June 28, 2011.
In a few hours I will get on a plane to JFK international airport, from there I will get on a 13 hour flight to Madrid. I’m incredibly excited to see what may be ahead of me these next few weeks, but also a little nervous. I know this trip will become one of the most positive journeys of my high school career. ¡Hasta luego, amigos!
June 30th, 2011
So I realized today that the 6 hour ahead time change makes everything I'm writing about the day after. So technically, it's the first day of July here. Anyway, today was great! Max, Rob, (two people from the group) and I began the day by sleeping through two separate alarm clocks and missing breakfast. So with empty stomachs we met a girl with the program named Rocío who lives in Spain. She took us around to some local hangouts including an incredible roof-view of all of Madrid. Later, we did a scavenger hunt-esque activity where our smaller groups set out and asked multiple strangers their opinions and views. Max got interviewed by some political protesters in Puerta Del Sol. We headed back to the hotel and attempted to find the pool (in vain due to our inability to follow directions). before going to eat at a local cafe. We ate some octopus and it was delicious. Afterwards we headed back to the hotel for some sleep, thank god.
July 1st, 2011
Today started off by waking up much too early (the standard 7am wake up call) to grab a quick bite and catch a bus to Toledo. I used the bus ride to catch up on some much needed rest, and we arrived in Toledo after about an hour or so. The city is a relatively small one, containing about 8,000 inhabitants. The government is a kind of Socialist Democracy. We hit the ground running by exploring the ancient city and it's stunning cathedrals and other historic sites. Also, we had the opportunity to talk to many locals about their government, social aspects, and other intriguing details of their lives. The people were incredibly friendly and helpful, as I was constantly asking for directions; however, they helped me find my way. We met up with some of the other EIL groups and met some new American friends, always nice to hear some English being spoken. Later, my group and I got some lunch at a local restaurant. I had paella, a standard Spanish seafood dish. Like all the food I've had the pleasure of enjoying here so far, it was delicious. We caught the bus and made it back to the hotel around 7:00pm. We took a well needed break until about 10:00pm, when we headed out to dinner and to see a concert supporting gay pride week in Madrid. It was crazy, Max and I ended up dancing in a town fountain with a bunch of locals. After the concert we ended up wandering the streets of Madrid and taking in the nightlife before returning to the hotel. Tonight was a great way to end our stay in Madrid.
July 2nd, 2011
Our group was finally able to sleep in a little bit today and catch up on all the rest we haven't been able to get since we've arrived. In doing so, we had to skip out on breakfast; however, completely worth it in my book. I have been completely exhausted pretty much the entire trip. Later, our group picked out some food in a grocery store and rode the metro to a nice Plaza for a small picnic. Afterwards we headed down Gran Vía, one of the main roads in Madrid, to watch the gay pride (orgullo) parade. I have really enjoyed how open-minded and friendly everyone is here, a welcome reprieve from the states. The parade went splendidly, and our group had a great time watching all of the floats and marchers that came through, not to mention all of the people-watching. After returning to the hotel and taking some lightning quick showers (which mainly just consisted of wetting our bodies and running down to the lobby still soaking wet), we had a short meeting about our homestay and headed for the overnight train to Girona. A few of us stayed up and talked/played cards in one of the social cards before heading to bed. We then hit a small speed bump the next day when we woke up to the conductor letting us know that the train had hit someone on the tracks and we needed to transfer to a less direct path to Barcelona, then go by bus to Olot. With all the traveling taking place I have totally lost my appetite and am a little disoriented on my sleeping schedule. I finally made it to my host family's home in Olot, a small rural-esque town of about 35,000 inhabitants just north of Barcelona. I already feel at home here and am very excited to see what opportunities will be presented to me next.
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