I'm in Rome!!! Vatican City, the Parthanon, and the Colosseum.... no big deal :)

Pics to come... the ghetto hostel and everything

No more ham!!!

Sorry it's been so long since I last wrote! It's been busy this past week now that classes have actually started. Time for an update!

My roomate Alex came down with what we thought was the flu but it turned out to be some nasty infection. She went to a english doctor here on Thursday and got prescribed 3 different types of medicine to get better. She was (needless to say) cooped up in bed for most of the weekend. I went out on Friday night to the same fairie bar that I mentioned in one of my past blogs because it's got such a cool atmosphere. Since there were just 4 of us (my friends Nicole, Tony and Felip) and we are all in upper level spanish classes, we decided to speak in Spanish the entire time that we were there. It wasn't difficult at all and we kept it up for about 2 hours before finally going back to English. It's a lot easier to practice when you're with people of your own age and level. We're thinking of doing it again next time we all go out together and make it a routine. After that, we walked down Las Ramblas to the "Obama Bar" in Barcelona. Everyone here loves Obama since Bush refused to ever talk to their current president but to have built a bar in his honor outside of the US seems crazy to me. We went in since we had only heard good things about it and probably just spent a half an hour or so talking before the cigarette smoke started to bother us and we started our walks home. One thing I don't think that I will ever get used to is how everybody here smokes. It would be really nice to be able to go to some public place without getting everyone's second hand smoke. I get headaches from it a lot.



Saturday was really low-key. Both Alex and I slept in and didn't wake up until it was just about lunch time. We went to eat at a cafe in the area and ordered hamburgers hoping for a good old American meal. It was good but I've never heard of putting hamburgers on what looks like french bread. Maybe they've never heard of hamburger buns. I decided to stay in that night to spend the it hanging out with the 3 kids and Alex since the parents were going out for dinner and a movie. We played Wii with the kids and 2 of their friends, ate pizza in front of the tv, and watched "There's Something About Mary" in spanish with english subtitles. I don't know if movies here get the same ratings as in the US but I at least thought it was inappropriate for a 10, 12 and 13 year old. The parents rented it for them though so either they didn't know how the movie is or were okay with it. The kids kept looking to me and Alex to catch our reactions but we really were trying to play dumb like we didn't understand the jokes either. It was so hard to keep a straight face! As soon as the movie ended, all three of the kids went into full-on cleaning mode. We couldn't believe our eyes when the started bringing dishes to the kitchen, wiping down the table, and throwing out all the garbage. The 13 year old Lucia even pulled out a broom and dust pan to pick up the crumbs on the floor. They were cleaned up and ready for bed in 15 minutes flat without anybody even saying a word to them. I don't know if it's a cultural difference or if Lola and Carlos are just outstanding parents but the kids really do amaze me sometimes. I wish the kids I babysit around that age were so willing to clean up after themselves and go to bed on time. I've practically dragged kids up the stairs kicking and screaming for bedtime in the US. I'm not sure what they do differently here but I want to learn.



On Sunday, Alex was feeling better and felt up to going out so we tried to go the "el parque del laberinto" or the park of the laberinth. I only saw one picture but it looks like something straight out of a Harry Potter movie so I really wanted to go see it. It took us probably an hour or more walking and jumping from metro to metro so we were especially disappointed when we got there and found out that it was closed for repairs. I don't know if you saw on the news but... Barcelona and the surrounding area has had some crazy weather lately including outrageous winds on Saturday that knocked down trees and even caved in the ceiling of a sports arena. I guess there was also damage to the park that we had come so far to see so we didn't get to see hardly anything but I definitely want to go back. Now that we know where it is, it won't take half as long. We got back to the house and I did homework for the rest of the day so I could go to bed early. We do so much walking that I feel like I cannot sleep enough.



On Monday, I had classes from 9am to 1:30 and then again from 3:45 to 7:30. It's the worst day of the week by far for me but I'm still enjoying all my classes so it's not quite as bad as it sounds. It makes it so much better that my final class of the day is art so I hardly count that as a real class. I enjoy it so much that it flies by in what seems like a half an hour at most. By the time I was done with class, I was so tired that I headed straight home for dinner and then to bed shortly afterwards. Needless to say, I slept like a rock that night.



Tuesday was a really easy day since I only had art class at 9 to 10:30am and then am done for the day. My friends Tony and Nicole met up with me afterwards and since we all had nothing better to do, we decided to wander around the city for the next 3 hours or so. We saw two cathedrals, walked down a ton of small un-named streets (at least that's what I'm beginning to think since the street signs are so obscure that I hardly bother looking anymore. A tip if you ever are trying to navigate Barcelona... look on the walls of buildings... there tend to be little plaques declaring the street names there), and got some lunch at a little flaffle place. One of the cathedrals absolutely deserves mention. If you ever visit Barcelona, make sure to visit the Santa Maria del Mar Cathedral. It puts everything in perspective... we are small and insignificant. The ceiling seems to be 100 feet above your head and there are probably at least 30 stained windows to look at. Pictures could never do it justice but I'll attach one so you can at least understand how incredibly tall it is. I can't get over the fact that they built it in the 1300's! The stained glass windows are definately something you have to see for yourself to appreciate... so much detail! After our couple of hours of wandering, I took a walk over to the copy shop to pick up one more book for classes and then made the trek home from there. It's a long walk but it was so gorgeous out that I didn't mind at all.... blue skies, lots of sun, and a perfect temperature. I know you guys are jealous :P I got home and napped for a little while before dinner, finished all my homework, and went to bed. It was a good day :)

