Orientation Station

Round 1: Emily vs. Jet Lag-----Winner = Jet Lag. Sat. January 9

I was in the deepest sleep of my life, in the middle of a dream in which I was making some killer guacamole, when I was abruptly thrown into consciousness due to the loud knocking on my door. In a complete state of confusion and blur I took out my ear plugs (because I can literally hear everything in the building when trying to sleep), put on my pants, and opened the door, peering out into the bright hall with one eye open. Maria, one of the staff members was there smiling at me. It was 10:34 and our first orientation meeting started at 10:30. Luckily it was just right down the hall in the common room...but still, the rest of my roommates were there waiting to start the meeting, and here I come bumbling and apologizing down the hall in my pj's. So awesome start to the first morning.

The rest of the morning consisted of orientation meetings, breakfast here at the FSU center (muffins and coffee), and a longer walk around the neighborhood...which yes, I was still in pj's and my baseball cap (to hide my GRRRREASY airport hair). More orientation meeting in the afternoon. All our brains are about to explode with all the information we're getting and trying to memorize. Information like what things are, where they are, what you can buy there, how to purchase this bus card or that converter plug. But I did manage to finally shower and change out of my pajamas between meetings.

First trip to the supermarket was interesting. It's about a 10 minute walk from here. My whole floor got together and decided what stuff we needed to split the cost of (toilet paper, dish washing detergent etc.) To make your shopping experience easier, FSU has these little carts you can take with you to haul your bags back. Well...we forgot to grab one of those. So we stacked our little carts full of food and supplies. Needless to say, my left bicep is pretty sore today from carrying four 1.5 liter bottles of milk back in one bag.
Upon entering the supermarket, my eyes were immediately drawn to the American brands on the shelves. Oreos, Chips Ahoy, Kellogs, Dove products, Herbal Essence, and Colgate. Just a little taste of home. One main difference between the US and Spain in grocery shopping is that you have to way your own produce. You punch in a code for your fruit or veggie, put it on the scale, then it prints out a sticker for you. I didn't realize this til it was my turn to pay and I had to got back to weigh my manzanas.

It was a group bonding experience...especially when we all discovered the cheap prices on the alcohol aisle. I think my bottle of wine was 2.75ish euros. And it wasn't even the cheapest.
We have named our apartment floor "top shelf" since we are the top floor of the building. We also like to affectionately call it Anne Frank's attic because it is a wee bit smaller than the other apartments. The others have really high ceilings and ~12 ft. windows. Our windows are maybe 2 feet tall.
So the majority of orientation was over Sat afternoon. But Saturday night will be saved for the next blog. Let's just say I may have lost the battle against jet lag, but I totally won against European night life.

Shopping with Roommates at Consum...Your shopping basket has wheels- genius.