Estoy en Madrid! (Day 1)

Leaving Pittsburgh was really hard. Driving into the Fort Pitt tunnel, sealing off that final skyline from view, I must admit, I shed some tears. Aside from my duffel and backpack, everything I have is in da ‘burgh. My friends, family, and girl are all there. Now I’m not. It’s odd to wake up from my dreams each morning and realize all those fading faces of my friends are far across the Ocean.

Flight delays at the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia airports added lots of stress to make my connecting flight. My hostel reservation was cancelled, forcing me to stay in a much less friendly, and more expensive hostel. I still haven’t been able to connect to the Internet here (this has obviously changed since). I’ve barely spoken to anyone, unless I’ve been ordering food or needing help getting on the Internet.

Spain is still a very strange place to me. After eight years of suburban American Spanish classes, I know some vocabulary words, but that’s about it. It’s day 1 and I can communicate the basics, but not converse. I’m much worse than Borat.

But it hasn’t all been bad. Insecurities aside, it was a fascinating day.

The architecture here is lovely and simply from another time. I began to take pictures of all the neat buildings, but quickly gave up after realizing everything is worthy of a photo. You just have to be here to get it.

Puerta del Sol is lovely. I spent all day in this section of town exploring the streets, shops, and restaurants. The pedestrian streets of the plaza are lined with musicians, magicians, and other miscellaneous performers. I’ve never seen so many accordions. I’ve also been surprised by the large amounts of graffiti tagged throughout the city. It’s much more prevalent in Spain than in the U.S. I was also expecting temperatures over 100, but I don’t think it’s been over 70 since I’ve arrived.

If this is the worst culture shock that Spain can throw at me, then it’s going to be an epic trip.