Best Two Weekends Ever

So I had an amazing time the past two weekends. I was feeling pretty homesick, not for the States but for familiar faces so spending the past two weekends with Maddy and Lauren was awesome. First, London was everything I expected and MORE. It was wonderful weather and Maddy and Lauren showed me such a good time. We went to a pub the first night after issues with my flight and we literally saw everything to see in London in 2 days..including James McAvoy! It was probably my favorite trip just because it was so different from Spain and America that it was a nice balance. My favorite place was probably Notting Hill or Covent Garden. I also got to see changing of the guard and had a prime spot where someone passed out next to me...it was intense.

THEN, I returned to Barcelona where it was raining and muggy so I spent 3 quality days by myself in the apt, one of which was nice enough for me to explore...so I went to the beach and La Rambla and bought some street art for me and Keegan´s apt next year!

Friday rolled around, and I was so excited because Maddy, Lauren, and Lindsey were all coming to Barcelona and could stay at my apartment because my roommates were gone. I had a great time showing them all the sights (some of which I hadn´t gotten around to) and it was a good one-of-the-last weekends in Barca because now it´s study study study, paper, study study study, presentation...then come home in 14 days!

Its been a great experience and I don´t know if I´ll update this again until I return to America? That´s strange. Oh well.

Muchos Besos!

March Rocks!

So I haven´t been up to much lately besides getting excited for back to back weekend trips and the girls visiting me over Easter weekend. My friend Mal is having her brother, his two friends, and her best friend Julie visiting this week and honestly it´s been amazing. We haven´t really hung out with that many guys because 1. They´re really creepy Spanish men 2. The American guys here are basically the cockiest sons of guns I´ve ever encountered....the east coast stereotype if you will. But, we went out ot eat and I had the best paella I´ve had since in Spain, and then went to Hook again (seriously love Pirate bars) and Sports Bar...not A sports bar but that´s the name of the place and had a great time because all the Americans were at the tourist Spanish places so we hung out with British people the whole night. Saturday, I went with Lorel, her sister and her friend visiting to Tarragona which is about an hour south of Barcelona by train where there are a lot of Roman Ruins. It was nice, but you had to pay 3 euro to get into every ruin, so we opted to look from a far.

This weekend I´m going to an IES sponsored trip to Costa Brava with Linda and Nicolette which should be amazing. We´re going to the Salvador Dali Museum, Girona, and other costal places, hopefully the weather will be warm enough to lay out. Then the next weekend I´m going to London to visit Lauren and Maddy (eee!) and then they´re coming to visit me easter weekend along with Lindsey and her friend! Phi Mu in Barca! Then 3 weeks til I come home. I´m both disappointed and excited to head home. I´ve made lists to pro-con why. (you can stop reading here I´m just killing time)

What I´ll miss: public transportation, cafe con leches, beautiful architecture on the walk to class, the awesome people I´ve met, the cool gimmick bars successfully attracting tourists, tapas, cheap good wine, cooking on a gas stove, traveling, easy classes, olive oil in everything, living next to a grocery store, seeing the crazy people, the beach, the random protests, my RA Anna, my awesome suitemate Linda, speaking another language, how change is actual functional money, no real busy work

What I will not miss: almost getting hit by drivers all the time, getting my butt grabbed in public and the creep guapa whisper cat call, smelling like cigarette smoke all the time, not having a dryer, not being understood all the time, getting lost, pick pocketers, taxis ripping you off, the exchange rate, the majority of the people on my program, 9 am classes every morning, how everything is super late, not being able to see people I care about for extended amounts of time.

When I get home I´m looking forward to seeing everyone, Obama speaking at Notre Dame, new car. But not applying for a jobs, law school, studying for the LSAT. boo.

K sorry for the long post. bye!

I love Barcelona!

So our fight is over. I had a fabulous week/weekend in Barcelona. This week I decided to be independent and walked around Barcelona and take pictures. I took them in black and white because I wanted to see if they would still capture the city. It was also a muggy day outside lol. It was really enjoyable to walk around by myself and just appreciate how lucky I am (sorry to brag). 

