Tema's Travels

So, I´m in Spain! Finally. And at this point I am very exhausted but I won´t give in... It´s about 4:30 in the afternoon here and I´m trying to stay awake so that I can get a good night´s rest and not be jet lagged.

The moment I stepped on my Iberia flight from Chicago to Madrid I immediately switched to Spanish mode. The flight attendants mostly spoke spanish so I found myself saying " Sí, quiero más café" (yes, I´d like more coffe). The flight wasn´t so bad; after I ate, I went right to sleep and the next thing I knew, I was in Madrid. The airport was like none I´ve ever seen before; it had large windows that let in the morning sunlight.

As soon as I collected my luggage I found a guy waiting for me with an Estudio Sampere sign. After a 15 minute drive I arrived at my homestay.

I´m staying in the appartment of a very sweet older woman whose kids have already left her. She pretty much only speaks spanish and I find myself fumbling for words. I know I´ll get better eventually, well that´s the goal isn´t it? First thing, she showed me around the apartment, told me how to turn on lights and where to store my passport.

Then she showed me how to use the metro, which is their subway system.

At about 10 am this morning we headed to the center of Madrid so that I could exchange some money. We arrived and walked out into a crowd of touristas. Lots and lots of tourists. After changing money my host mom bought me a delicious pastry called a napolitano (I think). She told me that it´s a typical pastry of Madrid. I could get used to eating those!

We then walked to Plaza Mayor which is a giant square opening that is surrounded by large buildings. It kind of reminded me of Venice (minus the millions of pigeons). There were also tons of street performers including a man in a white bunny costume. It was relatively empty because we were there so early but I´m sure I´ll make it back to see it packed with tourists.

After a bit, my host mom decided she was tired and ready to head back, but she told me that I should stay if I wanted to walk around some more. So it was then and there, she left me alone in the gigantic and vibrant city of Madrid. From there I wandered into various shops including a deli with a million types of cheese. I eventually made it to the Palacio Real, which is where the royal family lives.

I toured around a bit taking pictures and enjoying being by myself in such a beautiful city. I walked to the parque (park) and sat on a bench and enjoyed the sunny (and very hot) weather. I can tell this is going to be an amazing trip.

My friend Lauren Cuan, who goes to school with me, will be joining me tomorrow morning. She´ll be staying at the same place as me too. I can´t wait.

Hasta Luego,
Tema

Alright, so here goes my first entry in my first blog ever. I'm new to this, so we'll see how it goes. You see, I'm studying abroad in Spain this summer and I figured that a blog would be a good way to let everyone know what I am up to. I will be spending 4 weeks in Madrid taking two classes: one film and one speaking/writing (both exclusively in Spanish) and 2 weeks on the coast of Spain in Alicante where I will continue with the speaking/writing course. My flight leaves at 7 am on Friday, June 5th, which is almost a day away. I'm getting very nervous and excited.

I've spent most of the day packing and worrying that I might forget something crucial like my toothbrush or something. haha. Hopefully not. Now all I need is a good book to read on the airplane. My mom and sister are driving down with me to Albuquerque tomorrow and we will be spending the night. Then my plane takes off from Albuquerque to Dallas, Dallas to Chicago, and finally Chicago to Madrid. When I get there it will already be a new day. I arrive on Saturday morning. Sheesh. Here's a map of my flights.

So yup, that's about all for now. I'll write more either when I'm bored at the airport or once I arrive in Spain. Adios.