Spain - ay ay ay!

So I just got back from Spain a few hours ago and it was an incredible, beautiful trip. Getting there was a little rough though... We all (17 of us!) left Oxford Wednesday around noon to head to the airport. Everything went smoothly and we did an excellent job of keeping up with everyone on all of our changes at the train stations. Once we got to the airport, everyone checked in except me and Daley - we both checked in online and printed out boarding passes. We went through security and headed to our gate to wait for the plane. When we finally got to board, it came my turn in line and the lady looked at my boarding pass, said simply "you can't get on this plane" as though she expected me just to accept that and move on. she called her manager who was even less help - she looked at my card, agreed with the first woman, told me my ticket was void and that i would have to leave now. she opened the gate, pushed me out and that was it. ok. so im watching everyone get on the plane, and theyre looking at me with no idea what to do. so i just start making my way backwards through the airport. i finally figured out how to make my phone work and was able to get a hold of jacque at the house in oxford and explained to her what had happened (at this point i realized i was in a foreign country, in a strange airport, by myself, with no idea what to do and i got a bit emotional...) so after a while on the phone with jacque and cole i finally figured out what i should do, so i began to try to figure out how to get back through security (people typically dont need to go backwards through the
airport ... most people leave the airport on a plane...) a very nice lady saw that i was a little upset and very confused looking and she helped me out. she gave me strict instructions to go back to the check in desk and complain until i got what i needed. well, the check in desk was no help and didn’t help my mood one little bit. so i went to the ticket desk and explained that i had checked in online and that the website printed out a boarding pass for me that was not valid. the woman's response was "well it's only a computer, isn't it?" (in a very sassy british accent) so i just bought a ticket for the next morning and went on my way. at this point, i was again hit with the realization that i was very alone and then (the plane was long gone). i found a nice little cafe to sit at so i read and wrote for a while. I had decided not to call my parents so they wouldnt be worried about me, but then my dad called me! of course i got very emotional (i was tired and pitiful) when i was on the phone with him. after i explained what happened to him, we hung up, and a man in front of me turned around a few minutes later and told me that he'd overheard what happened to me and that he was very sorry. we ended up talking for a very long time. he told me about his kids (his oldest daughter is 19 so he had a lot of sympathy for me) and his wife. he had just flown in from ireland where he is working now so he doesnt get to see his family much. anyway, we talked for a long time, and when his wife finally got there she bought me some (very appreciated) hot chocolate! then the 3 of us kept talking for a pretty long while. before they left, she came over to me and handed me a sack and said that it was to get me through the night and told me that everything would be alright. inside was a sandwich, chips, water and cookies from the cafe. there was also a napkin with a note on it that said "take care. be careful and dont worry. be safe. love, Diane and John at Stansted. Have a great hols" (i think hols is short for holiday - i told them i was on my way to spain with some friends). anyway, im pretty sure those were my guardian angels and i wish i had some way of contacting them to thank them for what they did for me - it helped so much just to be able to talk to people! they were great - we talked about michael jackson, bruce springsteen and a man who lived in an airport for four years. after they left, i stayed at the cafe a little while longer and then decided to go walk around - i now know where everything is in stansted if you ever need to know. after i had been everywhere, i finally gave in and went into the check in area where the rows of chairs are. i found one row where one armrest was broken off and attempted to make myself comfortable for a while. i didnt get much sleep, but i was at least able to rest there for a while. finally, at 5am i heard the announcement that my flight was opening for check in so i went to the desk, got a VALID boarding pass and went to the gate. then i finally flew to valencia! when i got there, i realized that my phone no longer worked, so i couldnt call jeremy to find out where my hostel was, and everyone around me spoke spanish. i busted out the high school spanish and remembered enough to change my money, get to the metro and figure out where to get off. (i knew i was looking for calle samaniego, but apparently thats not a very well known street...) i got off the metro and had absolutely no idea where to go, so i asked a policeman where that street was (at least i hope thats what i said!) and he drew me a "map" to my street. i still have this map if you ever want to see what i was working with - then you will understand why i still really had no idea where i was going. i forced myself to not think about that i was in a very foreign country where no one spoke my language and i had no idea where i was or where anyone i knew was. so i just followed my gut (im pretty sure God led me) and started walking. i had been walking about 10 minutes when i looked up from my "map" and saw none other than Grant Vickery walking across the street waving at me. I have seriously never been so happy to see a familiar face in my life. at this point, it had been 20 hours since i had seen anyone that i knew at all! that is a long time. im pretty sure i have never gone that long without seeing anyone i know. anyway, apparently they found out that i was coming in the morning and so they had all stationed themselves around major parts of valencia to look for me! i love my friends! they were so great!
well, after all that fiasco, we had a fabulous time in Valencia! The weather was beautiful, despite the forecast. it was sunny every day - we went to the beach, ate the BEST oranges i have ever had and just enjoyed ourselves. we walked around valencia a lot and just explored. there used to be a huge river running through the city but now it's dried up and the river bed is a huge, long park. there are jungle gyms, fountains and a huge play ground that is just a huge man laying on the ground but he has slides and stuff coming off of him - it was really cool! we also got to experience real Spanish culture at the flamenco dancing show we went to one night! It was incredible! we ate paella - a traditional valencian rice dish - and bought lots of fresh fruit and pastries at the market! we had a blast there and im so thankful that i finally got there safely. and now i am "home" back in oxford (it really is starting to feel like home!) well, i'll end this long post here. I hope everyone had a great weekend!