The first few days

I arrived in Madrid on Tuesday afternoon after an amazing flight (anytime you can fly British Airways, I definitely recommend it. We got lucky with it being the cheapest option).

I will be living in Madrid for one year doing a pretty cool Masters program through which I will study “Spanish Language, Literature, and Culture” and also do a teaching internship as part of the program. I’m so excited to be here at last as I have been preparing for this for quite awhile and it has been difficult getting all of the necessary preparation and paperwork done. Since I have the privilege of having a U.S. Passport, I never before realized how difficult it was to get a visa for another country (since in most countries we usually don’t need one for short, touristic stays of 3 months or less), but trust me it is awfully exhausting and frustrating. At one point I almost surrendered but after dozens of trips to the capital and the Consulate in Houston, here we are (I am lucky to be accompanied by my very good friend Jordan who is also doing the same program. I’m sure his name will be mentioned a lot in the future).

We spent two chaotic days running around Madrid meeting with landlords and scheduling appointments to see apartments and at last we have found the most amazing apartment which we signed the contract for almost immediately after seeing it and discovering that it is remarkably affordable apartment and is in the absolute most perfect location. It is right smack dab in the center of Madrid. For those of you who are familiar with Madrid it is on Gran Via. It is basically 5 minutes walking from everywhere we would want to go: incredible restaurants, stores, bars, clubs, museums, the palace, the cathedral, and many of the main plazas. Basically Jordan and I are so happy to have found this place. We currently have two Spanish roommates, Guillermo and Maete. They are the same age as us and are really cool. We are excited to have locals to hang out with. Another great thing about this apartment is that it has 5 couches and 2 extra mattresses so it is PERFECT for having visitors (i.e. everyone come visit me in Spain!!!! Did I mention it is a perfect location in an incredible city?!?!)

The only downfall to this apartment is it is one the 5^th floor and there is no elevator which means we will be in pretty good shape simply from coming and going everyday. Now the 5^th floor doesn’t sound too bad until you thinking about bringing 6 suitcases upstairs (two of which were mine and weighed 80 pounds a piece!! Yikes! But hey, I’m going to be here for a year. Try to fit 4 seasons worth of stuff in 2 bags…its difficult). Luckily between the two of us we were able to lug them up the stairs and get settled in at last, celebrating with of course, Spanish Sangria.