Finally, my first real FRIDAY!

Note: If you've been counting the days meticulously and want to argue "no, Chelsea, this is your SECOND Friday because it's been 2 weeks and I have hardly been able to handle life without you" [side note: A girl can dream], a "real" Friday means a Friday where I can relax, not haul my crap around the vast majority of Madrid looking like a fool, and more importantly...siesta!!

The past three days have been MARVELOUS. I think that, in contrast with last week, because everything has been going so smoothly, all the little things that I would usually take for granted seem to be the biggest accomplishments & best news even though they are mundane or awkward, at best haha.

Like my own little coffee shop!!! I swear only a barista (past or present) could appreciate finding your own personal coffee shop where the cute little European girls (or cute little older European women) know you, get excited to see you, and try to make you feel at home.





(P.S. the pictures were taken with my webcam (yes, I was creeping...) so pardon the crap-tastic quality...I'll take some legit ones soon!)

Let me tell you about it! It's called Top Ten, Coffee & Shop (which tells me that it is, in fact European, regardless of it's English name...because I think they just want to say "coffee shop". The fact that the name is in English, without any kind of sense, means it's just super chic :) Anyways, it is less than a block away from my school, so I will be here almost every day. I have a coffee break BUILT IN to my teaching schedule, so I always escape to come here for a little pick-me-up. (Note: More about teaching later BUT I haven't even really STARTED and I'm already completely exhausted. How do teachers do it? Kids are little brats! Especially those who think I speak no Spanish. Falsies!) So there are three workers here that I know (not super well, we're not on a name basis yet). One is super cute & young who asked if I'd prefer to speak in English (due to my blonde hair...surprise) and I told her I didn't mind. She's my favorite because she helped me figure out how to order my cafe con leche so that I could turn it into an iced latte...AND she didn't judge me. (I've found that in Europe, it's sacriledge to ice coffee...or cafe con leche. Unless it's blended in a Frappuccino...or become cold because you put ice cream in it. At Club Mac Dons, you can get cafe con helado, or coffee with ice cream, for 1 euro. And don't judge, it's PHENOMENAL. It's definitely in my Top 10 favorite foods of all time. That good.)

I got off on a tangent somewhere there. Hmmm. Oh yes so my favorite girl is super cute and super sweet and we agreed that day by day we'd speak English & Spanish alternatively. Another girl that works here is younger as well, black, very sassy. She intimidates me but I always take my dishes up to the counter to help them out and try to brown nose my way into coolness with her. She always calls me pet names like "carino" or "amor" and I love it, haha. That's how I know she likes me! The third is this little, completely typical Spaniard who is in and/or about her early fifties. Spanish qualities: lack of regard for personal space, lack of height, lack of regard for personal conversations & personal business, lack of regard for schedules, excess of eye-liner, and profound love and interest for the English language. So basically, I love her. Juliet & I came here our first day after school (keep in mind that was Wednesday...this has all happened so quickly!) and she came upstairs to ask us how we were, what we were doing, where we're from, etc. So we explain we work at the Colegio Maria Inmaculada a few doors down and will be here a lot. She was ecstatic. So the next morning Juliet left earlier than I did to get to school so she could grab coffee, & home girl was like, "where's your friend!?" (That's MEE!!!!) haha. I was so excited. Still am. So then today, when I got here, I came inside and talked to my favorite girl in English for a little bit and before I even saw her, I hear a voice from my armpit saying excitedly, "HI!! HOW ARE YOU TODAY!??" (in Spanish of course) she's sneaky too, and had sniped me from behind the counter when she saw me come in, haha! So I look down and there she was, wide-eyed and so excited as always. So they explained to the other worker who doesn't know me that I'm an English teacher & slowly teaching them English. They all agreed they would get a group together and I could help them learn.

Not to mention that Top Ten is a baller cafe. See pictures above, but they have nice chocolate colored couches, a modern staircase, PAID wi-fi (like they pay for it for their customers...so the signal is reliable unlike Club Mac Dons), nice recliners downstairs, and their color scheme is orange & brown (which seems a little weird but it just makes the place feel like fall...or autumn, as they call it here). They also have a projector by the entrance that projects MTV at all times of the day (with huge speakers that attach to the cafe...so it's kind of like Starbucks, with more modern & upbeat music and a visual as well. Someone should tell Howard)

Basically, I'm in love with this little coffee shop. It's 2 metro stops away from my house, but the bus gets here in 10 minutes and soon enough I'll have my public transportation pass (unlimited) so it would be inconvenient for me to go anywhere else.

And without this important resource, how else would I know that Jersey Shore is premiering here in Spain next tuesday at 22:30?? Like Spain needs more reasons to think America is trashy, haha. Crap.

I also just realized that I didn't write anything about school...and I would now but if I've learned anything from Pi Phi VPM e-mails, nobody voluntarily reads anything that is substantially long so...I'll add that tonight or maybe tomorrow. I don't want people getting bored & stop reading...I'll lose my Internet fame before it even begins!

