Well, its almost been a month since I got here and I can say that it has flown by. I've got a lot to write about so far, so I might break it up into a couple posts. Alright, down to business...
A couple days ago, I had a dream that it was December and my study abroad program was over. We were having a Welcome Back party at a trendy, downtown, multi-level apartment that, in my dream, I understood was Matt and April's place. I couldn't believe how quickly this experience came and went, but I was pleased that I was speaking Spanish to the people at the party (which just happened to be you (yes, I mean you, Person who is reading this)) and they were able to hold a fluent conversation. It was a good party (hint hint), but I was not ready for my trip to be over. I was also worried that the only Spanish I learned while I was here was this phrase, "Sí, claro," because that's all I specifically remember saying in my dream. When I woke up, I was relieved to find myself in my little room here at the Fundación de José Ortega y Gasset, but I had to check the date on my computer to make sure it wasn't actually December. So, this made me realize that I wanted to take advantage of all the opportunities I have while I'm here, to enjoy every moment of it, and to try to keep some sort of record of this whole thing so I can still remember it, or at least recreate it, when I'm 95. Accordingly, I'm going to try to tell about as much as I can remember so I can have a good archive for myself, too, so do with this what you will. And, really, now, down to business...
I guess this all started even before I got to Spain. I knew I was going to be coming for a while, but it never really hit me until the day I left what I was about to do. I didn't realize until I actually had all my stuff packed and it was time to go to the airport. That's when I started to think I was crazy for wanting to do this--a foreign country for 3 and a half months...no one in the country that I really know...no one on the continent for that matter...and its Spain, not England, meaning a different language...sure, ive taken classes, but how much do i really know?...what, if anything will ii be able to apply outside of the classroom?...and so on.
But this nervousness soon faded as I waited at my gate at the airport. The flight from Philly to Madrid was exhausting. I had a window seat and soon after we took off, I watched the sun set behind us as we flew into the night. The last part of the US I saw was Cape Cod. I could see the whole cape in its entirety, barely lit by the sun that was all but sunk below the horizon. That was quite a view. Then, hours of darkness. Above the clouds, over the Atlantic, I could see more stars out of my tiny little window than I've ever seen in one view. It was comforting watching the Big Dipper slowly curve around the sky as we progressed toward Spain. I sat next to a Disney animator who had just finished working on the movie coming out soon about the princess and the frog. He also enjoyed painting cowboys and Indians. Seriously. He was telling me that, despite the down economy, there is a growing demand for cowboy art. Most of the time, though, he was sleeping. I, on the other hand, didn't sleep at all. I tried to sleep after I watched the western coast of Portugal come and pass, but just when I was about to doze off, they turned the cabin lights on in preparation for the approach to Madrid. Soon after, I watched the sun rise in the east, making the city lights disappear below.
Sunday, and a few days after, were equally exhausting. Even though I was tired, I couldn't help but to watch the scenery pass by as we rode the bus from Madrid to Toledo. After checking in, I went on a walk with some of the other kids I had just met. We quickly found La Catedral de Toledo, which is less than a five minute walk from our building. We passed through Plaza Zocodover, the biggest plaza in Toledo, and walked around for at least half an hour trying to find El Alcazar, another huge, famous building in Toledo. We managed to miss it thanks to the complete and utter lack of any sort of city planning. The streets are a jumbled maze of curvy, hilly, and VERY hilly cobblestone streets. However, the cars drive through without fear, so you'd better get out of the way if one is coming. Anyways, we eventually did find the Alcazar, but we were too tired and too hot to appreciate it. So we returned to the Fund (pronounced "foond", short for Fundación ...for the cool kids) hoping to take refuge from the 95 degree heat. We quickly learned that there was no escaping the heat because our building has no AC. This made the first few nights horrible. Even though I was dead tired, I kept waking up in a sweat in the middle of the night. It has since cooled down, but I think we have all learned to just deal with it a little better.
The next day, Monday, September 7th, everyone had to take placement tests to ensure the classes we signed up for were appropriate for our skillsets. I woke up when my alarm went off, but when I checked my watch, it said it was an hour after I was supposed to be up! I left my room right away and the testing room was empty except for Yuki, one of the coordinators at the fund, who was grading papers. In my sleepy haze, I couldn't think of anything to say in Spanish, so I stood there for a second, then just said, "Uhhhhh....Uhhhh, I just woke up." Fortunately, she let me take the test right then, no problems. (I realized that my alarm clock actually slows down when plugged into a voltage converter, so that every time a minute passes on the clock, a minute and 11 seconds actually pass in real time. Multiply that out over hours of sleeping and you're not going to wake up on time.) Later that day, I met with a professor to set my class schedule so I could be ready to start classes the very next day.
The rest of the first week was a blur. Meetings, siestas to catch up on sleep, meetings, adjusting to the food that often leaves something to be desired (Spanish cafeteria food isn't any better than American cafeteria food...), and lots of new faces and names to remember. I took a few walks around Toledo, getting lost in the labyrinth of calles estrechas. But what better way to get to know a city than to get lost in it. You soon learn not to even try to get anything done during siesta because everything closes. Hell, the bank is only open until 2 pm, 5 days a week!
Well, that's all I'm gonna cover right now. Hopefully, I'll catch up to what I am currently doing soon and posts can be quicker and more interesting...for both of us.
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