The first days

I know that I haven't been very good at keeping a blog but I figured that I should at least try to keep one while I am in Spain...so here it goes.

On Saturday morning I got up very early to drive down to Indy with my family and Corey. I ate a HUGE BREAKFAST at Sara's which was delicious :) My flight left at 1:50 from Indianapolis and from there I ended up in Charlotte. There were about 9 other people in Charlotte from Purdue waiting to head to Madrid so we all hung out together. Our flight was delayed a little bit because one of the planes had lost its nose wheel in the middle taxi-way (it was a strange site, indeed). The flight was long and boring and I didn't sleep much. I had almost fallen back asleep when the flight attendants brought around breakfast which consisted of a muffin top and juice (I really wanted coffee, but I am terrified of the condition of the water on planes so I stuck to my juice).

When we arrived in the Madrid airport, everything was good. Customs were not difficult and we quickly found where the baggage claim was. I eagerly watched for my suitcase to come around, only to be disappointed. Somehow, my baggage did not make it. I talked to the people at the counter who said that the baggage man was lying and I needed to wait 5 more minutes. So, I waited 5  more minutes and still, no suitcase. I filled out the necessary paperwork and went to find my host mom.

My host mom's name is Maria and she is wonderful! She is so sweet and she was very helpful with getting me things I needed since I didn't have luggage. She lives with her husband in a nice little house in a quiet neighborhood. After she brought me to the house, she had to go get the other student, John. I slept a lot on Sunday and then Maria and I went on a walk through a park.

Monday was orientation day at the university! Maria helped John and I get to the university which was very nice because the Metro can be confusing. Fortunately, we don't have many stops to go through and it only takes about 15 minutes. Orientation was long but they gave us a lot of good tips and information. Afterwards, we had paella, gazpacho, and sangria! Yummy! Monday night, John and I visited Retiro Park. It is HUGE!! There is a big lake in the center that people can boat on and it was very nice. We got a little confused about where the Metro station was but we quickly found it. For dinner (around 9 PM here...) we had this lovely chicken! Afterwards, I was ready to sleep!

Classes are going well. I am in a culture class and also an art history class. We are going to visit an art museum once a week to help us gain a better appreciation for what we are learning in class. I am super excited!

Tonight I think a group of us are going to visit the center of Madrid which should be a lot of fun! There are so many things to do here!