Madrid

Yesterday I said goodbye to London. After all of the amazing things I got to experience there, it was really hard. But my adventure wasn't over yet. Not even close.

After an hour wait to find out which gate I'd be at, and another half an hour waiting to board, I finally made it on the plane. Though I'd thought about the language barrier that would be present while staying in Madrid, it didn't really hit me until that moment. Sitting on a plane surrounded by people speaking only in Spanish, I suddenly felt very alone. It was a completely different feeling taking off from London than it had been leaving Seattle.

The flight was short, just under two hours. When we got off the plane in Madrid I was surprised to find the airport empty. There was hardly anyone walking around, no lines for passport check, and no other passengers waiting around other baggage claim carousels. It was as if ours was the only flight to have arrived within the last few hours. It was really strange.

When I finally got my suitcase, I headed for the exit. The Mom of the family I was to stay with said they'd meet me outside a cafe right past the exit. The only problem was, I didn't actually know what they looked like. Thankfully they'd seen my picture, and as soon as I walked out a man and woman standing off to the side said, "Megan?". It was a lot easier than I had thought it would be.

They drove me home from the airport. They're both very nice, and both have a basic conversational level of English, though their accents make them difficult to understand sometimes. Their house is huge. My bedroom is downstairs in the daylight basement. Upstairs there are four more bedrooms, a large family/dining/tv room, a separate tv/theater room, and a nice kitchen. On the other side of the house is another downstairs, where there's yet another bedroom. The walls on the main floor are all glass, and look out to the tennis courts and pool and deck.

When I first arrived they showed me the house, then showed me to my room and said they'd let me unpack. I did. It was 8 o'clock. I waited two hours before they came down and told me they were going out. The oldest daughter, Ichi, was going to make me dinner. Their other two kids were out with friends.

Ichi and I talked a bit while she heated up a frozen pizza for dinner. Not exactly what I imagined as my first meal in Spain, but considering it was 10:30 by the time we got to eat it, it didn't matter. I was starving. Ichi is nice. She's 18 and studying medicine at "University". She asked me some questions about where I was from and why I was doing this program. Her English is very good.

I also met Stefi last night, who is 16. Again, her English is very good. I'm supposed to help her with study for her proficiency exam, but I'm not sure how much help she'll need. I guess we'll see.

I went to bed around midnight. Everyone else, including the 14 year old, was still out.



This morning I woke up around 10:30 and took my time getting ready. I went upstairs about 11:30 and no one was up. I waited a few minutes. The boy, Santi, appeared. He introduced himself and then asked if I wanted breakfast. He went to the cupboard and pulled out Oreos and Chips ahoy. "Biscuits," he said. Luckily, he also showed me where the bread was and said I could make toast. Cookies for breakfast? What?

The rest of the family woke up within the next hour. I gave them the gifts that I'd brought: Smoked Salmon, Almond Roca, and a book with pictures from Washington State. They enjoyed seeing the pictures, and thanked me for the gifts. Then I went with a couple of the kids so they could show me where the bus stop was. Its just down the street, and it'll take me into the city in about a half an hour.

I spent the next couple of hours trying to figure out how to connect to their wifi. It just wasn't working, and my phone still won't connect. At least my computer finally worked out. At 4pm, Stefi came and told me lunch was ready. I ate with her and her dad (The rest of the family was at their lake house). For lunch we had really itty bitty hamburgers, tomato slices, and Russian salad. It was all good. For "Dessert" we had strawberries and melon. Stefi asked, "Do you usually eat fruit as desert in America?" I told her we didn't, but we probably should :)

So, everything is fine here in Madrid. Its all going to take a lot of getting used to, living with a different family on a different schedule in a different country. I feel like most conversations are awkward right now, but I'm sure it'll get better. Tomorrow I'm going into Madrid to explore, and then have my first night of tutoring in the evening. I'm also planning on meeting up with some of the other Americans in the program this week. I probably won't update every day from now on, but I'll try my best to blog at least every few days :)