When I first started at ECU, I was unsure of a lot of things. The only thing I knew for sure was that, at some point during my 4 years, I wanted to study abroad. However, I never thought I would go somewhere that I didn’t know the language. With my job as an RA, I couldn’t take a semester off to study...
The saying "time flies when you're having fun" is real and I'm experiencing it first hand. Oh, and it sucks. In 15 days I will be back on US soil and I'm not going to lie, that's kind of bittersweet. Don't get me wrong, I miss all my friends and family (and Starbucks), but I've fallen in love with Spain so much. I...
Have you ever seen something so outstanding that it doesn't feel like you're actually there and seeing it in real life? That's how my weekend went. The past week has been busy with classes, exploring Granada, and trying (emphasis on trying) to improve my Spanish. Luckily, we were able to relax for a day with a trip to Almuñecar and Nerja on...
Hola amigos! I'm officially a student at Universidad de Granada! I mean, I have been for a while, but today I finished my first actual day of classes. I'm taking 2 classes over the next month, both from 9am-1pm. It's taught entirely in Spanish (duh), but I've never had more fun in a Spanish class before today. If you are ever thinking about...
These last 3 days have honestly been the craziest few days I think I've ever experienced. In fact, so much has happened, that I'm going to break this post down into days. Day 1- After arriving to our Hostel at 9:30am, and waiting 4.5 hours to check in at 2pm, we settled in to our 5 person jail cell room, and headed out to...
Close your eyes and imagine you're on a plane.
Now imagine you're on there for 8 hours with a screaming child only 2 rows back, sleeping is not an option at this point, and you're about to spend a month in a country where you don't know the language.
That's my reality.
For the last 6 months I've been preparing to study abroad in Granada, Spain. Okay, I've been ~thinking~ about preparing. I only started really preparing a week ago. I like packing, but packing for a month sucks. Like, a lot. Do you know how many times I questioned what was considered a liquid and what wasn't? Makeup remover wipes are a liquid cause you can squeeze them and, bam, liquid. Needless to say, I put everything in a clear bag just to be safe.
I've only ever flown once before, but it was cross country. However, I've never flown international. I figured it would be the same, just a larger plane and a longer ride. I was right, but I was surprised to find that I actually enjoyed the meals we were served. Maybe the 8 chicken nuggets from Chick-Fil-A I had eaten 5 hours before didn't fill me up and I would've been happy with anything.
The flight itself was great. We arrived 30 minutes early, the FA's were very nice, they have all the good movies to watch, and there was very little turbulence. HOWEVER, with my luck, there was a small child 2 rows behind me who screamed for (and I'm not even exaggerating) 7 of the 7.5 hours. That in combination with my inability to fall asleep anywhere other than a bed, I got maybe an hour of sleep. Flight 2 of 4: 8/10 would recommend w/o baby.
We finally arrived in Madrid around 7am, just in time to watch the sun rise over the mountains. After unboarding, walking a mile to the passport check, waiting 20 minutes in the passport check line, taking a subway to another part of the airport, 15 minutes to find our luggage, 10 minutes to exchange our money, and another 10 to find a taxi, we were on our way to our hostel!
We noticed right away some differences from American culture. On the roads, motorcycles drive between the cars. Like, full speed scootin' through traffic. That made me very nervous to say the least. Second, there's graffiti EVERYWHERE. On shop doors, windows, sidewalks, apartments, hotels, you name it. It's beautiful, but shocking to see how it's so freely done here. And lastly, there's a beer vending machine in my hostel. Beer is cheaper than water here. Enough said.
After a wild taxi ride to our hostel, we checked in at 9am, only to find out we can't have our room until 2pm. We dropped off our bags behind the counter and took off to explore the city. Well, what was open. We found a cute restaurant open for breakfast, where I discovered that drinking coffee "black" here, means a shot of espresso. Unfortunately, I drink so much coffee not even that could wake me up.
It's currently 12:04 pm, and we're still waiting for our room to be ready. Luckily siesta time is soon, and then I feel a vending machine beer in my near future.
Hasta luego!
Now imagine you're on there for 8 hours with a screaming child only 2 rows back, sleeping is not an option at this point, and you're about to spend a month in a country where you don't know the language.
That's my reality.
For the last 6 months I've been preparing to study abroad in Granada, Spain. Okay, I've been ~thinking~ about preparing. I only started really preparing a week ago. I like packing, but packing for a month sucks. Like, a lot. Do you know how many times I questioned what was considered a liquid and what wasn't? Makeup remover wipes are a liquid cause you can squeeze them and, bam, liquid. Needless to say, I put everything in a clear bag just to be safe.
I've only ever flown once before, but it was cross country. However, I've never flown international. I figured it would be the same, just a larger plane and a longer ride. I was right, but I was surprised to find that I actually enjoyed the meals we were served. Maybe the 8 chicken nuggets from Chick-Fil-A I had eaten 5 hours before didn't fill me up and I would've been happy with anything.
The flight itself was great. We arrived 30 minutes early, the FA's were very nice, they have all the good movies to watch, and there was very little turbulence. HOWEVER, with my luck, there was a small child 2 rows behind me who screamed for (and I'm not even exaggerating) 7 of the 7.5 hours. That in combination with my inability to fall asleep anywhere other than a bed, I got maybe an hour of sleep. Flight 2 of 4: 8/10 would recommend w/o baby.
We finally arrived in Madrid around 7am, just in time to watch the sun rise over the mountains. After unboarding, walking a mile to the passport check, waiting 20 minutes in the passport check line, taking a subway to another part of the airport, 15 minutes to find our luggage, 10 minutes to exchange our money, and another 10 to find a taxi, we were on our way to our hostel!
After a wild taxi ride to our hostel, we checked in at 9am, only to find out we can't have our room until 2pm. We dropped off our bags behind the counter and took off to explore the city. Well, what was open. We found a cute restaurant open for breakfast, where I discovered that drinking coffee "black" here, means a shot of espresso. Unfortunately, I drink so much coffee not even that could wake me up.
It's currently 12:04 pm, and we're still waiting for our room to be ready. Luckily siesta time is soon, and then I feel a vending machine beer in my near future.
Hasta luego!