Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Woke up around 9:30, breakfast as usual. Put on my new shirt, bandaged up my feet and put on my tennis shoes – much better! Got to the CLM pretty early and Taylor and I spent some time in the computer lab. I sent a couple emails and we looked up flight stuff for our trip. Didn’t finalize anything but checked almost every flight website under the sun. I think we’ll definitely end up with the cheapest flight possible! I took a few minutes to call Iberia before class with José and the lady was so much nicer than yesterday. She gave me clear information and answered all of my questions. I was still bummed though because 10 days from today they would more or less quit looking for it. So I walked upstairs and Verónica stopped her conversation with José to look at me and say, “tu maleta está en mi oficina” – WOW! No way … how could my bag be in her office? I just called and they told me it hadn’t been found yet. I tried not to get my hopes up but I couldn’t help it J I definitely wouldn’t believe it for sure until I saw it. Our class was to prepare us a little bit for our trip to Madrid; he focused on the Prado museum and three specific artists that we’ll see. It would’ve been pretty boring if this was any other class but to see the slideshow of pictures is so much better when I know I’m going to see them in person this weekend! After class I rushed down to take a peek at my bag and it was true!! I have no idea where it was found because the tag said “RUSH Madrid-Granada Jan 18” which was the Sunday we began orientation. AKA the bag must have been at the Granada airport somewhere but I went and it was nowhere in sight? As Julia says, “Stupid people who work for that airline…” (roughly translated of course) Verónica told us that Taylor and I were very lucky because last semester one girl never got her suitcase. Whew! I’m glad she didn’t tell me that until I had mine because I was already imagining the worst and that would not have helped. After digging through to make sure everything was there, we ate our egg and cream cheese bocadillos right outside of Verónica’s office with my bag at my feet. It’s definitely not my favorite meal but it was big, filling, and I scarfed it down anyway. Then Brittney and I met to make our PowerPoint for our group presentation tomorrow about the Casa de Porras. It didn’t take long but we’re going to finish it up tomorrow before the meeting. Class was ok as usual, with Rosana we did some writing practice for the level test; with Susana we played a game in small groups to work on speaking then did some listening comprehension with a popular Spanish song. In between I ate my M&M’s that Mandy and Laura gave me for Christmas to celebrate the arrival of my long lost bag. They were delicious and I scarfed them as well. Walked home with my 50 lb suitcase (I would like to meet the person who though it was a good idea to put wheels on suitcases, they deserve a big thank-you) and Julia was so happy when I walked in with my suitcase. Her first words were, “What did I tell you! What did I tell you!” She loves to brag and she does think she knows everything but I will definitely give her credit where it’s deserved, she called it. I definitely did not expect my bag to be in Verónica’s office today but Julia knew it would come today. She had a friend over but I didn’t hang around to talk to her long, I wanted to unpack! We had a late dinner (delicious though, veggie soup and empanadas) then headed to the internet café. I got to Skype with Mom and Rob which was so good! Technology is so wonderful. I tried to convince mom (and dad) to extend their Spring Break trip and maybe come to Granada but I’m not sure how that will fly, and I also tried to convince Rob to come visit on his break before the doctorate program starts. There are a few small problems with both and I know I shouldn’t get my hopes up, but how awesome would that be?! Taylor and I looked at more flights and hostels and finally booked our flight from Paris to Athens!!! We still have a lot to plan and book but it’s a definite start. The guy who works at the internet place is so sweet but I’m fairly sure he hates us: I’ve used the bathroom there twice (which I doubt is public) and can’t figure out how to flush the toilet, we’re pretty sure they were supposed to close at 11:00 tonight but we didn’t leave until 11:20, and every computer I use is broken or I somehow mess up. I feel so bad but it is pretty expensive (€1 per hour) so we give him pretty good business. Came back, put on my long socks and a fresh shirt, put my green blanket on my bed and am ready to call it a night. Today was definitely better than yesterday! Hopefully this pattern continues ..
