As I mentioned, this is going to be my blog during my semester abroad in Granada, Spain. I've just arrived, so unfortunately I don't have a lot to tell y'all. But let's start at the beginning:
The day before I left, my parents left me a message on the neighborhood's announcement board:
It was such a nice surprise and I really wasn't expecting it. Which is why I drove past the sign twice before I noticed it.
I left on Wednesday morning. Of course, my suitcase was overweight, but my Dad and I did some shuffling with another bag that I was taking along with me for extra stuff, and it all worked out. I made it to Newark fine, then had a really long (4 hours!) layover there. I was really lonely. Having never really traveled by myself (I don't count Houston to Austin and vice versa), I was kind of baffled as to what I was supposed to do without someone to talk to/bother. I must have looked like a total idiot, because I would sit down at the gate, read something, get restless, and get up and walk around again. I did make some phone calls to people (I got so busy the day before that I didn't have time to say goodbye to everyone! If I missed you, I am sorry) Making me more lonely was the other study abroad group who sat behind me at the gate and happily got acquainted with each other, while I sat by myself and tried not to look like a dork. Got on the plane, but didn't watch the many movies Continental had to offer because I needed to get some sleep. Naturally, I didn't sleep enough, and arrived in Madrid looking thoroughly bedraggled.
This is when the fun started. Continental doesn't have a partner airline in Spain, so I had to clear customs, retrieve my baggage, switch terminals, recheck my bags with Air Iberia, get through security, and then go to my gate. And I only had 2 hours to do it. Which seems like a lot, but the Madrid airport is ENORMOUS and it took at least 15 minutes to walk to customs. Luckily, my Dad had booked the ticket with his OnePass Elite membership, so my bags were the first off the plane. I dragged my 50 pound suitcase and my 15 pound bag over to the bus to switch terminals, then stood in the Iberia line for 30 minutes. My backpack (which probably weighed 20 pounds or more) was like cutting into my arms. After getting everything I was carrying on the plane thoroughly inspected at security, I made it to the gate. There, I met several other people from my program, so I wasn't lonely and lost anymore and felt better.
After another hour of flying, we arrived in Malaga for orientation. Malaga is a beach town and it is awesome! After getting to the hotel the program had reserved for us, I found out a group was leaving for the beach and for lunch. I was starving, so I went along. The beach was great, even though I forgot sunscreen. Later on, we were basically turned loose in the Malaga city center. I went with 4 other girls to a tapas bar where I FINALLY tried tortilla espanola (it is awesome, by the way). Tapas are amazing. Seriously. They're super cheap and delicious and make for an excellent dinner. And apparently, here in Granada, if you buy drinks, the tapas are free!
Anyways, the next day we had really long orientation sessions, but they were pretty interesting, so no complaints. The only problem is that lunch in Spain is served at 3 pm (and dinner at 9 or 10), so I was beyond starving for the latter half of the orientation. After a large lunch, we got on the bus to Granada, which is about an hour and a half away from Malaga. We arrived and I met Keely, my housemate, and Enriqueta, our house mom. Both of them are really nice, and so far I haven't had too much trouble only speaking Spanish in the house. A couple more weeks and I think everyone in the program will be speaking Spanish to each other too--right now we start in Spanish, but end up in English because it's easier.
Today, we went to the IES Center at 9 am and began our intensive Spanish classes. I really like mine--the professor is good about filling in the blanks in our vocabulary. The best part of today was when we got turned loose in small groups to find "cultural differences" between Spain and the US. What this turned into for my group was exploring the various small streets around the IES Center. We ended up at one of the back gates of the Alhambra, so it was pretty awesome. Granada is steeped in history--I can't wait to really get out and explore everything!
That's about all for now. I'm about to go back to the IES Center to take a "paseo" (walk) with my language group. I think it's supposed to be a tour of some sort. I am very excited!! I hope everyone is doing well, and I'll try and post again soon, with more pictures :)
xoxo,
Meera
No comments:
Post a Comment