Estoy

No cool pictures, but some awesome updates!

So far my trip has been successful. I flew out on sunday, made it on the plane without a scratch, however the stewardess did give the wrong meal to about half the plane...important requirement for a stewardess: knowing which is meal 1 and which is meal 2. I was not capable of sleeping due to the large, drunk, over-sharing Polish guy next to me, however his redeeming quality was that he was really nice. The ride seemed to drag on for a while, but obviously I made it off. I got approved through the oven that Madrid Barajas Airport calls customs even though most of us were pretty sure we were going to pass out because of the heat ducts looming over us.

When I got to baggage claim I guess it was asking too much for the carousel to be labeled as to which bags were from which flight. I found two other girls who looked just as confused as me, turns out they're in my program too. Eventually we found our bags, and our guides and got into a taxi soon thereafter. A girl named Sylvia and I shared a cab and then ended up sharing a room in the hotel. Our room was nice, but it was definitely more appreciated for the shower it had than anything else. After a quick catnap we went to lunch, met some people, listened to some lectures and scurried out to get some quick internet at the Starbucks around the corner.

Later on we took a walk with some Spanish students around the city, it's funny how much déjá vu I had while strolling (shout out to my previous spain trip people). After the walk we spent an hour in the phone store trying to figure out phone plans and which one made the most sense economically and functionally. Tapas followed, along with trying to go to bed early.

The next day we had some lectures and then met our host families. Mary and I are living with a couple in their late 60s who have been married for 10 years, first marriage for both, but obviously too old for children of their own, so they have hosted 6 students a year for the past 7 years, all of them girls except one. He never spoke and that was the end of the male sex in the apartment. The apartment is about 40 minutes from school, walking and metro involved of course. It is small, but large enough for Mary and I to share a bathroom and have our own bedrooms (which is so nice). Marisol is a woman of the house who is kind of neurotic about food. She reminds me of my grandma at home, whom is never able to sit down while others are eating for fear that her guests are uncomfortable, may need something, or possibly want something else. Eduardo is the porter of the apartment complex and only has to work one more year before his pension kicks in, but that means that he will always be here. Theyre both super nice. Everything is so much healthier than what it is in the states. We've had a variety of food from vegetable paella to zucchini soup so there's a wide variety of food around, but since we don't as much as the girls that lived with her before she is constantly paranoid that we don't like her food, however it is quite the opposite. I think that's it for now, more updates to come!