The First 48

I arrived in Madrid at 9:55 a.m. on Thursday, September 6, 2012, after a 15 hour journey from South Alabama. The three plane rides were pretty uneventful, though checking in at the airport was headache-inducing. I'm the world's worst packer and can find a way to pack too much for a weekend at a friend's house.

So, my bags, which should have been a max of 50 pounds each, weighed 60 and 68 pounds, respectively. When I had to leave a bottle of conditioner and my boots behind...well, saying I wasn't a happy camper would be an understatement. In any event, I survived and the boots and conditioner will be coming my way--courtesy of the parentals--as soon as I get a permanent address here. Day 1 in Madrid consisted of fighting sleep until I finally allowed myself a four hour nap, going to dinner and doing some minor sightseeing near my hotel, returning and sleeping some more.

Now, today. I'm happy to say I was a lot more productive! Fulbright gives us a lot of autonomy, so we're tasked with figuring out our own living arrangements and establishing bank accounts. I've never lived alone, as I went from the 'rents home to a residence hall, so I'm not too familiar with the process of finding an apartment in the States. Obviously, I'm one IQ point short of being totally clueless in Madrid. So, the day started with a late breakfast with my current roomie (who's another Fulbrighter, and is pretty much on the same page with me as far as not being hurried). We then purchased cell phones. I can't even tell you how accomplished I felt. And no, I didn't get a smart phone nor did I purchase a SIM card for my American smartphone. I went with a nice basic Samsung flip phone that calls, sends text, is equipped with one game, and has a battery that can last at least one week without dying. It's time to turn off for awhile, not to mention that this was the most cost effective thing to do.

Anywho, the roomie and I then proceeded to the bank to open our accounts. Alas, it was closed, since most tend to close at about 2:00 p.m. So, we went to lunch for about 2.5 hours. In the midst of all this, we walked around and saw some buildings advertising apartments for rent, so we took down numbers and street names in order to inquire about them later. After lunch, we did a little more walking, got completely lost trying to walk back to the hostel, finally found a Metro station to board, and made it back at about 5:00. Thereafter, we looked for some apartments online and just relaxed the rest of the day.

So, in a nutshell, I'm still homeless and bankless. BUT, I have a phone, I exercised, and am not starving. It's been a pretty successful two days. :)

Ari.