Journey to Spain

I have been unable to access my Google+ account since I have arrived due to a "suspicious" location. But I am going to try to relay the information from my written journal onto here!

March 23rd
I left PDX at 2:20pm for Amsterdam.

Here are a few photos I took while on the plane.

NOTES:
1) It was huge
2) It was actually peaceful (no crying babies)
3) There was massive amounts of food served

Everyone had their very own screen complete with movies, music, games, etc.

My airborne dinner 

The flight tracker

March 24th
Arrived at Amsterdam airport around 8:30am. I looked up our next flight and gate number and we waited there. While boarding, several passengers were told they were at the wrong gate - including us. I sprinted across the airport to the correct gate to see our plane leaving. Not the best start to the morning. Krystal and I, as well as 5 other passengers experienced the same problem. We followed a German guy to guest services and received new tickets for later that evening. By this point, we had been awake 25 hours. It was exhausting, but the Amsterdam Airport was beautiful and had many fun shops. We found an awesome lounge area where I had a glass of wine.

I wish we could have explored Amsterdam. I love windmills.

Anyhow, we arrived in Barcelona around 11:30pm. There was an abundance to taxi cabs so we headed towards our hostel "Be Dream" in Badalona. We paid 144 Euros for 4 nights.

March 25th
We're here! Finally the relief of actually realizing I made it to Europe. We slept in a little bit then went to find somewhere to eat.

Pre-Departure Thoughts

This is my first ever blog, so bear with me here.

I had the most amazing opportunity present itself... to study abroad.
My first thought, "wow, that sounds expensive."

But, I am off to Santander, Spain in 14 days. I am quite ambivalent AND excited, nervous, happy...
I will be attending Universidad de Cantabria for Spring term.

Looks something like this:

 

 

The main reason why I chose this specific program isn't because of the gorgeous area and proximity to the beach (honest). But, it's because my previous employer attended the exact program through Oregon State. He also wrote me an incredible letter of recommendation when I was originally applying (Muchas gracias, Keith!).

 

And hey, it's just 5,234 miles from Portland, OR to Santander, Spain.