Friday, Elizabeth, Missy, Nicolette and I hiked up Mt. Tibidabo. This large mountain with an amusement park and church on top. You can see the church in a distance all around the city so we hiked for maybe 3 hours? I'm pretty out of shape. But, the hike was completely worth it, we got there at exactly sunset and could see the entire city. We picked the nicest day as well. Pictures can't describe how amazing it was. After, Nicolette, Mal, Missy, Elizabeth and I ventured around my neighborhood to a bar and a club. It was fun, but american-infested. I completely know why spaniards hate us. The majority of them were loud, rude, inconsiderate, and don't make any effort to relate to Spanish culture. Whatever, I still had fun.

Saturday, Nicolette and I were going to hike up another mountain, Montserrat, but we were sore so we joined Mal and Jess to Sitges (the scene of my robbery) for a day on the beach b/c it was glorious weather. I got to wear shorts! The sand castles were amazing. There was one that had a sand fireplace with an actual fire going! I got a little color, ate our packed lunches, creeped on Spanish families and then headed home for a relaxing evening.

Today I looked for what I'm doing during Spring Break and I found a cheap flight to London! So I'm coming to visit you Maddy and Lauren! yay!

Until next time,

Muchos Besos

Navarre

This past weekend we had a mandatory "study trip" to the Basque Country, named Navarre. It was surprisingly a really good time. It didn't start off well however because directly behind Linda and I at 8:00 in the morning....there was this girl who is to be referred to as "drunk girl" for the remainder of the weekend by everyone on our bus because of her drunk yelling at 8 in the morning. But, moving on. After our 6-7 hour bus ride (I don't remember, I was asleep) we stopped in Olite where it was snowing, cold, raining, and high velocity winds. The castle was still pretty and I met some cool people, 2 of which were from TEXAS! We bonded because everyone on our trip was complaining about everything. But, we got to our Hotel....it was called Hotel ABBA! HOW EXCITING! I stole a lot of amenities. 

Day 2: We went to a winery and got some wine out of a vending machine. It was delicious! We then explored a monastery, a church, and a castle. It was good times. Later, me and some of the girls had a heart to heart in our hotel room.

Day 3: We explored Pamplona, where our hotel was, and saw the route the bulls run during Running of the Bulls and the bull fighting arena. If you don't know what happens to the bulls after they run...don't read on. THEY KILL THE BULLS! what? Why? It's pretty terrible. So, then we got on the bus watched Penelope Cruz's first movie...strange Jamon Jamon. and TITANTIC. I haven't seen the whole movie in such a long time. I cried a little. 

But, I took my last of my midterms today and then made dinner and started doing some work about Law School, LSAT, and what I'm doing this summer. 

Maddy and Lauren are visiting in two weeks!!!! I'm so excited!

Spain and I are in a fight.

Hi everyone. Sorry I haven't updated in a while, Spain and I are in a fight. I still love it here and being abroad, but this week....Spain has decided to hate me. I'll recap things that have happened both good and bad recently.

Last weekend Linda and I had the apartment to ourselves because our new roommates Chelsea and Lindsey went to Geneva to ski and Anna got to spend the night in an igloo? I don't know it was something she'd always wanted to do. It was nice, we bummed a lot. I had a paper to work on and therefore didn't do much, but went and saw an authentic Spanish movie "La Dieta Mediterranea." All in Spanish...no subtitles and I understand most of it! Note: Spain has a lot less tolerance for violence and more tolerance for nudity. Not going to say much but there were several threesomes. It was weird. 

