tarzan & jane

Uff! What a day... I arrived at the Barajas Aiport at about 10am (here). This was my first time riding a taxi alone. [I think the last time I rode a taxi was with my mom when we went to Korea 13 yrs ago]. The driver and I had a decent conversation; I tried to sound as confident as I could speaking Spanish. haha. When I got to my Señora's house, she was waiting for me outside; she greeted me with a hug and a kiss on each cheek. :) After we took all my luggage up, she showed me around. She is super sweet. Then, I took a nap and woke up around lunchtime. After the meal, I unpacked everything and then watched some Spanish tv. Later, my Señora and I took a walk around Old Madrid. She even bought me some helado! The architecture was quite beautiful. As she took me around, she explained things/places to me. The sad part was that I could only understand about half of what she said. Although I got the gist of what was said, I wish I could make out all the details.

[My Señora knew my name as Sang. I told her she could call me Jane. She kept forgetting and asked me several times. Then, a few hours later, she came by my room and said "Jane! like Tarzan's girlfriend, Jane!" :) ]

When I first departed, my biggest worry was that I wouldn't make my connecting flight. Then, my next worries were finding my baggage, calling my Señora, exchanging money, and taking a taxi without being ripped off. Once I was in bed to take my nap, I was relieved to know that the worst was over. It was then that it hit me. I hadn't even thought about my time here yet! A part (a very small part) of me was excited about traveling and learning. But, a bigger part of me wanted to beat myself up for being here. This part wants me to pack up again and go back to Duke. What am I doing here in a foreign country? My biggest fears now are that I won't have any friends [I don't know the other Duke-in-Madrid kids], that I'll run out of money, and that I won't get the language down. :(

It's like when I ride a roller coaster. As I wait in line and get in the seats, I'm uber-excited. But as the ride gets going, I'm like "What did I get myself into?". This happens to be all in vain because I end up enjoying the ride.

Hopefully, my time here will be like my roller coaster story. Dios mío, ayudame por favor.