Looking back now, my first day was actually pretty comical. However, it definitely was not funny at the time. I guess I’ll start with my flight from Atlanta to Madrid. I was extremely excited and a little nervous to finally be on my way to Madrid, Spain! (I was mainly nervous because I am slightly afraid of planes, but all went well!) We boarded the plane and were ready for take off! Or the passengers were at least, however, the flight team was not. We ended up waiting in the plane for about an hour, longing for take off. Finally, the engine started and we were on our way to Madrid! I was so excited!
We landed in Madrid, I grabbed my luggage and immediately began to look for my friends that were also lost at the airport. About an hour later we all found each other and were so relieved! Our next obstacle: finding a taxi. Unfortunately we were all a little new to the “cueing” process of grabbing a taxi. So naturally we jumped into the first taxi that we thought was available. As soon as we entered we immediately heard someone violently scolding us in Spanish. We turned our heads to discover that there was a long line of about 30 people waiting to grab their own taxi. With blushed faces we grabbed our belongings and headed towards the end of the line. Thirty minutes passed and we arrived in our taxi. I shut my door and wouldn’t you know that I shut my phone in the door completely breaking it! I was not even sad because I was so exhausted. Our next obstacle was finding our hostel. The taxi driver ended up taking us to the wrong place, so we wandered around Madrid searching for our home for the night. We finally found it and were ready for a nap. After the five hour nap we decided to explore Madrid. We fell in love with the people, the food, the history, and the atmosphere. As time has progress we have all fallen even more in love. The UA program is awesome. There are great excursions every weekend. I have made so many American and Spanish friends while being here. The first week was hard to become accustomed to the Spanish routine, but with time it becomes easier. I am not ready to return to the States anytime soon, but unfortunately I have to. Everyone should experience Madrid at least once in their life. It is an amazing city with an amazing culture! 
-this is a picture of the Plaza Mayor in La Puerta del Sol in Madrid!