Chapter 1: Airports

 The journey has begun!! I left home over 24 hours ago and still have yet to arrive at my final destination. I have probably slept 6 hours over the last two nights and haven’t changed, brushed my teeth, or washed my face since yesterday morning. BUT 4 airports down and only 1 to go now!

I woke up at 8am yesterday morning (Sunday 1/15) to finish packing and catch my first flight from Atlanta to Laguardia in New York. After collecting my bags from Laguardia, I took a shuttle to JFK where I frolicked around for 6 hours before my next flight to Madrid. JFK is the BOMB. I had the absolute best time wandering around independently, watching international travelers, having a fun dinner, window-shopping, exchanging some currency, reading (drinking), and hanging out at a chic little bar before boarding my plane at 7pm. I shared my row with a young, scruffy looking guy named Ines whom I assumed to be Hispanic but later discovered was actually Moroccan. HOW AWESOME! Who knows anyone from Morocco?! He was sporting a long black ponytail, double hoop earrings, and completely immersed in a worn Kurt Cobain biography when I boarded the plane. We became fast friends (the middle seat passenger never showed up) and spent the first hour or two of the flight chatting over Bailey’s before I decided to try and force myself to get some sleep (a full 5 hours earlier than my body is used to). The plane was very cramped and uncomfortable, so after watching me awkwardly wriggle around in my seat for long enough, Ines lifted both arm rests and insisted that I just put my legs on top of his and sprawl out across the row. He tried to reciprocate the motion and, well, needless to say I crossed the Atlantic half-cuddling with a strange Moroccan man.

We landed in Madrid at 8:30 in the morning…. Which was REALLY 2:30 am. Talk about disorienting. Sunday crashed head on into Monday and the two formed an awkward zygote, with both days trying to break away but neither successfully separating from the other (like twins). So today is not it’s own day but rather an extension of yesterday in a blur of terminals, airplanes, and foreigners. BUT, I finally got to Spain!!! I ran into 2 other students from the states that are coincidentally participating in the same study abroad program as I am and the 3 of us are currently passed out on the floor waiting out the 7-hour layover before our final flight to Seville. Once we land tonight around 5 we will go straight to a hotel for the first night of our program orientation.

Salient examples of looking like a fool in front of natives: misunderstanding “customer service” for “ticket seis” (what?) three times in a row. Now that I think about it, that wasn’t even in Spanish (except for “seis” which everyone knows means 6).