Successful Return

It took two plane rides and 11 hours but I made it back to Madrid without any issue.  No one hit me in the head with a drink cart.  No one rudely assumed I couldn't speak Spanish.  Everyone I sat next to was sweet.  I didn't get held up at customs -- and think I found a loop hole in going through customs.

The hardest part of the whole trip was actually meeting Lara, a dear friend from college that I studied abroad with in Madrid 4 years ago, who's been living in Madrid for the past 2 years.  For some odd reason the Madrid airport doesn't have anywhere to actually pick up passengers.  When you walk out of arrivals there's a greeting area, and outside there's a line of taxis and buses, but not regular cars, so I made my way to the only part of the airport where cars could drive through.  And they weren't being chased out of their spots by whistle-happy cops.  I guess we should have planned our reunion a little better, but you forget what things were like before cell phones.

Sunday was Mother's Day in Madrid so Lara and her boyfriend took me to his mother's house for lunch, and they are the sweetest family.  Lara and I had to laugh because it was like no time had passed, "Tú Lara, y tú Tara?  Las dos rubias?"  Yep, our names rhyme, we're American, and we're blonde with blue eyes.  It's like we're related.  Often times, a Spanish person hears my name and says, "You know that you're name means defect in Spanish, right?" so I thought his mom was going to say that to me, but instead went with "That's from Gone with the Wind, right?"  Phew.

All throughout lunch I was impressed with how much Spanish I still understood, that I could still understand accents, and even though my grammar is shot, I think I handled myself pretty well.  Especially considering I hadn't really slept for 36 hours.

My apartment is absolutely adorable. I walked into my room and Lara had prepared this for me:

She is the best.

There were some things I'd forgotten about.  Like turning the water off when you shower unless you actually need it because Madrid is in a drought.  And hearing everything your neighbors do through the patio in the middle of your building.  I'll get used to it again.

Work starts today and I'm super nervous just like I am every time I start a new job, except this time I'm not at the National Archives.  So I set up a little corner of inspiration: