catching back up to 2009...

i bought a phone today! it's so weird, i just realized i've been without phone or tv for over a month and i haven't even noticed. this place has more than enough distractions!

but, i was very excited because i went to the phone store and had the entire conversation for a half an hour about phone service in spanish! ha, who knew. the guy didn't speak english so i didn't speak one word of it, and i was so excited!!! sounds sad, but really, i've come a long way in just a month. so i got a really cheap phone but i didn't have to buy a contract. they have a weird set-up here where you buy a card with a certain amount of money and you just pay per minute that you talk. so i have to pay 8 cents a minute everytime i talk. i got the cheapest one, some were like 40 cents a minute (???). and then when your card runs out you recharge it. i still have to figure out where to do that. i know i saw something in the metro station with a sign screaming "recarga tu movil!!!!!!!" at me, so i am pretty sure there are a lot of places i can do it. so now everyone won't think i'm crazy, because everyone i meet at school asks for my number but when i tell them i don't have one they don't understand.

so today i had my last new class, sistemas de informacion. and this time it was a man teacher. again, he seems super cool. everyone here is so laid back it's unreal. but anyways, i got there a little early so i was just sitting there writing and waiting for people to come in, and nobody did. there were four of us waiting there. so he started the class and a few people came in late but by the end of the class i still only counted nine people! i guess i'm lucky though because maybe i'll get more help from the teacher this way. another thing is i'm the only girl. at UCF all of my classes were about 70/30 in the ratio of girls to guys. here, there's a lot more guys! it's different.

so the teacher started talking, and the first thing he asks is, "castellano, o catalan??" and my heart sunk! everyone else didn't really say anything so i pretty much begged for castellano, because that's like regular spanish. and i told him i just came here and it's hard enough so it would help if he spoke regular spanish. which he gladly did, phew! and this guy taught the most on the first day out of any of my teachers. but he told some jokes and stuff and i got a few of them so it was good. it sucks though when the teacher is talking and everyone starts laughing while i just sit there trying to figure out the sentence he said five before the present one. but he was very nice and asked if i understood like every ten minutes and said if i need any help just ask.

i also made friends with a kid named Franc, short for Francesco, and he was super nice. he said he could barely notice my accent! and i just laughed at that because i feel like i am stumbling over everything and thought i sounded like a goof. but he also said he'd help me if i need it, and that i'll be fluent in no time!

one thing i've noticed is that everyone is surprised i am here for an entire year. they are all so impressed but i don't understand because all of these kids have amazing lives! everyone is so different and it seems like a lot of them speak english so i don't know why they think that when i'm not even fluent yet. YET.

i also noticed my notes are half english half spanish. like within each sentence. i don't know why i think that will make it easier. but maybe if i understand something and it sounds better in english i write it out in english.

my roommate, marta, told me that in the czech republic everyone speaks 4 or 5 different languages! i'm amazed. especially because she said they're so old-fashioned and stuck in their roots, and they don't really want to change or be like anyone else. but still i think that's really cool.

this school is awesome!

haha i think i already love my school. the two teachers i've had so far are really cool.
yesterday at my night class i understood a lot! the classes are really small, like 30 or 35 kids. and the teacher was really funny and she pronounced her words very clearly and used her hands a lot so it was easy to understand! the class is two hours but she only kept us for about 45 minutes. i didn't get a chance to talk to anyone cause she was talking the whole time but she put us in groups and said we would work together throughout the semester. thank goodness! hopefully i have a good group that will help me out.

another good thing that she said is that there's no exam!! i don't know if she explained why but i know i heard her right and i'm pretty excited for that. there's also no textbooks. the school just gives the students any text they need but we just got little workbooks in both of my classes so far. no need to spend $700 on books! come on, america...

so today i had advertising and as soon as i got to the top of the stairs going to class, this girl comes up and asks me if i know where room 604 is, and that was my class! so i walked with her and we talked the whole time and exchanged info so we can keep in contact =) her name is marcela and she is from mexico. i also made another friend in the class, daniela, but her background is insane. she lived in el salvador, went to a french highschool in el salvador, went to college in san francisco, and is now here. but we said we'd keep in touch and help eachother out too, so i'm relieved!

