Traveling

It was an adventure traveling by myself for the first time. My parents left me at the airport and it all started to seem real. I was ACTUALLY going to Spain. After months of talking about it, I was finally on my way. 

                                                    Me and my Mom and Dad at O'Hare

I want to give a special thank you to those who helped me along the way. The woman at O'Hare security who told me what items to take out when going through security. Max, the 2 year old, who happily smiled/ screamed sitting next to me at the gate. He calmed my nerves about flying alone. The man in Boston who told me exact directions on how to get from the trolley to my terminal. The Portuguese man,  I’m not sure I ever got his name, who endured all my tossing and turning on the 8 hour flight from Boston to Madrid.

A special NOT thank you to- the man who put bolted trays down by the open trays at Boston airport. The man who told me they were bolted down AFTER I put all my belongings in them. The man who said I was at the right terminal when I wasn’t. The stewardess who told me to put my phone away and said “your texting your texting”. Yes lady, I was texting because it was probably the last time I was going to be able to be allowed to text. Needless to say, I don’t think I was her favorite person on the airplane. The little girl yelling behind me on the 5 hour bus ride from Madrid to Granada. She bothered everyone on the back of the bus but, of course I was the only one to say something to her. 

I’m glad John and I decided to meet up because I would have been too nervous and scared to do everything we did together alone. We got a cab to the bus station and learned more about each other on the ride. Turns out, I’m the better one at Spanish so will really have to put my skills to work. It wasn't that difficult to communicate with the cab driver. We got to the bus station and bought tickets. The woman was probably laughing at us. I seem to get a lot of weird looks so far- not sure if it’s because I stand out like a sore thumb because I don’t know what I’m doing or people think I’m cute? Who knows.  Hung out at the bus station cafeteria and explored. Turns out Diet Coke here is called Coca Coca Light. Got on the worst bus ride (yes, even worse than IPS bus rides girls). Not only were the roads really windy, not only was I falling in and out of sleep but a young girl was singing to herself and playing ridiculously loud ring tones. I don’t know why her mother didn’t take it away from her or tell her to be quiet. Literally the rest of the bus was completely silent. 

 

Me with my bag (under 50 lbs) :)

 My bag was a lot heavier than I thought. Luckily, I ran into some nice people who helped me. After I took the wrong bag off the terminal (it was the SAME exact bag as mine I swear) a guy near me put it back on for me. The cabi's put my bag in the trunk (which I was not expecting) but on the bus I had to lift it for myself which was difficult. Turns out I'm not as strong as I thought I was.