The Trip

Observations so far:

1.       Washington Dulles Airport – a poorly labeled maze; 2 tram rides, countless going up and down stairs, and long distance walking to get from Terminal C to Terminal A.

2.       SAS Airline – did you know European flights serve alcohol to everyone, not just first class?

3.       First sunrise over the European continent – beautiful, just like everywhere else.

4.       First impression of Copenhagen, Scandinavia – a lot like rural United States.

5.       Copenhagen Airport – one giant shopping mall; needs tram between gates; totally walked a mile and a half to get to my connecting gate with a defective cart.

6.       Do Scandinavians speak German? Later I figured out it was Danish… and they speak perfect English.

7.       Dawning realization – Choco, I don’t think we are in Texas anymore! (For those of you who don’t know, Choco is the first birthday present and stuffed animal Sam gave me).

Finally arrived in Barcelona after being delayed in Copenhagen for an hour and a half AFTER we boarded the plane. I was so upset because I wished I could have called Federica to let her know I’m going to be late, or at least give her my flight number so she can monitor it. Thankfully, Federica was still waiting for me after THREE hours of waiting, she is totally awesome. We had a bit of food, and met Mira at BHSS to sign leasing contracts and get the keys to our flat.

About the flat… well, one word about sums it up: antiquated. Apparently it belonged to the landlord’s mother (the landlord, by the way, is not very young either), who passed away at the beginning of the year. So he is now renting it out to students I guess. Anyway, everything is ancient. From the glass and china lined glass display shelves to the flowery upholstered sofa/chairs. Everything pretty much screamed old people. There are 3 bedrooms in the flat, a big room, a medium room, and a closet. We decided to number them and take a draw to be fair. And the lucky winner of the closet is — me, of course. The good news is, we also decided to switch every 2 months, so that no one gets stuck with the closet.

I should have taken a picture of the room before I redecorated it, but I just couldn’t stand to look at it any longer, so here is what it looks like now. You wouldn’t even recognize it had you seen what it looked like before. And notice the extra short bed, are Europeans all this short? Because if I barely fit on it, I’m pretty sure most people would have their feet sticking out the end. Yes, for those of you that have been to my dorm rooms, I indeed brought my old aqua bed set with me, and I’m sad to say, this will be their final year of service, and they will not be returning to the U.S. with me in a year. The curtain used to be two panels of fabric with, surprise, flowers on them. Now they are much better looking. And yes, you’re not seeing things, that is in fact an ancient sewing machine that is serving as my desk. Spinning wheels and all, just with a piece of wood covering the top to make it usable.
(I will upload pictures later, running out of battery)

I completely rearranged the room to give it more flow and air, like I do with all my dorm rooms. And that will be how I look at this flat, just another dorm until I go home. 

I miss you all terribly, and maybe starting to understand how Mom felt when she left Dad and I to go to Japan to pursue her dreams.

Love and kisses,

P.S. – The flat won’t have internet installed until maybe a week or two, so I will try to find a WIFI hotspot somewhere to upload this.