also, i was already sitting down in class when who walks in but three of the girls from my spanish intensive course! so weird! one of the girls gave me a dirty look, then said "hilisa" really short-like, the other just turned around and didn't say anything. figures, those were the americans! the other girl, france, was excited to see me and even asked where i'd been over the weekend. and i told her nobody responded to me so i just figured they didn't care! she said i really need to get a phone, as does EVERYONE i meet. nobody understands why i don't have one haha. and she said they were all wondering about me because i guess they got my messages and thought i wanted to come hang out with them but since they never replied i figured it was a no-go. i have no idea. anyway-!!!

my teacher in this class was a woman, both are, but this one talked SO FAST and it was impossible to keep up. we have an exam, presentations, and group work in this class so i have a feeling i have a lot of work coming my way...

she also started the class by handing out a packet with questions and told us to fill them out, but we weren't allowed to talk because she wanted our own answers, and the first thing that came to our heads. well the first thing that came to my head was ???????????????!
haha. but i like reading things better because i have more time to understand it. so i worked at it and i think i only left one question blank. it was all questions about what we thought about ads and if we liked or disliked them and what we wanted to learn from the class. there were also some pictures of ads and we had to explain the message they were trying to tell, or the message that we got from it.

then she talked a lot and i don't really know what went on but it was still good that i met some people =)

figures!

today i woke up really early and even made it to school early and actually found my classroom only to find the lights off and nobody there. a little panic ran through me but i went up to my advisor's office and spoke with her in spanish (!) and told her nobody was there so she double checked the room number and then told me it's the right room but it doesn't start until november 2, and it's only for a month!!!! no wonder it's four hours long. so i was very excited because that's one less thing i have to worry about for now and i got back on metro and missed my stop. then i got off at the next one and thought i knew what i was doing and went on a different line to connect to mine but i was going the wrong way. so i took like an hour just to get home and i am exhausted from running around all the metro stations!
but now i just have one class mondays and it's not until 7:30. and now i only have three classes to worry about until november and that makes me a very happy girl!

churros

i think yesterday was one of the best days i've had here. turns out my new roommate (marta) is insanely fun and wanted to go out and was really sad  she had no one to go with so of course i went with her! and get this, she came from PRAGUE and said i have to go back with her and she will show me everything!!! i flipped. she said it's beautiful but the people there are not very friendly and very old-fashioned and she said she thinks she is not that friendly now because of them. but i thought she was extremely friendly haha. i feel like i've known her for years already. but she is 24 and this is her first time living alone. she's lived with her mom her entire life and she said she feels really alone now. two of her friends were supposed to come with her to barcelona but they bailed on her five days before the flight! so she said she is very grateful to have moved in the apartment that i am in because we have so much in common! it's so weird

so anyway, we went out down to the beach last night and there was so much going on for the festival. there was this carnival going on and we rode go karts and ate churros! can i just tell you that churros may be the greatest thing i have ever eaten in my life. it's basically fried nothingness, like fried dough covered in sugar and they put chocolate inside and my mouth is watering just thinking about them. nothing good can come from this.

that's me and my churro =)

so then we just walked around by the beach and it was a beautiful night and there were tons and tons of people out and we just talked about everything and nothing and i never laughed so much in my life. we were both talking a mile a minute because we were so excited to have met someone we can bond with! haha.

so then we were down at the beach sitting at a restaurant outside and the fireworks started again and they were even better than the night before! it was incredible i didn't want it to end, i was like a little kid in awe.

so then we walked around some more and she told me about prague and that i can definitely come stay with her sometime. she came here for school too but she's only staying until january but she's studying marketing as well! except she's not at the same school as me, unfortunately =(

i made her speak spanish to me so i could practice and it was so hard, i'm so slow! but i could understand her pretty well and i was very excited.

then we ended up at this place called club catwalk and got free admission and stayed there until 6:30am and i had the time of my life. i don't even like clubs but we had so much fun and i am exhausted!! what a weekend, it was a blast.

school on monday! i guess it's time to start doing what i came here for...

la merce

la merce is the festival of the year, for saint mercedes, and it has been craziness since thursday! thursday was the big opening day of the festival, and everyone had off work. i have never seen so many people on the streets at once, at times you couldn't even walk. there were concerts going on at every square, dancing in the streets, performances, lights, vendors with every type of art or food or home-made anything you could think of, cava, sangria, beer, food everywhere. at 6 on thursday was the big "giants parade" which had tons of characters that were massive and many little bands playing throughout it. there were fireworks at night which were awesome and very different. right on the beach. there was a carnival with tons of rides and lots and lots of sweet treats and games. all the restaurants were packed full and i think every single person had a cone of gelado as they walked down the street. it was so cool! tonight there is another parade but it's fire-themed and they have fire-breathing dragons, fireworks, sparklers, etc. etc. and they said it's best to cover your skin in case you get burned because the fire is everywhere. i am getting ready to go out to everything now so i have to go. we just got a new roommate and she really wants to go out and is excited that i like to too, and i told her rita never goes out with me so i'm glad she wants to!
but i really have to go now so i will write more later!

