My mom kissed me goodbye, and I proceeded to make my way through the metal detectors, random luggage checks and tennis-shoe scans.

After a semester of planning, two and a half weeks of Christmas vacations packed full of family and friends, and one hectic day full of packing I was finally on my way to Saint Louis University’s campus in Madrid, Spain.

Having been to Madrid previously for a month, I knew that this semester would entail getting over jet lag, figuring out how to use all forms of transportation and becoming accustomed to Spanish cooking.

After a few days, a couple of “siestas,” customary afternoon naps, and a full night of sleep I finally felt like I was on schedule. Some of my friends have found this change in time zones much more difficult.

While on my orientation trip in the Canary Islands, they were still not able to sleep through the night and tended to take extremely long naps.

While I do at some times find myself subtracting the seven hours of time difference to see what time it is in St. Louis, I think that I have made a relatively easy transition to my new time zone.

However, I am still not completely on schedule with Madrid’s nightlife. I do not know how I will be able to stay out until past 6 in the morning, as many Spanish college students are said to do. I pretty much have to stay out until after 6 though, since the metro and buses supposedly do not run from 1 to 6 in the morning.

I am still amazed at all of the forms of transportation I have used in the past week. I have boarded four airplanes, in order to get to Madrid and later to go to and from the Canary Islands. I have used the metro, buses and a taxi and have not gotten lost, yet.

Furthermore, while in the Canary Islands the group of about 25 SLU Madrid students went on a boat to go whale watching in the Atlantic Ocean, which is where I learned about seasickness.

In order to calm my stomach I proceeded to sleep for the majority of the three-hour tour. However, all was not lost, and after taking the tour buses back to the hotel I was able to play on the black sand beach, celebrating my first trip ever to a beach.

Throughout my time in the Canaries and especially while in the home of my “se?ora,” the woman with whom I reside for this semester,

I have been amazed by the amount of olive oil used in cooking. My se?ora makes me dinner every night. The food is wonderful, but it really surprised me to find olive oil not only in my chicken and vegetables but also in my spaghetti.

Maybe the excess oils in my new diet will balance out with the amount of walking I have to do each day.

Thus, armed only with my passport and student’s visa, travelers checks, debit card and new Euros, the only monetary unit that will be used in Spain after Feb. 28,

I am prepared to study, learn, travel and shop.

I am ready to make the most of my semester in Spain.

Caty Hughes is a sophomore studying abroad this semester in Spain.