The Journey Begins

First thing's first, I know the title is lame, but, alas, I am a lame person. Next, I guess I'll try to explain what I'm planning on using this blog for. As much as I love all of you and would enjoy emailing you all personalized messages about my trip, I, well, don't really want to do that. So, bookmark the URL (justin-sukup.blogspot.com) and check back as much as you'd like. I'll try to add a new post as often as I can/should, hopefully at least once a week. Also, I'll try to keep these relatively short. I'm not so self-absorbed that I think everyone wants to hear every little detail of my life, but at the same time, I'm using this as my journal, so I want to remember stuff I'll probably forget otherwise. For photos, check out facebook albums. I'll try to include a pic or two per post, but I hate looking like a tourist so rarely take pictures during obvious photo ops. This is Michelle making sangria and John cooking steak.

So my trip officially started a few days ago on May 20 when I flew out of Omaha around 7AM. Luckily, the guy that filled up our plane with gas (airplanes use gas?) forgot to do his paper work, so I only had to sit in an unmoving plane for an extra 40 minutes. This led to a stress-free situation when I asked four different Memphis airport workers, "Where's B29?! Can I get there by 10:55?" The answer all four times was, "That way, but only if you haul ass." Needless to say, I hauled ass along with my carry-on. It was great. The fact that I had a sinus infection, which, combined with the typical pressure changes of flight, caused a sinus in my left eyebrow to rupture, was just a bonus. Well, at least I'm pretty sure it ruptured or something like that since the nasty crap that comes out of my nose is red and green. It's like Christmas. I'm just missing some bells.

Other than being sick, I'm loving Boston and being with my sister and brother-in-law. They live in a small condo, but their couch is super comfy. They've got a cool little roof deck, which is a nice place to have dinner, drinks, and look at crap in the distance with friends. I've been shown around MIT campus and helped Michelle with some lab work (I actually knew what was going on and had done it before). MIT is so weak compared to Iowa... Plans for the week I'm here:
-Swing Dancing
-Freedom Trail (all the historical, touristy stuff in Boston, I guess?)
-Beach
-Planning an intinerary for when Michelle and Marie come to Spain in August because if I don't do it, no one will.
-Scaring their easily frightened cat with my Christmas mucus.
-Pirates of Penzance

Oh, I guess not everyone knows my trip plan. Here's a brief outline since this post is getting dangerously long and is probably already boring:
-Boston (May 20-May 27)
-Fly to Madrid via London
-Alcalá de Henares (suburb of Madrid and home of Cervantes (Don Quixote)) for nine weeks of classes.
-A couple weekend trips since we don't have Friday classes (planned so far: Pamplona-running of the bulls, Barcelona-because it's Barcelona, Valladolid-Nora is there!, Asturias-because CIEE planned it, and Valencia-like the oranges)
-Two weeks of travel with my sisters after my program is over at the end of July/beginning of August. We'll probably stick to a few of the Schengen countries.
-August 13 leave Madrid, August 15 back in Omaha, August 17 band camp in Iowa City.
-Get owned by jet-lag.

That is all.