The First Week

I am starting this blog so that my family and friends can see what I’m up to during my time in Europe. I left the US on Monday evening and arrived in Madrid Tuesday afternoon. During my layover in Heathrow, I stumbled across these gems...

…they were on sale at the mini Harrods Department store in the terminal. I literally cracked up when I saw them, and then started taking pictures, which probably scared the people around me at 8 in the morning, but I couldn’t NOT take pictures to document the occasion.

David picked me up at Barajas airport in Madrid and drove me to the apartment. My first impression was that everything was so cute and antiguo, exactly as I pictured it would be. I slept for a few hours at Maimen’s apartment because I didn’t get any sleep on the flight. On Tuesday night, Maimen came home from work and we walked to Anto and Eva’s house and I met Rebecca. Rebecca is an only daughter and an only granddaughter, so she has been showered with gifts during the holiday season. She’s been wearing princess dresses recently, and this night she was Snow White.

She said her first whole sentence in English. “I want…I want milk.” Eva and Antonio’s mouths dropped. It was very sweet. She speaks Spanish all the time, and understands English, but she is shy about speaking English. We stayed with them for about an hour and then walked home. The next day, I slept until noon even though I meant to get up at 9 and seize the day. I seized the afternoon, instead, and met Anto for lunch at a Thai restaurant in a neighborhood that was supposed to be a 25 minute walk. Of course I got lost and it turned into a 45 minute walk, but it didn’t matter that I was lost because Antonio’s metro was stuck underground for half an hour due to some unknown problem. We ate some mediocre Thai food and then he went back to work after pointing me in the direction of the commercial area of Madrid. I walked around the Plaza Mayor (I think that’s where I was) and looked at all the things that are on sale. Actually, it was probably called el Plaza del Sol because the metro stop was called Sol. Anyways, in January and February, stores here have rebajas, or discounts on everything. It’s like black Friday only it lasts for two months. Since the economy is so bad, things are discounted even more than usual. I have noticed that the women dress very well here, and I haven’t seen a single sneaker or tennis shoe.

On Thursday morning, I awoke at noon yet again, made some eggs for breakfast, and then went to pick up Hannah from the airport. I am proud to say that I successfully navigated Madrid’s metro without incident, which is out of character for me. Hannah and I took the metro back to Maimen’s, and after she took a shower we went back to la Plaza del Sol via the metro. I caved in a bought a pair of brown boots so I could fit in, and then I bought a purse. But they were both on sale so I felt good about it all. Hannah and I then stopped for dinner at a little dive bar, where we ordered some tapas and Paella. Well, I’ve been to Spain before, and I’ve gotta say that they were some of the worst tapas I’ve had. My stomach turns when I think about it. And the paella was sub-par too. It definitely wasn’t made from scratch, and the prawn was gross and impossible to open. But, it taught me to not order seafood from a crappy little restaurant. There was an old wrinkled man playing what I thought was an arcade game for the entire time we were there. He smoked cigarette after cigarette, and quickly accumulated a pile of butts and ashes throughout the course of our meal. The entire restaurant staff seemed enraptured in his game, but I couldn’t see the screen. It turns out he was playing slots, and when he finally won, about 30 euros fell out of the machine into his happy little hands. He paid his bar tab with his winnings and then turned right back to the machine and started over.

When we got home, I went to bed right away due to my horrible headache, but don’t worry because it was gone when I woke up the next morning. Maimen arranged for a taxi to pick us up at 11:30 am to take Hannah, myself, and all of our luggage to the airport. Well, I have about twice as much luggage, because Hannah is planning on backpacking around Europe for a month after the program is over, so she carried as few bags as possible. We made it to the airport quickly, and immediately met some JMU students who had arrived earlier that day. It took about 2 hours for everyone to get their bags and make it to the bus. Everyone seems nice and friendly so far. The bus ride from Madrid to Salamanca took 2 and a half hours, and I read my book almost the whole way there, while everyone else slept.

Entering the city of Salamanca was a beautiful moment. The outskirts of the city lie on a river, so we had to cross over a bridge and then entered Salamanca proper. The bus drove towards the center of the city and the streets became more narrow and tangled. As we approached the bus stop, Jesus, the program director, welcomed us over the microphone on the bus and told us our Madres were waiting up ahead. We looked out the bus windows and a group of little Spanish women bundled up in their fur coats were waiting anxiously for us. They were so cute, and waved at us all. Our madre, Raquel, found us by yelling our names over the crowd. She wears blue eyeliner on her tiny eyes, and has hardly any eyelashes. I noticed that right away. She hailed a taxi for us and directed the taxi driver to her home. The taxi driver gave her some attitude about where he should park, and she gave some right back to him. I’d say our mama is about 5 feet tall and between 65 and 70 years old. Her oldest son is 37, and she has another younger one in his thirties as well.