So, I wrote a paper, and then everyone we've talked to told us to go to Sitges, Spain for Carnival. Carnival is similar to Mardi Gras because it's the Tuesday before Lent and there' a parade and just overall craziness. Linda, John and I took a train around 3 pm to see Sitges because it's GORGEOUS and has really nice beaches. So, the craziness started around 8pm because the parade was starting at 9pm. It was really cool, almost like Halloween with all of the costumes and such. But, while watching the parade, my wallet and Spanish cell phone were taken from my purse. Awesome. So I called my Dad immediately to cancel my credit and debit cards and thank GOD that i cancelled in time so I know for sure they didn't charge anything on my debit card. But, it's so annoying. 

Yea, also with the theft, I had two midterms on Thursday while I was busy filing police reports and talking to IES to loan me money b/c i had none.  I was at IES on Thursday and at 2:45 I realized I had left my folder with my notes that we could use during my Intro to EU midterm at my apartment. I have barely enough change to catch the metro to my apt and then snuck on a bus without paying back to IES, 15 min late to my exam, out of breath....I don't think it went well even though I studied and had my notes. I just couldn't focus. Good thing my GPA doesn't transfer, but it's just frustrating.

So...yea. I went to the beach today with Mal, Amanda and Lorel to kind of unwind. I hope this whole Spain being mad at me ends soon. 

Lighter note, we have the week off classes. We have conferences Monday, Tuesday and WEdnesday about Spanish culture and we leave Thursday for Navarre for 3 days for IES field trip. So that'll be fun.

I miss you all even more right now!

Muchos Besos

Catherine

k!

So first time in 3 weeks that I was in Barcelona this weekend. It was half good and half bad. 

Friday night, Jess and I wanted to try to eat dinner on one of the various restaurants on our

block and came across "El Quete Pincho." It had opened very recently, and was very modern withblack and red and white decor. 

But, we just sat ourselves and looked around the restaurant confused really. When our waiter

finally came across to taking our order, we ordered a vodka limon drink. In which...we just got bottles of lemon even though vodka translates. I know this! Then when I tried to order the same thing as Jess, saying "El mismo, iqual, y tambien" The waiter looked at me like i was retarded even though I know those were correct! The entire menu was in catalan, but Jess and I managed to order some really great food: tortilla espanola (my favorite), croquettes, ensalada formatge, hamburquesa (so good) and shared a romantic chocolate mousse. 

We then went back to Jess's apt and met Amanda and Lorel's (her roommates) friend Miriam, who is spanish and super nice. She said my Spanish was good. Go figure! 

Due to unknown circumstances unbeknownst to me, my stomach did not agree with me, I went home and proceeded to puke my guts out for the next couple of hours. That was fun. But, Linda and Renana went to Anna (our RA's) hometown...I could not go with them, my stomach hurt. So i spent my valentines day in my bed watching Lost and The Office and other random videos. How romantic right?

Today, I spent a lovely Sunday afternoon with Jess, Mal and Lorel at Montjuic Parc. We got to see all the Olympic Stadiums from 1992, and everyone knows how much I love the Olympics. The museum was closed, but I'll go back. We explored the park, couldn't go on the cable cars to the top b/c they're closed for maintenance...booo. but found the fountain that has a stellar light display friday and saturday nights for future endeavors. We grabbed lunch/dinner and then watched some break dancers on Las Ramblas, until they started asking us for money....you're a street performer, just have a hat lying out, don't approach people and start begging, i think it makes street performers lose their cred.

K. that's it. 

muchos besos

-catherine

Lisbon

Sorry if this has taken a while to update. Other stuff has happened that I wasn't in a cheery mood to give Lisbon the right amount of awesome justice.

Even though Lisbon is the capital of Portugal, I didn't really know what to expect. But, the second we arrived, it was amazing! The weather was even better than Barcelona, the whole city is in the hills, making walking both fun...and exhausting. There was a beach and some really neat monuments.

Our hostel was AMAZING! Lisbon Poets Hostel. It was beautiful with orange and red decorations a lounge with bean bag chairs, free internet, a kitchen, free breakfast, a hammock a tv that played the Simpsons in Portuguese on loop. It was a quality establishment.