fast forward

i started taking some videos of places i've walked around and just some cool things i've seen. i have a million ideas running through my head right now about making a little video out of everything, putting all the clips together, and i have so many things i can think of to capture! so maybe at the very end of this big long trip i will post the complete video and it will be like a mini tour of everything i've seen in real-time

you can do anything

your motivation for the day:

visa madness continues...

so today i thought since i have the whole week off i should get on renewing my visa, since i know how troubling they can be and how much work can go into it! well i had no idea what i was doing or where i was going. pero i found a place to get passport photos, and i managed to print out the documents i needed. then it was off to the oficina de extranjeros! well i found one online and i went there and there were about 40 people standing around outside rambling nonsense and luckily it wasn't a line so i just pushed past them and got inside, where there were probably 100 people sitting down waiting. maybe more. well i figured i should ask if i was even in the right place before waiting my life away and i managed to ask in spanish and they said no, i was in the wrong place. i was pretty much relieved though because that meant i didn't have to sit there for hours. so they told me the place i should go, which is actually a police station i think. and i got out at the metro station they told me and pretty much ran around the area looking for the right street. literally, i was running around, asking randoms where carrer de guadalajara was. i had past it twice without knowing it, because of course it is hidden. but alas, i found it, only to realize it was after 2pm. when everything closes for the afternoon. and it turns out the police station doesn't open back up later like most places.

so! tomorrow i must return and i am hoping it is the right place and it will be an okay process, but i'm not expecting much because i know how these things can be!
i talked to my roommate about getting the visa before i came here and she said she only got the visa for 6 months because the one to stay longer was such a hassle and she had to get everything translated and legalized, blah blah blah, and i told her that's exactly what i had to do. but i'm surprised even though she came from germany she still would have to go through all that. but i'm glad i'm not the only one who thought it was an issue!

but now supposedly i can renew it "easily" and once i do it it will be good for a year and then if i want i can get it renewed again for another year, and so on.
but as i was running around the city i saw so many cool things and i want to buy EVERYTHING!!! it's not fair, because i'm spending all my money on food an metro tickets and i just want to blow it all on souvenirs =) but you walk down the street and the smells are overwhelming and you can't stop yourself from trying a tasty treat from a cafe or "forn de pa" (catalan). by the way, catalan is the devil. half french, half spanish, completely confusing!!!!!!!!!

but i was told that i can actually work with my student visa, some places won't allow it but many places will! and a lot of people are looking for americans to help teach english. so it sounds perfect! i just don't know where i'm supposed to look for these kinds of jobs. and i also think i should just worry about school first, and try and see if i can understand what's going on in class =)
okay that's all my complaining for the day. the weather is absolutely gorgeous so i really can't complain, it's beautiful out!


(sant sebastia = fantastic)

i still haven't found a post office...

this weekend was such a whirlwind i can't even remember it!

it's quite chilly out right now and perfect sleeping weather! it's "rainy season" now, from the end of sept. to the end of oct. so it will probably be cooler.

this week marks the start of the fiesta de merce, of saint mercedes. it's the "biggest, wildest, most colorful fiesta" in barcelona. i'm stoked! i was asking around where i need to be and where all the big things are happening and i was told to just go outside and you will be in the party. thursday is the big day where many of the events are happening and no work for anyone. it's just a big party in the street with lights, music, dancing, sangria, food, people, all day and all night. downtown they have tons of shows, concerts, fireworks on the beach, (which i am told will "blow your american fireworks out of the water") human towers where 50 people at a time climb on top of eachother and make things, parades, etc etc etc... i can't wait!

today i went to the picasso museum because i found out it's free after 3pm on sundays, so i figured it was a must. it was very interesting but not as big as i thought it would be. but all of his paintings had a story next to it so it was really cool. the area that the museum is in is the gothic area and it was soooo cool. i am just amazed with everything. but every building is different and everything was so ornate and almost creepy looking. i actually got my roommate to go out with me and i was very excited because it's getting old going to see all these places by myself =( i really hope when school starts i meet tons of kids!

