Traveling. Many people enjoy it, others may find it stressful. I stand with both sides of this spectrum. However, having the opportunity to explore and visit another country always overshadows the stresses of having to go through airport security. My trip to Madrid was nothing close to smooth. The day was extremely windy with high wind gusts making the layover from Boston to Montreal a real scare. Added with the recent plane accidents in the last two months, my thoughts were nothing less than positive. Turbulence was present whilst approaching Madrid but nothing out of the ordinary. Though a shaky trip, me and my group of three other students made it to the airport of Barajas in a timely manner and, after a long line of security, met with our wonderful resident director, Fran.
A short bathroom break and we were off to the hotel. The day was dreary and wet with overcast skies and heavy rain though not enough to completely soak us. In twenty minutes, we made it to our destination, that being the hotel Regina where we would be spending our next seven nights. Entering the hotel, I had met up with the majority of the group with the exception of several other students who were to fly in at a later time. A short introduction to several other students and I soon realized the chemistry we all had was going to make this study abroad experience a lot more enjoyable. Receiving our keys to the rooms shortly after prompted all of us to rush to our rooms, including me and my roommate, and see what was waiting for us. The room I was going to inhabit for the next week was comfortable, but it would not take a genius to put two in two together and realize this room was meant for couples. Despite some interesting design choices, the room had everything I needed. We had two hours to relax before our orientation. Despite the many warnings about avoiding a nap made by our director, I fell into the trap though I was able to wake up on time for the orientation. The orientation was quick, and several insights were given to us. As quickly as it had started, it ended, and we were on our own. Several split into their own groups and we were off. To spend our first night, we went out and ate Asian cuisine at a buffet by the name of Sumo. Our group of around seven to eight people ate, laughed, and talked for well over an hour. Our time there was also accompanied by the national Women’s Day protests taking place in the streets of Madrid. Hundreds if not thousands of women dressed in purple all outside in the cold and wet weather went and protested late into the night. Madrid, known as a city that never sleeps, takes note that many businesses close late at night along with activities that people may attend. Not much exploring was done that day due to our long flights and tiring trips. As soon as I had eaten, me and the rest of the group ventured back to the hotel, explored what the hotel had to offer and were off to bed to tackle tomorrow’s tasks.
