It seems no matter how many times I do this traveling thing, something always goes a little screwy….After many hours of planning and perfecting my traveling plans, I finally felt like I was truly ready for my big adventure on my own…. Wrong!
As I am confidently checking in 24 hours ahead of time…thinking aww yeah, I'm actually prepared and doing everything the way it should be, then I realize…crapola! I'm only allowed to check one bag?? Oh well, no big deal, I'll just pay for my second one, they're already packed and they've been packed for a couple days (with every item carefully selected after weeks of debating what to bring and what wasn't actually necessary… example: which scarves of the 40, or so, scarves I should bring to España). Alright, so $48 if you pay online for your extra bag or $60 if you do it at the airport…well duh, do it online. But what's this? Two of my three flights aren't showing up on my itinerary on the British Airways website….even though they're in the email that Orbitz sent me months ago. What's up with that? I call, and twenty minutes later discover that those flights were CANCELED because there was a workers strike in Madrid (one of my connecting cities). So, gee thanks Orbitz for letting me know… NOT! I'm just glad I decided to try and check in online, otherwise I would've hopped on my flight to London and once I arrived there would have found out about my predicament. Lovely.
So after hours of talking to the Orbitz peoples we get it figured out (I had to call them back at 5am when the British Airways office reopened, thank goodness the lady representative I talked to that morning was the best one I'd spoken with yet!) and I was to depart as scheduled at 6:45pm from Seattle to London. However, I had an entire day layover in lovely and EXPENSIVE London. I figured I'd just sleep in the airport, with one eye open…. not the best rest one can get. Well, on my flight from Seattle to London I was sitting in the middle seat, and still no people on either side of me….fingers crossed that I get to have a row to myself! Nope. Two dudes walk back near my spot and it's obvious that they're my seat buddies. No big deal, we all fit comfortably (which is the worst if you don't…with arms and legs pouring over into your seat and space) and had good conversation, sarcastic and pleasant. After a couple hours, airplane meals and free booze (yes, British Airways offers free alcohol, however, I've learned that it really isn't a good idea on the plane to get drunk, so I stuck with one) we chatted about our adventures to come, a night in the London airport being my nearest one, and immediately they were appalled for me. It turned out that we all had a layover in London and planes departing the next day around 8 am. They very generously offered for me to join them in London for sight-seeing and dinner, as well as a warm and comfortable place to stay. (Now I know one doesn't usually stay with strangers they just met, but my gut feeling wasn't sending out any signals, and they seemed like two very nice and trust-able business dudes, out for vacation to get away from their usual busy lives). After our joyful 9hr40min plane ride, we were all jonesin to get the heck off there, and arrived in London (after customs) around 1pm. After trying to work the public transportation system without having to get pounds, we FINALLY got to the hotel and were able to all clean up and get ready for town. There's nothing better than a shower after a long-flight, I always feel like such grease-ball after flying.
Eventually we hopped on the tube and headed into lovely London Town where it was raining… big surprise… and headed to the original Hard Rock Cafe. Hot damn our beers and burgers hit the spot! Afterwards we walked by Buckingham Palace and peaked at the guards, but it was no time for sight-seeing in the downpour that we had been caught in (at least I had my new bitchin' raincoat!) So we had one more beer and hopped back on the tube where all of us eventually fell asleep. Once we got back to the hotel we all eventually fell asleep around midnight… and had to wake up at 4:30 to get ready for my next adventure to Madrid.
Of course, more issues in the airports, a couple tears of frustration later (in Madrid), and 5 more hours of flying, I eventually arrived in La Coruña… and SO DID MY LUGGAGE!!!! YAY!!! With my giant suitcase, hiking backpack (with the regular backpack attached to the back of it…a very top-heavy contraption) a computer bag and my purse, I hopped on the bus to the main part of the city. My stop was the last one on the route and it dropped me off no more than a minute from my hostel. Upon arrival, the owners of the hostel were immediately how I'd imagined, very Spanish, very accommodating and very, very nice. After hauling my stuff up the first flight of stairs I was able to plop down on a couch in the small, smoky living room and hit up some wifi right away, which is where I met Will, another Auxilar de Conversación (like me) but his school's in another little town in Galicia, which is a quick bus ride from Coruña. Finally I could breathe a sigh of relief, tell mama that I made it safe, and collect myself (and shower again!) I didn't even have to pay for my nights yet or give my information (but let the owner check out my passport, who told me to "ponerme guapa" aka get gussied up for my night in Coruña because a local guy was coming to show Will an apartment that I also might be interested in). As most Spanish usually are, Ivan (apartment guy) was late (3 hours late to be exact), so the owners of the hostel took Will and I, as two Italian guys that were looking for an apartment, Marco and Ettore, to see their apartment, after the four of us ate a small dinner at a local cheap and yummy restaurant. When we came back from seeing their apartment, Ivan had finally showed up and took us out for a drink before we headed to the apartment (which we never actually made it to), where we had drinks that come from Barcelona that are called "Porrones" (and no, they had nothing to do with porros).
