8/29 The Day of Travels

Morgan and my mother dropped me off at Logan around 11 am and waited as I went through the line.  Everything went smoothly until I forgot to take my laptop out at the security check point.  That didn´t turn out to be a problem because the security woman who rechecked told me all about her study abroad experience in France.  Took a quick flight to NYC and had 3 hour lay over.  The 4 kids on the Boston flight were some of the first to arrive in the terminal, so we got to meet all the other students as their flights arrived.  The plane finally took off at 9 pm after a two hour delay due to airport construction.  When I boarded, a Spanish woman with a young girl asked if I wouldn´t mind switching seats with her husband so they could sit near each other.  I nicely agreed, but soon regretted my decision as there was a whiny, crying baby in the seat behind me for the flight.  On the 7 hour flight I probably slept for about 3 hours off and on, being woken up by the crying infant.  Other than that, I would have to say that American Airlines did a really good job.  I was on a 767 (the largest plane I´ve ever been on) and they served us dinner and breakfast (way better than peanuts but still airline food).  We arrived in Barcelona around 10 am and I was surprised to see all the mountains out of the air plane window.  Definitely, more rocky and mountainous than I expected.  No trouble finding my bags in the pick up line and the director of the BCA program met us in the lobby.  From there we took a bus to the hotel...  (I have limited computer access for now, as 30 students have to share the one computer in the hotel lobby).  We are at the hotel until Friday, when we meet our host family...  I will fill you all in about the rest of my first day in my next post.  ¡Adios!

8/28/10 Packed and Ready To Go

So I have rearranged my suitcases about 20 times already, but I think I am finally ready to go.  I have one large bag that is pushing the 50 lb limit, a carry on bag which may just become regular luggage and my purse.  In the last few days leading up to my departure, I have made many last minute errands, getting euros from the bank, power adapters, plug converters, gifts for my host family and much more.  Thanks to Kristen and Ben for accompanying me on my many outings.  I also spent half a day printing out copies of all my important documents (debit card, passport, visa etc.).  Tomorrow at Logan will be my first solo airport experience.  I fly from Logan at 2 p.m. to JFK, and leave JFK at 7 p.m. with a chaperone on the group flight.  I am looking forward to meeting all the other students.  I should probably sleep on the flight because I will get to Barcelona around 8:45 a.m. (Barcelona time), but I will probably be too excited/ I'll want to talk to everyone.  The time difference from the east coast is 6 hours.  I will try to update this regularly to let everyone know about my travels, but I have no idea what to expect when I get there. Cuidate!