14 missed calls, a broken wheel, and a very nice man

Since my suitcase was lost/delayed, I left a message with the woman working at the missing luggage desk at the airport saying that I would be home after 6 pm for the next 2 or 3 days. After getting back from visiting the school where I will be working, I saw 14 missed calls.

Crap.

Must have been about the suitcase.

But why did they call at 12:30 pm when I left a message saying not to deliver it until the evening?


I called the number back at 6 pm, as soon as I saw the missed calls. Sure enough, it was the person from the airport who had tried to deliver my suitcase. My message wasn't delivered.

Since tomorrow is a huelga (strike) and most of the public transportation will be heavily delayed and most of the stores closed, the man asked if I would be home for the rest of the evening. I told him that I didn't plan to be but could be home if my suitcase would be delivered.

After calling a few other people at the airport, he, while off the clock, drove out to the airport, picked up my suitcase, and brought it to my door at 10:30 pm that evening and apologized a hundred times for the confusion/inconvenience/poor communication within airport employees (which wasn't his fault at all.)

I'm so happy to have my toothbrush, PJs, clothes, books, etc. that I don't even mind that a wheel is broken off. When you're packing a carry-on, it's full of the things you want right away. So when they check it plane-side, it's pretty inconvenient not to get it for 2 or 3 days....

Thank you, kind airport man.

MADrid

I'm in Madrid staying with a friend for a few days. I arrived yesterday morning and spent most of the day being very sleepy, trying to figure out how to get a suitcase that the airline lost, drinking coffee, and hanging out with Kim (who I'm staying with ) and her boyfriend. Today was an all day orientation. I really liked one of the speakers who talked about phonetics and using a phonetic approach to teaching languages in elementary schools (and who recommended spelling bees. Yes!)

Tomorrow there is a general strike, so the metro won't be running very often. I'm thinking of spending the day looking up apartment options online.... It's high season for apartment renting, so the prices are high and the apartments are getting taken up within hours of being posted online. Yikes.

Other than that, I'm nearly on a normal sleep schedule already, my suitcase should be arriving by tomorrow afternoon, and Kim's a really great hostess.

Once my suitcase with my pajamas, towel, books, and camera gets here, things should be a bit more comfortable (the suitcase they lost was originally my carry-on. There was no more space in Chicago in the overhead bins, so they checked it through to Madrid. Unfortunately carry-ons have the things you plan to use first....) After that, it's on to the apartment search!

Will write more later once there are more things to write about.....

Buenas noches!

On the road again...

Four weeks at home is a good amount of time. I've copied my passport, printed my itinerary, and packed my bags as full as they can handle. My flight leaves in 3 hours from Indy to Madrid. I'm not looking forward to the inconveniences of traveling, finding an apartment, and reestablishing myself, but it's time for something new (and definitely time to start working somewhere again....) Those are the minor annoyances that come with moving to a new place. Should be an adventure!

A complaint and a thankful

Complaint:

I started my day today by waiting on hold for an hour and a half on an international call. I needed to set an appointment to renew my NIE card. (NIE = Numero de Identidad de Extranjeros = a card with an identity number for foreigners in Spain) Possibly the worst way to start a day.

If you're interested in hearing the music I had the privilege of listening to for 90 minutes, call +34 902 56 57 01. International phone call charges may apply.


Thankful:

After getting my appointment set, I went outside with a mug of coffee and sat on the back porch and remembered how much I love Indiana in the fall. The leaves haven't changed yet, but the stems of one or two have turned red, which means the rest of the tree will be following suit soon. It's chilly in the shade and warm in the sun, and there are tons of hummingbirds flitting about (my mom has two hummingbird feeders up on the back porch.) It's a beautiful day, and it's nice to be back in Indiana.

An beautiful day and afternoon adventure with Charise at
Flowing Well Park in Carmel, Indiana