Today, I went to classes from 9am to 1:30 and then had class again that afternoon. My last class is one about communication, language, and culture of Spain and Latin America. Today, we had a field trip to the "Museum of Chocolate" here in Barcelona which was small and simple but really cool. Basically it consisted of elaborate, chocolate sculptures and information about chocolate's influence in history. I'm not sure how she's going to tie it into the class but it was interesting enough. Afterwards, I went with my friend Nicole to the "Museum of the History of the City". It's a required field trip I had to make for my history class about Barcelona but it was really amazing. Most people don't know that Barcelona actually began as a Roman City. Below the museum is the Ruins from the city dating back as far as 12BC. We have nothing even close to it in the states. We had an audio tour that told us about the good personal hygiene of the Romans (they had perfume, lotions, makeup, and even tools for shaving), how they made wine, accesories that they wore (everything from rings to charms for clothing), and about their clothing and laundry. It was amazing to be walking through ruins underneath a building. Nobody even knew that they were there originally but now they've uncovered more than anyone knew existed and still are discovering more. The history here is amazing! I came home for dinner after that and after this will be working on homework and then packing... I'm leaving for Rome tomorrow!!! I can't wait to see my boyfriend and friends there! and of course the city! I cannot even imagine what it's like. I'll bring my camera and take lots of pictures so you guys can see too. Also, I'm going to try to update between now and the end of the weekend but if I can't get my hands on a computer then I'll let you know how everything went on Sunday when I get back.

I miss you guys!!

ps. When I get back to the US, I am never going to want to eat a single piece of ham again. No matter how hard I try, I can't get away from it. I got a turkey sandwich the other day... with ham!?! You guys don't understand how disgusting it is and yet the Spaniards eat it like it's essential to life... gross

stupid spanish keyboard ñ瀪¿¡¨

sooo... i was going to finally update my blog between classes today but it´s still going to have to wait because it would take me hours on the spanish keyboard I´m using. That´s definitely not an apostrophe. I swear you guys will have it soon... sorry for the delay

One piece of news tho... I leave for Rome tomorrow morning! So excited!

Long Day in a Small World

Today was a really long day but for the most part it was good. I woke up early and ran to my history of Barcelona class and sat through a hour and a half long lecture about how history has shaped the layout of the city today. We also talked about why the people are the way they are and what events shaped them. We basically did an overview of the entire course today and we'll go into details from here. I'm really thankful that she is a good lecturer because othewise a 9am history class would probably bore me to death. It'll be really cool when we go on field studies outside the classroom... I think she has 3 planned throughout the semester.

After history, I went to my spanish class next door and was there for the next 2 hours and 45 minutes! I like the teacher but majority of my class came to Barcelona only to party and drink. The girl I'm always stuck sitting next to and doing partner activities with never does anything and just spends the entire class period texting on her blackberry. The worst part is that nobody else wants to sit next to her either because nobody wants to listen to clicking for nearly 3 hours. At least I'm learning everything especially well because I practically do all the activities by myself... I'll be an expert by the time the semester is over at this rate.

After class, I met up with my friend Tony who has a break at the same time as me. We went to some big plaza to eat our lunches and talked for about an hour and a half about all sorts of things... life, family, our significant others, and why we're in Barcelona. We sat next to this HUGE arch that I wish I had a picture that I could show you or be able to describe it but I forgot my camera and am not that good with words. It still amazes me how different everything is here. One big cultural difference is that when we were sitting on this wall just off the path, people would walk directly next to where we were sitting rather than letting us have our bubbles and them theirs. They have no concept of personal space here. When you're going to talk to a Spaniard, you gotta pray that they don't have bad breath or a mint at least because otherwise you'll smell it. Oh... and also, when Tony and I were talking about family, I mentioned that I have family that live around San Fransisco (where he's also from). It turns out that he and my Aunt and Uncle both live in Alameda, CA which I thought was crazy... just a small island in all of California that both of them happen to live on. The longer I'm here for the more that I realize that it is a extremely small world. How outrageous would it be if they were neighbors or lived down the street from eachother or something like that?

We walked back with 20 minutes or so to spare before our next classes. I went to find my cinema class for the first time since switching my schedule around the day before. I was the first one to sit down followed by two other girls that hadn't been there the day before either. Class started and I was still optimistic but no more than 5 minutes into the hour and a half long class period, I was half asleep. I don't know if it's the professor, the class, or the subject but I struggled to keep my eyes opened. I got through it but it wasn't exactly my cup of tea (so say my English friends). I decided with 5 minutes left in the class that since this is my semester that I'm determined to enjoy, that I would switch to another class that I enjoyed more. I left at the end of the class and changed my classes once more... this time to a class entitled "Language, Culture, and Communications" or something along those lines. It focuses on Spain and Latin America and sounds really interesting. It'll be taught in Spanish but I feel good about it because first of all I found out that I have two good friends in the class to help me out and second, I live with a family that can help me figure things out outside of class too. Lola and Carlos are both really encouraging... they thought I was crazy to be "so good at spanish" and not to be taking courses in spanish. I guess I'll likely never have the opportunity again so I figure... why not?

I took the train home after classes rather than walk like my original plan because I was absolutely exhausted. I can't believe that I'm still up right now typing but at this point, I'm on a roll with these daily blogs so I had better keep it up. I did some homework for awhile before getting the chance to talk to my friend Kelly back at Loyola and then getting called for dinner. Dinner tonight was great again (2 days without ham... I must be lucky!)... baked cauliflower, potatoes, and cheese, a salad, bread, and calamari rings. For dessert we had fruit and some of the cheesecake leftover from a couple days ago. Again, it was amazing... no jamon in my stomach!

Then after dinner, I went back to my room with a pot that Lola gave me when I asked for suggestions on what to draw for art class. I forget what she called it but I guess it's typical in Spain in small towns to keep their water cold. It's really cool because of the shadowing but kinda tough to draw. I'm attaching a picture of what I have so far next to the pot because I'm not sure that I like it. Let me know what you think I may able to do better... constructive criticism. But for now, I'm going to sleep on it and take another look in the morning. I'm pooped! It's been a long day and I'm just ready to pass out now... Talk to you soon. Adios!

PS. The pics are of Lucia with a yogurt mustache :), kiwi (yum!), my dinner tonight, and my drawing. Lola thinks I'm crazy for taking pictures of all our food but she had to admit that the kiwi picture was cool (que chullo!)

