So after saying goodbye in Des Moines, I got on my flight with Brooke who happened to be travelling the same route as I was. But we took off about 20 minutes late because there was a “maintenance problem” aka an overhead bin wouldn’t close so a guy came to duct tape it shut – high tech. At least it didn’t have anything to do with birds! Random fact: the guy next to me had $16 worth of beer during the hour flight.. tough day I guess. So we got to Chicago and I didn’t have a gate on my ticket so we had no idea where to go! We headed to the international terminal and there were two options: check-in desks or security. We tried to find British Airways but it wasn’t there so we asked a lady and she said to go through security and it would be on the other side. So the guy checked my ticket and I went through but Brooke got hung up because she didn’t have a ticket printed. Long story short, we were in the wrong place and I almost missed my next flight. They were almost done boarding when I got there and I was pretty flustered when I finally sat down in my seat between two of the nicest people! The guy to my right was going to Berain (?) for business and the girl to my left was studying in Madrid for the semester, maybe I’ll run into her! They had lots of great stories and kept the 7 hour flight interesting. I had a real meal (chicken/pasta, bread, salad, and my new buddy took full advantage of the complementary wine) then I got about an hour of sleep when the crying babies finally dozed off. I wish I would’ve been in the sweet “cubicles” in first class until I learned that they were $9000 more – how is that even possible?! So after taking multiple busses and exploring the labyrinth of a place they call Heathrow, I’ve set up shop in an airport café in rainy, dreary Londontown.
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Madrid airport = more headaches. The flight was good, we got some orange juice and a “sandwich” and slept for a minute. Then I actually got to clean up a bit: brush my teeth and pull my hair back and I felt so much better! But after that somehow I ended up in security again without a boarding pass… I got through customs just fine though? I just don’t understand why they don’t assign gate numbers and issue tickets ahead of time. Anyway after a lot of wandering and waiting I found my gate and we’re going to board pretty soon. (Even thought it was JUST posted on the departure screens) Despite the fact that there are hundreds upon hundreds of empty chairs where I’m sitting, this sweet old lady came right up and sat directly next to me. Then she split and asked me to watch her bags! How trusting ..
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My flight to Granada was good; it was weird though because it was almost empty! Even though it was only 55 minutes I slept for most of it. When I woke up we were about ready to land and we were over the Mountains just outside of Madrid – amazing! But things took a turn for the worse immediately …no luggage. Actually about 8 of us were missing it so I was glad I wasn’t the only one. We made 1 claim together then split two taxis to Hotel Meliá. I peeked in before finding my hotel, and Meliá was so nice, but really expensive. Hotel Niza was literally around the corner and it was way cheaper! I guess it was more of a hostel when I think about it. There were 10 of us from the program who stayed there and in my room were Stephanie, Brigitte, Caitie, and Tosha. After failing miserably at trying to use my calling card from the room phone, I searched out a pay phone in a plaza nearby. As I was walking there this group of guys with backpacks stopped me and asked if I knew how to get to Plaza de Carmen or something like that. Obviously I was a little nervous they were going to pickpocket me or something but they were genuinely lost. And of course, I had NO idea but I let them look at my map. Once I opened my mouth they looked at me a little closer and said, “You’re not from here either?” At least it wasn’t totally apparent at first so I guess I blend in a bit J However, my speech definitely did… guess I’ll have to work on the lisp this semester. And as my señora says, “se come la ‘s’ en Granada” meaning they don’t pronounce endings of some words. I got a hold of Mom and Dad and Laura was there so it was good to talk to them for a quick minute. I can’t wait until I find a good internet connection so I can talk to everyone more. Came back to the room and the other four girls weren’t there yet which surprised me so I just played some cards and listened to music. I realized I must have dozed off when I heard a knock at the door; it was Sara, Shaun, Brittney, and Lisa who were staying upstairs. They came in and hung out for a while until Caitie and Tosha arrived! We met Cassandra, a girl from Indiana who happened to be staying at our place too then little we all ventured out. We walked around until some of us decided to eat at this Mexican restaurant. It was way different (not as fast!) and tasted pretty good since all I had eaten was airplane food for the last 20+ hours. When we got back Steph and Brigitte were there. Apparently they had some troubles in Madrid since it took them over twelve hours to get to Granada from there! I had a good, hot shower which was amazing then hit the sack. It was about time for both.
