Hola desde Madrid!

Hello from Madrid. I have to say I like Spain, so far. The metro is great, every one is nice, and "Lo siento, I'm an American" seems to be the correct response to any question any one asks me. The girl at passport control didn't even look up from her conversation with a coworker to look at my face, so I probably could have been traveling with Michael Jackson's passport and still been allowed in.

My Hostel is in Plaza de Espana, which is great, but I'm a little concerned because the hostel requires student ID at check-in. This seemed easy when I made the reservation, but since I had my wallet stolen and now have no student ID, I'm a little bit worried. I guess we'll see how it goes in an hour or two, but if worst comes to worst and they don't let me in, it is still early enough to find another hostel or to return to the airport and sleep there.

I have completely lost track of time. I know it is 12:30 here and I know it is 3:30 in Seattle but I have no idea how long I've been gone and how much of it I was asleep. (Dramamine is my favorite part of flying). I think I have been gone for about 20 hours.

I was having real anxiety about getting to Morocco and forgetting all of my Arabic or not being able to understand anyone. While I was waiting for my flight in SeaTac, I noticed a older woman in hijab waiting for the same flight. Several other passengers were asking every one around if they spoke any Arabic, so I approached the woman and introduced myself. Turns out, she's from Syria visiting her daughter in Seattle and spoke maybe 2 or 3 words of English and read even less. She seemed shocked that I spoke Arabic at all, but later told me I was good for a first year student. I explained the boarding system to her and helped her find her seat. When we arrived in New York, the flight attendants were trying to tell her where to go to catch her next flight, and so I stepped in again and tried to translate for her. The flight staff thought I was MAGIC. It was hilarious. One actually asked "How did you do that?" like it was a trick I'd learned or something. Anyway, Mouna got to her gate and I got a boost of confidence about being able to get around in Arabic. She even said to me that some one in Morocco would help me because I was helping her. I hope she is right, because I'd forgotten how scary it can be to be alone and surrounded by people who cannot understand you.

I took a couple of years of Spanish in high school, and I worked in kitchens that primarily communicated in Spanish, but nothing prepared me for how different Spanish sounds in Spain. I get by OK and so far every one I have asked for help has switched immediately to English even when I try to ask things in Spanish. People are so accommodating it's incredible. I have seen the way some Americans treat people who don't speak English perfectly, and it I think that if every one had to experience things from the other side of the language barrier maybe Americans would be a little nicer about it.

Ok, well, I'm going to finish some e-mails and then go make a fool of myself trying to check in to my hostel. The next post should be from Morocco!