Sensual Drawings and Artichokes

I woke up early today (again...) for classes but this time I at least wanted to. I'm so excited to be taking an art class. I get really nervous when the crazy professor walks around behind me to check how I'm doing but it seems that he likes me. He thinks I draw "sensually"... lol whatever that means. He wants me to look up an artist "Rousseau" before next class because he thinks that I'd really like him. I guess he was a customs officer with no training in art at all but his paintings are supposed to be amazing. He then went on to say that I am "more than a pretty face". At least he'd rather make comments to make my face turn red rather than yelling at me like he does some of the other kids. I'm attaching the drawing that I was working on today so you can tell me if you think that it's "sensual" too. lol. Our homework for next Monday is to pick two objects and to draw them. For one, I'm considering this old fashioned alarm clock I have in my room but the reflections in the silver are more difficult than I thought they'd be. We'll see how I feel about it when it's done... I have all week to draw something else if I decide to do so.

After class, I went to talk to an academic advisor about changing some class about politics to one that I am actually interested in. She helped me out and I ended up getting my first choice. Now I'm in a class entitled "Cinema and the City: Barcelona through the Camera Lens". It sounds really interesting! It'll be all in spanish so I can get credit for my spanish major and I may be able to get credit towards my art minor too. We'll learn about filming and the general process, watch lots of movies/documentaries about Barcelona, and for the final project, we have to go out and make our own movie. How cool does that sound!?! I'm so excited to be taking classes that I want to take and not ones that someone else tells me I need to take. It makes getting up for class a lot easier at the very least. It also made my schedule so that when we have fridays off because of trips that IES plans (that's at least 5 times throughout the semester), I'll have 4 day weekends! That means lots of traveling and cheaper flights for leaving during the week :)

After getting my schedule finalized, I walked to the bookstore to pick up all my books for classes and walked home from there. It's like a 45 minute walk but it seems to go by fast because there is so much to see. Everything is beautiful! I love people watching here too... there are a lot of similarities but differences too. I came back to an empty house :), made myself a sandwich and popcorn, and started drawing and doing some homework for awhile. It was a relaxing afternoon.

The presidential inauguration was on here at around 6pm here so I sat down with Alex and Lola to watch that... my biggest complaint is that they kept dubbing in spanish and catalan over what they were saying in english. It was interesting to watch from outside the states but I can't really tell you if it were any different from watching it there. I doubt that I watched Bush's inauguration and if I did I don't remember it. You'll have to tell me what it was like there... I'm sure it was on every channel with coverage all day. Chicago must have been crazy...

Afterwards, Lola, Enrique, and I talked in the kitchen for a little bit while she was fixing dinner... some funky looking biscuit things with beef and cheese in the middle, rice, and a big batch of baked artichokes! I love the artichokes she makes but the whole meal was delicious! For dessert we had fruit again but everyone was especially excited about having kiwis. They were perfectly ripe which I guess is rare to find in Spain.

After dinner, I finished all my homework, hung out with the kids, and am now getting ready for classes tomorrow. It won't be too bad (2 classes in the morning 9-1:30 and a class in the afternoon 3:45-5:30) but I think I want to make myself a lunch so I don't have to spend more money on food. It gets expensive really fast (lunch is the one meal we have to fend for ourselves). We have some food in our room though so I can make a sandwich or something and grab a coffee or something rather than having to buy a full lunch.

Something that I keep forgetting to mention is that since being here, I dream every single night and remember all the details. Before I left, I hardly ever dreamed and if I did, I was lucky to remember anything that I dreamed of. I think that it's because I'm experiencing so many new things that it's got my mind going all the time. I think it's also because this is what I've dreamed of doing since I was little. I'm starting to try to do things for me now and not for anyone else and I think that's a big part of it. I've met a lot of people who say you could never do that or you shouldn't bother trying... I'm doing what I want to do no matter what anybody tells me. It's the most amazing feeling in the world to be doing something that I set out to do all by myself. I came to Barcelona because I wanted to come here not because my friends were doing it or because somebody told me I should. I was scared to death to come here by myself but I didn't and I couldn't have done it better. From now on, I'll do things for myself and not for anybody else.

I hope you appreciate the photos of food... my family here makes fun of me for taking pictures of everything. Anyways... I miss you guys :) besitos

Art Class with a Mad Man

Today was the first official day of classes. I woke up extra early so I could stop by the book store before my 9am class and still had to practically run. I made it with just seconds to spare and sat down in my first class "Barcelona: the Cosmopolitan City". The professor seems nice and although the subject isn't something that I'd usually really enjoy taking, it should at least be entertaining. I'm most excited about the field trips and glad that she says it's hard to get anything lower than an A. That always makes it easier if you're learning it more for yourself than for the grade.

My next class was a 7 credit spanish class which I've been doing since last week. Most of the kids in my class are cool and I really like the professor. She mainly teaches us stuff that we can use on the streets like the slang, common expressions, gestures they use all the time, and stuff about the culture as a heads up. We've talked about our host families and stuff that we thought were weird that they do, about the food we've been eating, and our homes in general. Today, we learned a lot of vocabulary about the human body and then went on to talk about expressions they use in regular conversation. That'll come in handy because sometimes my family here says things that do not translate at all like "he/she is taking your hair". In spanish, it means the same as our expression "he/she is pulling your leg"... good to know.

After class, I hopped on the metro and was thrilled to come home and find the house empty. Silence! I spent an hour just sitting in my room by myself drawing for a little bit and then going online. I was gladd to have a little me time today. Tomorrow should be even better if all goes as planned... I want to drop one of my classes that I'm in for a different one. If I can add a mon/wed class somewhere between 1:30 and 5:30 then I'll have thursdays off completely and just one class on tues 9am-10:30. We have a lot of fridays off because of optional trips with the study abroad program so that would give me 4 day weekends every couple of weeks... perfect for traveling!