we also saw this huge cathedral built by gaudi and i cannot get over this man, he is basically my hero. i'm obsessed with everything i see by him. we went inside and there was a service going on and the place is so big they have seating all the way back and tons of tvs so that you can see the priest and everything going on up front. they look so out of place! but the designs on the inside were out of this world! there's this place called palau de la musica and it is so detailed and has a million different colors and shapes and designs and i am just awestruck by it. the inside looks even cooler from pictures but i didn't get to go in because i think it might be closed on sundays. or we just couldn't find the entrance! it was so hidden though it was weird. and on a very narrow street so it was hard to get pictures of the outside.

class is over!

so i passed my class, atleast i think. i passed the test and i gave my presentation and she said i did good. it was terrifying! i don't mind speaking in front of the class but when i have to think about every word that is coming out of my mouth it's a little awkward. but some people had trouble so i felt okay haha. but the two teachers said they liked us a lot and we were one of their favorite classes because we were so talkative and asked a lot of questions. i can't imagine a bunch of kids coming to a new school in a new country and not being like that??

now i have a week off before the other classes start! i don't know what i'm going to do with myself.
but today i went to Montjuic which is this really awesome, huge park. and it has this massive fountain that they light up at night and i really want to go back and see that. but the views are unbelievable and i just wanted to sit there all day. and at the top of the hill where i have the pictures on here, there's this art museum it's really cool. and then i was walking down the street a little and there was an elementary school with the little kids playing outside and my jaw dropped because if i could have that outside my window while i was learning-! i got pretty lost, and i couldn't find some of the things i was looking for but i will just have to go back! a lot of walking up and down hills though and i am exhausted! i just know if i'm ever having a bad day there are a million places i could go that will just amaze me and i'll forget everything haha. it's so cool. i keep finding these little pockets of the city that seem so secretive but i don't know if they really are or not, but every time i find a new cool place i love it more than the last. it's never ending - this place is so big! i will never cease to be amazed...by the way, that big thing sticking up in the middle is sagrada familia. i swear you can see it from anywhere

i also found on the website i found my flat on they have a "language exchange" section, where people who want to learn another language or just improve a second or third language can post and find people, and in return they teach them a language they're good at. there's a lot of people who want to better their english so i am looking for one! and you can just meet up and talk about whatever. i think it's a really good way to keep up with my spanish so hopefully it works out.

so i am working on a presentation that i have to give in class wednesday about the region of Castilla y Leon in Spain and it is not going very well. there is not much information on it and i don't even know what i'm going to say! but the teacher said she doesn't really care much about the information, just the way we express it and present it. sounds like fun!!!!

this class is over thursday and then i start my real classes on sept. 28 so i have a little time off. there's this place i heard about that i absolutely have to check out. actually, two places. one is called Montjuic and it's supposed to have the most spectacular views of the city on this big hill and it has a huge fountain where at night they light it up and do shows in front of it. there's also a castle and some really famous artwork by Joan Miro all around plus some from other artists, and the art is the best here! it sounds like a fairytale.

the other place is called Barri Gotic, which is actually a whole area, and all the architecture and art is gothic and really ornate. they have some cathedrals there too and it should be a good time!

over the weekend i went around to check out the shops and see what kind of styles they have over here, and it's all so different. i noticed they have very little "chain" stores. on las ramblas if you go down the side streets there are so many little secret shops and restaurants that you come across and in the stores everything is home-made. not one dress looks like another. and they are all so bright! i love it, no one will make fun of me for wearing all my colors here =) there's also a lot of florals and silks here.

another thing i noticed is most all of their food is natural and organic. at the store they barely have any snacks, no crackers or anything! but a lot of the food is organic and that's just how it is, they don't charge you extra and have the processed stuff next to it on the shelves. good for me i guess. one weird thing? the milk comes in boxes. and it's not refrigerated. they have a whole aisle with milks and there's like 3209 kinds and i guess since it is organic and not processed and i don't know what they do to it, you can leave it out of the refrigerator for months and it won't go bad. only when you open it does it start. i guess a lot of places in europe have their milk like that. it's pretty convenient if you think about it, but i just don't understand it.

barca nights are twice as long with half the rules!

ummmmmmmmmmmmmmm i am obsessed with this place. i may never return...

i just walked around for like four hours and checked out some shops. it's a holiday so i had no class, but that also means a lot of the shops were closed =( i have no idea what we're celebrating!
but some places were open and it was really neat. i didn't buy anything though.. i am scared to! i feel like i am going to run out of money so quick!