It will be difficult to describe what she is like, but I’ll try. She is extremely energetic and quick. She insisted on rolling our 50-pound luggage into the room. She keeps the house impeccably clean and is very particular about how things should be. She is also very emotional when it comes to her late husband. When she was giving a tour of the apartment, she showed us the fancy living room, or sala, and said that she doesn’t use that room for anything because there are too many memories in there and it makes her sad. She tears up every time she speaks of him. He died 11 years ago and that’s when she started to work with the program. One of her friends recommended she do it because she was so lonely and afraid of her big empty apartment. You can tell she takes great pride in her home and her cooking. She said there are two important things for every Spaniard. First is la casa. She told us that respecting the home is the most important, and showed us how to close doors quietly and take off our tacones, or high heels, when we are in the house. She never got to the second important thing, because she talks so fast and flew off in another direction about how to unpack our luggage in the most beneficial way. “Un consego” or a word of advice, was to unpack only our winter clothes and keep the summer clothes in the suitcase, because there isn’t enough room in the closet for everything. I share a room with Hannah, and we use a different bathroom than our Mama. The apartment is much bigger than I expected, and very comfortable, except for the heat that is pumping day and night. Our mama said she can’t turn it off but she tried to turn it down. We’re walking around in shorts and tank tops.

Anyways, Raquel is an interesting woman. She loves to talk about previous ninas who have stayed in her house through the JMU program. Some have come back and visited her. I am sure we will get along just fine. I have no problem understanding her. She talks pretty fast, but I can follow almost all of it. She loves to speak about her children, who are fully grown and live away from home. She has a brand new grandchild who we will meet eventually.

On the first day, we were whisked away very quickly from the group of students, so a few students spread the word to meet in la Plaza at 11:00 pm to go out for drinks. After eating dinner and unpacking, Hannah and I went shopping for toothpaste, a hairdryer, and some other necessities. We have been told by everyone that la Plaza (pronounced “PLATHA”) is the place to be. It’s the center of town, and the biggest draw for tourists because it is one of the biggest, oldest, and most beautiful plazas in all of Spain. And it’s true. It was breathtaking, walking into the plaza at night.

It’s also hard to take in at once. There is so much to look at and observe, and so many people walking everywhere. It’s like a highway during rush hour. After we bought our things, Hannah and I returned home to eat the 9:00 pm meal, which is typically a smaller, lighter meal. We were served a Spanish tortilla, the typical plate in Spain. The food is all very delicious so far.

At 11, Hannah and I walked back to la Plaza, which is only 5 minutes from where we are staying. We’re lucky, because our Madre lives in the center of everything. About 10 other students made it out, and the rest probably just fell asleep early. We went to a little bar on the edge of la Plaza where other Americans tend to go during the semester. It was pretty fun, but Hannah and I left a little early because we became tired.

The next day, today, was our first day of academic orientation. Jesus met us in la Plaza and walked us to the university. There, we sat in a classroom and he gave us tons of information on our cell phones, the map of the city, medical care, classes, the schedule, and vacation. Tomorrow we will go on a walking tour of the city to get to know where all the important things are. I am really proud of my language skills. I can tell that I am among the more advanced when it comes to understanding spoken Spanish. I doubt I will have any problems with the language this semester. I am very excited to taking classes in Spanish, and I know I will learn much more. For the next week and a half, we will have “intensivo” or Spanish drills. That means 4 hours each day of speaking and writing Spanish. The purpose is to prepare us for our Spanish professors. We will be split into two groups, so hopefully I will test into the more advanced group.

After today’s orientation, Hannah and I stopped at a café in the Plaza and drank some coffee. (Well I drank tea, she drank coffee). It was so pleasant, and I just felt so happy to be here. It’s so unbelievably beautiful. I am looking forward to the rest of the semester.

Ok, to explain the cell phone:

I am receiving my cell phone tomorrow. It costs a lot of money to call out from my cell phone, but it is absolutely free to receive calls. If you want to call me, you can use a calling card (or if you have an international plan, I guess you won’t need one). If I want to call you, I can call your phone and then HANG UP before you answer. When you see a missed call from me, that will let you know that I want to talk to you, and then you can call me back. That way, it costs me nothing. It costs about a Euro a minute for me to call the US, apparently even with the calling card that I have. If I want to use the calling card, I’ll use a pay phone.

Sunday, January 18^th. Midnight

I’ve been reading Three Cups of Tea, and it’s such an inspiring book. I can draw comparisons between SHH and what Greg Mortenson, from the book, have done. It is unbelievable what a single person can do. That’s just something I really hope to remember and take with me as I live my life. I would recommend the book to anyone.

Ok, back to Salamanca…It’s the end of the first weekend, and I’m already very comfortable and sure that I will be happy here. This city is so beautiful. It is an ancient modern city, if that makes any sense. I mean, the door to the University of Salamanca’s library is only 5 feet tall because it’s an original wooden door from many centuries ago, and once you open it and walk inside there’s a computer lab. Just like last time I was in Spain, the city here comes alive at night. I keep joking that it’s a “sea of humanity,” but really, it is. It looks like New York City on the sidewalks.

I am proud of myself, because tonight I made an excel spreadsheet of all of my expenditures so far. I will keep track so that I can know exactly how much I’ve spent every day. I’m really putting my college of business education to work!