At 5:30 I had an art class that I just picked up today. It was the one class that I really wanted to take but wasn't placed in up until this morning when I talked to someone from my program. Luckily, there was one spot left. Lola said if there wouldn't have been that I'd just have to "complain, complain, complain" and if that didn't work that she would. She thought it was absolutely outrageous that I couldn't get into the class that I wanted to. I'm so glad my host family is cool. I love them! Anyways, when I got to art class, I walked into the classroom to find a chubby man with a full beard and plaid shirt already waving his arms infront of the class. I sat down at the long white table with the other 16 kids and tuned into his lecture. He lectured for probably the first half of the class and after he was sure that we knew what he wanted from us, he handed out 8x11 sheets of paper. We all took two and started drawing the displays he set up in the middle of the table. Ours was a plastic water bottle filled with water and a bouquet of plastic flowers. On the table next to the makeshift vase was 3 plastic fruits... I guess it didn't really matter what it was that we were actually drawing since the whole lecture was on making things proportional. Soon after we started drawing, he walked to up behind a kid sitting 2 chairs away from me and asked something along the lines of who the chinese kid's name is. The kid sitting there turns around pissed and says that he's actually half philipino and half white. The teacher appologized and goes "I know, I should have said asian". I wonder if he realizes how bad he insulted that kid. Maybe that's considered okay to do in Spain but everyone else in the room had their jaws dropped to the floor. It was after that when he started yelling at this girl for not listening to a single word he said. He repeated many times that we should start with the basics and then add details worrrying only about proportion but she immediately went into the details. Then she gave him lip and he stood up and made a speech that if we didn't want to learn that we should get up and leave. It's funny that I like him. I guess I tend to like the professors that everyone else hates. I'm excited to be finally taking an art class even if he is crazy.

I got home from class at about 8 and was absolutely starving. Something smelled good so I had high hopes for something other than ham and was not disappointed. We first had some bread with olive oil and salt, a salad, and a "puree of pumpkin". It was basically pumpkin soup but it was delicious! The main course was some sort of fish that was really good! I ate like 4 big pieces on top of everything else. For dessert, we had fruit (like always) and some homeade cheesecake made by Lola herself. It was a really good night to come home hungry. Over dinner, the whole family sat down to teach us to random spanish expressions that I wasn't taught in class today. They're really good at helping us with our spanish... we practice what we learn every night at dinner. I'm learning a lot

Anyways, I'm going to pass out. I'm tired yo... and I have class tomorrow at 9am so I'd better get some sleep. I'll talk to you guys soon

Day at the Beach

Last night, I went out with a group of 5 of my closest friends here to this bar that is a very local spot. Everybody there was speaking in spanish except for us which I thought was awesome. It's good practice to be able to go out and talk with the locals and order drinks in spanish since some of my friends speak very little spanish so I can't speak it on a daily basis. The bar was called Forest of the Fairies or something like that and the inside is decorated like a fairie tail. Looking at the ceiling is like looking up into a tree canopy and there and mock-trees and flowers throughout the place. It was like walking into a story book. The only weird thing that we noticed was that there was no music but actually it was really nice because we found a table and talked for a few hours.

That bar closed at about 1:30 so we took a long walk through the city to a popular bar called Chupitos or "Shots". I swear that there is a wall of like 100 shots that they'll make for you so rather than picking one at random, we asked the bartender about her favorite. The first Alex and I tried together was an "orgasmo". The bartender made us turn around and face away from the bar and take the shot without looking back. As soon as we each took it, they put a head massager on our heads... it was weird but the shot tasted like chocolate. The second one that we had was a complete surprise... I don't even know what it was called. She handed us a skewer with a marshmallow on the end and suddenly starts a fire on the bar. Nicole, Alex, and I started roasting them over the fire until they were done, dipped them in our shots as instructed, drank them down, and then ate the marshmallow. That one was really good too. Other people from our group got the fire shot which they actually light on fire before you do it. My only complaint about the bar in general is that it is tiny! We hardly could move so after we each had 2, we left for a long walk home. Alex and I walked with Tony and Felipe back to our place and they only had a few blocks walk after dropping us off. Overall, it was a good but pretty chill night.

Today, Alex and I woke up at 11 for breakfast and then went back to bed about 2 hours afterwards because we were still exhausted. I don't know what it is but I am always exhausted here. It's probably just that we are constantly running around sight-seeing and I walk EVERYWHERE. I think that'll get better as I get used to it. If I keep it up, I'll be in awesome shape by the time that I get back to the states. I am really considering getting a membership for these bicycle rental stops rather than taking the subway everywhere. First of all, I'd be able to see a lot more of Barcelona, it's a lot better for me, and I think it would be cool to cut out the need to pay money to get some place. I think some of my friends think that I'm crazy but I think it would be awesome to ride a bike to class (all downhill :)) and walk home. I'd only have to pay for the initial membership fee and it's unlimited from there. Let me know if that sounds like a good idea or if I sound just crazy.

After waking up from a nap, I found that I had received a text from a friend saying that we should meet up. He said he was going to be at the Columbus Statue at 4 and that we should meet him there so then we could walk to the beach together. Alex and I met him there at 4 and walked to the boardwalk to meet up with Nicole and Tori. Port Vell is gorgeous! There are hundreds of sailboats with taller masts than I have ever seen. All over the boardwalk, there are palm trees, performers, and tons and tons of people. I'll have to go back with my camera when it's charged again to take pictures so you guys can see too. We got down to the ocean and the sun was starting to set. Needless to say, it was beautiful. You get a nice view of the city, the mountains, and the ocean all from the same spot. We stayed there for a long time looking at rocks, relaxing, and taking pictures. I think what I'm going to do from now on is to collect a single rock from each country/beach I go to and as much sea glass as I can find. I am considering making a mosaic when I get home with them.

The sun was just about done setting when we decided that we were all getting hungry so we found a restaurant close to the beach to get dinner from. Being that it was Sunday and that Sunday in the Hernandez house is traditional spanish food, I chose to get something familiar... Lasagna! It wasn't exactly what I'm used to but it was really good. The cheese was like nothing I've ever had before... sorta runny and almost white in color but it was delicious. Afterwards, we all left to make our ways back home so we could be there by 8 pm (dinner time in Spain). I was satisfied with how full I felt which I figured was a good thing. Dinner's always a big surprise and it's better to go in feeling full if you're not sure that you're going to like what's being served. We also have extra food in our room in case we have issues with the meal.