the people here are so friendly it's not real. like everyone says hi to you and everyone is always smiling =)

today at like 12:30 my roommate rita was cooking a whole bunch of food and then she said it was for me and joana and it was so good! it was indonesian soup. with potatoes and rice and chicken and bean sprouts, soooooooo good. the broth was the best. and she said they eat everything with rice, even omelets!
so then joana said she'd make us some spanish food, and i just had it. it was tortillas and bread with tomato and olive oil spread on it, very famous in cataluna. the tortilla wasn't just a flour tortilla like you think of though. it was super thick and had rice and potatoes in it and this salt that has a little spice in it. SO GOOD. i am obsessed. now i need to cook some american food for them! hamburguesas anyone???
i will probably gain about 20 pounds while i am here, but it will be so worth it!

random thoughts

so yesterday i had to go find this bookstore to buy a book my teacher said would be helpful and the little town it's in is so cute! i really want to look for apartments there because i am just obsessed with it, even though i was rushing and didn't have much time to see it all. but my place now is in a low-key kind of neighborhood and i think i'd actually rather be in a busier part of town. it's more exciting! so who knows...

also, i think i need to bring my camera to school because i found some amazing views just from the stairs! there's a couple mountains with all these neat looking houses scattered about and it is just so cool.

school this year is going to be rough! i feel like this is just a "year off" because i am not going to understand what's going on in class hahah, especially when i have four at once. so i don't know what's going to happen but it will be an experience for sure.

more later........

you know...

You know you’ve lived in Spain when….

1. You think adding lemonade, fanta or even coke to red wine is perfectly acceptable. Especially at lunch time.
2. You can’t get over how early bars & clubs shut back home - surely they’re shutting just as you should be going out?
3. You aren’t just surprised that the Spanish plumber / decorator / electrician has turned up on time, you’re surprised he turned up at all.
4. You think it’s fine to comment on everyone’s appearance. And to openly stare at strangers.
5. Not giving every new acquaintance dos besos seems so rude.
6. You’re shocked by people getting their legs out at the first hint of sun - surely they should wait until at least late June?
7. On msn you sometimes type ‘jajaja’ instead of ‘hahaha’
8. You’re amazed when Spanish TV ad breaks last less than half an hour, especially right before the end of films.
9. You’re not surprised that the Spanish TV programme info doesn’t match with what is actually being shown, unless it is “Prensa Rosa”.
10. You forget to say please when asking for things - you implied it in your tone of voice, right?
11. You know what a pijo / pija is and how to spot one.
12. Every sentence you speak contains at least one of these words: ‘bueno,’ ‘coño,’ ‘vale,’ ‘venga,’ ‘pues nada’...
13. You know how to eat boquerones.
14. You know the difference between gambas, gambones, cigalas, langostinos, etc.
15. You know the difference between jamón pata negra and jamón de York, and you prefer the first.
16. You eat lunch after 2pm & would never even think of having your evening meal before 9.
17. You know that after 2pm there’s no point in going shopping, you might as well just have a siesta until 5 when the shops re-open.
18. You know you must take two days off when you have to do any official paperchasing, for cars, residence, etc.
19. You know that those astronomical prices they’re talking about are actually in pesetas, and what that means in euros.
20. If anyone insults your mother, they better watch out…
21. You know how to change a bombona.
22. It’s not rude to answer the intercom to your flat by asking ‘Quien?’ (or maybe that was just my flatmate…)
23. You don’t accept beer that’s anything less than ice-cold.
24. You know Bimbo isn’t a slutty woman, it’s a make of ‘pan de molde’ (which, incidentally, isn’t mouldy)
25. You know the difference between cojones and cajones, tener calor and estar caliente, bacalao and bakalao, pollo and polla, estar hecho polvo and echar un polvo...and maybe you learned the differences the hard way!
26. On some Sunday mornings you have breakfast before going to bed, not after you get up.
27. Floors in certain bars are an ideal dumping ground for your colillas, servilletas etc. Why use a bin?!
28. You know ensaladilla rusa has nothing to do with Russia.
29. The doctor says you are constipado you don’t go and buy ExLax.
30. You have friends named Jesus, Jose Maria, Maria Jose, Angel, maybe even Inmaculada Concepcion…
31. You know that ‘ahora’ doesn’t really mean now.
32. When you make arrangements to meet friends at 3, the first person turns up at 3.30…if you’re lucky!
33. When women think that clear bra straps are in fact invisible.
34. When it’s totally normal for every kitchen to have a deep-fat fryer but no kettle.
35. Te cagas en la leche….
36. To avoid that cheap Eristoff vodka you have to ask for ‘un esmirnoff’.
37. You think J&B and Ballantines are OK to drink.
38. When you know what a guiri is and have been called one.
39. Blonde girls actually start to think their name is ‘rubia’.
40. If something is great, it’s ‘de puta madre’.
41. You can eat up to 5 times a day - first breakfast, 2nd breakfast around 11.30, almuerzo, merienda, cena.
42. You know the jingles for Los Cuarenta Principales, M80, Onda Zero, etc.
43. If you see someone wearing a T-shirt with something written on it in English, you can almost guarantee it won’t make sense.
44. When you go into a bank/bakery etc, it’s standard practice to ask ‘Quien es la ultima?’
45. When you have the habit of answering the above question “Ahora es Usted”.
46. Who needs a dryer when you have a washing line outside the window of your apartment?
47. You are more likely to call your friends tio/a, nena, chaval, macho or even tronco than their real name.
48. You answer the phone by saying ‘Yes’. Or even ¿Diga?
49. You prefer UHT milk.
50. You prefer all the above to the way they do things back home.

