Hola Espana

I made it! Crazy connection in Atlanta but somehow my luggage & I both made it safely to Madrid! or more specifically Alcala de Henares. It's a suburb of Madrid, but still considered Madrid. It's about a 30-40min train ride to the city center of Madrid.

Upon arriving at the apartment I dropped my things and connected to the internet (woohoo 21st century generation). After sending a few quick emails I headed out to find Carrefour- like a giant supermarket that has food & house supplies. It wasn't a far walk and I was able to get there without getting lost (yay google maps!) I bought sheets for the bed, a towel, some hangars (although I think I'm going to go back & get a few more), and food (and I couldn't help but pick up a pint of Ben & Jerry's when I saw it).

I arrived back to the apartment, and started to get settled in. It's crazy how much stuff you can pack into 2 suitcases & I feel like I brought too much. Although, after a year I'm sure everything will come in handy, even though the winter coat doesn't look appealing in this 90 degree (or should I say 35) heat. Unpacking took awhile (I did this instead of the traditional siesta) and when I was finished it was time to watch the Vuelta Espana live. Streamed it in English again b/c I know how, maybe tomorrow I'll venture into figuring out the tv.

Now that it's after 6pm the streets are getting lively again (they've been dead since 2pm) and I might try to go buy a cell phone.

Houston, we have takeoff

By this time tomorrow I should be in Madrid, crazy!

Football Fix

It's the first weekend of the NFL football season!!

Packing an entire football season into one weekend is a hard thing to do, but I can try! Since I won't have the usual football experience while in Spain I have to make the most of it this weekend. Yesterday I went to watch the Georgia Tech game at a local sports bar with a group of GT alum. The burgers were good, but the outcome of the game was, well, yeah...

Today is NFL! I've been a huge Washington Redskins fan since before I could talk. Our major rivals are the dallas cowboys (it's one of the top 5 sports rivalries of all time). Tonight they play each other on Sunday night football. Homemade chili is in order, and I'm sure there will be lots of yelling at the t.v. (hopefully more good yelling than bad). LETS GO SKINS!

When I was studying in Santiago, Chile I found this great gringo bar which streamed games from Puerto Rico. If I wasn't traveling I'd go there on the weekends to get my football fix, it was a great atmosphere & I loved going there to "escape back home" for a few hours. I'm hoping to find another bar like that in Madrid, although with the time differences I've heard the few bars that do show some games will kick you out before the game's over. So we'll see, but I'll keep my eyes open.

One Week

I'm moving to Spain in one week, wow! It still hasn't entirely hit me yet, and probably won't until I'm actually apartment hunting in Madrid. I really hope a week is enough time to find a place to live, get started on my NIE (legal residency card), and figure a few things out before orientation.

On a different note I'm really excited because hopefully I'll get to see the end of the Vuelta Espana live in Madrid!! I've been following the cycling race, and it will finish on Sept. 19th in Madrid. Unfortunately the race isn't televised in the US, so I've been streaming it online from a British website (and occasionally a French website) . I tried to stream it from a Spanish website, but it would only stream Indy car racing- something I definitely don't want to hear. I'm glad I found the British site because I prefer to watch the race rather than just get the end of day summary. It's also surprising how much you can learn just by listening to the commentators.

I've also booked my first trip; I'm going to visit friends in Munich for Oktoberfest! I'll be going the weekend after orientation before I start teaching, so it's a bit early to be going on a trip, but if I go any later it won't be Oktoberfest. I always thought Oktoberfest was in October, but it's actually mid-September through the first few days of October, weird huh? Anyways, I'm looking forward to experiencing it in Munich while visiting friends I haven't seen in a few years!!

my VISA arrived!

5 weeks after going to the Spanish Consulate in DC my passport, stamped with my visa, finally arrived!!! Now I guess I should start thinking about packing...

Triathlon!!!

Today I raced in & completed my first triathlon!!! It was really exciting & I can't wait to do another one! It was also awesome because not only was my mom able to come cheer me on, but 2 of my high school friends were able to complete it as well. Obviously I preferred the running section the best, although no doubt I would've preferred a longer run. So I know the Madrid marathon is in April, now I'll have to look into triathlons too...

One-way

I finally bought my ticket!! A one-way ticket to Madrid- guess I better actually start looking for a place to live now...