Dinner consisted of tortillas espan~oles (basically a patty of eggs and potatos), salad with bits of tuna, some sorta funky cheese, and my worst nightmare bits of what she calls ham. I think knowing what to expect as far as taste-wise helps because we were able to eat a little more than last time. Eating it sandwiched between pieces of bread or the egg helps a lot. Chasing it with a cucumber or something like that with a completely different taste tricks your taste buds long enough to let it go down. Three glasses of water were also a welcome part of my meal.

Now, I'm about to get ready for bed since the official first day of all classes is tomorrow. Afterwards, we're thinking that we'll take a walk down to the "Barrio Gotic" or the gothic neighborhood to see another market that's supposed to also be beautiful and Santa Maria del Mar Chapel. If I can, I'd also love to see the Sagrada Familia (another Gaudi masterpiece that's still under constuction) which I've been dying to see since I knew I was coming to Barcelona. It's another one of those things that you'll need pictures to understand so... those will soon come. For now, I'm going to get my stuff ready for classes and then go to bed. I'll talk to you all soon.

PICTURES!!!

I finally got the link up... click the picture below and it'll bring you to the picture website. There's A LOT! It took me all day to do so I hope you like them. Let me know what you think.

Miss you guys and love you! Talk to you soon

Also, if you get skype you can talk to me... my screen name is kellsbells30

My Pictures

Photobucket Album

Trying to put up some pics... Finally!

Hey all! I've finally put up all of my pics up on my computer and now it's just a matter of getting them on my blog. There are a lot! so I'm working on cutting them down and putting up the best ones but its going to take some time. You guys will finally understand why I feel like I'm dreaming... expecially when you see the pics of Park Guell. Gaudi must have been a nutcase to come up with something like it. You'll see :)

I miss you guys but you'll hear from me soon. Love you!

It won't let me upload more than that so that's just a teaser. I'm going to get a photobucket so you guys can look at all my pictures and it'll be a lot easier for me too

Long couple of days

I've only been here for just over week now but it seems like a month or more. I've got my suitcases (although one came back broken) finally so that's helped get me settled a lot but it's not quite home yet. It still feels a lot like vacation with all the site seeing and the walking we've been doing. My feet and ankles need a break! We've also had spanish class everyday this week which has had me up by 8:30 every morning. Now that it's finally the weekend, I'm going to sleep in at least one day so I can be ready to go again. I feel tired all the time but I think that's because it's the first week and they've had us running every single day since we've been here.

Besides all that, the other day Alex and I walked home from class together. It was a 40 minute walk or so (although I could have done it alone in a half an hour or less... she always complains that I walk to fast) but it was a gorgeous day (55 degrees and sunny :)) so I wasn't too frustrated with her. We stopped by a grocery store on the way home and picked up some food for our room. Lunch is the only meal we aren't provided with and eating out everyday gets too expensive so we're planning to start coming home to eat more often. The neighborhood is beautiful! I don't know how to explain it... everything from the McDonald's to the nicest hotel in the city deserves to have a picture taken of it. Everything is so put together. Everyone has balcony with iron railings and plants and flowers hanging out over them. Every building is made with bricks and stone rather than cheap material you see in the US. I'm taking lots of pictures which should be up soon but still not enough. You really have to come to see it. That night we took it easy with a meal of some sort of fish (something you have to get ready for if you ever come to Spain... they love seafood!) then bed. It was basically a catch-up day without any spectacular events.

Yesterday, we went to class in the morning and afterwards walked to Park Guell with some of my closest friends that I've met here so far (Nicole, Felipe, Tony). We stopped at a small cafe place to pick up sandwiches and wine (don't freak out lol... you're allowed to drink in the streets here. In fact, when we were walking around the park passing around a bottle, a cop we walked past just nodded at us and smiled). The park is like nothing you've ever seen in all of your life. It's designed by the architect Gaudi who's also designed a bunch of other buildings and stuff here in Barcelona but I can't help but think he was crazy for coming up with a place like Park Guell. It looks like it came straight from a dream. The entrance for example looks like a gingerbread house. Within are fountains, trails, lots of areas to eat and explore, and the longest bench in the world. I love seeing all the palm trees and cactus here. Who would have known that they would be able to survive in low temps around 30 or so (as cold as winter here gets). You should see the Spaniards tho... they are bundled up in 50 degree weather like someone in Chicago bundles up for going out in weather below zero. It's actually really funny to hear them complain about how crappy the weather is when it is 50 degrees and sunny. Anyways, we sat down, ate, and drank for awhile before taking a walk around. We first met a crazy hippie man selling jewelery on a blanket who talked to us for awhile in a mixture of Italian, Spanish, and English. I don't know that we would have understood a word he was saying if it weren't for my one friend who's also fluent in Italian. At the very least, he was a very nice man who gave us free necklaces for watching his stuff while he ran to talk to his wife. We also walked by a few performers including a violin player who's from the US but is bussing around Europe and the hippie man's wife who was singing and playing guitar in the center of the park.

Next, we headed up a huge hill to see "the greatest view of Barcelona that we'll ever see" and when we got to the top, we weren't disappointed. We could look over all of the city and even to the ocean. We took turns pointing out where we live, taking pictures, and sitting and talking for awhile before deciding that it was getting a little dark and walking back down. On the way out, we ran into a group of kids speaking english (you have no idea how excited you get here when you hear someone else speaking your language) and talked for long enough to find out that they were from Manchester, England. They were all about our age and really nice but only in Barcelona for one day so they asked us what was a good bar to go to here in the city. We offered to meet up with them latter and show them around which they agreed to and then we all parted.

