¡Me estoy quebrando la cabeza pensando!

The only word I can use to describe this trip so far is OVERWHELMING - it's not bad, or good, or fun, or scary, it's just all of the above. The second we got here Eva and I went straight to our house, where we walked in and I promptly forgot how to say 'nice to meet you'. This realization was followed by lots of 'hola' and 'gracias' and smiling, despite how disappointed we were that we had different rooms. we put our stuff down and sat down in the sala with the family, and I have NEVER been in such an awkward situation. Everyone was silent, and Eva and I were beyond nervous, and it was just such an outlandish experience that no one had any idea what to do. After about 10 painful minutes of silence, we went to Sevilla.
...And I was going to try to go through the last couple days event by event, but as I'm writing I'm forgetting. I feel like I'm learning and experienceing and storing SO much in my head that there's not room for anything that isn't extremely memorable. So here are the things I remember:
- That horrifyingly awkward host family meet-and-greet
- Me and Eva's first walk home (MUCH further than anyone else by about 15 minutes), where NOTHING could have prepared us for the sight of the monsterous volcano in front of us, and the mist-covered mountains that completely surround Antigua. I know we're really high up, but it feels really deep here
- Our salsa class, which was SO fun and so much more enjoyable than I had been expecting! It was the perfect chance to let go of a lot of the stress I'd been holding in
- Last night, when it was my host sister's 18th birthday, and unbeknownst to us, her friends decided to surprise her with a cake at dinner, they showed up at our house ringing the doorbell maniacally and setting off FIREWORKS, OUTSIDE. Looking back it's funny, but it was definitely in the top 3 scariest moments of my life - Eva and I were completely convinced it was a drive by (it sounded like multiple machine guns, really), and in one or two more seconds I would've been hiding under the table. It was terrifying and my heart was still beating a little too fast when I went to bed

Again, I'm losing my train of thought. There's no possible way for this much information to fit in my head, especially because now I need to designate half my brain to Spanish. I even find myself simplifying what I say in English before I say it, like I do when I try to speak Spanish. Like my profe says, 'me estoy quebrando mi cabeza pensando!' I hope I can find a better system to internalize all these new words and experiences, however subconciously.

I can't believe it's only been 3 DAYS...and I can't wait for what's to come. Thinking about it and realizing what a RIDICULOUS amount of stuff we've done is overwhelming, but DOING it, you're in the moment. I'm really happy I'm here!