Week 1- El Primer Día
Day one started with us cruising into Madrid airport at about 9:30 am, and found the rest of the crew closer to 10:30. I was lucky to have gotten a semi-decent amount of sleep on the plane,so jet lag isn't hitting too hard. It's currently 9pm Madrid time, 3pm Ohio time, but Shelby and I are ready to hit the hay after a long weekend of travel so that we can be bright eyed and bushy tailed at 6:30am to get to don Quijote for our 8am placement exam.
When I got dropped off, the driver literally rung the apartment bell, put me in the elevator, and sent me on my way. I exited the elevator and glanced around and saw a kindly smiling woman standing at the open door on the right- Maria Paz. I was thrown off at first by all of the incoming information (and Spanish), but I learned that there was another girl (Iris?) staying here from China that arrived in October. She showed me the room and set me up on the wifi (thank goodness).
We then we had a trial run with how to unlock the door. After about 10 tries of "No, mira" y "otra vez," she gave up on me, saying that I was probably just too tired. She mentioned that she'd be leaving to get a meal with her family for Dia de la Madre, but that she would prepare dinner around 8pm and have a sandwich made for me around 2pm. I was confused, overwhelmed, and broke off the handle of the toilet (cue anxiety attack), but after I was finally able to unlock the door successfully, my spirits lifted. (You apparently have to pull it a little to push it open).
Finally, Shelby had arrived- or so I thought. In walks in a suitcase-bearing girl that I recognized from the group- but I knew she wasn't living with me. It took us about a minute to realize that she had been dropped off at the incorrect location. After some anxious texting and a sandwich de jamon y queso y DEMASIADO MAYONESA, the woman who I'm guessing cleans the house and I walked Erica to meet up with her roommate Abbey down the street. I walked back on my own, and after going up and down the street about 4-5x, I finally located Ponzano 77.
When Shelby actually arrived, she settled in and we decided to make our way into the world of Metro to locate don Quijote before tomorrow. We took the roundabout way there, stopping at Plaza del Madrid to sight-see, and timed ourselves on the way back- 40 minutes from DQ to Ponzano 77, which means that we'll have to leave about an hour before class begins to get there on time.
Anyhow, today was a perfect little intro to all the excitement and madness that the next six weeks will confront me with. I'm a little nervous but a lot excited, and I'm thankful to have Shelby to keep me calm and on track- and offer some comedic relief. We had our 8:30pm dinner of pizza and salad- delicioso- and talked about going to the market tomorrow for some snacks and veggies.
Shelby and I say it over and over again- "I can't believe we're here. We're really doing this. We can navigate the international world!" Sooner or later, I'm sure that optimism will kick our butts, but to sum it up with the final words of Shelby: "We're gonna have a lot of fun, if we don't die." (We are the same person.)
Also, a special thank you shout out to McKenna for keeping me sane and informed through this entire process- you the true MVP.
