Day One

Disclaimer: please forgive any spelling or grammar mistakes. I am writing this quickly before I forget.

In the end, it is hard to imageine a better day than my first day in Madrid.

It makes me really appreciate not being the first person to arrive because without help from my friends (Eric, Matt, Meg, Mariel, and Bobby) I would have been very lost.

Departing from O'Hare was rather uneventfull. Found a rather short security line and waited for departure. The plane was a few minutes late, but whatever. We boarded and departed just after 5:00 local.

I was rather lucky to sit next to another university student going to study in Madrid. Elizabeth was also from Chicago, studies in the Boston area, and will study at the universidad complutense in Madrid. Talking to another American student made the journey go by much quicker. During the times we were not talking, I tried to get some sleep. Much to my despair, turbulence was prevalent for the majority of the flight. The turbulence, and not really being able to sleep on an airplane, probably cut in half the five hours of sleep I wanted to get on the seven hour flight.
The turbulence increased as we approached the city. The pilot announced that it was raining in Spain. Expecting a light drizzle, I was almost frightened when the wings became drenched with water as we descended. We landed in a complete downpour; the first time I have landed in so much rain.
The Madrid airport is very unique. Arriving passengers are separated to upper level walkways where you take escalators to immigration (very quick) and down again to a train to the main terminal for baggage. Throughout the process, I walked with Elizabeth and her other friend studying with her. With everything collected, both had a driver waiting for them outside. I thank Purdue for ALL of the organization they have provided for the trip (read: nothing).

I got a taxi to the university. The taxis were very nice and I wrote out the address for the driver. He had a Spanish version of NPR on the radio. I could not understand what they were saying, but it appeard to be news with classic NPR random  music breaks between news. Before the taxi ride, I had pondered taking the train to the dorms and was really glad I recondisered with the rain. Around half an hour to the dorms.

Standing outside the fenced dorms, in the rain, I pressed a button to unlock the gate. It was around 8:00 am. After a few minutes, a voice over the speaker yelled at me that the door was open. Walking through, I entered and spoke with someone at the front desk. I got my room, but was really slow talking with the person. She even asked me "Do you understand anything I am saying?" This is what jet lag does to you. I asked about my friend Bobby, also in the dorms. After quickly unpacking in my new room, I found Bobby's room and knocked; his reply "Hello. I'm naked." He opened the door anyway, at least wearing pants. I got an hour nap (which I pretended was a full night sleeping) before we agreed to walk around town.

Partly freshened up, went to the dorm cafateria for some breakfast. A smattering of students occupied the dining hall; Bobby helped guide me the system as he also got breakfast. When I agreed to the housing contract, I selected a breakfast meal plan. Simply, I was starving. I was just happy I could communicate enought with the lady at the register for her to know that my room paid for breakfast.

I spend the next few hours walking around Leganes with Bobby. Our first stop was to get new phone cards, as per his suggestion, and both got the same plan. We then went to a cafe/bar and ordered cafe con leche; for a non-coffee drinker it was really good, though I would drink anything to stay awake at that point. We took a brief tour around the Leganes campus.

We then decided to take the train to Sol, the center of Madrid. There are two types of trains in Madrid: the Metro and Cercanias. The former is your traditional subway and connects the majority of the city center. The latter is a light-rail which extends to Toledo serving the majority of the greater Madrid area. I learned the the Cercanias is the quickest way to travel between campus and the city center.

I knew beforehand how busy Sol is. It hosted the famous election protests in 2011. It could take me hours to describe every detail. A few that stand out: guys wearing traffic vests soliciting gold purchases, the maze of streets that end in sol, and how one of the two fountains in the city is 'larger' than the other. We eventually walked to the apartment of our friend, Eric. There we met Meg and Matt and left for some lunch. It was around 1:00 in the afternoon.

Dazed, confused, and thrown into a new city, I was led around by my friends as we conducted a mini tour. We first went to Plaza Mayor, a very famous plaza. In my opinion, the buildings look taller and the plaza smaller than the pictures illustrate. Around the block was a covered food market, where vendors sold rather fancy and artasian foods. We all decided to purchase from an empanada proveyor, which was good though I still would have ate anything at that point. We continued walking through the streets; I was lost after leaving Sol. We spent another hour until arriving at a tapas place where we all could sit down. The tapas we ordered were served in mini baguettes with spanish ham or spanish cheese. For those unaware, please google search Jamon Iberico to learn about this very interesting ham. To my taste buds, I could eat the cheese all day long but only a small amount of the ham. In my general conclusion, the ham is good.

Meeting Mariel at the tapas bar, the four of us (sans Bobby and Eric) looked at our first apartment in the city. Through another maze of streets (please look at a map of Madrid and appreciate the Chicago grid system) we arrived at the flat. It was really nice (by 'college student living in madrid' standards) with 5 rooms available. We started thinking about living all together; four american students with the german student already there.