Torre de Belem: An old Bell Tower that was so much fun! Although, we couldn't find the bridge over the train tracks at first and got there by going underneath a highway. Whoops. It had about 5 stories that you took cool windy stairs up, beautiful views of the entire city. 

Christopher Columbus Monument: So CC left from Lisbon to you know, discover America and they have this MASSIVE monument in his honor. It was really neat. We were there at sundown and then took a bunch of fun pictures. 

Our hostel was located in Barrio Alto, or the Bar district, so we went out and explored the local bars. Beer was only about 2 euro each but we had been traveling since 5 am that morning, so we turned in early.

After the first day, I didn't know what else we could do to top them. I was wrong.

Flea Market: We went to this cool flea market where everything under the sun was being sold. The normal jewlery, Portugal futbol jerseys and pashminas. But also, camera chargers, old tvs, porn. Whatever. Also, Lisbon is known for their tiling. All the buildings had the coolest tiles so they were selling tiles here that dated back to 1890. I got a yellow pashimina for 3 euro and a cool guys fake rolex for 5 euro.

Castle St. Georges?: I think that's the name. Whatever, it was SO AMAZING. It was this huge castle I felt like a kid playing Princesses and was running all around this place. We took the coolest pictures climbing on things we probably shouldn't have. So much fun.

Our concierge told us about Fado music. It's apparently this really soulful, guitar music that Portugal is known for. Our concierge made it sound like it was a whole evening with dinner, music, wine and was really popular for about 20-25 euro. He was wrong. He made us reservations at this really expensive restaurant that had music. Everyone cleared out around 11:30 and it was just really strange. That was the only downside to Lisbon. 

But we still had all Sunday to finish exploring b/c our flight wasn't until 8:40 pm. You know that statue in Rio of Jesus on the mountain? Well, Lisbon has a replica. So we went. To get there we took the metro, to a boat, to a bus. It was raining. But still really cool. After, we didn't feel like doing much but we went to a museum for free and then packed and went home.

Lisbon, Portugal, highly recommended. I don't have enough time to write all of the amazing things, but remind me to tell you more about it in person!

Bonjour, Merci, Je'taime.

So today I returned from my first weekend trip away from Barcelona, and it was both enjoyable and successful! 

Day 1:

Left the apartment with Linda and her friend Renana who is studying in Barcelona with another program. Metro-Airport Bus-Plane-Airport Bus...and at the station where we land, we go down some stairs and Voila our Hotel is right in front of our eyes! Hotel Berlioz (highly recommended) was absolutely the cutest room I've ever experienced. 

Then, within about 30 minutes of exploring Lyon, we spy a guy about our age with a Canadian flag on his backpack and we almost squeal with excitement because very few people in Lyon speak any Englih or Spanish so meeting an English-speaker was awesome. BUT 1) We find out this guy has been studying in Lyon this semester and 2) He shares a mutual friend with Linda and 3) He speaks French and wants to explore the tourist Lyon today. So, we basically get a free translator/ travel guide for our first day. We visit Roman Ruins, Vieux Lyon which is a view of the entire city, a Cathedral (where I get to explain Catholicism to my two wonderful Jewish friends), a mini Eiffel Tower, grab a chocolate croissant, venture around the old city, explore tunnels, go on a Ferris Wheel ride in the largest square in Europe and enjoy a wonderful 3 course meal for 12 euros. Day 1 in Lyon= highly successful.

Day 2:

- Sleep in a tad from all the walking up large hills the day before. Grab a croissant sandwich on the street for breakfast. Eat among pigeons, wander around the city (along the beautiful rivers of Rhone and Sione (sp?) and explore two museums. The Museum of Deportation and Transportation which was very educational and depressing about the French involvement in WWII and the Holocaust. Also, experienced Museum of Textiles and Decorative Arts which was amazing to see how rooms were decorated with so few tools and so detailed. More wandering around, grab a baguette, see Opera house, wander around some more, look at shoes, go back to Hotel and nap a bit, wake up, have French crepes (eeee!), find a grocery store and buy wine, cheese, bread, tomatoes, and a bottle opener for a French feast and heart to heart back in our hotel room for a fraction of the cost!

