The start of my journey was one to remember. The anxiety, the stress, the unknown, the fear; my mind felt as if it were woven into one knot that seemed impossible to undo. As I said goodbye to my family, friends, and boyfriend, I knew that my life would change from that very moment on. This first blog post is to describe a bit of my journey so far, as well as touch on some of the beauties of Spain.
To begin, the flight from MSP to Chicago was easy. With only a half hour delay, I felt lucky to make it to Chicago on time for my connecting flight, as many others had cancellations. On this flight I met up with another CEA study abroad participant, which helped to calm my nerves. As soon as I landed in Chicago and found my next gate, I was welcomed in by 6 other CEA participants. This was honestly the best thing to happen to me, as it completely took my mind off of the situation. We all introduced ourselves, said where we were from, and were we are living in Spain, and before we knew it, it was time to head to Madrid. The flight to Madrid was long. 8 hours in a tiny seat does wonders on the tailbone. However, with that being said, this was also one of the best flight experiences I have ever had. The flight attendants were extremely helpful and the movie and food selections were great. Along with that, I was lucky enough to get seated next to a woman from Seville who shared many many helpful hints and helped to sharpen some of my Spanish speaking skills. I barely slept on this flight due to my wandering mind, so I watched two movies instead. 8 hours later, I finally touched foot on European soil. This is when everything changed. English was no longer. Somehow, all of us girls managed to find our way to the underground metro, which took us to our terminal, and to our gate. The 4 hours in Madrid seemed to take forever; however, it was breathtaking seeing the sunrise from Spain. Finally, we boarded the last flight to Seville.
As soon as the airplane broke through the clouds and we could see Seville once and for all, my heart began to race. It was finally time to see my new 'home'. All 50+ CEA participants un-boarded the plane and got on two large buses to be taxied to our homes. My stop came first. This was quite nerve wracking as they handed me my suitcase and told me and my roommate to get off the bus. Thankfully, a woman was there waiting to guide us to our apartment.
The only word I can use to describe Seville is 'breathtaking'. The buildings, the streets, the river, the palm trees, everything here in Seville catches my eye with its beauty, My roommates and I decided to simply explore our neighborhood after unpacking (remember, at this point I had not slept in over 24 hours) to make our first night count. We all wanted to find a spot to treat ourselves to our first legal drink purchase as well as enjoy a Spanish meal. After dinner, my roommates and I decided to head back to our apartment to get some sleep before our big day of tours tomorrow (sleep, which I have yet to have as I write this blog post).
Last but not least, I want to inform you all of some things I have learned from my first day in Spain.
1. Seville citizens DO NOT speak English, no matter how many times you try to use it with them.
2. If a waiter says the shots are free, they are in fact NOT free and you will be charged.
3. The cars on the street WILL NOT stop for you, and they DO NOT follow any sort of speed limit.
4. Random cats and dogs are seen throughout the city, and they DO NOT clean up after themselves.
5. Money is spent a heck of a lot faster when it looks like Monopoly money.
6. The accent that Seville citizens have makes the language IMPOSSIBLE to understand. Even when you ask them numerous times to repeat. (Como-My new favorite Spanish word)
7. In Seville, midnight does not mean 'bed time', but rather 'lets start our night of drinking and head downtown'.
Well, that's all for now! Thanks for keeping up with my adventure.
Adios!
To begin, the flight from MSP to Chicago was easy. With only a half hour delay, I felt lucky to make it to Chicago on time for my connecting flight, as many others had cancellations. On this flight I met up with another CEA study abroad participant, which helped to calm my nerves. As soon as I landed in Chicago and found my next gate, I was welcomed in by 6 other CEA participants. This was honestly the best thing to happen to me, as it completely took my mind off of the situation. We all introduced ourselves, said where we were from, and were we are living in Spain, and before we knew it, it was time to head to Madrid. The flight to Madrid was long. 8 hours in a tiny seat does wonders on the tailbone. However, with that being said, this was also one of the best flight experiences I have ever had. The flight attendants were extremely helpful and the movie and food selections were great. Along with that, I was lucky enough to get seated next to a woman from Seville who shared many many helpful hints and helped to sharpen some of my Spanish speaking skills. I barely slept on this flight due to my wandering mind, so I watched two movies instead. 8 hours later, I finally touched foot on European soil. This is when everything changed. English was no longer. Somehow, all of us girls managed to find our way to the underground metro, which took us to our terminal, and to our gate. The 4 hours in Madrid seemed to take forever; however, it was breathtaking seeing the sunrise from Spain. Finally, we boarded the last flight to Seville.
As soon as the airplane broke through the clouds and we could see Seville once and for all, my heart began to race. It was finally time to see my new 'home'. All 50+ CEA participants un-boarded the plane and got on two large buses to be taxied to our homes. My stop came first. This was quite nerve wracking as they handed me my suitcase and told me and my roommate to get off the bus. Thankfully, a woman was there waiting to guide us to our apartment.
The only word I can use to describe Seville is 'breathtaking'. The buildings, the streets, the river, the palm trees, everything here in Seville catches my eye with its beauty, My roommates and I decided to simply explore our neighborhood after unpacking (remember, at this point I had not slept in over 24 hours) to make our first night count. We all wanted to find a spot to treat ourselves to our first legal drink purchase as well as enjoy a Spanish meal. After dinner, my roommates and I decided to head back to our apartment to get some sleep before our big day of tours tomorrow (sleep, which I have yet to have as I write this blog post).
Last but not least, I want to inform you all of some things I have learned from my first day in Spain.
1. Seville citizens DO NOT speak English, no matter how many times you try to use it with them.
2. If a waiter says the shots are free, they are in fact NOT free and you will be charged.
3. The cars on the street WILL NOT stop for you, and they DO NOT follow any sort of speed limit.
4. Random cats and dogs are seen throughout the city, and they DO NOT clean up after themselves.
5. Money is spent a heck of a lot faster when it looks like Monopoly money.
6. The accent that Seville citizens have makes the language IMPOSSIBLE to understand. Even when you ask them numerous times to repeat. (Como-My new favorite Spanish word)
7. In Seville, midnight does not mean 'bed time', but rather 'lets start our night of drinking and head downtown'.
Well, that's all for now! Thanks for keeping up with my adventure.
Adios!