8:08 am, touchdown in Madrid. After ~12 hours of flight it’s good to put my Chuck’s on solid ground again. Lydia, our coordinator, and Karla, another team member at En Vivo, pick Rachel and I up from the airport. We eat the traditional Spanish lunch of *ahem* pizza and calzones *ahem* for our first meal in Spain, then go to a small coffee chain before hitting the road for Salamanca.

I sleep most of the way there and wake up with un garganta that feels like it went 9 rounds in the boxing ring. Karla drops us off at Rachel’s apartment, then the blitz begins.

Stay awake, beat jet lag. Say “ciao”, not “hola”. Doors lock behind you. Once out opens, twice in double locks. If a car is coming as you cross the street, go, they will yield.

I’m shivering.

Welcome to the plaza. You’ll look like tourists, but…