So first of all, I think the reality of the fact that, on a train only YOU are responsible for your luggage (aka- no checking bags or anything like that) didn't really hit us until we got to the train station. The 6 of us were standing in the train station, surrounded by about 12 HUGE pieces of luggage, not including our backpacks. Thankfully one of our program directors, Rafa, met us at the station to help us see us off on our trip.
So here's the play-by-play:
- Train comes, we all rush up to the doors with our 50 lb bags
- **Simultaneous thought process** = Crap. 3 tall stairs to get from the platform onto the train. Two men. Two different train cars.
- James and Rafa basically throwing our bags onto the train
- Rafa having to jump off the train before it leaves with him on it
- 4 of us standing in the little area in front of the train doors, surrounded by the largest pieces of luggage that you've ever seen in your life.
- 45 minutes of putting our luggage onto the little bars above the train seats, and trying to move around other passenger's bags on the shelf without having them think that we're stealing it
- Due to a miners strike our train stops twice for 30 minutes (if we do that math that equals 1 hour of not moving)
- We originally had a 20 minute "layover" before our connecting train. We did the math (as shown above) and then begun to freak out. The conductor told us that our connecting train would wait for us, so we calmed down.
- I ate my weight in cereal and chorizo sandwiches due to a terrible combination of boredom and stress eating.
- We prepared ourselves, and got our luggage down from the racks about 15 minutes ahead of time before getting off at the connecting station
- We got ourselves and all of our luggage off the train, when all of the sudden a conductor comes up yelling at us to hurry up to get on the next
- We moved faster than ever before, throwing 12+ pieces of luggage onto the train, and within 5 minutes of getting the last bag and person on, we were off!
As we approached into Coruña we all started to get reallly antsy, nervous, and excited. As soon as the doors to the train opened we saw a huge mass of people including all three program directors, and a bunch of families. I met my family, and gave each of them "dos besos" (aka- the very euro double cheek kiss). We obviously drove home to my beautiful, early 1900s, ornate, yellow building. The apartment is on the third (top) floor, and there is no elevator, but hey, my butt needs a little work out anyway. My room is small but pink, floral decoated, and just over-all adorable. Pictures of the building, home, and my room to come!
My family is great, my "padres" Ignacio and Silvia are so kind and patient with me. My little sisters, Maria and Camino are also adorable, but most definitely a pair of dramatic divas. A little proof:
It has definitely been a transition from Pamplona, where I was basically with English speaking friends 24/7 to all of the sudden living with this random family by myself. On top of that I've been feeling a little sick and have had a really bad sore throat for the past few days, which have just made everything a little harder. I feel myself getting better though, and the awkwardness is slowly starting to dissipate as well. I still don't feel like I know the city very well, and I haven't gotten to see the beach, but hopefully by the end of the week I'll have time for a nice long walk to get my bearings and take some pictures!
Letters or packages are always greatly appreciated, so here's my new address:
Kristen Carlson
Ferrol 12, 3º
La Coruna 15005
Spain
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