Of Sand and Sunburn

Sunday, May 30…no, actually, Monday, May 31. Greetings from the weirdness that is Madrid-Barajas Airport! I thought about retitling the blog ‘Of Sand and Sunburn’ for the part that takes place in Spain, but I’m not exactly sure how to do that…so, let’s just call it ‘Of Fish and Frostbite, Part 2.’

I didn’t post after I came home from Russia, but that’s mostly because I was in contact with just about everyone who reads this blog when I came home. Suffice it to say, it was great to be home, even if I’d only just gotten used to Eastern Standard Time when it was time to leave it again. I miss St. Petersburg, and I especially miss my host mom and my friends, but I’m starting a brand-new adventure today, so I’m not giving myself time to think about what I miss. (Except sleep.)

We were flying United on an Aer Lingus plane, which has spoiled me for intercontinental entertainment systems. In between rounds of Garcia Lorca’s poetry, I watched The Princess and the Frog twice (so cute!!!) and an old episode of Glee, which I may need to check out in more detail when I return stateside. (I said MAY. That is not an invitation to start bombarding me with Glee-related information, my friends. Thank you.) I’m not even tired after the nearly-eight-hour flight to Madrid, oddly; I have a feeling that’ll catch up with me in about six hours. I’ve managed to switch mostly into Spanish, except for ending my breakfast order at the airport’s McDonalds (don’t look at me like that, Mom, that’s all there was) with ‘pozhalusta’ instead of ‘por favor’. Actually, I’ve managed to impress a couple of the airline people with my combination of an American passport and a Castilian accent. This may not be so hard after all. :)

Madrid-Barajas seems to be put together mostly for shopping and scenic views, with the occasional informational board informing you that your flight information is not yet available. I’m boarding in an hour, but the information available as to what gate I’m boarding at is ‘either Gates H, J, or K.’ This narrows it down to three fifty-gate sections out of seven in this terminal. :P That, and there’s no place to sit down, so in the middle of a crowd of people pacing in front of the departures board, I’m perching beside of an elevator writing my blog. (I’m not even the only one sitting here with a netbook. -grin-) The ‘Free Public Wifi’ network is not, in fact, free (or working), so I’ll end up posting this from Granada. Only one more flight, baggage claim, and the negotiating of a taxi still stands between me and my homestay! :)