"And I'm Off.."
So I'm currently enjoying a fine smoothie concoction at the airport in Newark waiting for a flight. There were some hiccups earlier- it turns out I forgot some essential stuff (like flight information, etc) but for the most part I got packed. The limit for bags is 70 pounds (you can't even pay to take bags heavier than that) and guess who's luggage checked in at EXACTLY 70.0 lbs? that's right.
Then my flight was delayed to the point that I would have missed my connecting one so the lady at the check in desk put me on the earlier one... which was already boarding. After she finished handwriting all of my baggage information ("the Spanish airlines don't use electronics" hmmm) I finally made it to the plane as the doors were closing and sat between two niceish businessmen. Anyway, I made it this far! I'm told that I might not be allowed into the country without already having a return ticket, so there's a small chance I could be returning to Texas a little sooner than planned, but keep your fingers crossed for my luck to keep up with the way it's going!
Anyway, I'm excited, a little nervous, a little sad, and more excited but I love all ya'll and keep me updated on all of your shenanigans as well.
_____________________________
Jan 10
I made it to Madrid! I had actually mentally prepared myself to endure something along the lines of a day at travelhost so it really seemed like the best flight ever! (the walls were still grey but it was only 6 hours instead of 8, i got a window and was allowed to listen to music, movies and even (gasp) talk!!! I was also sitting next to a really nice woman who was born in san diego but has been teaching ballet in madrid for 30 years, she invited me to come stay wth her. I also met a ¨Canadian¨ who was coming here to buy a horse. Anyway, good flight, easy entry into the country-no questions asked- ive had several sucessful spansh conversations and i even managed to find my way through a giant spanish airport to a bus to take me to another terminal to the ONLY flight to granada that wasn´t cancelled today. And now i´m on this lovely computer with a metal keyboard that includes separate keys for emoticons: :-) :-( €. (i also like this fancy euro button).
I haven´t slept any but despite the surprisingly tasty airplane food I am off to find a churro. And maybe some water since i haven´t piddled since leaving my house yesterday morning (perhaps too much information, but it definitely adds to my good day that i managed to avoid the airplane bathrooms).
My phone is activated now too- the number is +34 634 158 682. My address in Granada is
Calle San Juan de Dios, 10
sexto, izquierda
Granada Espania 18001
p.s. Emily: the sirens here are cute as the dickens, kind of a ¨bloop-DEEEEE-bloop¨
p.p.s. Mom- whenever you come visit you are absolutely not allowed to rent a car. there are roundabouts every half mile or so.
_______________________
Jan 11
Hola!!!!!
I am Finally in Granada!!! Apparently there is some sort of pilot strike on the iberian airways and every flight from Madrid to Granada has been cancelled for at least the past three days (but only after saying it´s delayed for 6 hours) so after a lot of sitting in the airport, and 9 flight attempts later, I finally took a plane to Malaga and then a bus to Granada. My luggage is completely missing, my phone is broken, my pinky toe is messed up, I wasn´t sure where to go when I got here but I am happy to report that I successfully navigated myself to my addreses walking with a map and finally was let into my building to find that I have a pretty nice set up. I´m on the 6th floor of the building, and I have two windows in my room- one facing the alhambra and the other just looking over a bunch of other pretty buildings. It is much warmer here than it was in Madrid, but still warranted a coat as I set out to find this internet cafe. Leo seems cool, she´s a tiny little woman probably in her late 40s and speaks no english, but she´s just cheerful and not over the top. I like her. The apartment is nice, narrow but very long with a nice kitchen and living room, balcony and tons of windows, and apparently we´re being joined by another american in two weeks. I have a couple new friends from the madrid fiasco- three american girls who have been living here for various reasons- my favorite is a girl from new mexico who was a spanish\theatre double major. Also a fun couple from Madrid who were trying to go skiing in Granada, but we ended up talking for several hours. The girl in particular is a hoot. The boy kept calling me ¨birdseed¨ because i was snacking on some trail mix. At 5:30 this morning a Brazilian truckdriver bought me breakfast (a chocolate croissant of course) and we looked at all 563 photos on his camera (mostly taken while he was driving).
So overall it was quite the journey, but I am so happy to be here finally!!! And from what I can tell this town is adorable. I live pretty near the Plaza Triumfo which is a prettly little parklet thing.
Alright, I am off to buy myself a pastry, sing myself some feliz cuplianos and shower and go to sleep.
No comments:
Post a Comment