Finally settled!

So I am not going to lie, I truly think the parents guide to study abroad was completely wrong about the emotional roller coaster I was destined to face upon arriving in Madrid. The guide said I would first enter the honeymoon stage where the enchantment with all of the new sights and excitement would overshadow the possible frustrations. That definitely did NOT happen. I finally arrived in Madrid Monday morning after an overnight flight from Newark. I hopped off the plane, collected my baggage (luckily it was there), headed through customs, and then was greeted by the IES staff from my program. Next thing I know I am whisked into a taxi by myself with a man who knows zero English and I am supposed to tell him to take me to the hotel the program was staying at for the night. The only word he said to me the whole time was "sangre" while pointing in the mirror at me. Yes, sangre does mean blood. My lips were so chapped from the airplane and cold that I had blood all over my lip. Great way to start out!

Patterson and I luckily got paired together to share a room for the night. Luckily I wasn't with a stranger because two twin beds were pushed together and turning over right next to some rando person could get a little awkward at times. We went to a welcome lunch and learned that the food was about to be an adventure. They served ham over roasted vegetables and veal with potatoes and mushrooms in a lemon sauce. Needless to say I ate bread and vegetables and some of the flan for dessert. Patterson and I then went back to the room and slept from 3:30 that afternoon until 8:00 the next morning, only to take a break from our sleep to get jipped into buying internet from the hotel. The next morning we had an early breakfast and began to pack up to go to our apartments and homestays. Lucky me got stuck in an elevator with 7 other people and ended up having to jump out of the elevator shaft into the lobby with quite an audience! (but on the brightside I did end up meeting some people from my program)

My apartment is nice according to my city girl roommates although I find it smaller than what I am used to but it is nice! We drew numbers for roommates and rooms so I am rooming with a girl from the Dominican Republic who luckily speaks perfect Spanish (or unlucky for me, you choose). We all get along really well and it is the apartment joke that I am the stereotypical, southern debutante with a "yall" vocabulary, pearl- wearing, and straight out of a bubble. Little do they know that I am far from what it could be but I am trying to hold my own in the big city with all of them (3 from NY and 1 from Ohio).

After a bumpy first couple of days filled with frustration from the language barrier, the program is totally in spanish along with conversation in the apartment and the city, and major homesickness I am finally starting to find optimism. I am learning the metro, meeting more people, becoming more confident with my Spanish, and exploring this beautiful city more. Madrid really is a great place to be as it offers all the benefits of a big city yet is beautiful like a small town. I keep reminding myself what an opportunity I have been given and I get more and more excited to see what these next 4 months have to offer me!