Temperature Shock

Wow.  After waking up practically shivering in my bed for two months straight, a humid high 80s day was just about enough to do me in.  I got off the plane this afternoon and thought I was going to melt.  Fortunately, I once again spent the entire plane ride sleeping, as well as the bus ride into the city.  So my journey here really didn't seem terribly long.  Finally, we turned a corner to come into the city and I couldn't really believe how big it seemed to be.  But conveniently, I got dropped off by the metro, and my hostel isn't far from a metro station, so the rest of the journey was pretty easy.

On a more frustrating note, I can definitely tell a difference between what they speak here and the Spanish spoken in the rest of Spain.  I can usually get a general grasp on what people are saying, but it's nowhere near as clear as I would like it to be.  However, I keep thinking that it's nowhere near as difficult as France has the potential to be, so I'm making the best of it.

I did a bit of wandering around the city today before I made it to the hostel, but I was really looking forward to getting into some AC, so I didn't do much.  So I sat in the common area of the hostel for a while and chatted with some people.  I ended up going out to dinner with some girls from Texas.  It was, of course, delicious.  And I have to say, compared to Ireland, it was decently priced.

On a final note, I have to say that I'm really enjoying the experience of staying in hostels.  There's a pretty interesting group in here, including some from Spain, France, Italy, England, Australia, Latvia, and the US.  And probably a few I don't know.  I like that about hostels.  Last night I played pool with three guys from Chile, Germany, and California.  It's great getting to hang out with people from so many different places.  I love how nobody is afraid to ask questions about the US and explain their perceptions of the US (which are mostly based on movies and completely false).

Tomorrow, I think I am meeting up with an MBA friend and heading to the beach, so I'm sure I'll have an update on how wonderful it is (assuming it doesn't rain).

Until then,
KT