Los Primeros Dias en Madrid

Okay. So I left ATL at about 7pm on Monday night. I got on the plane and flew to Madrid. Most of it was at night. I spent most of the plane ride over here watching movies. Saw a couple good ones. It was an 8 hour flight… Somehow, it seemed way longer than the 13 hour one I took to China a few years ago. I guess it’s the lack of fun yet strange people to talk to during the flight. Ahh, oh well, it's over now. And it wasn't really that bad, just boring.

Then, I got stuck in the airport in Madrid for about three hours until the rest of my group showed up. I could check my email, at least until my computer died. I also read some and just chilled some.  This whole airport thing was just a tad bit freaky. I thought through what I’d have to say in Spanish to get the information I would need to reconnect with my group. That was encouraging because I knew most of the words or I could reword enough to get the point across. I didn't need them.

We got to the residencia and checked in. I'm rooming with Kristina, and that's been fun. I spent most of the  rest of Tuesday afternoon just kinda doing nothing. I didn't really want to sleep so I could adjust to the new time difference. I got to Skype with Momma, which was good.

Wednesday:

We had our first class. It was pretty easy, but I knew it would get more serious. Of course, it’s not supposed to be anywhere near as hard as Mexico. That would be nice... We did some orientation stuff. The accent here is weird and everyone talks really fast. It's going to take a LOT of adjusting.

After that, I talked to Jim via Skype which was great. I hadn't talked to him since he left for Japan, so it was much fun. Then I just hung around a bit. Slept for maybe 30 minutes or so. Then Ian came over and we figured out where things were for an excursion in the afternoon. We went and got cell phones to use while we’re here with a limited data plan. We thought it might be wise as we’re all traveling to different places and we’ll be visiting different cities. Plus, they weren't really that expensive...

We came back for dinner, which was fantastico! We (meaning me and Benja) got into a great conversation with some of the Cadiz students and Max, who didn’t do either program before this. It was fun to get to know new people and branch out of our little group. We went out for free ice cream after that and they came too! Mine was chocolate and probably the best chocolate ice cream I've ever had.

Well, after ice cream we went out to the store. Benja needed a power adapter so he can plug stuff into the walls. I needed a toothbrush, since somehow mine got left in ATL. When we came out of the store, our group had already left. So we wondered back. We actually got lost, and that was my favorite part of the evening. I got to really talk more in depth with Benja, which was fun. He’s such an adoring Christ-worshiper, it’s contagious. He also loves to have fun. When he gets to know you, he goes deep, quickly, and fearlessly. It’s made for some interesting yet fun conversations.

We got back to the dorm and headed to our rooms. I talked to Momma on Skype, but we had some of the internet issues. It was after midnight here, so we just gave up and I said bed time.

Thursday:

Second class. We got our smaller class groups. Mine is a class of 10, all girls! That was one of my favorite classes all summer. Why? Because it’s a class about the Spanish language, not a class on a related subject that just happens to be in Spanish. I’m at the level where I’m still discovering the coolness of the language. I learned so much that was actually useful. Now just to memorize it :). Of course, most of the others thought the class was slow or boring. But I’ve come to terms with that. I enjoyed it.

After a break, we had our second class. This was the killer. I felt like it was almost worse than being in Mexico my first week. I didn’t understand much of her lecture at all. Our teacher is Spanish and she’s talking about inmigracion. She talks faster than Benja when he’s excited. Plus, she has a weird accent that I’m not used to yet. I got maybe about a quarter of what she said. At least in Mexico, Doctora Galloway used power points so I could just read it when I was lost. Not here. It’s horrible.

Needless to say, I came out of that class so discouraged! I spent six weeks in Mexico learning to understand, and here I am on my first day of what’s supposed to be the easier program and I’m already lost. All the feelings of helplessness and stupidity came rushing back, even though I thought I’d given that all up to Jesus six weeks ago. I hate helpless, and that’s how I felt in that class. I have no idea of most of what she said.

Anyway, we came back and went to lunch. That didn’t help much cuz I was sitting with Benja, Daniel, and John (our TA) when they decided to talk to a Spanish native… I didn’t get much of that conversation either…

I headed back to the apartment, talked to Jim on Skype, took a siesta, and talked to Jesus. I learned a lot, but that gets it's own post ... :)