The one where I arrive

Arrrrriba! The second half of my hear abroad has empezado.

At the aeropuerto

After a lot of packing paranoia and ruthless prioritisation (goodbye 20 pairs of socks), we made our way to the airport. Following some heartfelt goodbyes (translation "See ya."), I was forced to down the orange juice I had in my hand luggage ('cos you know, those terrorists at Capri Sun are intent on bringing down the aviation behemoth of Ryanair). Security went off without a hitch after that and I ambled my way down to the gate. I was feeling a bit nervous by this point so when I saw a kilt-clad gent giving out free samples of whisky, a beeline was made straight for him. However, feeling guilty for just using him for his booze (some of you might be able to relate), I made some short conversation about how one could definitely taste the "Spanish oak" in the whisky (one couldn't) and left in high spirits, pun fully intended.

Now, the Spanish aren't exactly Caucasian, and are actually of a fairly dark complexion but I was definitely the darkest one on that plane by a compaña mile! We'll see if this plays out in my favour. ("Hey guys did you hear? There's a brown guy on campus, let's go meet him and buy him lots of drinks!") That's the best case scenario anyway...

Got my map - ready to whip it out in the middle of the road
and look like a tourist

In halls

Once I got to the residencia, the very kind (and aptly-named) Manuel grabbed my suitcase and helped me to my home for the next 5 months. A couple of my new corridor-mates came out to say hola, and although they're all cool I'd be lying if I said I remembered everyone's names.

Javier, Jorge, Juan, Jose...they all tend to blend into one after a while. Am I allowed to say that?

Luckily I got this under my door recently, so I can memorise  everyone's names to impress them (/freak them out)

Me encanta the way they say my name though, with the proper Spanish "R". Makes me feel like a matador every time they call me "Rrrrrraff!", complete with exclamation mark.

The most surreal part had to be landing at the airport. Seeing "Zaragoza" written down in emails everywhere, but now seeing it on the side of the airport suddenly made it all very real. I'm in Spain. And I'm ready to fiesta.

Vamanos!