Chelsea Recently is recently no longer homeless!!

Aaaaaaaaaand now that I'm no longer homeless I can finally take a second to breathe, reflect on my first 4 days in Spain, and realize that holy crap, it's only been four days, and it feels like an eternity because so much has happened, haha. Ooooooooh geez.

Let's see. Day 1: I wrote a little bit about my journey on the airplanes and such but honestly couldn't write too much because I kept crying like a little b-i-t-c-h. I felt like an idiot! Okay so after my incredibly uncomfortable flight next to Little Miss High Maintenance on the plane (an undergrad student from South Carolina studying in Sevilla [which she kept calling Seville...I don't know if she'll make it] who was yapping away on her phone about money problems while wearing a massive Coach hat with a matching Coach tote that could have housed a small African village...como se dice hypocrit in Spanish?? Also, she refused to turn off her phone when the sign came on. I was convinced she was going to be the certain demise of the entire air bus.) Anyways, she asked me for my name so she could add me on Facebook but I accidentally *cough* jetted away with my carry-ons and got the hell out of dodge.

Then it began.

The crying.

The incessant crying.

I couldn't find my bags because there were so many people. So instead I went to change my currency to euros that Jeri had given me...and then I thought about how nice it was of Jeri to give me so much money for "cushion" and I started crying again. So I tried to get myself together enough to go ask for euros. Then I cried again because I realized that I don't know enough Spanish to ask for change. Then I realized that was a lie and got over it. At this point I had euros, $8, and really red eyes. I hoped that nobody could tell at the airport because I was wearing glasses but in hindsight that was a little overzealous. Everyone at the airport was Spanish, pretty much, or meeting people at the airport so everyone was ecstatic to go through the gate. I, on the otherhand, wanted to die...or rewind and go home. Both actually.

I had made plans before this with my new roommate Katie to meet at the Starbucks at Barajas. Online it said there was a Starbucks. So I walk up and down the airport....no Starbucks. What the hell. So I ask information and they curtly tell me that there is no Starbucks anywhere. I found a map, it said there was a Starbucks. I was hoping it was like Platform 9 & 3/4 where I could just run into a blank wall and find it but...once again, nothing is how you expect it to be in Spain. It just isn't. So finally I realize that Starbucks is in Terminal 4. I was in Terminal 1 & 2. There was no way to get to the Starbucks. This wouldn't be so frightening if it hadn't been for the fact that a.) Katie knew Josh, who lived in Madrid, who said I could stay with them for the first few days while looking for apartments. b.) I didn't know Josh, and was planning on going over there with Katie because c.) I have no idea where Josh lives. d.) There is no wi-fi or power outlets in the Barajas airport. Aka no way to get ahold of Katie.

So there I am. Lost, homeless, and panicking at Barajas. I finally gather enough courage to go to the bathroom and find a stall big enough for my luggage cart & all my crap. It was handicapped and also properly equipped for needles (lucky me...) So I shut the door, lock it twice, and start bawling uncontrollably in the needle stall. Oddly enough there was a power outlet in there so while sobbing I plug my computer in and try to start it up anyways. To add to my problems, it wouldn't start. 5,000,000 miles in the air, my computer was hijacked and decided to not work at all. I called Jeri, even though it was approximately 2 a.m. in the United States, and almost started crying again when she answered the phone. After everything we decided that it'd be best to wait at the terminal for Katie, because I'd seen pictures on Facebook of her and she had long, blonde, curly hair and was 6 foot tall. That'd be EASY to find in Spain. I felt a little better.

I was unaware that before she came she cut her hair. All of it, actually.

Needless to say I didn't find Katie at the airport.

In the end, I couldn't find a cheap hotel & taxis freak me out so I hauled my 2 50lb bags on the bus to one bus stop, Johnny-rigged my carry-on bag to one of the suitcases, and schlepped all my crap to the transfer bus stop (finally a kind local helped me drag them because it was unbearable for one person....and she lectured me for 15 minutes about carrying my purse in front of me.)

I ended up in Alcala, an hour away from Madrid, with my old host family, who luckily has been kind enough to let me stay here while apartment hunting (details of that massive emotional roller-coaster to come later, haha). After sleeping FOREVER, I went out to meet up with Billy & got sangria with Kyle....awkwardly hysterically crying again once I saw Kyle in the Plaza de Cervantes...and again later at the Media Pinta in public. Note to self: buy Kyle a prezzie for embarrassing him in public so much.

En fin, this has been my life in Spain thus far. I'm currently watching Disney (some Spanish tv show) and secretly (or not so secretly) hoping that the Wizards of Waverly Place comes on.

I think that's all I've got for now...tomorrow I move into my piso after our first orientation meeting! P.S. I have the most badass address ever...stay tuned as to what it is :)

Love,

Chelsea Recently. (who has stopped crying :)