyways.... I didn´t sleep well at all. The room was nice, but somebody grabbed my doorhandle in the middle of the night. It didn´t make me feel very safe. The next morning I got lost in the corridor before heading to Stansted Airport. I got there well over two hours before so I felt quite relaxed. Then I waited and waited in the chack-in queue and I was getting quite pissed off so I started talking to a mother and daugther who were in front of me and then found out RyanAir only allows 15 kg per person. I started arguing with the check-in lady, but of course it didn´t work. I had to pay 81 punds or leave my suitcase behind! Now I know how they make their money. I mean 15 kg is almost the weight of the suitcase itself and they know that. I WOULDN´T RECOMMEND RYANAIR to anyone! Plus I couldn´t take my carry-on and a handbag on the plane, they only allow one bag. Oh well.... I walked through security and on my way to the gate I saw the mother and daughter again. The waived at me and asked me to come talk to them. The mother was crying and they kissed goodbye. I started talking to the daugher, Nicola from Belfast, and not only was she on the same flight, but she was taking the same train from Valladolid to León and taking the same course at Universidad de León. So..... we travelled together all the way to León. It was nice to have company of such a nice girl. Her friends, Jayne and Aine (pronounced Onja) were at the train station in León. It was 25º C and sunny. It couldn´t get any better. They even took me to residence or the halls as the call it, Resedecía Emilio Hurtado. Walking into the small apartment was depressing and I am already looking for something else and something closer to the Language Center - Centro de Idiomas. Yesterday I got lost and walked for 3 hours before I found the Language Center, which was closed because of a fiesta in town. Then I called up the Irish girls and we walked another two hours. My calves are sore today no wonder. I went over to their house and they cooked for me and Jayne´s parents who are here visiting. It took me a couple of hours to get used to the Irish accent (it´s like the intonation is at the end of each sentence, weird) and I think I could have an Irish accent by the end of my time here if I wanted to (could be cute but no thanks). Last night we went out to two bars and some more Irish folks came along. Two of the girls´ wallets were stolen.... and they were crying. I made sure I didn´t leave my bag anywhere and I know I have to be careful. Well.... today I slept in and got my program for the next two days. I have a test tomorrow (¡oh my God!) and classes start on Monday.

So far I´ve been trying my best to speak Spanish and considering that I haven´t spoken a word for nine years I´m doing pretty good. I even had a converation with my Spanish roommate Laura for about 5 minutes!

Well..... I better get going before it gets dark.... more later. ¡Hasta luego!