Things went pretty smooth; the concierge even forgot to charge me for my second checked-in bag. I met a Gallego (Galicia is in the Northwestern part of Spain) on the plane from Chicago to Madrid, and was able to practice my Spanish for a few hours with him in many topics: things to see in Galicia, the local Galician cuisine, legalization of marijuana and how it relates to crime (he was coming back from seeing his new wife in Mexico), the economic situation in Spain, and other things of "Spanish nature."
After arriving at the room where I am staying for five days--more or less-- I went to the local shopping center to buy a SIM card for my phone and get some groceries. When I came back, I began cooking lunch around 12:45 pm, a normal time in the US for lunch. When I tried offering my roommate some lunch he looked a little surprised at how early I was eating. "Do you typically eat this early?" he asked. Evidently, Spanish people typically eat lunch at around 2:30 pm, and at some point between 8-11 pm they'll have their dinner. Oh, by the way, most people just have a coffee for breakfast . . . so imagine waiting from 8 am until 2:30 pm with just a coffee under your belt before having lunch, albeit a big lunch. Nah, I like to integrate with the local culture, but you won't see me doing anything like that.
Afterwards, I got to work setting up times to check out apartments. Before heading to a bar with another person in the same program and her roommates to watch the champions league match between Real Madrid and Manchester City, I viewed a room in an apartment. It was nice, but I want to have at least seen a few before making a decision.
Tomorrow is orientation day. Apparently it will last for 10 hours, but hopefully it will be shorter so that I can maintain sanity, and because I have another apartment to view.
Peace,
Ameer
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