Mi Llegada en España (My Arrival in Spain)

We arrived around 9 in the morning at the Madrid Airport. It was really simple getting out, more so than I thought it would be. We followed a hallway and the signs to the baggage claim (they are in both English and Spanish), where we had to give our passports to customs before entering the baggage area. We found our luggage area and everyone got their luggage with no problems. Inside there was a place to exchange you money if you wanted to although I ended up not doing that. We then headed out of the baggage area where we met out professors. They took us to a bus that was rented for the KIIS students and we drive for about an hour till we arrived near the aqueducto. 

After that our host families, who were waiting for us, took us back to their houses. Our host mother, Lola, had an apartment  that was extremely close to the aqueduct so it wasn't that long of a drive. Mary, my roommate, and I got there and unpacked and then she took us on a walk to the plaza mayor where our classes are. After that we had lunch with her and her husband, Alfonso. We had gazpacho (a cold tomato soup that originates from Andalucia) along with baked chicken, potatoes, and melon for desert (which was better than any melon I have ever had in the United States). We then took a little nap and rested a bit before heading over to the aqueduct to meet with our group for orientation.

Dr. Melissa Stewart showed us around Segovia and some of the famous landmarks before we went to the KIIS office, where she answered questions we had and discussed plans for the nextfew days as well as rules. We then continued walking and saw the Alcazar, an old palace in Segovia.

We circled back around to the aqueduct, where we then separated, with Mary and I heading back to our house to shower and have dinner.

We had Spanish rice and a tomato salad. I actually like the tomato salad even thou I usually have trouble eating tomatoes. I only ate one piece of tomato though. We then had cherries and a Spanish fruit called Paraguaya for desert. The Paraguaya is delicious and is like peach with more flavor. It is amazing (It's now my favorite fruit). We ate on the balcony for dinner and Lola, Mary, and I talked for a while. I really feel like we are much closer even though it has only been one day. Hasta mañana!

Investigación: Viajando por Tren (Research: Traveling by Train)

Planning the trip

When buying you ticket, you can buy them online at Renfe.com but I don't believe they take American credit cards.  Some of my friends said the website does take PayPal.

( For finding trains, I prefer this cite because I find it easier. It's not from Spain but it has many trips across Europe. http://www.bahn.de/i/view/GBR/en/index.shtml. )

It tends to be easier to go to the closest station to get the tickets. The clerks behind the counter are pros at trains and so can help you make sure you get on the trains you need to get to your destination. You just go up, tell them where you are going and then tell them around what time you want to arrive or leave. Make sure to check the tickets for the times but usually they are correct.

Also, as a visitor to Spain, you can get a renfe pass, which is basically a pass where you can buy a certain number of train trips. Just FYI, 4 tickets actually costs the same as 2 trips. I bought four trips for around 168€ while the two trips I believe costs about 169-170€. I also had to buy a connecting trip to Madrid from Segovia to get to the AVE station in Madrid and the trips there and back cost about 20-30€. 

Stations

 One thing to keep in mind when planning a trip is how you are going to get to and from the station. The Segovia Guiomar station is quite a way out of town and so you need to make sure that you leave in the bus that will get there with sufficient time to get on the train.  

Also, make sure you know how to get to your hostel or hotel before arriving in the city, because you need to know if you have to walk, take a taxi, or take the metro and there are not many wifi spots in Spain if you don't have data. 

NOTE: If you are traveling through Madrid, there are two stations. One is Charmartin and the other is Atocha. Especially if you are coming from or going to Segovia, you will need to take a third train called Cercanías (not listed on your tickets) from Charmartin to Atocha by swiping the barcode of the ticket that is leaving from Atocha at a Cercanías machine so that you can travel between stations.

Directions: All you have to do is go up to one of the ticket machines (usually red and says Cercanías) and click the button that says connection or something about traveling between stations (it was a yellow button on the left of the screen for us). It will then ask you to scan you tickets (scan the ticket for the train that will leave or arrive in Atocha) and then it will want to know where you are going. You will pick either Atocha or Charmartin. After that you will receive your ticket and you are good to go.

