Goodbye USA! Hello Madrid!

I'm writing this quite a few days after arriving in Madrid, but here's the post about my trip to Spain and my first day in Madrid. This post is quite lengthly, but, you know, I'm writing this as much for myself to remember in the future as I am for you to read now.

So, the day finally came. I spent the whole week before I left in a wreck of nerves (not to mention I got sick at the beginning of the week!!). By the time Sunday morning came around, I had spent all my nervousness and all that was left was giddiness and excitement (okay, there were still a lot of nerves, lol).

I left for Madrid yesterday from Port Columbus International Airport. Most of my family and my boyfriend came along so I had quite the entourage surrounding me! I just have to tell you, I felt so loved when I was passing through Security. Since my family couldn't go through with me, they stayed and watched me for as long as they could see me. They kept waving madly at me as I was putting my things in the bins and then taking them out again. Even one of the security guards started waving back at them!! Even after I passed Security, they were still there, and every time I looked back they were still there, faithfully waiting to catch my glance and give me another wave.

I continued looking back until I couldn't see them anymore. It was at that moment that it hit me that I was alone and that I wouldn't see any of them for four months. Talk about reality check! But it wasn't long before I got a text from my dad reminding me that I'm never alone and that God is always with me! :-) Thanks Dad. <3

My flight from Columbus to NYC's JFK Airport was less than 2 hours. After a 5 hour layover at JFK I boarded my flight for Madrid. I slept allllmost like a baby, lol, but not quite. Anyhow, I slept pretty well for being on an airplane.

I had thought that once I arrived in Madrid memories from my high school trip to Spain in 2008 would come flooding back to me, but they didn't. I was left to experience everything all over again and this time without my Spanish teacher and fellow students.

The rest of the day I'm going to summarize in topical sections so you won't get too bored (if you aren't already, haha). I was really blessed with an easy, uneventful trip from the Madrid Barajas airport to my hotel:

FINDING MY LUGGAGE

After I'd been through to get a stamp in my passport, I followed about a hundred and one signs leading to baggage claim. Without a doubt, everyone always worries about their luggage getting lost and I was no exception; but, thank the Lord, it was just a matter of time before my bag popped onto the belt.

MONEY, MONEY, MONEY!!

My next concern was finding a way to get some euros. I didn't bring much US cash with me so I knew I would have to find an ATM instead of changing my dollars to euros. And, what do you know, almost as soon as I left baggage claim I was greeted with a sign directing me to an ATM. Piece of cake. :-)

TRANSPORTATION

Here's where things got hairy, or so I thought they would at the time. USAC had given us a lot of information on how we could get to the hotel. I wanted to do the cheapest option, a 2€ bus to a station near the hotel. I was wondering how in the world I would find the right bus; so, what did I do? I asked!! I stepped onto a bus and asked the driver if he was going to Atocha. He said, "No, look for the yellow bus behind this one." And, presto, within like 2 seconds a big yellow "airport express" bus pulled up. I hopped on and was off.

FINDING MY HOTEL

The bus dropped me in, what to me, could have been any place in Madrid, Atocha or otherwise. Of course, I knew I was at Atocha Station but when I looked out at the street I had no idea how to find Calle Atocha (Atocha Street). I'm sure by the look on my face anyone could have seen how distressed and tired I was. So, I did what any self-respecting 21st century techie would do, I found some wi-fi and looked up a map on my iPod. Even after I found the map I couldn't use the wi-fi once I'd left Atocha Station so I had to rely on my memory and my incredible navigation skills (HA! There's one gene my dad didn't pass down to me!). But, what do you know, I found the hotel in a matter of 10 or 15 minutes. (I'm acting all calm about it now, but at the time, jet-lagged, scared, and carry over 60 pounds of luggage, I was a mess. Lol.).

When I walked into the hotel, a woman came up to me and, to my surprise and extreme delight, called me by name!! It was Gabriella, the housing director. I have to thank the USAC staff for being so awesome! They knew (from our pictures) all of the USAC students by name from the get-go without even having met us. They welcomed me and congratulated me on making it by myself. After I got up to my hotel room, it wasn't long before I had taken a nap and a shower. Then I headed out to find food! I ended up eating at a little restaurant called "Dorna" on the same street as the hotel. Here's what I had for my first meal!

Un bocadillo de tortilla y un agua. A french bread sandwich with Spanish tortilla and a water. (Spanish tortilla is kind of like an egg omelette with slices of potato mixed in.) It was great! (Btw, I felt kind of silly taking a picture of my food, but oh well!) 

That was pretty much my first day! I'm so excited for the what lies ahead but I'm missing all of you, my family and friends. I wish you were here to share all these experiences with me. A blog can only say so much, but I hope you can understand what I'm feeling and experiencing through these posts. Leave a comment and subscribe!!

¡Hasta luego! 

Abigail