ARRIVAL!

It’s crazy to think that the day has finally come! It feels like I just submitted my application to go abroad and now I'm actually here. I'm so excited for what's to come! I hope you continue to follow along:) 

A picture of everything I brought to Madrid! 

We had some time to kill before heading to the Milwaukee airport so Connelly, Ryan, Mom, and I played cards before we were on the road. As we got closer and closer to the airport, I was getting more nervous about my semester. All of the excitement of studying abroad made me forget that the hardest part is being away from home and family.

But, once we got to the airport, I got one of my suitcases checked. Because I'm doing my clinical's in Madrid, I had to bring all of my nursing stuff with me: my shoes, scrubs, stethoscope, and my enormous textbooks. So, I was nervous that my luggage was going to be overweight because all of my nursing things were heavy. Thankfully, it was 50lbs on the dot! 

Now, I will say it a thousand times... goodbyes are the absolute worst. However, I'm so grateful for everything that my parents have done for me in order to go abroad. Another main reason that I chose to study abroad was because of my dad. He took a semester off of college around the same age I am to backpack across Europe so this experience is really special for my dad and I. But, while I'm usually pretty good at leaving home, I've recently noticed the time change is a lot bigger than I thought.    

One last family picture (minus Greta). 

And while saying goodbye was hard, the sunset after take-off was worth it, almost. I had a slight issue with my carry on luggage while boarding so I was a little overwhelmed getting into my seat. And to make matters worse, the plane was super hot. On the bright side, I sat next to a girl who was from Wisconsin and goes to SLU too!

Dinner on the plane was nothing special but better than I was expecting. But the best part was the wine! The girl next to me asked the flight attendant for a bottle and she ended up splitting part of it with me! We said "Cheers!" to the future semester and clinked our glasses together.  After dinner I watched one of my favorite movie (Mamma Mia) and tried to sleep. Surprisingly, I was able to get about 2ish hours of sleep.

On the menu was pasta, creamed corn, a roll, and chocolate mousse.

After the 8 hour flight, the plane landed at 7:25am Madrid time which is equivalent to 12:25am in Wisconsin. It was going to be a long day. I was able to meet up with Leah, Jack, and Sophia and we went to grab our checked bags. After that, I took a taxi to the center of Madrid and got out at Gran Vía.

I'm living in Marli House: Gran Vía with a bunch of other SLU girls which I'm so excited for. My host mom, Fabiola, is really nice and helpful. My room is pretty spacious with tons of storage. I was able to unpack super quick and went on a walk to explore the city!

I last minute decided to bring pictures to hang above my bed and I am so happy that I did!

One thing that I've quickly learned is that Madrid is a lot like New York. There are tons of people from all over the world and it's super fun to listen to all of the different languages when you're walking. There's always a hustle and there's people everywhere. I've been trying really hard to work on my Spanish but most of the time, they just respond back to me in English, which is disappointing. 

I spent the rest of the day continuing to walk around and run errands. I was able to get my metro card and my sim card for my phone which has been a big step in helping me adjust. After, I went back to Marli House to have dinner in the house. Our host mom cooks us dinner Monday-Saturday and we eat at 8pm and it's so nice to sit with everyone. 

For dinner, we had meatballs, salad, bread, and rice.

Something else that I'm not used to is how much later everything is in the day. Spaniards wake up, eat, and go out a lot later than what I'm used to. But that didn't stop me and my other roommates from getting a taste of Madrid's nightlife! Back home, we usually go out around 10pm, but some people say that the clubs don't get fun until 1am in the morning!! 

A picture with me and some of my roommates!

Still, we all decided to go out and see for ourselves if it was worth the lack of sleep or not. We first ended up at a bar named Dubliner's and were able to grab a giant table for us all to sit and talk at. After a while, we took the metro to head to a popular club, F***ing Monday's. On the metro, we met this girl from ASU who was also studying abroad and we eventually found out that she was on her way to work at the club we were going to! What a small world! 

When I tell you that this was the most fun I have ever had going out, I am not kidding. What made it even better was that I got to meet up with a lot of other SLU students and we were all in a corner dancing together. Then, all of a sudden, the girl that we rode the metro with and other staff came over to us with this sign and bottle service. How freaking cool! Everyone couldn't stop screaming and smiling. It was one of the coolest moments ever. And to answer the question; yes, it was worth the lack of sleep.

All in all, it was a great first day in Madrid. I cannot wait to see where the semester takes me and all of the trips and things I'll be learning.