Bienvenidos a Madrid

Hey people,

I'm in Madrid!!!! This is so crazy and still doesn't seem real at all. So starting from the beginning with me packing for like 8 hours with lots of stress and crying and injuries followed by my brand new camera not working my luck so far is not so great. I have decided that I am not going to let any of this ruin my trip because that would be so pointless. Anyway my flight was super nice but then we had to wait at the airport for 4 hours because we just missed the first pickup time. After that we drove to the hotel we would stay in for orientation where I went straight to bed for a nap.

Sol Plaza

We did some sightseeing by the hotel in Sol Plaza, which is not only the direct center of Madrid but of all of Spain and always super busy. The next day we moved into our residencia which is on Calle San Bernardo (Calle means street in Spanish fyi). My roommate's name is Meaghan and she seems very nice, there are also I think 8 other people from my program living in this building. It is super nice and I like it but it's gunna be so busy when all the Spanish kids get here in September.

 

Me and Meaghan

 

So far my first few days have been crazy busy and I am so tired from all the walking. Some of the places I have been so far are the Prado museum, the Royal Palace, and Retiro Park. Unfortunately there are no photos allowed inside the museum or the palace but they were both incredible. Retiro Park is just so beautiful I am definitely going to go back there all the time to walk around.

 

Retiro Park

Finally some random stuff about Spain so far. The food is interesting, pretty bland and not my favorite so far, but it is edible so at least I won't like die. The night life also doesn't start here until like 2 am which I don't like because I like my sleep. So far I've been out once to a club and it was ok and I left early just in time to catch the last train because the metro closes at like 1:30. Maybe it would be better if I had better friends or maybe I am just not a club person, I guess we'll see. Aside from my homesickness that I don't think is ever going away, I am loving Madrid so far and I'll tell you more about it later!!

 

Love,

Sam



Ready to go

Hey people,

So this is going to be my official study abroad blog. I'm going to Madrid, Spain and I am officially leaving in two weeks. I figured I should start this now so I know how it works. This is also pretty much going to be a giant list of my epic and long stories that I hope you all love. If you don't then too bad :)

So for a start I guess I'll tell you what I've done this summer just so I can practice posting pictures and stuff. I have gone on some pretty awesome adventures with some equally awesome people. First I went to New York and New Jersey with my friends Sarah, Lexi, and Caroline.

 



NYC!!

We did lots of cool New York and New Jersey stuff like the Met, going on the Staten Island Ferry, going to the beach and seeing Jersey Boys on Broadway. I'm so glad we got to see each other before we left (especially Sarah who's already in Australia).

My next trip was to Portland, Oregon for Leaky Con with Ginny and Shannon!!! It was the most amazing thing ever and just so full of all my favorite nerdy things that I thought I would die of happiness.



Mustache wearing- now in the Guinness Book of World Records! 



 

Before continuing I must add that I have spent the past 20 minutes trying to put in these 2 pictures and I am getting so frustrated with this blog. Anyway it was just so completely amazing and I really hope we can go again next year and be friends with the Starkids. Yup that's pretty much all I want.
Sorry interrupting again but the pictures keep moving around on the page and like deleting themselves and this looked so much different when I started and I hate technology.

Attempting to ignore my complete failure at blogging, my final trip of the summer with my friends was to Vermont with Tim, Lexi, Molly and Liza for our combined August birthday celebration. We went to Lake Champlain (I fell in of course), to Ben and Jerry's, and had a bonfire. It was a really awesome weekend and I wish it could have been longer.



Other than that I have spent my summer working at Dance Place- it's my last week! But that brings us back to now and the fact that in two weeks I will be on a plane and then living in Spain for 4 months. I have spent most of the summer not thinking about it because I know I am going to be so homesick but now that it's so close I realize that I am ready to go. I know it's going to be so amazing and that I will make new friends. While I will miss home and all my friends and family I am promising right now to not sit in my room by myself being miserable. I will go and explore the city and I will speak Spanish even if it kills me and I will even try to not watch as much tv. I am going to have lots more fun adventures and I will tell all of you on this blog. I officially can't wait to be in Spain!!

 

Love,

Sam