Saturday, January 31, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Yea...Babar came too
Hola Todos!
Yes "Mission Accomplished." I am safe and sound and here in Madrid. After a long and arduous journey I made it. Because of "iced wing" delays in D.C. I did not arrive in London until 45 minutes before my next flight was to take off. As a result, I was forced to sprint through Heathrow in a mad rush to make my plane. Unfortunately, between getting off the D.C. plane, a 20 minutes shuttle ride from terminal 5 to terminal 1, and having to go through security again, I missed my flight. Con mucha suerte, another one was taking off in an hour, and I hopped on that one. To use a patented phrase of mine, the plane ride from London to Madrid was "sloppy." After not sleeping at all on the first flight ( I watched "The Rocker" - decent flick starring Dwight Scrute, and "Vicky Christina Barcelona" - which seemed somewhat appropriate in a "yea I'm going to Spain, all the cities are the same" kind of way. Anyway, I spent the two hour flight in a trance like state of what was effectively "heavy eye shutting" with a bit of rest. I arrived at Barajas at 12:30 pm. After grabbing my bags, I headed for a taxi where for the first time I used Spanish in a necessary and professional setting. I said "Cien treinta y ocho, Calle Jorge Juan por favor, gracias, and off I was. Between the brightness of mid day and the mild and pleasant temperature, my cab ride definitely felt like I was starting something new. And so, I arrived outside my casa, and after ringing the doorbell, my host mother Cristina greeted me with an abrazo and a beso. After a bit of chit chat, I headed to my room to unpack my things and to take a moment of rest. Madrid had arrived, and this was only the beginning. Well, enough for now. I have to go to welcome dinner for the Georgetown students here. Tapas for the first time. Game on.
Yes "Mission Accomplished." I am safe and sound and here in Madrid. After a long and arduous journey I made it. Because of "iced wing" delays in D.C. I did not arrive in London until 45 minutes before my next flight was to take off. As a result, I was forced to sprint through Heathrow in a mad rush to make my plane. Unfortunately, between getting off the D.C. plane, a 20 minutes shuttle ride from terminal 5 to terminal 1, and having to go through security again, I missed my flight. Con mucha suerte, another one was taking off in an hour, and I hopped on that one. To use a patented phrase of mine, the plane ride from London to Madrid was "sloppy." After not sleeping at all on the first flight ( I watched "The Rocker" - decent flick starring Dwight Scrute, and "Vicky Christina Barcelona" - which seemed somewhat appropriate in a "yea I'm going to Spain, all the cities are the same" kind of way. Anyway, I spent the two hour flight in a trance like state of what was effectively "heavy eye shutting" with a bit of rest. I arrived at Barajas at 12:30 pm. After grabbing my bags, I headed for a taxi where for the first time I used Spanish in a necessary and professional setting. I said "Cien treinta y ocho, Calle Jorge Juan por favor, gracias, and off I was. Between the brightness of mid day and the mild and pleasant temperature, my cab ride definitely felt like I was starting something new. And so, I arrived outside my casa, and after ringing the doorbell, my host mother Cristina greeted me with an abrazo and a beso. After a bit of chit chat, I headed to my room to unpack my things and to take a moment of rest. Madrid had arrived, and this was only the beginning. Well, enough for now. I have to go to welcome dinner for the Georgetown students here. Tapas for the first time. Game on.
P.S. Pictures at the top are outside of my house and of the local park, Fuente del Berro.
The third is of my room. And if I know what you are thinking, No I didn't fake the pic of Babar. It's all too real.
Hasta pronto,
B
B
Monday, January 26, 2009
Morning Departure
Hello All,
My first blog post! My God it feels good to enter the blogsphere. Tonight marks my final night in Silver Spring before I depart tomorrow. It has been a fantastic winter break, but the time is right for a bit of a mix up. Madrid awaits, and I think I am prepared to finally embark on my journey. The title of my blog can be translated as "the bear" and "the strawberry tree," which are both emblems of Madrid. I've always liked bears and strawberries, and as such, the name seemed quite appropro. Well readers, I wanted the first post to be a quick one, and so estoy terminado!
Hasta pronto,
B
My first blog post! My God it feels good to enter the blogsphere. Tonight marks my final night in Silver Spring before I depart tomorrow. It has been a fantastic winter break, but the time is right for a bit of a mix up. Madrid awaits, and I think I am prepared to finally embark on my journey. The title of my blog can be translated as "the bear" and "the strawberry tree," which are both emblems of Madrid. I've always liked bears and strawberries, and as such, the name seemed quite appropro. Well readers, I wanted the first post to be a quick one, and so estoy terminado!
Hasta pronto,
B
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