Arriving in Madrid
So I’ve arrived safe and sound.
The trip over was less than relaxing.
First, everything came down to the last minute. There was no way around it. Between finals, work, packing, social life, Amy, and personal projects there was no time to focus on any one thing.
Friday morning was spent hecticlly running errands and getting a haircut, setting up a surprise for Amy, making sure my credit cards would not be cancelled, and packing.
Amy came with me on the Metrolink to the airport.
Our parting was emotional. This is the longest we’ve ever planned to be apart. Amy’s taken four weeks away before, but this will stretch for two months.
There was the prerequisite cockup regarding gates at O’Hare. I made my connecting flight to London with just minutes to spare.
Flying into London was interesting, we flew over the City Center. I looked down from the window and saw a river stretching below me. I thought it looked familiar, especially the S curve past Parliment House. What clinched the view for me was Tower Bridge. It’s unmistakable even from hundreds of feet in the air.
Heathrow was a mad maze of grey hallways, customs lines, and over crowded shopping areas. It may be my least favorite airport. There, I met several other SLU students who happened to be on the same flight from Chicago. We sorted through the confusion of tickets and figured out who would be on the final connecting flights.
That flight was delayed on the tarmac for over an hour due to a thunderstorm. We sat in the plane and I personally passed out. I awoke over Spain.
Spain is brown.
The view from the air is a patchwork quilt of sulfur, sand, and blood-stained ground. Grass is scrub and sparse. Trees are dwarf with stands of pines resembling green cotton candy displays.
Buildings are tall, brick with enclosed balconies with green roofs and green awnings. Small shops line the ground floors.
Spain started out by not making a good impression. My luggage did not arrive.
Fortunately, I had packed all of my expensive items in my carryon. So I wasn’t out too much. But, my textbooks and my clothes were missing somewhere. Air Iberia thought they might arrive at 7 PM tonight.
I shared two cabs with 8 other SLU students. I was able to accurately pantomine, ‘Follow that cab!’ to our exasperated driver.
We arrived at the dorm. The rooms are similar to spartan monk cells – a bed, a bureau, and not much else.
But there was no time to sightsee. I washed my face, brushed my teeth, grabbed a Metro map and headed back to the airport.
I traversed the bureacracy to track down my luggage and hunkered down for the long wait until it arrived.
From there, I hauled my stuff back through the Metro and sat down to talk to you all.
Tomorrow, Orientation!