1st day here...

So, we made it. We’re now home sweet home in our new dorm/apartment, and now our heads our reeling with the culture shock that we knew was going to come but didn’t think it’d be this bad. But I guess that comes inevitably when you’re in a foreign country where you don’t know nearly enough of the language as you should.

So, let me start from what I guess would be the beginning. The flight from Houston was long, but nice. What really sparked our interest were the TV updates, which updated the passengers on where the flight was on the globe. It tracked the trail from Houston to Frankfurt – something interesting to keep up with when all you see for hours upon hours is blue ocean.

Nonetheless, I guess we arrived a little late because once we arrived at the German airport and readied ourselves to transfer to Bilbao, it was all rush rush rush. Much to our surprise, we had to go through another round of customs for German security, where Cade went through additional screening because apparently the magnetic strip bar code in his pocket pants is an inadvertent act of terrorism. But after we (and mostly Cade) got through that security check, we realized that our flight to Bilbao left in 10 minutes! So we rushed down to the gate, after much rigmarole due to the crazy geography of the German airport (trust me, it’s confusing). The good thing is that they got word that the flight from Houston was late and waited on us. Whew!

But apparently it wasn’t like it really mattered, because we didn’t fly out until nearly one and a half hours later because of ice on the runway and plane and everything. But FINALLY we flew to Bilbao.

First of all, let me say that Spain is gorgeous. As we flew in, we could see quaint little farm houses perched up on those beautiful green mountains. After our arrival, I met up with my study abroad program and headed to Bilbao!

But that’s where the culture shock came in. It was beautiful watching it from afar as we descended into Spain on the plane. Once Cade and I actually explored the city – we realized how truly different everything is. Seriously. And it’s not like I expected it to be like Austin – I just didn’t expect such a huge culture shock like this.

So as soon as we moved our stuff into our dorm that we’re sharing, we headed out to find a cheap pay as you go cell phone, because obviously ours won’t work over here. So after shopping around a few places (Cade doing all the talking because he knows WAY more Spanish than I do and seriously impressed me tonight), we bought a pair of cheap phones for 19 euro each.

We were so excited that we had our little phones finally that we decided to explore more of Bilbao by hopping on the tram. So Cade steps on the tram, and I walk up to the doorway, and the bus starts freaking out: BEEP BEEP BEEP. So, naturally – scared like hell – I step off the bus and the doors just slam shut and the bus rolls away.

So Cade tries to get the driver’s attention to open the door for me, and he won’t budge. The bus, and Cade, disappear – leaving me all alone in a city that I’ve only been in for three hours (without a map). I had my newly bought cell phone, but that didn’t do me any good because we had just gotten the phones before our tram sham and hadn’t had time to give each other our numbers. So there I am, scared out of my mind, without knowing Spanish fluently, without a map, without anybody’s phone number, my boyfriend probably halfway across town somewhere, and without a clue on how to get through this foreign city.

So naturally, I chase after the bus, but the damn thing beat me and went out of sight before I got halfway to the end of the block (but btw, the city is walkable – the roads are tiny and because of this, I think, it looks a lot bigger on the map than it is geographically). So I decide I’ll just walk home, before realizing that a) I don’t know where that is, and b) even if I did, I don’t have a map to get me there. So, I did what I should have done in the beginning, and went back to the tram stop where we got separated and there was my knight in shining armor – just as scared as I was.

So then we both get on the tram, and check out a few things – like the university and the Guggenheim museum (which really is a remarkable piece of architecture). Seeing as how nobody thus far had checked for tickets, we thought that the tram was free. So naturally, when we were done at the university and museum and ready to go back home, we got back on the tram. Ten minutes later, we got kicked off.

Apparently, the tram isn’t free. You have to have this special ticket type thing which we had no idea about, and when the guy asked to see ours and we didn’t have it, he made us get off at the next stop.

Then we went to the grocery store to get some food to cook for tonight (we have a kitchen in our dorm room), and were shocked as hell that milk, among other things, is sold on a shelf at room temperature. But we bought our food (what we could recognize at least), paid 7 euros and were out the door of our first international shopping escapade.

Bilbao isn’t Austin, and I didn’t expect it to be. But I didn’t expect things to be so different, either. When we got home, we each curled up and crashed on the bed, exhausted with all the things we just don’t know about this culture and the way things are done here.

But then again, I know that we’re not the only ones who’ve experienced this our first day abroad. It was, all in all, a terrifying experience. But hopefully as we learn the ways of Bilbao – we’ll have the time of our lives, and come back like everyone always does from abroad saying it was worth it all. The good part is that we’re together. There’s no way that I would have survived the culture shock from tonight if I didn’t have him by my side.

But either way, we start our respective study abroad programs tomorrow so hopefully that will propel us both into a faster adjustment to this unknown place. For now, it’s just plain intimidating.

It’s not night for most of our readers, but it is for us. ¡Hasta luego!