(My roomie, Marco, and I drinking Porrones)
Ivan showed us how to drink this intriguing and sweet port-like wine as well as bought us bracelets from a vendor that came into the bar while he talked to them in their local language (Ivan speaks 9 languages! and has also lived abroad, which is why he takes interest in showing foreigners a good time…or too good of a time…in his own stomping grounds). After the first round, Ivan had to leave for 30 minutes (aka an hour or so) to go eat dinner with his girlfriend, and left us in the bar. A couple other American girls joined us that we had met in the hostel so we ordered another round of Porrones. Ivan eventually came back and without asking, ordered another round of Porrons (which only cost a little over a euro)…he's the kind of guy that wants to drink, and wants everyone else to have as good of a time as him. So he took us to another bar where they have a local Galician drink called "La Quemada" which is a mixture of various things that they light on fire and then serve in little bowl-like cups that apparently serves to ward of witches. And then he bought us all a round of sweet chupitos (shots). Needless to say the next morning we all cursed his name while our heads were pounding.
In my estado de resaca (hungover state), I got up at 9am (only five hours after going to bed) because I desperately needed water and something to put in my belly. Put on some clothes and hit the street to find something savory, even just bread, just something. Found a fresh croissant with ham and cheese inside, and immediately felt the color coming back to my face and the queasy belly start to let up a little. Went back to the hostel, drank more water, some Emergen-C and took some aspirin and went back to sleep. Got up around noon, showered and headed to my new school to meet the director and my professors that I was going to work with (at this point I hadn't received ANY emails back from anyone in my school and was worried that something would go wrong). Completely the opposite from bad, everyone was SO AWESOME and LOVELY! They were all super excited to have me, and that I can speak Spanish well too (to converse with them!), especially because this is the first year that their school has an Auxiliar de Conversación! After our meeting where they gave me their numbers and told me not to hesitate to contact them for anything (for help, or for funsies), the director (Manolo) and the profesora that doesn't have kidlets (Ester) took me to a bar where they often go to meet up with friends and other teachers after school. They had vino and I had a caña (a small amount of beer that usually comes in a wine glass or small water glass) and free tapas of bread and chorizo, bread and jamón, and manchego cheese! Yum! Apparently with Coruña I lucked out again because, similar to Granada, they often offer free tapas with drinks! Love it.
We chatted about Coruña and the local dialect Gallego (which I'm learning bit by bit), and I told them how I love seafood (which is everywhere here because we're on the Atlantic coast), so Manolo and another profesor en el colegio (in the elementary school) decided to take me somewhere else for almejas (clams) and various other local delicacies. Of course with the meal, they ordered more vino (a local white Galician wine, yum) and I ordered another caña, and dined on Navarras, (a mollusk and very clam-like creature that comes in a long and skinny shell that opened up very much like a clam, which you can munch out of the shell just like I like to do with my clammies), as well as Pulpo (octopus) and Calamari. Yum… but I still have to adjust the taste buds a little because, obviously, they don't cook things exactly like we do in the states, so you must adjust to the new flavors.
After seafood, Manolo, his friend and I had small cafes, and chatted some more. After our cafe, his friend left us and Manolo helped me figure out which company was the best for my mobile phone needs. After checking out three businesses, I decided to go with Vodafone (the same company I had when I was in Granada). He walked me back to the hostel after our phone adventures. I took a siesta got ready for the late Spanish night to come (because, hello! It was Friday!) But before leaving to go play, Will told me that our Italian friends had found a place with two more rooms available, so we scurried over to see the place and were immediately won over. After an hour in the apartment, talking with the very Spanish and very sweet owner, Fina (short for Josefina), we decided to take it! (I immediately knew I liked it when I walked in and saw mustard-colored walls, to hell with white Spanish walls!)
In very good moods we left the apartment and Will, Ettore and I met up with Manolo and his friends, as well as another American Girl/ Auxiliar de Conversación, Erin. We went to a bar of a friend of Manolo, which I had met earlier, Maybel, and sat outside with four small tables pushed together. In total, there were ten of us, six Galicians (Gallegos) and the rest of us, and Manolo urged us to order whatever we were interested in, and ordered other things for us to try so we could get to know the place we were living in better. More of the same things from earlier in the day, as well as other quite tasty things, and lots of laughing and bits of learning Gallego.
Then another bar, and another, etc. I eventually got home at 4 am, and fell asleep at 5, with phrases and words and thoughts running through my head. Then got up at 9:30 to get ready to go see our new landlord and take care of some things at the apartment. Afterwards, we went to Carrefour (the Spanish version of Walmart) and got various things like sheets, blankets, an iron, a coffee maker, pans, a hairdryer, yogurt, etc. to get our house set up! Once we got back, I realized I had bought a douvee cover, and not sheets…you can imagine the irritation I felt… but fortunately Carrefour, like Walmart, has a stellar return policy, and I was able to get sheets instead.
Later on that night the four of us met up with the daughters of the professor that Will works with, as well as a few of their friends, and went out to some of their favorite places, one of which was known for their killer Mojitos. Nom nommers! Once again, everyone was super nice and we had an awesome night out on the town. However, it was the first time that the rain came, believe it or not, and no one brought their umbrellas (fortunately I was wearing my trusty raincoat). Even with the rain it was still an awesome night, and the walk home was covered half of the way back to our place, which was an excellent surprise. Marco and I chatted about the differences between Italian sounds in the language and Spanish, because both Marco and Ettore haven't studied much Spanish, so each day they're learning a lot (and we also have a mostly Spanish in the apartment rule, of course once in a while, you'll hear a little Italian or English). Marco and I also discussed the different sounds that animals make in different languages…. in Italian mice say "squeet squeet"… awesome.
