We arrived in Madrid at about 8AM local time, which is about 2AM body clock time. From there we took an hourlong bus ride to Toledo, where we schlepped our 50+ pound bags in the rain through these narrow cobblestone alleys to the Fundación. Not exactly the magical Euroentrance I had envisioned. Jetlagged, cranky and soaking, I wanted nothing more than to meet and greet with the host family, unpack my things and take one fat siesta. Then came the icing on the cake— my host family is on vacation and will not be able to pick me up until tomorrow, which means I and a few other ND kids will be staying in the Fund dormitories tonight.
Everything changed, though, as soon as I looked out the window during a tour of the facilities. I forgot about being exhausted and frustrated and realized how completely incredible this is. I was completely in awe at the towering medieval buttresses of the cathedral just outside our school, of the thatched roofs of these ancient Spanish casas, of the rain-fresh air and cloudless blue sky.
Also pretty uplifting was that despite their thick castilian accents and rapid speech, I was able to understand like everything that the professors were saying today. Sweet.
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