Day 3: 

- No sleeping in, get up, grab our last French croissant :-( buy a postcard because I'm buying one in every city I go to starting now, hop on the airport bus back to the airport and fly home.

Lyon, France did not disappoint with spectacular views rivers, bridges, bread, cheese, cathedrals, and overall friendly hospitality! I highly recommend visiting at least once in your life...although probably more enjoyable in warmer weather, among most places.

Second Traveling Adventure!

1) Has anyone heard that new song by Kelly Clarkson...My life would suck without you. It's phenomenal. It could tie with "since u been gone" not beat it....psh.

2) Linda, Renana, and myself are embarking on our first weekend traveling outside of Spain trip tomorrow! We are heading to Lyon, France. What is in Lyon, France you might ask? Well stupid person...Lyon France is in Southern France making it already GORGEOUS (Funny Face anyone). Lyon is also the second largest urban city in France, second only to Paris. It is known for its Roman Ruins, neat museums, chocolate, silk, and just overall awesomeness. It was also only 60 euro for a flight. I'm so excited! I will let everyone know how it is. 

3) Today for my Democracy in Western Europe class, we went on a field trip! I haven't been on a field trip since Environmental Geology Sophomore year, which was awesome. We went to the Museu d' Historia de Cataluyna. We had to document "cleavages" which are large political disputes throughout history. It was okay. It had eerie music. I just enjoyed not being in a lecture.

4) I'm going to make a list of things I've learned as I'm finishing my third week in Spain...

- If you are lost, consult a map, or ask someone. Don't just walk aimlessly around Barcelona for two hours assuming you're going to find your way home in a timely fashion.

- Learn to read in Spanish better. I bought coffee grounds instead of instant coffee this way.

- Baquettes are only .45 cents. Take advantage of this.

- Dinner starts at 9:45. If you go to a restaurant before this, you will be the only one there, and it will be weird.

- Don't order water at restaurants...It's expensive.

- Don't buy mixed drinks at bars...it is also expensive. Shots are not.

- Don't go to parks on top of large large hills when there are winds of 100 mph.

I will most likely keep making mistakes and writing them down for everyone's enjoyment!

Spontaneity.

So

1) I'll be more prone to update this blog if I get more comments, or else I just feel like i'm talking to myself via internet. 

2) Today, some bad decision making on exploring happened today. I hadn't been to Parc Guell yet (the park dedicated to all things Gaudi) and really wanted to do some free exploring. So Linda and I met John at Placa Cataluyna and made our way there. Did i mention it was really windy? Not just "man this wind is messing up my hair" windy but "dear god, if i had an umbrella i'd probably fly away Mary Poppins style" windy. Also, did i mention Parc Guell is on top of a massive hill? Yea, we climb up several million miles of stairs (note: exaggeration) and the park's entrance has been attempted to be roped off, but you know the sign next to it has fallen on top of the rope, making it quite easy to jump over the sign and be on our way. We pass a couple of uprooted trees and explore Parc Guell (we weren't the only ones) and it was amazing! We couldn't go on top of the highest part b/c Linda and John said it wasn't safe. whatever. Long story short, or long story long, we get home and see an email sent to us via IES which states this:

Queridos Estudiantes,

As you may have noticed, yesterday and today it has been very windy in Barcelona.  Some of the winds are in excess of 100mph. There have been 5 deaths in the city, one on the collapse of a wall next to a construction site and the other 4 upon the collapse of the ceiling of a gym facility on the outskirts of Barcelona.

The city Government has made every effort to secure loose urban objects as to minimize risk of injury, but It has also issued an advisory for all citizens to stay away from the shore since it is the zone of the city where the winds will be at its fullest strength.

You are advised to stay away from the shore and coastal areas. This would also include the recreational areas of Port Olimpic and Port Vell. Please make sure that windows are closed in your apartments and residences.

