Mis primeras dias

So Brittany and I are in Spain, not totally sure if I believe it yet. Our new catch phrase is "crisis averted". On our flight to Spain we first took this tiny plane to Toronto before heading to Madrid, it was too small for the gate so we actually went out and boarded it outside.

 
And then we reached Spain! Our hotel room has this cute little balcony, and by little I mean you have to be careful not to fall off the edge, but what a view of life in Madrid! The streets are ALWAYS busy. There was even a guy playing violin in the street, and speaking of music I definitely heard people singing that one stereotypical Spanish song that contains some ay ya ya yas in it before I went to bed.
Also, when we first got to our room none of our lights worked and Brittany just blindly went into the bathroom, thinking the toilet was the shower. This was the first time we put our Spanish skills to work when we told the cleaning ladies "No se como funcionar las luces" to which she just replied "llaves!". Keys! And she showed us how to place our key into this slot before any of the electricity will work. Crisis averted.
The big city makes me a bit nervous, especially since I have zero directional skills but it's so exciting at the same time. But wow, the architecture is gorgeous!

Today we went to Toledo for a day trip. The city is surrounded on three sides by a river, creating a natural mote. Wow, saying it's a beautiful city does not do it justice. It's just an amazing sight. You know when people tell you something is beautiful or great so based on this expectation that's the reaction you have? Well certain times during this trip I felt my whole body just readjust to the image.
We saw a view of the city and then walked across San Martin's bridge and visited the cathedral,El Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes, which took 300 years to build. Our guide told us the story of how Queen Isabel won the crown from the king's daughter and built this cathedral to thank God. The architecture has all kinds of mythical creatures in them, like a unicorn, a flying dog, and a centaur.

*Side note-Spaniards truly are touchy people, literally. Our directors were telling us how before they met Americans they didn't know the term "personal space" existed, haha. The guide constantly touched our shoulders before explaining how in Spain, that's how they operate and how he's happily married, oh Spain.

We also went to this exhibit that used to be a synagogue, but was commissioned by moors and later converted into a church, but now it's this exhibit of paintings and about how it should be possible for Muslims, Jews, and Christians to get along as they all stem from the same tree.
I loved the following quote, where in summary if we are united, then love and prayer is possible:

We also went to see El Greco's painting "The Burial of Count Orgaz", but we weren't allowed to take pictures. It was stunning! El Greco is from Toledo, but even though I don't know a lot about art, it doesn't take much to be able to appreciate this original oil canvas. It's just magnificent, I loved it! For me, all of this modern art is not even on the same level, although it's just completely different so it's not even comparable.

 Of course, the palace was just as beautiful although we only saw the outside. It was next to the city hall which also looked gorgeous.
And this is just city hall:

After our guide we took a lunch break (had some paella) and walked around the city. Well, it's time for me to shower off this sweat and maybe work in a nap before dinner! Tapas and sangria tonight perhaps? Yep, I'm a tourist :D

Hasta luego

Pre departure

3 days...3 days and I'll be in a different country, speaking a different language, breathing different air. I'll be studying at the Universidad de Deusto in Bilbao, Spain for the next month, followed by a trip with Brittany to Paris, Amsterdam, and London before returning to Michigan. My host family lives in a condo by the beach in a city a half hour by metro from Bilbao so I'm so excited to meet them. The mother is a sculptor named Mar, the father is a businessman, and they have two sons, one is 23 and the other is 14--they enjoy soccer and tennis. That's the description, it will be nice to be able to fit people and personalities to these tidbits of information. I like the picture of the house that looks like the flying house from "Up" and then the picture of the map of Spain, because that's what I feel like I'm doing. I'm just getting up and going on this adventure that I've been thinking of for so long, and now it's happening!

There's so many things I still have to do: pack, buy last minute items, brush up on Spanish, print out my itinerary...packing a bathing suit, dress, underwear and some spirit in a suitcase and buying my life over there? Tempting. But for now I'm just enjoying my last days in Ann Arbor. Tomorrow I'll be going in one last time to the lab before heading home for a data collection with my Spanish teacher's baby :)! Feeling unprepared at the moment? Maybe, but I just have in the back of my mind that this will all fall together soon enough. There is a rush of thoughts running through my head, only more blurred by my swell of emotions. Scared is one, but excited definitely trumps scared, so off to Spain I'll go! This will be my first time in Europe and despite so many stories, I just know I'll be caught off guard. There's so many sights, people, ideas, and life I'm looking forward to and hopefully wonderful experiences I am not even anticipating!

I'm flying out on Saturday and the group is traveling for the first week or so in Madrid, Toledo (not Ohio :P), and El Escorial before arriving in Bilbao.

Well, my Ann Arbor roommates and I are going out for a farewell dinner, so farewell!