¡Hola a todos!

I'm writing this on a train to Santander from Madrid. It's super hot on board. I'm super giddy. The man next to me can definitely tell because I'm fiddling with everything and I can't stop moving my leg. I've never been on a train like this. My knees don't even hit the seat in front of me! This is living.

Corbyn and I just spent 5 days in Dublin. The stereotypes are true, the Irish LOVE their beer. Unfortunately, the Irish people weren't the friendlies bunch. Maybe it's because we are young American guys, but only a few people were pleasant to be around. Here are another few differences I noticed:

- Lack of urinals. Mostly large troughs to pee into. Super bummer if you have pee fright like me. 5 guys peeing into a smelly bucket is tough.

- The electrical outlets have switches. Don't forget to turn them on if you want your phone to have life in the morning.

- Obviously, they drive on the left side of the road. This was impossible to get used to. I don't know how many times I began to cross the road thinking it was clear, and then a car came from my right when it wasn't a one way. I came close to death numerous times.

- They call their French fries "chips" and their chips "crisps." Irish "chips" suck.

- Weights are in kilograms (probably obvious again). This is all of Europe. Not a big deal, but it takes a little longer to find the right weight in the gym.

Those are probably the biggest differences I noticed. We stayed in a hostel the whole time. This was one of my favorite parts of the trip. We met people from all around the world and they were all fun to talk to. Traveling is all about the people you meet. Speaking with others from different cultures is the most important part to me. All of this wouldn't be worth it if I didn't get to enjoy the presence of citizens from different counties.

On our last day we took the metro to a small fishing town called Howth, just north of Dublin. We hiked up the mountains to see amazing views of the cliffs and the sea. We also saw some really cool seals and some oversized seagulls. Seriously, these things are three times the size of our seagulls. They could totally snatch up a small dog if they ate beef.

Overall, Dublin was great. Guinness storehouse, Jameson distillery, St. Patrick's church, and the pubs all made for an unforgettable vacation. The scenery in Dublin wasn't great, but the experiences made up for it.

By the time I post this I will be in Santander. I start school on Monday, which really stinks because I kind of forgot I had to take classes while I was here. Oh well, ¡viva España!

¡Adios!

We made it. On time. I sat next to a Moroccan man and his 4 year old son who insisted on kicking in his sleep, which means I got ZERO shut eye. We got to Madrid yesterday and are leaving for Dublin today.

The first thing I noticed on our way from the airport to downtown Madrid was the graffiti. It covered the buildings lining the highways. Some of it looked artful, some of it not so much. Another thing that caught my attention was how many apartment buildings there are. I still haven't seen a house. Maybe I just haven't been to the right parts of Madrid. I should probably start taking pictures. It's just so much easier to keep the images in my head.

It doesn't matter how many years of Spanish I've taken, it's still awkward talking to people. It's only been a day, so I'm sure it will get easier, but I feel ridiculous at restaurants. A few people have tried to talk to me on the streets, so I say "no, gracias!" I still have no idea what they're asking...

One last thing: Spanish women are gorgeous! I might just meet Mrs. Leifeste here in Spain.. My mom wouldn't like that too much.

Alright we're off to Dublin. Hasta luego!

An interesting beginning

The plan is to begin my journey in Dublin. Corbyn is accompanying me for the first week before I start school back in Spain. We bought our tickets to Dublin way ahead of time with Ryanair (infamously known for their strict no refund policies) because they were relatively cheap. Also, Corbyn's checked bag was 15 pounds over the limit. He had to stuff everything into his other bag haha. Just a humorous side note. 

We got to the airport in Austin to find out our connecting flight to Dallas was delayed an hour due to mechanical issues. Not a big deal. Corbyn could sense my anxiety, and assured me we'd still make it on time. I believed him a little bit. 

We boarded an already delayed flight to find out we'd be sitting through another delay because the cargo door refuses to obey them. How can anyone be sure this huge hunk of machinery won't decide to disobey again mid flight? I'm going through emergency landing scenarios in my head. I'd save the women and children first, don't worry.

They "resolved" the issue after about 30 minutes. These delays made things very interesting.. I think we can catch our flight to Madrid, if Corbyn runs fast enough. We'll probably want to stop for ice cream too, but that can wait.