I'm really bad at making decisions. I'm alive!

Scheduling.

Hola!

Okay so I have found out I have a 9 am every single morning. It's tough, especially when your room doesn't have windows. But I'm liking my classes alright. Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:45-7 I have two classes...in the same room....with the same teacher back to back. His name is sinan, he's Turkish and really nice and speaks good english. there's a couple of others who are in both classes too, we've bonded.

Saturday: Linda, and i and her two friends from Spanish, John and Scott decided last minute to go to the FC Barcelona game! It was amazing, the stadium is cool, the crowd is fun, and FC Barca won 5-0 in a really important game against Deportivo Club. I don't know where they're from, but they're obviously far less superior than Barca.

Sunday: Linda and I were trying to get to the Picasso Museum, but decided to walk to the beach instead. It was wonderful! I can't wait until it's warmer. There's live music around, cool sand castles, very open PDA...that part's not so great but the beach is gorgeous. 

Tuesday we convinced Sinan to cancel class which would have ended at 7, and the inauguration was at 6pm here. We went to a Sports Bar with several other Americans and watched Obama take office with Spanish beer. 

Thursday night: went to Tapas with the girls and guys from Apartment Bldg 29. It was delicious patatas bravas are amazing, they're basically french fries with the most amazing sauce on them and of course Sangria. Then, me and the girls went to Chupitos, which is this whole bar devoted to making shots. We realized after a while, the shots are fun (most of which are on fire, or have candy in them) but don't really have that much alcohol in them. boo. Twas fun, very crowded though. 

Today....plans were made to travel. 

January 30-February 1st...Linda, her friend Renana and I are going to Lyon, France (southern france) because it was the cheapest flight and we decided to be spontatneous.

Then the weekend after that Linda, Renana, Scott, John and I are heading to Lisbon, Portugal! I'm so excited. It's pricey, but after 2 weekends of traveling in a row, I won't be traveling for a while. 

I have discovered the most wonderful dish to fill you up and taste delicious. The Tortilla Espanola. It's basically a huge round chunk mixed with eggs and potatoes. It's delicious and cheap and tastes good with copious amounts of ketchup....

that's it for now! Muchos besos. 

More pictures.

For everyone's enjoyment I'm posting pictures of the Gaudi Apartments and more cool stuff I've seen like the Arc de Triomph, Santa Maria Cathedral, Museo de arte contemporaneo y mas!

Out!

So, after a full week in Barcelona, I decided it was time (Lion King Voice...it is time) 

K so Thursday Night, my now former roommate (no hard feelings) had a bunch of girls

over to our apartment to hang out b/c we have the biggest common space and drinks are 

quite expensive in Barcelona so pregaming is actually a necessity to save money..I mean when bottles of wine are only 1-2 euros....why not! So after our apartment, Linda and I accompanied some girls we met who live in the complex next to ours to this bar called The Black Sheep "La Oveja Negra" which is really cool and laid back. Had some sangria and then proceeded to go clubbing at the beach at Opium. It was an American-sponsored party so practically everyone was from IES and American. It was a pretty club though, very classy. But, headed home at like 3 am.

Then, last night (Friday night) went over to Jess and Mallory's place next to mine, hung out, then decided to check out this bar much closer to our apartments b/c taxis are getting pricey called La Fira. It was carnival themed and so much fun! We danced the night away to the musical stylings of YMCA, Macarena, and did a train....it was kind of like a wedding. The bartenders danced on the bar and we took shots that were on fire. 

Linda and I still have a to-do list including La Sagrada Familia, FC Barcelona Game and museums. Classes start on Monday, which i'm actually excited for. 

Until next time! muchos besos! Look at my pictures on facebook!

Settling.

Hi!

So my apartment doesn't really have a window, so my roommates and I slept until 4:30 pm Sunday afternoon. Yea. Linda and I were productive and took a walk, but suprise suprise we got lost again. I'm not bad at directions but the streets are like diagonal from each other instead of making a grid so it's quite easy getting turned around.