Traveling by Train: Finding your platform

About 20-30 minutes before boarding, the platform at which your train will arrive will appear on the screen that lists the trains. Make sure to find your train (sometimes it won't have the name of where you are going, but rather the direction it is going, like Valladolid instead of Segovia so just check the train number instead by comparing the number on the board to the one on your ticket). After that, simply find your platform. 

Traveling by Train: Boarding

This is extremely simple to figure out. Before boarding, your tickets is scanned and then you put your baggage through a scanner. You then find you compartment and seat. Coche means "car" so that is the compartment you are in while plaza is what seat in that compartment.

NOTE: When you find your seat, it might have a v or a p next to it. V stands for ventana or window and p stands for pasillo or aisle. They might also just use a rectangle to show that that seat is a window seat. It depends of the train. 

Once you find where you are sitting, you can place your equipaje or baggage either above you or on the racks at the end of the cars if that train has them. After that you can sit down and relax. Some trains will play movies and have stations of music that you can listen to, with the control located beside the seat. If you don't have earphones, some of the train workers usually walk around as the train departes and hand out audifonos or headphones. Some trains even had plugs where you can charge your phone or other electrical devices. Most trains will also have a food and drink car and all of them have bathrooms.

NOTE: One thing that is important is that doors close 2 minutes befor departure so make sure you are there before that. 

Sitios: A Beginner's Guide to...Train Travel in Spain
Renfe

La Primera Semana (The First Week)

Segovia is maravillosa (wonderful). The buildings are really pretty and I feel really comfortable in our apartment. I really really like our host mom and can't wait to get to know her better. The class seems interesting so far and I'm not having too much trouble settling in. However, there are some things that I am struggling with as we'll as things that I love about Spain. I thought I would make a list of both. 

Problems/Desafìos para mi (Problems/challenges for me)

1. Time Change

          Especially yesterday, this was a problem. Spain is 6 hours ahead of where I live and so it's been a challenge adapting to being this far ahead. The first day we were eating lunch, which felt like dinner because of the large Spanish lunch but it was breakfast time at home. That confused me a bit. 

2. AC is non-existent. 

          None of the buildings I have in so far have felt like they have an AC unit. In Spain, windows are left open so that a breeze can come in. This was only really a challenge when I am sleeping because of the sheets but throughout the day it's usually fine. It was hot yesterday but there was no humidity, which was nice compared to Kentucky and usually there is always a breeze.

3. Eating schedule

          Spaniards eat later than people in the U.S. They usually eat lunch around 2-3 p.m. and dinner around 8-9 pm. They eat about an hour later on Sunday's. This hasn't exactly been hard for me except for the fact that we eat breakfast early because of class and then eat lunch around 2. Our Señora gives us a snack which does help a lot. 

4. The language

           I haven't had too much trouble with understanding and responding but having to communicate in another language, no matter how good you are, is always going to be challenging.

Things I Love

1. The Food (no explanation needed and I'll probably do a blog on it anyway)

2. Balconies

          It seems like every apartment in Segovia has at least one balcony. I believe ours has two but one is screened in and is used as a laundry room. The other one has a small table and we have eaten out there before.

3. Within walking distance

         Because Segovia is so small, everything is really easy to get to without taking much time. To get to el Centro KIIS, we just have to walk down a street near our house and we are there in about 5 minutes. I really like this aspect.

4. The fruit

          Fruit is eaten as desert and snacks in Spain, something that I love. I also feel like the fruit tastes better as well, but that just could be because they are different types than I am used to. I have also discovered this new fruit called the paraguaya which is amazing!!!!! It's basically a sweater peach. In English, they area called Saturn Peaches.

I'll do another one of these at the end of next week if I have time. Hasta Luego!