Travel To Spain

 No matter what I do, whenever I have to catch a flight my alarm does not go off and I get behind.  That is what happened Sunday morning. I set my alarm Saturday night and was going to get up and eat breakfast, but when uncle Byde came down fifteen minutes after I was supposed to get up, I had no time!  Luckily it all worked out and I got to the airport with plenty of time and got on my flight.  I even had an apple in my backpack that I ate for breakfast.  I know the Lord will always make things work out if I can just continue in perseverance and diligence until the end. 

I had an amazing start to my study abroad that Sunday morning!  Going through security, there was a latino woman in front of me going through the radar things that scan for bombs and stuff, and after you walk though you have to get padded down in the areas the machine says you might have a bomb.  Well the poor woman was being told by the airport security that she needed to take off her belt and for the life of her this woman could not figure out what she was talking about.  So I stepped in and asked the women if she spoke Spanish, which she gratefully responded “Si!”  Immediately the airport security asked me to tell her that she needed to take off her belt and that they had to pat her down where the screen said etc.  So I was explaining all these things to her and was humbled by how little airport terminology I knew!  But in the end both women were very grateful that I had helped.  It turned out that the latino woman was from Argentina and was a member of the church.  She had come to the states to see one of her daughters get married.  Pretty cool start to my Spanish immersion for this spring term.

It was a long day for me.  I flew from Salt Lake to Denver then to Philadelphia, then to Madrid.  Luckily I slept during each flight.  But each lay-over was delayed a certain amount of time and each one was located a terminal and several gates away! It can be a little nerve racking when you have to catch an international flight!  In Philadelphia we actually boarded the plane and were stuck just sitting there for an hour and a half while they fixed the air conditioning!  It was very uncomfortable.  But on the plus side, the vast majority of the plane was full of Spanish residents that had all come to the states for a work convention.  I was able to talk to many and really be able to practice my Spanish and learn from them, even before getting to Spain!  We made some friends that have told us to call them after we get settled in so that they can give us some great activities to do in Madrid, and one woman that basically talked to me the whole flight over, invited me and a few others over to dinner at some point during our program.  Another man said that he had a very good friend that is a practicing civil engineer and that he would probably love to speak with me and answer any questions that I had!  There is just something incredible about all Spanish speaking cultures that I have come to know.  They are all so kind, humble and friendly.  Anyone of these people would have taken the coat off their back and given it to us if we had need of it.  What causes this mindset in these people? There were probably 35 or 40 natives surrounding us that all seemed to know each other and talk like they had been friends for a long time.  It is just amazing to me.

            I also had my third in flight meal ever.  It was actually very satisfying given that all I had eaten was an apple for breakfast and by the time that we left Philadelphia it was already 8:30pm!  I think I would have eaten anything!  Luckily the international flight was not completely full and there was a little bit of extra space to spread out a little and actually get some “decent” sleep.  

Our international plane - airbus 320

When we finally got in, we had to wait at the airport for another two hours because the last group of kids in our program got lost in the airport and we could not find them!  But eventually, we got on our bus, and it took us to Alcalá, a suburb to Madrid, and where our university Alcalinguas is located.  There we met our host families at the Plaza de Cervantes. 

Plaza de Cervantes

 My host is a single woman named Teresa Escuderos.  She is pretty easy to get along with, but definitely lives different that either me or my roommate are used to.  Very small town house type home, and everything spotless, and placed a specific way.  She has a lot of systems to get things done, and set times for meals, and bedtime.  Not our bedtime, but hers and we must stay very quiet when she heads to bed at about 10pm so we will have to learn to be careful.

Waiting at the airport

Getting on the bus

Our Host's Home while we are in Alcalá

The Neighborhood

The sky here is so beautiful and clean!  It seems so clear and pure!  There is such gorgeous landscape and sunshine!  But there is also a lot of graffiti and trash that doesn’t get cleaned up.  I feel like everything is in slower motion here.  The people walk, drive, clean, read and do everything very relaxed and unhurried.  It is a very interesting phenomenon that I will continue to look into and learn of.

Downtown, Alcalá

Besides the graffiti though I am amazed at how many parks there are!  Every block seems to have another one.  All with plants and benches, many with playgrounds, and some still with fields for soccer and such.  Every building you see has brick architecture.  Every single one, different patterns and stones sometimes but always bricks.  Even the sidewalks are made of bricks and stones.  Many of the streets are paved with bricks.  And I would say that over 60% of all the cars here are basically the same small coupe/sedan style that can practically fit into any little gap between cars.  It is actually kind of funny to watch them parallel park cause they actually tap the car behind them with their bumper and then pull forward, sometimes knocking the car in front of them too!  I'll try to get a video so I can show you.  It is kind of funny. 

My roommate and I are jet lagged and tired but we are going to have a fantastic time here!  Orientation is tomorrow and classes start Wednesday.  Then we leave for Segovia on Friday morning!