Honestly, I would rather live with other students. My ideal apartment is one shared with 3 or 4 other international students, who know spanish (so I can improve mine), and live near the Atocha train station with a short commute to campus (20 min or so).

Returning to Eric's flat (I will use that in place of apartment from now on), I dozed off during the traditional siesta time because I was dead tired. I had been trying too activate my new phone, to no avail. I visited the Orange store in Sol saying the card worked but my phone did not accept the card. No one there could fix the phone. I then noticed that my verizon phone card had Vodaphone (another european phone service) written on the card. I visited a Vodaphone store a block away from Orange next to equally no avail.
Meanwhile, my parents were busy trying to fix the phone through Verizon in the USA. Youtube instructions sent from my Dad worked in the end, so my phone now has calling and text, but no data. I ordered data with the plan, and Bobby using the same plan has data, so I have some complaining to do at the Leganes store I purchased it from.

It is now around 8:00. Bobby, Eric, and myself go to a coffee and tea store for drinks. I order tea. We talk about the evening and the two discuss plans for bar hopping. At this point, I'm completly out-of-it due to my fatigue. I tell Boby that I need to go home and sleep. He agrees to take me back, and find dinner on the way.  Actually, it was more like 10:00. Bobby and I settle on a turkish Kabob diner and get wraps to go. On the train to Leganes, the food was SOOOO good because I was DYING of hunger at that point.
We returned to campus a little differently. A metro stop is a block away from the dorms. Not wanting to walk the mile from Leganes city to the dorms, we oped for the train instead. At that point, I was going to thank Bobby for taking me back until I rememberd he was returning with me.

Somehow summoning superhuman strength, I did a little more unpacking, took a shower, and brushed my teeth. Then I fell asleep, rather quickly.

My total hours awake was a little more than 30. I could probably go for longer on a normal day, but not after walking through all of Madrid.

As I type this, looking out toward the north west from my room, I see small cessna-like airplanes flying. Just another reminder of home.

D day

I'm on the airplane.

On my way.

T-1 Days

I'll keep this short.

Today was mostly packing (with a few phone calls about internship opportunities mixed in).

I'm proud to say that packing is 80% complete with most of Friday morning to finish everything. 

As it stands, I might even have a surplus of space left in my bags (enough room for my soccer cleats!). 

Tomorrow is a busy day. The busiest day of all.

Well, wish me luck.

Buena Suerte! 

T - 2 Days

Last day before the craziness of packing tomorrow.

Decided to spend my last day in quasi-Bhuler style. It began with a nice breakfast with my dad after driving downtown. Starting out close to millennium park, I walked around the park for some time. The park patrons were sparse and quiet. My journey, of course, took me past 'the bean.' Underneath the silvery structure, a college-looking guy pointed out, in a German accent, that our reflections appeared 'everywhere' on the mirror dome. I replied, in a comedic fashion, that we are only here, those images on the dome are not us. We both laughed; I hope he didn't think I was too serious about that.
Some more walking brought me to the lakefront. I normally never find myself near the lakefront, so this was a special moment. I sat on the marina wall and tried not to fall into the lake! The water was frozen in the marina and not in the open water. I found some rocks to test the rigidity of the ice, which did not break.
Continuing, I ended up at the art institute, where I appreciated sooooooo much art. I stared deeply into "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte." I was struck by the arms and armor collection. I was probably confused by the majority of the modern wing. My tour finished with my favorite painting: Time Transfixed by Rene Magritte.
I arranged a lunch with a friend of mine, from high school, who works downtown. We dined at a nice Italian cafeteria and discussed my trip to Ann Arbor, Spain, and his plans on becoming a supervillain  Don't worry, when he takes over the world, I will have it easy!
One of my favorite parts of downtown is just walking around and enjoying the buildings. I could do that for hours. A walk around the river consumed the remainder of my time.
The day was completed with a short train ride back home.

Tomorrow is packing day! Last full day at home.
Still, good to walk around downtown for the last time in awhile. I will really need to see how downtown Madrid compares!

Let the madness begin!

-Cheers

T - 3 Days

Today is my last 'normal' day at home. Tomorrow I will meander downtown for the last time in awhile. Thursday is the final packing day. Friday is my departure.

As it stands, I feel confident in my ability to speak Spanish. Please understand the difference between 'knowing how to speak Spanish' versus 'confidence speaking Spanish ' The latter has proven very difficult; I have gained and lost this ability several times over the last 12 months. The best cure for lacking confidence, for me, is maintaining a conversation with another Spanish speaker. I owe a lot of thanks to Ms. Brenda (a Spanish teacher) for her help with my conversational ability.

I will also take away a few speaking keys: Keep It Simple! I always try to 'impress' others with my ability by speaking as properly as possible. When it works, I sound nearly fluent; when it does not, I often get confused and give up on getting the purpose of the sentence across. 