Tony, Alex and I walked together back to our apartments (lots of walking!) and talked and took even more pictures along the way. One thing that I'm realizing more and more that is different about Europe is that constuction and remodeling is not something that is hidden behind curtains or anything like that. You can practically walk right through a construction site with no problem what-so-ever. I was even taking pictures of that because like I said absolutely everything here is beautiful. Tony says he wants to take a full day with me just to walk around and take pictures because I'm inspiring or something like that. He says he never knows what to take pictures of but that I have an eye for it. We also talked about my ambitious plan to run a half marathon and he says that he'd help me train. We're going to start running in Park Guell together so he can coach me and keep me motivated. He took a psychology class on excercise or something of that sort and wants to be a coach someday so it's also good practice for him. Another thing that's much more popular in Europe is riding a motorcycle. They are everywhere! Just about everybody and their uncle drives one and they are parked everywhere including in the sidewalks. I can't imagine being a truck driver or something like that here trying to avoid hitting the motorcyclists.

That night, we met the english kids out infront of the Hard Rock Cafe in the center of the town. We went to the bar "L'ovella Negra" or the Black Sheep and sat there for hours getting to know the kids. They were hilarious and extremely nice so we stayed out until 3 in the morning talking and laughing before deciding that we all needed to go to bed. They had to be at the airport by 6 so I think that was a good choice on their part too. We got home and crashed almost immediately but we're more than glad we went since now if we ever want to go to England, we have a place to stay.

Today started with class (again!), lunch afterwards with Alex and my friend Paul, and then a walk around the big outdoor marketplace here. Lunch was outside on the street just off the main stretch in Barcelona. We ate a very traditional spanish meal of tapas, paella (rice with bits of veggies, seafood, and meat throughout) and a cup of Sangria (wine with fruit in it). Today marks the first day I've ever tried clams, mussels, shrimp (legs, antennae, head and tail still attached), squid, or octopus. I won't go as far as to say that I'll order them next time I go out but I guess they were worth a shot.

Afterwards, we went to "La Boqueria" that sells everything from chocolate to bunny which they eat here. We walked past stand after stand after stand with fruit, meat, fish, candy, wine, and nuts. It's really pretty so I took lots of pictures but I bet you could drop a lot of money there (especially at the candy stand). The closest thing I've ever seen to it in the states is the fish market in Seattle but even that doesn't quite do it. I managed not to spend any money today on it but I guarantee I'll be back there soon to buy some candy and gifts for my people back home.

We came home and slept after that before going out again with our R.A. Pablo who basically makes sure that we're doing okay in our homestays. We met a bunch of kids from the study abroad program who also live in the area and drank and ate at a local bar. We were going to go to see Flamenco dancing before Pablo realized that there were so many of us coming but I think I'll definitely have to check it out another night. It's supposed to be awesome with a professional dancer and live music. I'll let you know how that goes when I finally get over there.

Anyways, I'll try to be better with updating this daily. I've been running all the time so I keep on putting it off but now I'm regretting that since this now took me twice as long as I hoped it would. I'm going to bed now but I'll have pictures up tomorrow. It's on my to do list! Love you guys and miss you lots! Talk to you soon!

ps. Leave some comments so I can get your reactions too. I'd also love to hear about what's going on in the states and how you guys like freezing your butts off while I run around warm in a sweatshirt here :P

Besalu and Vic, Barcelona Night Life, and Interesting Spanish Cuisine

Alex and I went shopping on Friday after her orientation ended and before mine started. She was looking for a over the shoulder bag that zips (harder for pickpockets) and I was looking for something to wear since I still didn't have my bags (and still don't... ugh!). We both found what we were looking for at a store called Zara and I only spent 20 euros on some pants and a cute top. After that we had lunch at a little sandwich shop where we talked for probably 2 hours or so before I had to go to orientation. Restaurants aren't much different from the US except that it is not customary to tip unless they do outstandingly well (even then you'de only give 5-10%) and when you are ready to go you have to actually ask for the bill rather than them waiting just until you are done eating and rush you out of there.

Orientation was relatively boring... most of the information we already knew because we have brochures with all the same information. I did meet a girl though but since I suck at names I don't remember her's but she's from LA like a lot of other girls in the program. There are also a lot of people here from Chicago, Penn State, and the University of IL. So far most of the people I meet are cool but there's also a lot of spoiled, high maintenance brats... I'll just avoid them :)

After I got home, I took a three hour nap (my siesta) and woke up to dinner. We had a salad with bits of fish with oil and a little salt, pasta with bits of hot dogs, and more fruit. Only the kids, Alex, and I sit down for dinner together. Lola and Carlos (not Pablo.. name confusion) sit down to dinner just the two of them when we are done. That's different than the US and somthing I have to get used to. After dinner, Lucia, Elena, and I talked and I told her about some of the pets I have back at home (how do you describe a ferret?). They have a parakeet, a bunny named Espoti (aka Spotty in English), Turtles, Fish, and Enrique has a pet snake. I couldn't keep Elena's attention for long though since she just started reading Twighlight in Spanish.

My dad called a little before midnight and I basically updated him on missing suitcases and stuff. I was also glad to talk to my mom for awhile after she got home from work. It was nice to hear some familiar voices. They had nothing new to tell me except that they got a clock for the family room with Chicago and Barcelona time so they know when to call me and when not to. After hanging up, I passed out almost as soon as I hit the pillow.

Yesterday, we went on a trip into the mountains to see the towns of Besalú and Vic. We got tours all in Spanish with a thick spanish accent but I think I understood quite a bit of it. I had to wake up at 7 to be at the buses by 8 and was planning on just grabbing something and running out the door, but instead I ran into the kitchen to find Lola making me breakfast. I scarfed everything down and ran out the door thinking for sure that I'd miss the bus but we didn't end up leaving until 8:30 waiting for people who were even later than I was. We drove out of the city and up through the mountains (which remind me of the foot hills outside of Denver) to get to our first stop Besalú. I'm posting pictures since I can't begin to describe to you what I saw. In the pictures you'll see chairs mounted to walls which the people I met on the trip and I thought were hilarious but I'm not sure why they were mounted to the walls. There was also another that was a good 8 feet tall or so.

