We Have Arrived!

So we finally made it to Spain! I left for the Airport around 3p.m on August 27th. My mom brought me to the airport which I was a little bit worried about since she is a little bit clueless when it comes to driving in Boston but we made it okay. The entire way to the airport she was reminding me about all the awful things that could happen to me if I'm not careful. It put me in a great mood to leave the country for four months but I guess I can't control her worrisome personality. When I got to the airport I checked in my bag, which weighed just under the limit. Carrying my suitcase was another issue...I was struggling so hard to even roll it to the check-in desk. As Michelle, Sam and I walked into security our moms were being way to obnoxious. As Michelle's mom said "be careful", so did my mom. To be honest, I wish I captured the moment on vine. On my first flight to Dublin, I was stuck in the middle seat in a row of 4. The man next to me was very nice though so at least that was good. Before leaving, my dad was like "I booked you window seats so at least you can sleep". This was far from true as I was booked in the aisle seat on my plane from Dublin to Madrid. On the plus side, the two seats next to me were empty so I laid down and tried to sleep. The worst part about the trip was that I couldn't fall asleep so when we arrived in Madrid I was exhausted.

On the first night we stayed at hotel in Madrid. We had a long and boring orientation followed by dinner. The food wasn't what I expected of Spain. We had salad, Chicken, fries and dessert. After that we just went to the hotel and slept. The next morning, we went to Starbucks in the morning then had another orientation session. We had some free time after that so we walked around and had lunch at a small place in town. One thing I have learned about Spanish culture is that they eat a lot of ham! Too bad I'm not a huge fan of ham.

Our dorm is like a palace with spiral staircases and small hallways into the rooms. Michelle and I are roommates and we have a small but cute room on the third floor. We get three meals a day and so far they have been pretty good. Last night's dinner wasn't the greatest though - it was fried ham and cheese. I'm not sure why they would ever feel the need to fry ham but I guess that's what is popular.

This morning (August 30th) we went to the api office and I had to give in my pictures and passport to get my metro pass. After that, most of us walked to a park near by. The park was absolutely beautiful and I can't wait to run there with some of the other people from my building. Tonight will be the first night in Spain that I will be going out! I can't wait to see what the night life in this new country brings!

Pre-Departure

So, I'm leaving for Spain in 4 days!! I recently decided to blog my experiences mainly because my parents told me I had to but I also feel as though it's a great way to record and remember my journey in Europe. I've pretty much wanted to study abroad since high school but it's so surreal to me that I'm actually doing it.

Why I chose Madrid, Spain:
I originally applied to do a healthcare program in 3rd world countries but after being denied acceptance to that (they told me I applied too late but I'm pretty sure that was their excuse for we don't really want you), I started from ground 0 again. Three years ago I went to Barcelona for my parents 25th anniversary and absolutely loved it along with Greece, Italy, France, Estonia and Turkey. Out of all of these countries though, Spain was my favorite. Something about the culture just drew me in. It might have been that the World Cup was going on and Spain won that year so I was able to celebrate with the other Spaniards on the streets of Madrid as people were screaming and throwing beer from the balconies all while sporting the Spanish flag and team clothing. That night was undoubtedly one of the best nights of my life hence my attraction to study abroad in Spain.

My next step was deciding what part of Spain to go to. My sister, Sara, had been to Granada the previous summer and had made some really close Spanish friends there that wanted to be English teachers (convenient since my Spanish is pretty terrible). I really wanted to go to Granada so her friends could show me around and help me truly live the life of a real Spaniard but I was denied by the Study Abroad office. Apparently getting an A- in both semesters of Intermediate Spanish isn't good enough for the full immersion program (probably another excuse for we don't really want you either). I then thought about Barcelona since I had loved it so much last time I went but after about 2 seconds of convincing by my crazy and awesome friend Michelle I decided to go to Madrid with her. I think I made the right decision because I really don't know much about Madrid but I'm super excited to learn about it. As a bonus, all my classes are in English and I only have class Monday and Wednesday which sounds like the easiest semester I'll ever have.

My Program:
I'm attending Suffolk University (yes it's related to the Boston one) and will be living in a residencia with Michelle. I get three meals a day and my laundry done for me every week so I really have way too much free time but I don't hate it. The program I am going through is called api and I'm pretty sure they all already hate me for always giving me paper work in late, oops! Just kidding, they are all actually super nice which makes the transition easier.

My program gave me a diagnostic Spanish test and I got 0 out of 25 questions right, which somehow ended up being a 40% (not bad, right?) I'm a little worried about how well I'll succeed speaking Spanish but I can only go up from here!


Anyways, that's I'll I can think of for now! I guess my next post will be when I arrive in Spain!!!!