So I anticipate that my premiere post will be a little lengthy because I have done so much in just my first 19 days in Spain and I have yet to speak to most. The flights here were nice, first time flying one of those huge international planes with the three rows and huge divided sections for class, but to my relief economy class was just delightful. There were all sort of snacks and a flight worth of movies to watch, and though there were so many different languages being spoken on the flight the gentleman beside me spoke English and was fond of the northeast coast and delighted to hear of my courageous adventure. Sure enough I land in Madrid, my first stop in Spain where I am taking excursions with my study abroad group, and my luggage never comes off the belt. And then I remember, wow what a horrible time to not know how to speak Spanish, but that all got worked out and my bags were delivered to the hotel in Madrid within the first two days.
So in Madrid I meet my roommate, Laura Hanson from Minnetonka Minnesota, and she is just wonderful, we hit it off right away. In my group, ISA Bilbao, their are four other girls as well and we all get along nicely. Our first two days were spent in Madrid where went on a city bus tour, followed by a guided tour of the Prado Museum and visited the Reina Sofia (Picasso's masterpiece). Now these museums were beautiful no doubt but I am not really into the art of the centuries from before anyone's time especially when the tour guide goes on forever and my eye has caught a painting I am actually interested in, but none the less the museums were nice. On my third day we drove out to Toledo, and my gosh would this city take anyone's breathe away. The architecture is so old and with its history comes so much character and a story in every detail. The group split in two and took a three hour walking tour along the cobble stone streets, and we found that much of the history is embedded in religious sentiments. The first three day excursion was awesome and finally it was time to leave the ISA students on San Sebastian and Santandere and head for our home away from home, Bilbao.
The six of us were super nervous to leave each other and meet our host families, but Laura and I ended up in the same house so we felt a little more at ease than the rest. At the bus station we met our host mom, Jone, who looks like the funnest woman ever, and she is wonderful! Laura and I live 25 minutes outside of the city center so we are on the metro line, and I guess Bilbao has one of the best metro systems globally. I have my own room and it is super cute, plenty of space, and way bigger than any dorm I ever stayed in at Umass. Our host mom speaks no English except for what I have taught her and a few things she has learned over the years with other exchange students. My spanish comprehension has improved so much since I have been here, but my speaking is still really rough. Laura is a spanish major so that makes things a little easier, but I have been doing okay.
