And so it begins!

Well, after flights from Chicago to Boston to London to Madrid, I've made it! Thankfully I had fairly uneventful flights and landed safely, on-time in Barajas Aeropuerto on Wednesday, January 8th. I only ran into a couple of problems: 1) my luggage was left in Boston and 2) I couldn't find my friends Kristen and Aman when we all landed in Spain. It took us about an hour to figure out that we were in different parts of the airport, and then it took another 45 minutes for me to decide that meeting up was a lost cause. So, with a dead phone, a sleepy mind, and a hungry stomach, I gave my address to the cab driver and headed on my way "home".

The few words that I said to the cab driver must have sounded pretty convincing because at one point he just started rambling in Spanish! Ahh! I'm fairly fluent, but he spoke un poquito demasiado rapidamente, so I had to apologize and clarify that I only spoke "a little Spanish". We made very small "small talk" until he finally dropped me off.

I was the first to arrive and meet our host mom Gabriela (or Gabi). She showed me all around her deceptively big apartment, which included 3 rooms/4 beds for study abroaders, each equipped with our personal desk, dresser, shelves, and bed. Initially she explained everything in English, but as I continued to respond in Spanish, she started using more Spanish. It's so interesting how quickly it can come back to you! I am able to understand about 90% of what she says the first time, but sometimes I have to ask her to repeat herself.

Kristen arrived about 20 minutes later (thank the Lord!), and I helped translate as Gabi explained everything around the house. She made some incredible vegetable soup (but you couldn't even see all the veggies she put in there!), and although that was enough to fill us both up, she presented us with a second plate of meatballs & Spain's version of tomato sauce and some delicious scalloped potatoes. It was a fantastically hearty meal to have after a day and a half worth of travelling, especially since my last 3 meals had been on a plane...

We met Gabi's husband Roberto shortly after, another kind-hearted soul! I was a bit thrown off by the typical greeting of two kisses on the cheeks, it's going to take a while to get used to it, but I realized that it's a much warmer, more personal greeting than a Hi-5 or a handshake.

Kristen and I had some time to unpack our things, arrange our clothes, nap, update our parents and friends, etc. We ate dinner at 9:30PM! It was a shocker to both our stomachs and brains. After we finished, we decided to walk the town a bit and meet up with Aman, James, and their roommate Danicole. (James ended up not coming because he was too tired; whatever James :P you are lame.) Roberto drew the route for us to take on a map of Madrid and Gabi walked us there. We saw Aman and Danicole and walked around, looking for a place to sit down and maybe have a nice glass of wine. Well, the wine place was closed, so we stopped in at a little bar on Cuatro Caminos. I tried a beer; it was gross; I didn't really like it at all; I think I took 4 sips total. "It's an acquired taste" is what most people say, but I don't think I want to acquire that taste....

So we left shortly after that, and in typical newcomer / "1st Night" fashion, Kristen and I got slightly lost on the walk home. Actually, we walked right past the entrance Gabi showed us and ended up making a huge circle around our apartment to get to the other entrance. It was dark out too, though, so cut us some slack :) Gabi and Roberto had both told us that it was an extremely safe area, and we live close to one of the big police stations/academies, so we didn't have to worry about our safety. The people of Madrid, or Madrileños, are very nice and extremely helpful! I used my spanish to ask a girl walking down the street for directions, and she quickly hung up her cell phone, explained the directions and walked with us most of the way.
My lack of an ability to properly use keys also made for a somewhat awkward introduction to Gabi's daughter Alejandra, seeing as she had to open the door for us after hearing us struggle with the lock for a good 30 seconds... After quick kiss-on-the-cheeks greetings, she took us back into the hallway to show us how to properly open and lock the door. Great first family bonding experience....

The next day was orientation, so Gabi again walked with us to our destination, made sure we signed in, and then went on her way back to her house (she is such a mom :)!!) It was so great to see so many of my fellow study abroaders and SLU friends! The usual boring orientation stuff ensued, but after that we took a "campus tour" of the neighborhood around school and then walked around more of Madrid. +James Shields, Aman, and Danicole got lost as they led Kristen, +Kelsey King, Kelly, +Helen Farnan, and me to a huge park nearby, but we quickly arrived at Canal de Isabel II. We saw what looked like playground toys, but they're actually huge metal work-out equipment pieces, some for your arms, legs, abs and back!! After we all played around for a while, we parted our separate ways back home, where Kristen and I promptly took naps.

Dinner came at an early 8:30pm (!) and consisted of a thick, homemade veggie & noodle sopa followed by una tortilla and some kind of carne. However, Spanish tortillas are much different that Mexican tortillas: Spanish tortillas are equivalent to a small, thick pancake filled with sliced potato chunks. Que riquísima! Another deliciously filling meal made by our wonderful Gabi!

Now all that is left to complete the beginning of this Spanish adventure is the arrival of +Mary Distler! She should be arriving in a couple hours.
That's all I have for you now, but stay tuned for más aventuras espanolas!

Chau! :)