ESPAÑA

On Today's Menu: Catching Up....

I can't seem to get it to stick in my head that I'm in Spain. I'll be reading or brushing my teeth or doing any number of normal activities and all of a sudden I remember: "Oh right, I'm in Spain!" It's an odd feeling...I've been dreaming, planning, saving, working, etc. for so many months now, it's an indescribable sensation to actually live out a dream. 

On my way here I had a seven hour layover in Boston and another shorter layover in London. The whole experience was nerve wracking: I had to switch airlines, find my way around two very large airports I had never been in before, and try my best to suppress the anxiety mounting in my chest. The flight from Boston to London helped to ease my nerves as I ended up sitting next to a girl about my age who is a student at Yale University and is also studying in Spain for six weeks. We took turns expressing our true feelings on the situation and eventually found some level of peace as we moved on to other topics such as: favorite movies, music, and our thoughts on "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody".

I arrived in Madrid Tuesday morning, local time, beyond exhausted and more than ready for a shower. I met another API student as I was going through customs and we eventually met our program directors at a small cafe inside the airport. There are fifteen people in the API Summer 2 program, seven of us arrived on Tuesday and the other eight are students participating in both summer sessions, so they were already in Granada. 

My little band of seven stayed in Madrid through Friday and left for Granada late that afternoon after a brief visit to Toledo, which is located just outside Madrid. It was a good couple of days...very busy and exciting. We went to the Plaza Mayor, Puerta del Sol, Palacio Real, Museo del Prado, Plaza de La Cibeles, walked La Gran Vía, ate lunch in Jardín Botánico, and more. It really is a beautiful city...

My hotel was located right in the heart of the city, next to Puerta del Sol, which I was facing when I took the above picture from the balcony of my room. There was a lot of construction going on so it wasn't too pretty, but still exciting to see. I thought the hotel was in a great location since we could get anywhere we wanted rather quickly. Most everyone here either walks or uses public transportation, so we walked everywhere we went and I really started to regret only bringing sandals. 

Palacio Real

Since I have only been here a couple days and have only experienced touristy activities, I'm still in the 'Honeymoon Phase' as my API directors call it. Now the honeymoon is over and I have moved on to Granada where I will jump into the next phase: settling into my dorm, beginning school, and dealing with the inevitable experience of culture shock. Stay tuned because I have a feeling things are about to change in the coming week...