Whoo! After a long trip, I have finally made it to Madrid. I’m in Spain and honestly, I don’t think it’s kicked in yet. I feel like I’m at a really big theme park and that I’m going home in a few days. Granted, that may just be the feeling of Madrid, Murcia will probably be a lot different. So here is how my first day went in España:
We landed at 7:10ish on Wednesday morning. I met up with a few auxiliaries that were on the plane with me and we walked to baggage claim (p.s. the guy checking my passport didn’t even look at me, let alone question why I was coming into the country, so no worries there). My luggage came pretty quickly, I changed a few dollars into Euros for the train and then one of the girls, Brittney, and I started the long trek to the Metro. It wasn’t that long, but at least a good five minute walk. With two huge suitcases and a backpack, I was pretty tired when we got there. We hopped on Line 8 and after a few stops were forced to part ways to go to our respective hostels. I don’t know how Brittney fared, but it was rough changing Metro lines with my luggage. I had to go up and down stairs in a few places where there weren’t any elevators or escalators, and though I was clearly struggling with my luggage, people simply walked right past me or stared me down. I got to my stop and was preparing to exit the Metro when I see it; a huge group of stairs leading back up onto the street. No elevator or escalator in sight. I took a deep breath and started to drag my bags up the stairs. A girl about the same age as me was on her way down to the train when she looked at me and said the most beautiful words I’ve ever heard, “¿Necesitas ayuda?” I couldn’t even get any words out I just said something to the effect of yes and she grabbed one of my bags and helped me drag them up onto the street. So from there I had to walk a few minutes to reach the hostel. I got to the place that the hostel was supposed to be and I see all these 20 somethings outside smoking and blocking the entrance (I still have no idea why they were standing there). So I ask them if this is the place and none of them have ever heard of this place and tell me that I should just keep walking. And I almost did, except I was sure that this was where I was supposed to be, so I peeked inside and sure enough there is a sign saying the hostel is inside. One of the guys in the group helped me pull my bags to the elevator and I finally reached the hostel. By this time it was 9:30. The woman behind the desk was very nice and accommodating and even let me eat breakfast even though check-in wasn’t until 12. I found the other auxiliaries that were staying in the hostel, (Katie, Laura, and Rebecca) and we left to go do some sight-seeing. We saw Palacio Real, a few churches, and Plaza Mayor before we stopped for lunch. Afterwards I came back home, took a nap and went back out with the girls to eat some paella (first time and it was pretty good). So the first day was adventurous to say the least. My Spanish is definitely not where I want it to be right now, but I know it will start to come back to me over the next few days. One thing about Madrid is that it is expensive! I spent about 35 Euros today and that was only on lunch, dinner and the Metro. But I’m happy to be here J
More adventures to come!
~Arisha~
We landed at 7:10ish on Wednesday morning. I met up with a few auxiliaries that were on the plane with me and we walked to baggage claim (p.s. the guy checking my passport didn’t even look at me, let alone question why I was coming into the country, so no worries there). My luggage came pretty quickly, I changed a few dollars into Euros for the train and then one of the girls, Brittney, and I started the long trek to the Metro. It wasn’t that long, but at least a good five minute walk. With two huge suitcases and a backpack, I was pretty tired when we got there. We hopped on Line 8 and after a few stops were forced to part ways to go to our respective hostels. I don’t know how Brittney fared, but it was rough changing Metro lines with my luggage. I had to go up and down stairs in a few places where there weren’t any elevators or escalators, and though I was clearly struggling with my luggage, people simply walked right past me or stared me down. I got to my stop and was preparing to exit the Metro when I see it; a huge group of stairs leading back up onto the street. No elevator or escalator in sight. I took a deep breath and started to drag my bags up the stairs. A girl about the same age as me was on her way down to the train when she looked at me and said the most beautiful words I’ve ever heard, “¿Necesitas ayuda?” I couldn’t even get any words out I just said something to the effect of yes and she grabbed one of my bags and helped me drag them up onto the street. So from there I had to walk a few minutes to reach the hostel. I got to the place that the hostel was supposed to be and I see all these 20 somethings outside smoking and blocking the entrance (I still have no idea why they were standing there). So I ask them if this is the place and none of them have ever heard of this place and tell me that I should just keep walking. And I almost did, except I was sure that this was where I was supposed to be, so I peeked inside and sure enough there is a sign saying the hostel is inside. One of the guys in the group helped me pull my bags to the elevator and I finally reached the hostel. By this time it was 9:30. The woman behind the desk was very nice and accommodating and even let me eat breakfast even though check-in wasn’t until 12. I found the other auxiliaries that were staying in the hostel, (Katie, Laura, and Rebecca) and we left to go do some sight-seeing. We saw Palacio Real, a few churches, and Plaza Mayor before we stopped for lunch. Afterwards I came back home, took a nap and went back out with the girls to eat some paella (first time and it was pretty good). So the first day was adventurous to say the least. My Spanish is definitely not where I want it to be right now, but I know it will start to come back to me over the next few days. One thing about Madrid is that it is expensive! I spent about 35 Euros today and that was only on lunch, dinner and the Metro. But I’m happy to be here J
More adventures to come!
~Arisha~
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