Monday and Tuesday Spanish classes started at 9 am, which aren't awful b/c we're done at 10:30. But, IES gave us this scavenger hunt to do with our class that was actually helpful b/c we walked a ton and saw some pretty great things like the Picasso Museum, a Chocolate Museum, and other cool things and me and my group stumbled upon the cutest nook outdoor tapas restaurant in a church courtyard lit by candle light off of a small alley in Las Ramblas and drank Sangria that our waitress made in front of us and had tapas. It was delicious.

Tuesday, we actually walked down to the port where the beach starts and it was really pretty. 

Tonight is a FC Barcelona game, but my roommate Linda and I didn't get tickets but I think we're going to one on Saturday, and also try and see La Sagrada Familia, the unfinished church of Gaudi. On my walk home from classes, there are the Gaudi Apartments which are spectacular and just out of the blue. 

Until next time, Muchos Besos!

Field Trip to Besalu and Vic

 Besalu^
vic^
IES took us all on a field trip. Sounds cool right? If it wasn't cold and rainy which everyone keeps stating is quite uncommon for Barcelona at this time of the year. Great. 

Vic: cute little town. Walked around, met the girls in my actual Spanish class who I hung out with. Our tour was an hour long, we then were given 3.5 hours of down time before our bus left. It was cold and rainy and restaurants don't serve lunch until 1 or 2. What is there to do IES besides sit in a coffee shop for 2 hours complaining how cold and wet it is. Still fun though, cafe con leche is divine.

Besalu: BETTER TOWN. Super medieval. I want to live in medieval times and be courted. It sounds so much better than "Some guy I dated" to "This gentleman who courted me last fall."

After the bus dropped us home at 8pm after we met at the bus station at 8:30 (8:45 for me and Linda...we got lost.), we had to go straight home because there was some large protest in the Placa de Cataluyna where our bus dropped us off about the middle east. They hate us. Cool.

I think I might go out tonight. I'll let ya'll know how it goes.

Muchos Besos!

Apartment Pics

Adjusting.

....Traveling cont'd

My new life. 

Apartment: I have two roommates. Elanna and Linda. We also live with our RA, her names is Anna Moises, is Spanish, awesome, and helpful. We were fortunate to be the only apartment that has single rooms, so I have my own room! We have a wonderful view of downtown Barcelona on Avinguda Sarria.  Large closet space, nice living room and kitchen and two bathrooms.

After I arrive at my apartment and meet Elanna it's about 7:30. I'm famished and tired. But decide it's probably best if I eat something before I pass out. I unpack and then Elanna tells me that we have to go at 9:30 because no restaurants serve dinner before then. Awesome. 9:45 rolls around and Elanna and I meet her friend Natalie at this cute restaurante La Mamasita. which is very nice and very affordable. Order a bottle of wine, a quiche, and tiramisu which was all lovely for about 15 euro. A little pricey, but it was my first night in Spain. 

Orientation: Haven't started yet, but seem easy enough. We had orientation today at 9 am so Elanna and I found the bus stop by asking 7 or 8 people on the street who were very nice. Got off a bus stop early by mistake and continued to get extremely lost on the way to our center which is in the Plaza Cataluyna which is right by Las Ramblas. Finally found our center and I find the room my name is next to on a list in the lobby and proceed to orientation where I meet a lot of nice people. Our orientator (sp? word?) is British and seems nice and gives us all our information very straightforward and in English. I find out at after 3 hours...I'm in fact in the wrong room because I have placed into Advanced Spanish 1 where the orientation was all in Spanish. Whoops!

