Everything up to this point!

So I have decided to create a blog. I decided that it would be the best way to write down stories and tell my friends and family without dictating to them through emails a million times. Also I will be able to look back at this blog and read what I have written about my travels and reminisce. I am going to give a quick over view of what I have done so far but after this one I will try and write more frequently. Let's see, where to begin.

Leaving Mexico:
Of course I had trouble flying. For those of you who don't know, I run into a lot of trouble coming home from Mexico. I was stuck in Mexico City airport without a flight or a place to stay and I had to think quickly. I was supposed to go directly to SF from Mexico City but I missed my flight due to my previous flight from Morelia arriving late. I got the next flight to LA, which was the only thing left available that day (otherwise I would have had to wait for a few days which wasn't going to happen!). From LA I was supposed to buy a ticket to Oakland but by the time I got to LA the airport had closed and no more flights were leaving that day. I spent the night in LA airport with all my luggage and first thing the next morning, I bought a ticket to Oakland at the earliest possible time. Finally I made it home and spent some time with my mom before she left that morning to help my sister move into her dorm room at Morehead State University. I was supposed to arrive on the 15th, in time to take my mom to the airport on the 16th, but I did not arrive until the morning of the 16th, with just enough time to get my mom to the airport.

Arrival:
So, things were going very smoothly when I left SFO on the 23rd in the afternoon. I had a lovely 1o hour flight London and I was excited about the last leg of my trip to Madrid. Of course, I had flight problems. It started out by waiting on the plane for 3 hours without moving at all. At this point I was already worried because I told Seara to meet me in the airport at a certain time, the time when I was supposed to land. I was already late. Three hours later, they tell us there is a technical difficulty with the plane and they are going to have to deboard and move us to another plane. By this time, everyone is a little ticked off. We now have to walk halfway across Heathrow airport to the other boarding gate and board another plane. By the time we all get there, over the loud speaker, a voice tells us that our flight has been canceled and we must make our way back to the ticket office and reschedule our tickets. Everyone is pissed! We walk all the way back, again, and wait in huge lines to get a rescheduled flight. At this point, I was a little fortunate. I met a few people who were students doing the same thing I was. We bonded of course and hung out that night. The airlines were gracious enough to provide us with water while we waited in line and fully refund our tickets. They also gave us a place to stay and food for the night and next morning. Now I am really worried about Seara but I had no way of contacting her. It was very stressful. I finally get to the airport and take a taxi to the meeting place and who is waiting in the Lobby, Seara! good timing. After that, everything went smoothly. We had orientation, a free day and the school started for the Intensive language program, ILP

ILP:
Great month! I met a lot of people, had a great time. Classes were going well, and everything was great. I learned a lot from my classes, history of Spain and Madrid, Spanish Literature and a lot of grammar. At the same time, it was stressful. I was crushed for time to find a place to live for the year. It is more difficult than one would think. If you like a place, you can't wait around and think about it because someone else will have already signed the lease, it was very competitive. I found a great place and I am living in it right now and I love it. Here are some pictures. Its great!
One of our classes was the history of Madrid, which was probably one of my favorite classes. Every Tuesday we learned about Madrid and then went on excursions on Thursday. After the Excursions the teachers took us all out to typical Spanish food, Tapas. It always was a lot of fun. The teachers were also a lot of fun and they say they are going to contact us for Thanksgiving, we might have a big dinner together! Even though the ILP was a lot of fun, I was not quite settled in anywhere. Now that I am settled in my apartment, I feel more Spanish and more comfortable.
Here are some more pictures from the ILP.

Week Vacation:
In between real classes at the university and the ILP, there was a week break. Seara, Rebecca and I travled to Brussels and Lille, then Seara and I went to Amsterdam and then back to Brussels. The night we left for vacation, Madrid had a huge cultural festival called Noche en Blanco. All the museums and cultural centers were open all night and anyone can go in for free. There were also concerts and people everywhere. Being as there was people everywhere, we had a lot of trouble getting to the airport and almost missed our flight. I remember thinking "Oh no, here we go again" but thankfully we made it. We had to take a night bus to the airport which was filled with people trying to get home from the Noche en Blanco, that is why it was so tough. The bus also dropped us off about 15min from the airport and we had to find our way to the airport. We could see it across the freeway but we weren't sure how to get there until we asked for directions. Finally we made it. As for the trip, it was amazing. Brussels, Lille and Amsterdam are all beautiful Cities. If you are thinking Belgium Waffles right now, you are on the right track. They are amazing! The Chocolate is also amazing. Brussels is just an all-around great city. It has so much to offer, I wish I could have spent more time there. In each town, we came across guide books that had recommendations for tourists and such like that. Of course we went to some cool museums and as well some cool local spots. I won't spend that much time describing the whole trip but I will say that those three cities are must-see. Lille has the second biggest art collection in France (second compared to the Louvre), Brussels has waffles, chocolate and the European Parliament building. Also Waterloo is just south of Brussels. Last but not least, Amsterdam, which has more museums per square kilometer than any other city in Europe.
Here are some pictures of the places I went.

Now:
Now we are in our second week of school and it is a lot of fun. School will be tough but I am looking forward to challenging myself. It's nice to know that everyone else is doing the same thing. I have seen a few friends since I have been here, such as John Sloat, Matt W., James and Katie from Mexico, and my friends I met in London in Heathrow. Everything is going great. I love my place, my roommates everything. I haven't taken many pictures in a while because I am in school now and I haven't gone many places but around town. Soon more pictures will be up and more stories. Look our for some more soon.

Patton