After that, we headed to Vic which was further out in the mountains. I didn't like it quite as much as Besalú but the cathedral there was beyond incredible. My camera started to die at this point so there's only a few pictures of the inside but it's the only one like it in the world... completely unique. I don't know if the pictures do it justice but at least you'll have an idea. From the outside it looked like nothing so everybody's jaws dropped to the floor when they walked in. We also got the chance to sit down for lunch in Vic (a full 2 and a half hours!). I met up with 3 kids named Nicole, Filipe, and Tony afterwards and we went to this small family owned and operated restaurant. It was a completely random choice but ultimately good deal with 2 courses, dessert, a coffee, juice, and another drink of your choice for 12 euros whether that drink was wine, beer or whatever. Lunch is their biggest meal of the day here so don't be shocked by all the food. I had peach juice, a spinach crepe which was my favorite part unlike anything else I've ever had, a variety of meat with beans for the second plate, some puffy thing with fruit in the middle for dessert, and coffee (made extremely strong... you should have seen the packet of sugar it came with despite that the cup was so small that you could only grip with 2 fingers). After that, we sat and talked for probably 2 hours before heading back to the rest of the group. It is so nice to just sit and relax rather than knowing you only have an hour or so for lunch like in the US.

We got back to Barcelona at about 6:30 but with a GIANT protest going on in the center of town, we had to take the round about way through an outrageous amount of traffic until they finally decided we weren't going to be able to make it into the center of town. If you think you've seen protests in the US, you haven't seen anything like it unless you were part of the civil rights movement. There were thousands of people marching through the center of town with flags and banners and signs, chanting protests against some war, and standing ontop of newspaper stands and stuff. Helicopters were buzzing overhead while police stood by in case things went bad with squad cars and police vans. Anybody who wasn't involved in it was mostly just walking by like it was relatively normal or walking closer (chances are that they were tourists) to snap pictures or join in. The program leaders kept telling us how they were sure it was safe but then continued to warn us that we should not join no matter what. A few of us walked to the center to see if we could pick up our suitcases that had been lost but came back empty handed. The program center wasn't open probably because of the protest.

I went home frustrated about my suitcase and upset when I realized that if IES had closed on Saturday and not gotten my suitcase delivered, that I'd have to wait until Monday. I'm so tired of wearing the same rotation of clothes and not having my webcam, or having my toiletries to clean up with. I feel bad having to borrow everything from my host famliy and roomate. On top of that I had a sore throat (probably because of traveling) and was exhausted from the day. Staying in was really tempting but my roomie and a couple friends dragged me out of the house. I didn't think anything else could get to me so I agreed, got ready, and went out just to realize that my debit card wouldn't work. All I had was 8 euros but I convinced myself that now, nothing else bad really could happen unless I am the unluckiest person in the world.

A group of about 10 of us went to this irish bar (maybe it improve my luck ;)) and I ordered my first legal drink ever, Malibu with pineapple juice. It was delicious! We basically sat back and relaxed for awhile and talked and took in the sights. There was a group of a ton of guys belting out every song that came on (American music like "Uptown Girl" which they played multiple times, "We are the Champions" and stuff like that). Another group was chanting "We are hull" over and over again in the back of the bar but even after asking them what hull is, I still don't know what exactly it means (crazy English dudes!).

Next, we decided to go to a club a few blocks of the way from the bar. We tried to make it there by 2am so we could get in free but ended up being like 5 minutes late. There was no way in hell we were about to pay 15 euros to get into the club so instead, a couple of the girls in the group worked some magic and got all 6 of us (4 girls and 2 guys) who wanted in for free with just a little bit of charming the bouncer. The rest of the line ended up having to pay :) Alex bought me a vodka cranberry and we danced all the way up until 4am. It was all european techno but we really did have a blast and felt good about it having not spent a dime to get in. My only complaint about it was the smoking. It's been a year since all of Chicago and many places in the US went smoke-free so coming home reeking like smoke sucks and I'm not used to that yet. The cooler thing about spanish culture is that when you meet a new person, rather than shaking hands, a kiss on each cheek is your introduction. In my opinion, that's a lot cooler than our hand shake in the US.

Today was the first time that I actually took it easy and slept off the jet lag. Alex and I woke up at 8:30 for breakfast but at about noon, we jumped back into bed and passed out until 4. At that point, I woke up and showered but got out still feeling pretty crappy from the cold I probably caught on the airplane so I went back to sleep. I'm hoping it doesn't last long and that it's just a little bit of a sore throat from the stress and lack of sleep. Besides sleep, I mostly was getting the few things I have settled in and taking it easier before spanish classes start tomorrow. I also went to watch the kids play in the family room for a little bit. They've got a Wii but were playing games I've never seen before. The cutest part was that when one of them was playing and getting close to winning, they all started jumping up and down for her and Carlos and Lola came from the other side of the house to watch too. They are really a cute family.

Dinner was interesting but extremely tough to stomach. When you hear Spanish ham, most of you probably expect something similar to the ham we eat in the US. You have no idea. Lola put out 4 different kinds of meat for us to try but I can't tell you what they all were. The smell was absolutely disgusting... probably worse than anything else I've ever smelled and trying to eat them was torture. I honestly thought I was going to puke all over their table. At one point, Lola came to check in on us to see how we were and felt the need to show us where she got one of the meats from and pull a pig leg out from the opposite side of the kitchen (a gift from her mother and her absolute favorite). You could clearly see where she had scraped pieces from the leg and served up on the plate. I'm really glad she didn't show us where the others came from but we had a full plate and she asked that we try them all and report back which we liked the best so we could have it again. Every single one made us gag so ultimately it was which one we could best cover up by chasing it with bread or water or whatever else was on our plates. I felt bad for not finishing the whole plate but I think leaving leftovers is better than throwing up everything. At least they enjoyed the leftovers. After we assured Lola we were done and pick out the one that was most bearable, she popped a piece of pig leg in her mouth like it was candy saying that it was her absolute favorite. When we offered a piece to Enrique, he did the exact same thing looking all excited and thanking us like we had given him a piece of bubble gum. I can't believe that someone would enjoy eating this kind of stuff. These spaniards must have really screwed up taste buds. Up until now, I've had no problem eating everything on my plate but after tonight, I'm nervous about what she'll bring out tomorrow.

