It was time for me to pack my bags and head to Spain! I had been loosing sleep worrying about my trip. I was going totally alone, I knew nobody who was going to be there. I had never really traveled without family and I did not like sleepovers as a child. So, going to Spain for two months was going to be a challenge. It was time to go, my dad drove me to the airport where I got on the plane to Spain. My mother called me as I was taking off, which made me even more nervous, I was crying during take-off, which was very embarrassing!

My first thoughts upon arrival to the Spanish airport in Madrid, was that it was quite similar to an airport in the U.S. This made me fell quite comfortable. Everything was in both Spanish and English, making it easy for me to navigate through the airport. I soon found my study group that I would be living with for the next two months. I did not recognize anyone, though they were all from the same university as me. Naturally, I was observing the people in my group and wondering who my roommate would be.

Who will it be??

We then got onto a big coach bus that took us to where we would be staying. While on the bus, I remember looking out of the window and seeing a lot of farmland and mountains. I also noticed a lot of bulls. But, the thing that stuck out to me the most, was how fast the cars were going. WOW, they were really going fast. Upon reading the speak limit signs, I realized that I did not understand how to read Kilometers, so, I could not understand the speed limit.

We arrived to the dormitory where I was going to stay, it was run my Spanish nuns who were very kind. I was pleasantly surprised when I found out that I was in a single room, with no roommates. However, then the thought comes "How will I make friends if I don't have a roommate?" I was hoping someone would invite me to look around our new city. I was very nervous and scared to start mingling with the other girls.

Soon enough, the other girls invited me to explore the city. My first impressions were amazing! There were old and beautiful buildings that I had never seen before, being from New York. The details in the building were amazing. Everything visually were different. The cars were smaller, the streets were made of stone as well as the buildings, the people were very well dressed (all of them), there were pig and cow legs hanging on store windows and everything was just so different and interesting.

The very second we came to the "Plaza Mayor" which was the center of the city, we realized that there was a major soccer game going on. It was the EuroCup finals, Spain was playing against Italy. I had never seen such enthusiasm and excitement for a sports team in my life. The rest of the first night was spent celebrating Spain's victory with the Spanish people and girl I had met in the dorms.

I really enjoyed the first couple of days in Spain. I went to my classes, which were at 2:00 PM on Monday and Wednesdays and 5:00 PM on Thursday and Fridays. This gave me a lot of time to explore! My teachers did not speak English, which was great, because I went to Spain to improve my Spanish. I understood everything they said, however, I shied away from speaking in class, I was embarrassed of my Spanish. School overall was fine, it was enjoyable and not rigorous, I did not have homework or many assignments. I had a lot of free time to explore the city.

There were a couple of big differences between the U.S. and Spain that I had noticed during my trip. One thing was the food. In Spain, I noticed that junk food was not as readily available as it was here. If I wanted to eat candy or chips, I had to go and find it. Whereas in the U.S, it is everywhere, in pharmacies, delis, stores etc... Spain also had amazing gelato, the best I had every had. There was no fried food as appetizers on menus, or at all. Everything was very fresh and healthy. They also had tapas, which were everywhere! They were small little things like mini sandwiches, they were only one euro and great to enjoy on my walk to class. The coffee in Spain was also great! I really missed the burgers from home though, I was dying for one.