My First Night In Madrid

After 10 months of paperwork, 2 days of frantic packing and a bleary-eyed 4am start I am finally here in Madrid! I arrived early this morning and by 10.45am I was in a taxi, nodding and smiling at everything the taxista said, hurtling towards my new home for the next few weeks. I decided back in England that I wanted to live with a Spanish family in a homestay at first so that I'll have time to find my feet in the city and have the chance to practice my Spanish before starting work. Isabel, the lady whose flat I'm staying in, met me in the street with kisses and smiles and we lugged my suitcases into the lift to the second floor.

Also staying in the flat is an Austrian girl called Christina who's very friendly and is here on an exchange programme from Paris. At lunchtime Isabel took us both on a trip to the plaza mayor to try un bocadillo de calamares in a teeny tiny bar which was packed to the rafters with madrileños shouting and laughing. We wandered round the streets of La Latina in the sunshine just soaking everything in. 

Isabel agreed that I could eat with her this evening if I paid her a little extra so I waited...and waited...and waited...until 11pm. I can see that it's going to take me a while to get used to the timings here. Isabel is lovely and eager to help me in any way she can but after that dinner of courgette pureé, microwaved tinned sausages and an incredibly salty fried egg I think I'll be cooking for myself from now on! 

It's now very late at night and I'm sitting in my new room:

Although I'm in Spain the rain is drumming on my window and has turned the road outside into a river!

I'm looking forward to the next few weeks with a mixture of excitement and (I'm not going to lie) fear. For a first day though I don't think I could have asked for more: a lovely host and flatmate, a guided tour of the centre and a comfy new room.