i guess the first times are always special and stay engraved in your memory. or maybe in a blogpost like this. in my case its both, because my first trip was so eventful, it lead to many firsts.

first transit: first i thought it was i who couldnt stop crying. then i realised it was the rain gods. or both actually. mumbai hadn't seen rain for almost 15 days, and that morning at 4.30 am after i walked into the Airbus A330 and we prepared to take off, it poured cats and dogs. i wonder if someone else too was crying silently.. i remember i slept for a bit, and then looking at my watch at 10 am, i wondered, "the plane was supposed to land at 9.15. where are we going?" and then it hit me- timezones!! after that i lost track of time. and just kept pushing back time. it felt good to live the same hour again and again, felt like a magic trick. the good part it is didnt give me any jet lag. i got down at istanbul and roamed around the duty free shops for a good two hours. the first hour with my bags on me, i think i should put that as a first here too, that of weightlifting. the next flight was pretty uneventful. until i landed i.e.

first baggage lost: yes it did. and both my bags. it took me 2 hours to register the complaint and at this point of time i am still waiting for one of my bags. good thing, i have clothes to wear now, bad thing, my documents are stuck. i know, i am a fool to put my documents in my check-in bags, but guess it was fated. i had shuffled my documents right at the airport because my handbag was overweight. oh yes and i had paid an excess fare of 7k at mumbai already. so my baggage proved to be a real weight for me.

first take at wild-life: first class get-together. now that dinners done where are going? ok to a bar. but when are we going to enter it? its been 2 hours. what! we are done already without even entering? and now we are going to a club? but its 3 in the morning and i am thirsty and sleepy!! Gawd. I ended up walking back home with my roomy, about 3.5 kms, at 3 in the morning, map in hand, trying to read the road signs, and in the middle of the finale of the Gracia fest. Crazy night, but it was the right introduction to Barcelona.

first trip in a spanish grocery store: Fed up of being holed up at home waiting for my bags and at the encouragement of my roomies taking guard, i ventured to the grocery store across the street from my house. I was like a prisoner coming out of a dark cell after ages, and of course i am exaggerating!! In the excitement i forgot my dictionary. The trip was a success as per my roomy, looking at all the stuff i was carrying when i got back, although there was one failure, in finding cheese. and all it took was about an hour and about 17 euros. now i had food and water!

first sigh of relief: My roomy called to tell me on the fixed line on saturday evening that the delivery guys had called her and would be home by 8 pm. by spanish time standards it was to be 9 pm, but now i had my stuff and i could set it up in my room!! yeah i stopped feeling like a celebrity living out of suitcases.

first chat with parents: it was long and detailed. from the rates of vegetables, to the common recipes, to explaining what emoticons meant, it was a welcome change. a wave of comfort washed over me. i was back in touch. i hate not being able to talk, so much so that all i do is chat all day, just to feel connected with people. my homesick-proneness amazes me. my defence for me - sometimes its ok to accept one's human tendencies.

first almost trip to tomatina: Yeah it was going to be holi in spain, from the suffocation of a mahalaxmi evening local and to the herbal cleansing of acidic tomatoes. but the bags came in the way. yes yet again. insurance guys, this is for you, and you better pay me back for this emotional distress and inconvenience that you have caused.

first pasta experiment: so my grocery trip didnt seem so much of a success when it translated into potential investment of hardwork and time in the kitchen. (yeah thanks to financial accounting, i am talking jargon already!) with the readymade pasta consumed, it was time for guniea pigs. only this time i was the pig as much as the cook. so this is what i conjured up - heat oil, cook some maggi masala, pour a spoonful of water, and pour some preboiled pasta. simmer till water dries off and ta-da.. i must tell you, self-cooked food is the tastiest in the world!! amen. and i haven't had a stomach ache yet.

and then there are the smaller firsts: oh a skateboard!; wow a bathtub- umm how do i stop the water !?!, a microwave- can i boil milk in this?, a fully automatic wasing machine- until now washing clothes was my secret to fitness; there's no tap in the toilet!; yippee!!! i can chat all day!!!; is that a bmw bike??!, n a volkswagon taxi ?!!??; i- dont-need-a-blackberry-no-i-dont-do-i-really?; is this boiled thing main-course, but didnt i just finish its raw version for salad?; umm, am i right to think i am lost, cause this street should be turning right, not left..!; omg! all bikinis???!! and where's the top gone?!#$%?!; lets see if i can earn some money out of my inconvenience, insurance ahoy!!; and more to follow later..

and finally, what does a lazy girl do? chat and blog. so signing off from my first blog and going back to some chat sessions. until next time, chao!