i hate blogger. i typed this whole big thing, it posted fine, i went back to edit it, and it deleted like the first half bc of some html error. when i hadn't done anything but resize pictures. meh.anyway, to the left is my first glimpse of Spain... silly airplane engine in the way.
today was really my first day in Spain, as yesterday was mostly spent in a daze, running errands around the neighborhood, unpacking, and attempting to go to sleep very early. today was the orientation, which was a whole lot of nothing except getting to meet the other foreign kids. oh, AND they told us there's a day trip to Toledo (5 euros) next Sunday and a weekend trip to Granada the weekend after that (100 euros). Both will be fantastic, since I won't have to worry about the logistics of anything AND they're unbelievably cheap. ah, travel in Europe, how I love thee.
Anyway, the other foreigners were very nice... due to a missing step in my 'how to get there' directions, i wound up being a little bit late (as was the entire operation, luckily, so i ended up being right on time) and met a few people on the bus on the way over, a boy from Arkansas and a boy from Italy. Then i met two girsl from Ireland, and a bunch of kids from germany and holland. they were all very nice and outgoing, which made it easier for me since i'm not a huge fan of approaching strangers. i actually spent several hours in the afternoon
with the dutch and germans, wandering in shops in Madrid center and taking care of buying a spanish SIM card. central Madrid is beautiful, with slightly curving streets, 4-5 story buildings, all with pretty windows and delicate little balconies... there were too many people around for me to get a pretty shot of the streets, but you get the idea.i'm not going to lie, i was pretty miserable yesterday. i didn't want to be here and would've taken pretty much any excuse to go home. today it's a little bit better, as i've seen that there really are prospects for friends. their lifestyles seem to be very different than mine, though... i'm really not interested in going out drinking all the time, or even weekly - i don't like anything enough to pay that much for it and being around drunk people isn't my favorite. still, i'm not worried about it... if it means just seeing them in the day and being a total lame homebody at night, i'm fine with that. i actually got invited to two different gatherings - one at a club or something, another at someones house - but i'm tired, my feet hurt, the metro is expensive, i have a skype date right at the beginning of things, my options include social time mixed with substance abuse, i'm scared of walking around/riding the metro at night by myself... you get the picture.
it was really fun meeting foreigners, they had a lot of questions about what the US is like, Texas in particular... they were surprised at our lack of public transportation and walking culture, and several times the conversation turned to things such as universal health care, the economy, and obama's election. really stretched me to have to form opinions and back them up, but i didn't hate it.
tonight i'm going to spend the night at home, be productive and organize and such. tomorrow i think i'll sleep in as late as possible (last night i woke up at 230 and couldn't go back to sleep until about 530, but definitely didn't want to get up at 8...) read, clean, maybe go to the grocery store, then pack a lunch and head to the park. i think it's withing walking distance of me, and my metro pass doesn't start til tomorrow, so i'm really trying to not have to get on it unless i have to. i'll just nap and read, relax before classes start. people here are interesting enough that i don't think it will really bother me to be by myself, i'll just people-watch.
oh, and some of you will be very proud of me... this is what i ate for my first meal in Spain:
some sort of sausage, rice, and beans soup thing. AND today i drank carbonated lemonade and ate all sorts of h'ors deurves that i had no idea what they were. AND i took like a 15 minute shower last night! that's probably the most impressive of my accomplishments... ah, the things i'll do to survive... but really. and my hair dried nicely overnight, so i didn't put anything in it (also because i have
nothing to put in it... haven't figured that out at the store just yet...) but it's done just fine today. so the new european kristina eats and drinks what she has to, takes short showers, and won't be using hair product until forced to. yay! i felt very european in my outfit today, too... white v-neck, oatmeal cardigan, charcoal/tan tweed wrap skirt, brown tights, black flats, charcoal scarf and my black peacoat. mmm...
oh, and below are a few pictures of my room. it's small but convenient, and i'm in love with the front door to the apartment...
