Arriving in Madrid
- Sasha Albrecht
- Jan 6, 2016
- 3 min read
Like a giddy school girl, I collected my luggage queued with the rest of the USAC students, dragging the heavy bags behind me. Everything felt so surreal --- I know I use this word to much when I talk about this trip, but I can't think of another way to describe the way I felt.
A tall, dark haired man approached me with a clipboard
"Name?"
"Sasha Albrecht."
"Okay, follow the others that way to the bus."
I did as I was told, sticking close to Madi and Grace as I went. We threw our bags into storage area beneath the bus, and climbed on board. I had to admit, the buses were a lot nicer than any I'd been on before (which isn't saying much, to be honest --- US schools don't exactly budget nice travel accommodations for their students).
There were two buses to split between 60 students, so everyone got a row of seats to themselves. I sat close to Madi and Grace, unable to stop gushing about the fact that we were in Spain (not that they needed reminding, but I couldn't keep my mouth shut).
Patricia O'Conner, the program director, boarded our bus and the door shut behind her. She began giving us logistics for our first night and the following day as the bus pulled away from the airport --- we'd have about an hour to get ready for dinner, which would start at 10. After that, we'd have an informational meeting about the rest of the Madrid Tour before heading off to bed. I stared out the window as I listened, noting how many roundabouts there were and how different the traffic signs looked.
Patricia also told us that we'd arrived on Three Kings Day, which is basically the Spanish equivalent to Christmas Day, so it was unlikely that anything would be open when we arrived (not that we had any time or energy to explore, anyway).
We arrived at Hotel Regina, and I was pleasantly surprised at how nice it was --- the exterior, like the rest of the buildings in downtown Madrid, had that classic Spanish architecture while the interior was modern and nicely decorated.
Madison, Grace, and I quickly agreed to share a room, and approached Patricia to reserve our spot. The elevator was too small for all of us with the luggage, but we made it work. Before long, the three of us were excitedly admiring our little bedroom and, most importantly, the shower. Making sure that the other two didn't object, I quickly hopped in and washed away the 24 hours of travel that it took to reach that coveted moment.
Again, we were pleasantly surprised when we went down for dinner. The dining room was simple, but more luxurious than I was personally used to. Grace, Madi, and I claimed a corner table, where we were joined by some other students before the meal began. Dinner consisted of three plates: pasta with tomato sauce, chicken over french fries (which, as it turns out, is actually a very common dish), and a bowl of sliced kiwi. Despite how ravenously hungry I was, I tried to practice holding a knife and fork properly, remembering to put my napkin on my lap and to sit up straight, secretly hoping that nobody could tell that I wasn't used to eating so formally.
I was so full and exhausted by the time the USAC staff started going over the rules and the schedule that I had to focus doubly hard to actually absorb any information. Finally, around midnight, we all dragged ourselves to our respective rooms for bed. The moment my head hit the pillow, exhaustion took me, and I fell straight away to sleep.
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