¡Hola de Madrid!

I just arrived in Spain yesterday and I can confidently say that this weekend has been crazy! I left Boston Saturday morning to drive to Fairfield, left Fairfield for JFK Sunday night, and landed in Madrid Monday morning. I am exhausted, but I am so so excited to be here!

My weekend of traveling was pretty lowkey––lots of cleaning, packing, and last minute things. Once I left for Fairfield, my stress significantly decreased, since all my things were packed and there was nothing I could do but start my trip. The flight was actually pretty good as well, and for once I was able to sleep a little! Only an hour or two, but definitely better than nothing. Right when we landed we drove straight to the residence hall we’ll be staying in, and I’m pretty content with the room I have here. There’s not too much space or storage, but I’ve made it work with what I brought, and it’s very clean and open.

Our first day in Madrid was pretty hectic, filled with unpacking, running errands, and trying to see some of the city. We had a welcome tapas dinner with everyone in our program last night, which was really nice to meet more people and get settled in this new city. Oddly enough, there was a huge thunder storm and it was down-pouring all night, although it apparently never rains in Madrid, and hasn’t in months. For that reason, rain is supposed to be good luck, but it didn’t feel that way when we were sprinting to the metro through puddles and lightning. In the end, it was a funny story and we didn’t have anywhere to be anyways, so we could go dry off.

Luckily the weather cleared up today and we were able to do some shopping and eating out. We got lunch at a very cute marketplace in Sol, so I tried a spinach and ricotta empanada and some frozen yogurt. So far the food here has been AMAZING, and I can’t wait to find more places to eat. We shopped around Sol for a bit after lunch and I was able to find a couple clothing items as well. I’m resting up now since I’m still so jet lagged, then we have an orientation for our program tonight.

So far, things are even better than I’d hoped for, and I can’t wait to spend the next four months here. This will be a busy week of tours and meetings and exploring, but then I’ll have SO much to share with you all next week! ¡Hasta luego!

xx,

Megan