Day 1

Today is my first day in Spain. Aside from being extremely jet lagged, I was in a complete culture shock when I got off the plane and realized that I’m in a completely new country (for the first time), and I will seriously need to work on my Spanish skills if I hope to survive.

It took Michelle and I forever to find the Metro once we got off the plane because it turned out to be 3 terminals away. Spain has a lot of stairs! And their cell phones work on the train. New York needs to step up their game.

Surprisingly we didn’t get lost on the train, but we were in for a surprise once we arrived at our destination. There was no indication of which floor (out of 7) would be our residence hall. We tried using the pay phone on the corner to call our professor, Jose, but could not figure out how it worked. Eventually Michelle asked someone in a bus stop to use their cell phone. Surprise number 2? Jose’s phone was not working.

Our Living Room

So we stood outside of the building until someone came out and we asked them if they knew which bell we needed to ring. The first guy who came out was completely oblivious, with dreads and a blunt in his mouth. But the second guy told us we needed to go to the sixth floor.

My Side of the Room

The elevator seemed like an antique, it’s absolutely beautiful. However, Michelle and I had all of our luggage, so as we boarded the elevator, we could hear it creaking as it continued to ascend. Upon entering our residence, we were greeted by a group of native students, which only further intimidated us because we felt completely out of place.

Our Kitchen

Luckily, two of our classmates had arrived the previous day and had established friendship with the natives, so we accompanied them to the stadium to watch the Euro cup finals. There were so many people there and I could barely see because I’m so short, but it was a very interesting experience, especially considering I’m not an avid soccer (or futbol) fan. Spain won, and chaos ensued. People exited the stadium en masse and a spontaneous parade broke out.

  

                                        

Afterwards we found this cute outdoor restaurant and I had my first authentic Spanish meal. It was delicious, but by this point I was completely exhausted. Finding my bed was an amazing feat.