What a Journey

I've only been out of the US for two days, and I already have enough stories to write a blog. Of course, the troubles I had to go through to get this far deserve a blog in and of themselves...

What a day. Why would I ever want to buy a plane ticket that takes a person that backwards? From Columbus to Dallas to Madrid was bad enough, but when we got to Barajas [Madrid], there was too much fog (niebla) to land. And to make it even better we didn’t have enough fuel to just hang out waiting for the fog to move. So we went to Barcelona to refuel. I had considered going there while in Europe, but that wasn’t exactly the conditions under which I wanted to do so. (To give you an idea of how out of the way that trip was, Madrid is exactly in the middle of España, Barcelona on the very eastern side of the country, and Salamanca, the city in which I am staying, on the far western side.) Therefore, we landed in Madrid 4 hours after we were supposed to. I was just hoping I still had a ride at this point because I had arranged transportation through don Quijote (the language institute where I am studying) to la stampada de autobus (bus station), then take a bus to Salamanca, where another driver from dQ was to drive me to my new home for five weeks.

I pretty much did all I could to avoid a panic attack when I couldn’t find my driver (who was supposed to be outside the baggage claim holding a piece of paper with my name on it), and decided to go find a phone so that I could call dQ and figure out what to do. I spent probably around 5€ trying to get the thing to work – that was sooooo much fun – before I walked around one more time and found my two bodyguards, er, drivers, that is. (This is where all of the prayers you all sent my way came in handy - I'm pretty sure these two were angels. They were that helpful.) Apparently a blonde girl (wearing tennis shoes, carrying her own luggage, and towering above most of the other women) who keeps wandering around is fairly conspicuous in this country, so they figured out who I was. Then, they took my luggage to the car and bought me lunch. Sorry mom, but at this point I had all but forgotten the snacks you had packed for me and was starting to get lightheaded from hunger. Between my broken Spanish and their broken English, we were somehow able to make pleasant conversation while waiting on another student to arrive from Korea. Between my English and their Spanish, we were also able to help a few other people figure out where they needed to go as they got off of their planes…what an interesting language-filled day. Remember the bus part of this trip? Yep, this other student requested personal transportation directly to Salamanca, so I got to share the ride. Hurray for getting a personal tour guide (and getting to sleep in the van without worrying if I was going to miss my stop).

My host mom is a sweetheart who lives in probably the cutest little flat in Spain. She lives alone, and I think she’s really happy to have some company. Perk #2 – I thought I was going to have to share a tiny little bathroom with two other students, but I’m the only one living here right now (besides Rosario, obviously). For some reason, I’m really loving the fact that I’m getting a little more than I paid for – but once the international fees are taken into account, I think that it probably evens out. We went for a little walk around the city, she showed me where my school is, and gave me a brief history lesson. (I was able to understand and respond to most of it. Who knew I had those kinds of skills?) Salamanca is such a quaint and beautiful little city, and I really think I’m going to love it. On my walk to school every day, I have to walk past places like the "Shell House" (la Casa de las Conchas) 

and through the Plaza Mayor, one of the largest and most well-known Plazas (like a town square) in Spain.

 Today, I knew I had to email my parents, at least, to let them know that I made it safely, so after I slept for 13 hours (and was teasingly scolded by Rosario for being lazy and sleeping until 11:00) I went to find a café where I could use their wifi, as the flat I'm staying in doesn't have internet access. All I have to do is buy a coffee (café) for 1,40 euro, and I can stay as long as I want to. Since I've been sitting here, two Americanos sat down next to me and they are speaking in English - I'm already so used to all of the Spanish that it sounds foreign to me. How odd!

 Well, it's about 2:00 here, and it's time for me to be headed back for lunch (it's going to take a little longer for me to get used to the schedule of daily life around here) and for another pleasant and unceasing conversation at my Spanish home.
I apologize if this first blog is all over the place, but I'm pretty sure that the caffeine I have consumed from my first Spanish coffee has entered my bloodstream twice as fast as the American coffee, so I'm feeling a bit jittery. Until next time...hasta luego!