After I went through customs and got my bags, I went outside. My dad has a good friend named Diego from work who lives in Madrid. Diego sent a car to pick me up and bring me to the train station. When I went outside, I met Antonio the driver. He helped me with my bags and we got in the car and he drove me to Atocha, the train staion. Atocha is like Grand Central in Madrid. Its a HUGE train staion. It was about 20 minutes from the airport. He parked the car and helped me get my bags inside the train staion and get them checked. At Atocha, you can check your bags so you don't have to carry them around with you and worry about them. After we got my bags checked, there was about 3 hours until my train to Saragossa. Antonio showed me around the train station then we went and got coffee and walked around Madrid for about 2 hours. It was beautiful. Before Antonio left, he helped me call my host parents to tell them I was here and then my parents to tell them I had arrived. I then walked around Atocha by myself and looked at the shops and such for about a half an hour or so then I went to my platform for boarding. The train I took to Saragosssa from Madrid was a high speed train that travels up to about 200 mph. These high speed trains are called "AVE" trains, which means "Alta Velocidad Espana" or "High Speed Spain". Inside the train was BEAUTIFUL! It was so fancy and very modern. The train was so smooth riding and quiet. It didn't feel like you were going that fast either. To drive from Madrid to Saragossa is about 3 1/2 hours but on the train it was about 1 hour and 15 minutes. The scenery in Spain is beautiful although it is a lot more desert like than I had thought. When I arrived, my host mother Marta, host father Jose Miguel, my host sister Ana, and Jose Manuel were waiting for me on the platform with a poster that said "Bienvenido Brian" Jose Manuel is the Youth Exchange Officer for the Rotary Club of Saragossa. We then went home and my host family helped me bring my bags to my room. I then unpacked my clothes and things and then took a shower. After that, the whole family sat down and we talked about school, chores, and rules. My chores/rules are to keep my room clean, walk and feed the dog Tinkel with my host sister Ana, and to take out the trash with my host sister Ana. We then all just relaxed and watched tv. We had dinner at about 9:45 pm. and went to bed at 11:30 pm. In Spain, everything is much later. Lunch is the main meal of the day and it is at about 2:45 or 3 pm. Dinner is at around 10 pm normally and we don't go to bed until after midnight. This is part of the culture here.
Atocha Train Station
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