Another thing: play dumb. You don't always know what is going on, so don't pretend you do. If I don't understand someone, I need to admit that and ask for a clearer definition. Not leaving myself flustered or frustrated over not understanding someone will only inhibit my ability to maintain the conversation. 

From Facebook conversations with my fellow students already in Spain, I will be one of the last to arrive. 

Oh well: rather be the last than the first!

Still, reading about their day-to-day adventures only makes me wish for Friday to arrive quicker!

Might as well enjoy my time at home. It will be some of my last for a long time. 

Cheers.  

T - 4 Days

Only four days until I leave! I'm so excited it is hard to contain myself!
Today, I am finishing my clothing list and double checking the packing list.

The past two days, I've practically memorized the Madrid Metro subway system. The university is a little outside of the city, so the average metro trip will take over an hour!

Obviously, I have plenty of things to take care of before departure, but nothing feels rushed. I've put my diligence into preparation, which will pay off upon arrival.

Oh well. More thoughts later; I have packing to attend to!

Cheers!

Trip to Ann Arbor

Call it a warm up trip before leaving for Spain, but I wanted to visit my good friend in Ann Arbor.

And thus began my tour of south eastern Michigan last weekend.

My road trip had me leaving on Friday for the multi-hour drive through southern Michigan. Driving conditions were above average and the other drivers were some of the least annoying I have encountered for similar trips. After multiple hours of driving, I rested briefly in the small town of Coloma, Michigan. Pretty much your quintessential small American town: one Main Street through the town, mostly local shops, one or two large churches, and quaint surrounding homes. I walked down Main Street and eventually ended at a gas station with a sign on the door proclaiming 'anyone wearing a hooded sweatshirt must remove hood before entering.' This is the kind of thing you can enforce in such a small town.

Downtown Coloma

I was pleasantly surprised about my ability to navigate downtown Ann Arbor from my last visit several years ago! Finding my bearings, I proceeded to my friend's house with the intent on filling my empty stomach from the long car trip! One of Ann Arbor's legendary culinary traditions is Zingermans Deli, which I proposed for a late lunch with my friend. Problem was, even as a resident of Ann Arbor, he had never been there! Luckily, we both found our way there and enjoyed a wonderful lunch (Ruben sandwich and tea for me!). A definite recommend for anyone visiting.

Get the #2 Ruben

The evening was enjoyable hanging out with friends of my friend paying videogames, watching 'Ted', and a late dinner at BWWs. My only complaint was when my friend ordered pizza, proclaiming it as 'deepdish.' As an expert in deepdish pizza, I was thoroughly upset when the pizza arrived NOT deepdish. You cannot find good deepdish pizza in Ann Arbor!

NOT DEEPDISH!!!!

I had the rest of Saturday to myself on account of my friend needing to pack for a return to school. Most of my time was spent walking around downtown, visiting coffee shops, and enjoying a late lunch at a very cool diner. My favorite coffee/tea store was TeaHaus, located downtown. Not only was the decor rather quaint but the tea selection was very impressive. When I asked someone behind the counter about ordering tea, he said he would "Get me a book" and produced a whole binder full of tea selections. A quick count placed their selection over 900 varities! He recommended the Earl Grey #68, which made me wonder if there were 67 other Eral Grey teas preceding it! Quite frankly, some of the best tea I have had ever!

Binders full of tea...

Tea in hand, I finished my tour of downtown and spent an hour at the Michigan art museum until it closed. Continuing south, I visited some of the Michigan athletic facilities, including Yost hockey arena. For a college hockey arena, the facility is rather impressive. My idea was to somehow force my way in even if no event was going on. To my surprise  I noticed others with hockey gear trying to enter several doors without success. We joined in our open door search until we noticed people exiting one door. The arena was partly filled with people, obviously hosting an event. Looking as important as possible, I dodged the ticketers and entered the arena. After a few minutes of admiration, I was informed by a patron that a youth hockey competition was being held with teams from the U.S. and Canada. Satisfied, I finished my walk with a look at the Big House football stadium and made my way downtown for dinner.

Yost Arena

 Though my living arrangements were set for the evening, I had contacted one other local I knew about some evening accommodation. Though I was happy to inform him my plans were set, he suggested attending a free concert that evening at a metal shop! To my surprise, the concert was actually being held at a metal shop. With a few dozen chairs, the small metal shop was filled with standing room only to around 70 patrons. The lead act was a French singer-songwriter-piano player who alternated songs in English  and French (which I do not speak... at all). The act finished with an oncor of one of my favorite songs 'Stand By Me.' I really did love the underground feel of the concert and the people were very friendly.

Concert in a metal shop

Sunday was my day to return home. Overall, Ann Arbor is one of my favorite cities. History, tradition, youth, and a multitude of hipster coffee shops.