Hola

I've finally arrived in barcelona after what seems like an eternity on cars, buses, trains, and planes. I think I've taken every form of public transportation known to man in the past 24 hours or so. To be honest, I don't even know how many hours it took me to get here with all the time changes lol. I haven' t gotten the chance to do much of anything yet since I didn't get here until 8 last night. The airport lost both of the suitcases I checked in so all that I'm left with is some electronics, paperwork, and my passport (at least I have that). They say they should turn up within 48 hours but who knows at this point. Until then, I'm left just waiting for them to show up on my doorstep.

Besides that, after I arrived and finally got out of the airport, I headed straight to my host family's house by bus and then cab. I've only spent less than 20 euros so far which seems pretty miraculous. Anyways, the entire way to the house, my face was glued to the window. I can not even to begin to describe how beautiful the city is. I haven't seen more than the main stretch yet but I already can see a little bit of what I have to look forward to. I don't have any pictures yet but once I get the chance to go out and snap some shots, you guys will understand too.

I called my host mom when I got out of the taxi and after some initial difficulty talking with her, the husband jumped on the phone and asked me in english where I was (thank god for that!). Her name is Dolores but she prefers Lola. Her husband Pablo and her have 3 children between the ages of 10 and 13. Lucille is the oldest followed by Elena and Enrique. They are all extremely welcoming and extremely helpful. I had some difficulty keeping up with them at first but in no time, we were able to carry on a full conversation. My roomate Alex who's from Denver was already here and very grateful for my arrival. She's having an extremely rough time speaking spanish so having someone to translate when she doesn't understand she says is a big help. We share a bedroom together (pics to come!) at the end of the hall which turned out to be just fine. I seem to have lucked out again as far as random roomates go so I'm very grateful to have her.

As soon as I walked in, I felt welcome. They all gathered in the front hall to meet me and introduced themselves one by one. I'm really looking forward to getting to know each of them better. I'll have to get a picture of them to put up here so you can see how cute they are. Lola made me something to eat no longer than 10 minutes after I arrived (rice with some sort of meat plus a side of bread). After dinner she made sure that I had a fresh bowl of fruit sitting infront of me so I could have a piece after eating (they eat fruit after every meal). Pablo, Lola, Alex and I probably talked in the kitchen for about an hour or so before everyone headed off to bed. The kids were reading in their bedrooms when I jumped into a much needed shower. I think that was at about 11pm or a little later (they stay up late here even on weeknights because everybody gets a nap or siesta during the day after eating lunch). After my shower, I headed to my bedroom in some borrowed pajamas from Alex and some disposable underwear from Lola lol. The girls laughed and were all embarassed when she pulled them out but to be honest, I'll take a pair of disposable underwear before jumping back into the ones I wore throughout my trip. Alex and I talked for a little bit, wrote in our journals, and went to bed at about midnight. I didn't sleep all that well because I kept waking myself up thinking in spanish (I can't believe I'm doing that already) but it was nice to get some sleep laying down in a bed.

The whole house was up by 7:30 (maybe earlier since I didn't bother crawling out of bed any sooner than that) and Lola rushed the Lucille and Elena off to school all while preparing breakfast for Alex and I and getting ready herself. I jumped into the same clothes I wore yesterday having no other choice but I'm going out to buy something to wear later since Lola assured me that the airlines will reimburse me for anything I have to buy on account of them losing my bags. After putting on some makeup and blowing Alex's voltage converter with her curling iron (oops!), we sat down for a breakfast of cereal (at least I think that's what we were supposed to do with it... it looked like oatmeal with raisins and dried fruit), toast, orange juice, espresso, and more fruit. I'm pretty sure that it was the most healthy breakfast I've had almost ever and you should have seen the set up. The coffee cup had a little saucer to sit on as well as the bowl I used for cereal and we used cloth napkins. I don't know how else to describe everthing like the house, the family, and the things we've done so far except by saying they're adorable.

After breakfast, Alex and I got our things together, said goodbye to Lola as she left for work, and headed to the subway which is conveniently just downstairs with Pablo and Enrique. They walked with us down into the subway to make sure we got the right tickets and everything with no problems and then went back up and out to get Enrique to school. The subway looks cleaner than the Chicago El and it's faster too. I think me speaking english to Alex (since she wouldn't understand half the things I said in Spanish) on the train gave us away as Americans because we got a couple glances but it did make us a friend... another girl in the same study abroad program as us named Irene. We all walked to the center together and met two other students too on the way named Filipe and Tony (Filipe just so happens to also go to Loyola... small world). After getting to the school, I checked my orientation time and will go back at 3pm today. Alex and the other 3 had to stay for theirs at 9am while I made it back to the house still looking around amazed at the city. Getting back was not a problem at all and I think I blend in well alone since nobody really did a double take when they saw me. I used my keys to get in and now am sitting in my room while the cleaning lady tidies up around the house (that must mean that they have money). I'm just waiting until noon when I'll leave to meet Alex after her orientation to go shopping until mine starts at 3pm. I'm picking up essentials to get me by until my luggage turns up (which I hope is soon if at all).

Lol... I just went to go see what the chirping sound was that I've been hearing since I got up this morning. I thought is was a weird alarm clock but it turns out that they have a bird... good to know.

More updates soon if not tonight! Love you guys!

I'm finally starting to pack for my trip but I've got so much to do and only 5 days to go. I'm still not completely sure of how somebody packs for four months in a country halfway around the world. Everybody recommends packing light but I am having a hard time not shoving my entire bedroom in my suitcase. I guess it could be worse... I could have waited until the night before :)