My 5 am wakeup call didn't phase me a bit, and I quickly set to packing up the last few stray items before saying goodbye to my mom. My dad, knowing how easily I can get lost and how quickly I can get frazzled, made arrangements to escort me to New York for our departure from JFK Airport. Unfortunately, our bus ended up taking several detours, including the hour that the bus driver spent arguing with three passengers (the 3 claimed to have bought round-trip tickets, and the driver said they weren't valid....police were called. It was a mess). We were both exhausted by the time we stepped off 9 hours later. The metro rides went smoothly, however, and I was still early for my check-in time. My dad is the best and stayed with me through it all, even as I ran harried and barefoot (apparently I'm hiding things under my flip-flops) through the security check.
The day was also pretty foggy and not at all picture-worthy...I tried to get a good one of the Statue of Liberty on our way in and mostly got a grimy window in the photo....I promise to put some up of Spain soon!! I met some great people prior to the flight, and hopefully I'll see them all and get to know them better for the semester!
Day 2: Tuesday May 24
My mind was still in 3 a.m. mode as I sat in the dark plane with shades pulled over every window, but then someone behind me lifted their window shade ever so slightly and a blinding light practically filled the entire cabin. We were still several hours away from landing, but we had clearly crossed the boundary between night and day (I like to think of it as it was drawn in Alice and Wonderland: the sun and moon side by side and only a fine dividing line between the two).
Jet lag unfortunately began to catch up with me as I rode the bus from Madrid to Valencia. I'm pretty sure most of our bus dozed off for the 4 hour ride and caught up on some much-needed sleep! It was so nerve-wracking to step off the bus and jump from our mini-world of English speakers into the realm of Spanish! My host mom, Adela, was waiting for me and immediately swept me under her wing. Her home is only a short walk from the center where I'll be taking my classes, and a short bus ride from the beach!! I met my roommate, Emily, back at the apartment in addition to Adela's daughter Laura, who is in town for the week for her vacation from work and school in Madrid. I also met Galgo, Adela's dog, better known as a Greyhound...he is much more handsome than the miniature ones I saw walking around at the UVA graduation and a very well-behaved house dog.
Adela, Emily, and I ate dinner around 9:30 last night. For those of you who have lived with me, I was (and still am) a little skeptical of my acclimation to the eating times in Valencia - whereas at home I eat lunch at 11:30, dinner before 6, and Honey Nut Cheerios at all hours in between, the 2:30 lunch and 9:30 dinner might be a bit challenging. Last night was no problem, though, so I'm hoping to confuse my stomach to the point where it accepts it! Dinner was delicioso, with a really interesting salad. The entree was a pizza-like dish without the sauce (clearly the food I was missing during the part of my childhood when I couldn't stand pizza sauce) and dessert was some delicious fresh strawberries! I was exhausted by the end of dinner, so I went straight to bed, but not before I was able to hear some lovely Spanish music (with an accordian thrown in?) drifting through the window from the street below.
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