New York:

Our trip to New York was short enough to leave me wanting more, but long enough to give me an impression of the NY lifestyle. The city is fast, fast, fast. Whether you’re ordering pizza, exchanging money, or taking the metro, make your decision quickly and don’t ask questions.

New methods of transportation, like the metro, and the overwhelming number of people and buildings, almost made me feel like a foreigner already. I had expected to feel estranged in Europe, but NY was a type of limbo, in which Rachel and I were making decisions independent of parents or rules, but were still very familiar of societal expectations.

It was great to visit Times Square and the Empire State Building, but we didn’t have much time to see anything else. Traveling to the city from our hotel near the airport took nearly 1.5 hours each direction, and we planned to leave extra early, because we wanted to be in the airport 3 hours before our boarding time.

We made our way through security and boarded the flight with no problems, but the plane ride was difficult. We couldn’t get much sleep, and we arrived in Madrid around 4 a.m. EST.

Madrid:

Once we landed (10 am) it took us until around 2 pm to check-in to the hotel. We took the metro from the airport all the way to “La Plaza de Espana.” This is the Spanish Square, and it’s one of the main arteries of Madrid. Our hotel was literally a few hundred meters from the subway, but we walked in the wrong direction, and were lost carrying our luggage for about an hour. Finally we asked an older gentleman where the hotel would be, and after consulting with another woman they pointed us in the right direction.

The first day was difficult. After checking in, we slept for a few hours, and decided to adventure out into the city for some dinner. Neither of us knew any Spanish, and it’s really true that the Madrilenos do not like accommodate English speakers.

Wherever we went, and whatever our hardships were, the hotel was always our comfort. We enjoyed calling it “home,” and whenever the city was overwhelming, we would return home and relax. Our home was beautiful, and had many amenities, but sometimes our home was disturbed by “noisy neighbors” late at night, or by construction in other parts of the hotel.

After a few days in the city, Rachel and I were becoming more comfortable. The night before I left, Rachel couldn’t contact her host family, and since we didn’t know where she would go the next morning, we decided to make a trip to their home. We didn’t know what to expect, and apparently neither did her “family,” but once we were able to make it clear that she belonged to the program for UNCG, we were received great joy. It was a great feeling to know that things were settled, and we took the metro back to our hotel to get Rachel’s luggage.

Unfortunately, we our reservation at home was no longer available, so we had booked a new “hotel” closer to the airport. The airport and Rachel’s new place were on opposite sides of town, so it took us the rest of the evening to get her luggage, and bring it back to the house. After we returned to the hotel, it was already midnight, and I set my alarm for 3:30 to catch a taxi for the airport. I put the word hotel in parentheses, because our 44 euro hotel turned out to be a four person apartment. It was very new and modern, but unfortunately it was far away from the metropolitan center of the city.

The taxi ride was about 30 euro, and I arrived at the airport at 4:30 to catch my flight which boarded at 6:05. When I boarded the plain, a Spanish couple had taken my seats, and I walked to the back of the plain to ask the Italian stewardess what to do.

Tip: Never walk to the back of a boarding airplane.

Once I was able to communicate that my seat was occupied, the stewardess asked me to have them move, which I was perfectly incapable of asking, and I spent the next lifetime repeating “Scusi… lo siento… mi dispiace…” while I fought my way back to my seat in the front of the airplane. Once I made it to the seat, I found another flight attendant and pointed to my ticket. He shouted “Ten” in English which was the Row number, and I nodded and turned to the next available attendant. I pointed to my ticket, and then to the seat, and the stewardess thankfully understood. She spoke with the woman in my seat for a moment, asked for her ticket, and then asked me to take her original seat in a different row. I was more than willing to do so, and thankfully, the seat next to me was empty also.

The flight took off over a beautiful view of Spain, and we flew in between two layers of thick cumulus clouds, which made me feel as though I was between two worlds. The rest of the flight was equally beautiful, and I was excited to reach Rome.

Rome:
(to be continued…)

Soon I’ll post my adventures in Rome, and the beginning of life in Tuscania!