Oh my freak, I’m in Spain. You know that moment, when the realization that a long-anticipated event is really happening hits you like a ton of bricks? Well, that realization finally hit me as I stepped off that stuffy plane and breathed in the sweet, Spanish air. What an interesting trip it has been getting here.
I’ve always wondered what it’s like to live in an apartment in the city and now I get to find out. I like it so far. I feel so connected to everything that is going on because I am right in the middle. I’m not sure how close her apartment (or piso as they call it) is to the school but she says it’s an easy walk. Here is a view of our bedroom.
First, yesterday doesn’t even seem real. If I didn’t have a blog post to prove it, I would have thought that I dreamt the entire thing. Of course it may have something to do with the fact that this has felt like one long, continuous day and that I got somewhere between only 30 minutes and 3 hours of sleep on the plane. Yeah, I’m kinda exhausted. But I’m trying to fight that jet lag by making it until hopefully 9:00 tonight (Tuesday). I’m not entirely sure I’ll make it.
Second, right after that lovely realization hit me, it quickly faded away as we proceeded to spend the next five hours at the airport. Our plane arrived at 7:50 AM, Madrid time (for all you Pacific Standard Timers out there, that is 10:50 PM, your time). Our bus was supposed to pick us up at 10:30 but somehow didn’t appear until 1:00ish. Let me tell you, sitting around in one airport does not feel any different from sitting around in another airport, whether it’s foreign or not. At 10:30 our group progressed outside. Luckily, it was sunny and beautiful, but I felt like I was in California, not Spain.
Now finally, as I’m sitting on my bed at the home of my host family, I really do feel as if I’m a long way from home. I’m definitely not in Kansas anymore, or Utah, or Idaho, or anywhere else familiar for that matter. And there is so much Spanish! It’s a little overwhelming, but I have a feeling that I’ll get used to it real fast, since that’s all I will be hearing and speaking. The city I’m living in, Alcalá de Henares, is so beautiful. The entire city is like a giant work of art. It’s also the city where Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote, was born and lived. There is so much rich history here. I can’t wait to learn more!
The family I am staying with is very sweet. The woman’s name is Conchi, or Mari. She says either one works. Her mother lives here as well. I think her name is Concepción, but I couldn’t really tell. She’s a little difficult to understand but she is adorable. Mari has two daughters, both married, and three grandkids. I met one of them, Hugo, who just turned one. She has a little dog named Mafí and a parakeet. She is one of the most thoughtful women I’ve ever met! She is going to all this trouble just to get the internet set up here at the apartment for us. She knows it is important for me to stay in contact with mi familia.
And a view from the window.
Not too bad, eh? I think I could get used to this. Bonus, we travel to a different city every weekend! Sooo cool! Tomorrow, we’ll go to the university and take an aptitude test. If we fail, they kick us out and send us home. Not really. That would be terrible! Our professor just wants to know where everyone is at so the other professors can teach appropriately. Then we have the rest of the day to keep resting. Thursday is the start of classes for us. I think usually we’ll have four class days a week and then travel the other days.
Mi compañera, Erin, arrived a while after I did.
I think we’ll have lots of fun being roommates and we’re both taking the same classes too. She seems like a very sweet girl and I can’t wait to get to know her better. Plus, it kinda makes me feel like a secret agent, knowing that I can slip into another language to discuss secret affairs. Not that we will. It’s strictly Spanish here of course.
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