A week in, a month deep

A week in, a month's worth of assimilating, accustoming, and breathing it all in....feels like i've been here for far longer than a week. Arriving to see Ani and Brian awaiting me just outside of the baggage claim, suddenly we're not just meeting in Uptown but instead halfway across the world . . . a rather surreal experience, to say the least. After two weeks of being on the road with Chris Koza Band, where a new town, a new stage, a new climate, new people, and a new bed had become the ordinary, it was in a way an extension of my days on the road with the band, but this time it was a bit longer of a commute from bed to bed. Saying goodbye to the band in Los Angeles on october 15, flying home to Minneapolis on the 16th, flying to chicago on the 17th, where I stayed with my friend Gordon, flying out of Chicago on the 18th, and arriving in Madrid late in the evening on the 19th, it had begun to feel as though time no longer had a grip on my sense of reality, nor did location, nor did sleep.

The surreality didn't end there. Being on a metro again in Europe, I had to pinch myself again to convince myself that, yes, in fact, I was in Europe again. Memories of Milan, Rome, and Paris swept into my mind as I grabbed onto the pole in the metro as it begun its trip away from the airport and into the center of the city and south again to my new piso (apartment) in the southwest of Madrid. Taking in the surroundings that would soon be commonplace but for the time were completely new, we meandred down the streets and finally to the doorway of our apartment building, where Ani ceremoniously let me take the key and open the door into the entryway. Seventh floor, we exit the elevator and arrive at the apartment..........A cozy living room with couch, a kitchen full of already-furnished utensils, a bedroom with a beautiful view overlooking a Madrid skyline from a seventh-floor vantage point, and half of the closet to fill with the things I had been lugging around with me for the last few days, to seal the deal and make it feel like home for the next 8 months.

Courtesy of my dream-like state created out of 30 hours of no sleep, I failed to realize what time it was as we sat around the table and enjoyed our reinstated togetherness. Four a.m. rolled by and they mentioned it may be time to go to bed as I confusedly ask what time it was. The next day's waking hour was a crisp 4 p.m., not really helping my jet lag at all, but we had a busy evening ahead of us. A refreshing run with Ani at a nearby park overlooking Madrid's south side got me acquainted to the general vicinity of our piso. A nice, relaxed evening, and a few ceremonial drinks and cheers on our terraza followed. Then, it was time to venture into the city to grab some dinner by the Plaza del Sol y la plaza mayor, two of the more picturesque plazas in Madrid, and appropriately so. The European bustle of a Saturday night was readily palpable as I excitedly walked up the stairs from the metro to see my first glance of downtown Madrid, grinning with childish glee. So much to see, so many hidden gems, so many things that will soon change from foreign to comfortable.

We were lucky enough to have been invited by some co-workers of Ani's to a party located in La Latina, a vibrant quintessentially European hub of life, where I was quickly given an opportunity to speak entirely in Spanish for the next 6 hours (yes, we arrived at midnight). We met some great Madrileños with whom we have hung out with a few times now, and we had a hell of a fun time hanging out with these new friends and speaking Spanish all night.

A 6 a.m. departure from the party meant that we caught the next day's metro as it was starting a new day, just as we were warily trying to finish ours. With only 30 hours of Spanish air in my lungs, I had already got a great feel about the life, the people, the language, and about my new home.

Since last weekend, it's been great to get to know the place. Markets of meat, produce, and supermarkets for everything else are just a 10 minute walk away, and whether it's because i'm in a different country or because it's my first time in an apartment, everything is just a bit different. Cooking dinners, shopping for groceries, coming home at night - - they are all a bit more of a novelty when you have your own place. Explorations in the Parque del Retiro (a gigantic and beautiful center park) and throughout the city's many and varied streets and avenues continue to be exciting as I am trying to gain a mental map rather than consulting a map every time I go out.

Though it's been just a week, it feels as though everything I've taken in is far more than a week's worth. But that's a good thing - - more than a week's excitement and adventure in just 7 days. If that were an offer at the local supermarket, I just might spring for it. I guess I did, in a way.