Lost in Barcelona: Because Elanna and I had the same orientation time I figured I'd wait for her....10 minutes goes by, 15 minutes. No Elanna. I begin to become very panicked because the friends I had made in class had left me to get coffee and I told them to go ahead because I had to wait for my roommate. Bad idea. I proceed to follow some IES students to lunch with a girl I met on my flight. But, they keep walking around Las Ramblas and I am very exhausted so I decide to go back to my apartment and rest some more. I then realize I need some Euros because all I have are 10s and 20s paper bills and the bus only takes coins and Elanna had to pay for me that morning. Shoot. I try to find a coffee place to get change, but proceed to walk in circles because I'm exhausted and walked in one coffee shop where the waitress smiled at me and walked away. I'm impatient so I find a Dunkin Donuts...how American I know. Get some change and then realize I have no idea what bus to get on to get me back to my apartment. I walk in circles and read maps, and ask people and I still have no idea where I am or how to get home without getting a taxi which didn't seem like a good idea for whatever reason. I hop on a random bus after about 20 minutes of walking aimlessly around and get off where it looks familiar. 

I still have absolutely no idea where I am. I walk down Avinguda Diagnol which is a very busy street for about 30 minutes and realize I'm walking parallel to my street. I finally figure out where I am and get to my apartment......

I expect to get better at this. I'm taking a nap now.

Traveling.

Hi. I've been asked to write a blog while I'm in Spain, I said I wouldn't, but everyone keeps asking me how I'm doing so I suppose it'd be easier to just have something for all to see!

Traveling......SUCKS. But I have split it up in sections, because it took 2 days.

Stage 1:

It started out smooth enough, grabbing a shuttle from Breckenridge to Denver where I was skiing with the family and actually managed to get down the hill without falling....very slowly though. I also mastered the chair lift after a while. So en route to the airport a trio of nice young lads who smelled of cigarette smoke joined the van and automatically started talking about politics. I don't mind talking about politics, but it was a two hour shuttle, and there were elderly gentlemen who were obviously Republican (you can tell) and a verbal argument began, which of course makes me very uncomfortable. Eventually we arrive at the airport.... Did I tell you my dad made my shuttle arrive 5 HOURS earlier than my flight. I bought "Confessions of a Shopaholic" because I'm learning how to budget my money and read it in 5 hours and then boarded my plane to London.

Stage 2:

Highlight of my travels= flight from Denver to London. 5 reasons why it rocked

1) British people....they're voices are amazing and everyone was super nice and I was out of place for having an American accent and who doesn't love extra attention thrown at you via awesome British people.

2) When I checked in, I was asked window or aisle and got to select window seat, which I thought was a great perk by itself. Both the center seat and aisle seat in my row were not filled so I got 3 lovely seats to spread out for 9 hours. It was glorious!

3) They serve wine. Not a little wine, a lot of wine on your flight....all free. I had about 2-3 little bottles which were about a glass and a half each. I was in a wonderful place

4) British Airways plays movies. Not just one movie like old American Airlines, they give you a choice! Everyone has their own personal tv on the headrest in front of them with channels for different movies like Happy Feet, Vicky Christina Barcelona, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist...and others that play on loop! 

Stage 3:

This is where traveling sucks. I get to Heathrow easily enough, customs was a breeze. Meet some people in my program...then meet more people in my program. Turns out about 50 peple in my program are on the same flight. "How cool!" I think to myself. 11:25 comes around (our boarding time) and no boarding....no announcements....more waiting.....12:00......more waiting...12:41 AND NO ONE KNOWS WHY WE'RE WAITING. Apparently, our plane is broken. So it takes them another 2 hours to figure out that we need a new plane. The waiting area= a pen to keep 50+ IES students who have been traveling for 10+ hours and are very grumpy/tired/hungry/have to pee and CANT LEAVE! It was awful.

Stage 4:

We finally board our flight..on a new plane and a new problem presents itself. We were supposed to be in the Barcelona Airport at 5 pm or else our welcoming crew would leave and we would have to find our ways to our respective apartments, homestays, dorms. We were going to arrive in Barcelona at 7:00 pm. I didn't print out my address.....big problem. Lucky for me, the crew waited for us and we checked in and I got a taxi to my apartment a million hours after I left Denver. 

Traveling sucks. Barcelona does not.