peculiar

i have a list of things that are quite strange that i've come across so far so here it goes:

+ in the bathroom there is this thing that looks like a urinal, but with no flusher, so i just never used it and never asked. today i saw there was clothes in it, maybe just one or two things, so i'm wondering if it's for like delicate washing? it looks so weird and out of place!

+ when you check out at the grocery (i guess it's market because they don't really have big groceries here), they just throw your things as they scan them and then you have to bag them and pay them and get change all at once. and it takes me forever to do it and i feel like an idiot

+ i was looking through the cereals and i think there were only two that did not have chocolate, or were not all chocolate. they have special k and smacks and the rest are spanish brands. i think they have cocoa krispies too

+ people park pretty much wherever they want here. on the streets, there are cars parked on the corners, even sticking out into the street. i don't know if there are just a lot of people and they allow it or what?

+ the water bottles come in massive sizes, most are 1.5 - 2 litres! so you're carrying around a jug and it's funny to see in my class everyone has a huge bottle infront of them.

+ i have not seen two toilets with the same kind of flusher yet. some have pull-strings, some have buttons but they are not on the toilet. at school it took me a few minutes just to figure it out and it was weird.

+ the clubs here are open from 1am-7am but i haven't noticed any kind of siesta around here. or maybe i am just not out near the stores when they do. i have yet to go to a club but i can never take naps so we'll see how that goes.

+ i haven't seen anything like a walgreens around here, so i don't know where to buy anything from a notebook to make-up to other little random things.

las ramblas

i decided to post a picture of petit, our little scruffy dog =) it sounds more like "patit" though. he is full of energy and always kissing!









yesterday i made it to las ramblas, the famous street with tons of restaurants and street performers and little vendors, it was fascinating. there is a middle walkway where everyone walks and all the restaurants have tables
and umbrellas set up outside so you can enjoy the view. at the very end is the mediterranean and it is so peaceful and beautiful! they have a huge dock you can sit on and i watched these little sky-lifts go by and i really want to go on one! it went from the dock all the way up to this mountain. the sea is maybe 25 minutes away and i thought it was much further, but it is so pretty i could sit there all day and people-watch.

all the food there smelled so great i don't even know how you pick a restaurant. paella is very very popular in that area and it's like a rice dish with tons of vegetables and if you want you can put meat or seafood in it. i really wanted to try it but i was by myself and they all advertise "for two people" because they give you a really big portion. i'll just have to go back with someone!

i also hung out with my classmates this weekend and i'm really glad we got together because it's nice to have people to turn to. they are all so interesting and everyone is so open so it's nice. hopefully we will keep in touch throughout the year, though most of them are only staying for the first semester. well i have to get some stuff done but my weekend was good and i hope all of yours was too!

this is why i moved here!

i just got back from a looooong day of walking. i went out with my roommate rita and we explored a lot of the city - exhausting!!

we first went to parc guell, which turns out, it's not even a ten minute walk from our apartment. it is so gigantic and so awesome i can't even describe it. you guys are going to have to see for yourselves!

you go uphill for a lot of it and you look out at the views and think how amazing but then you continue up and the views just get better and better. and you look out one way and it's the med. sea and then the other side you can see mountains. and towards the sea sagrada familia is so monstrous it sticks out from everything. and then on the other side there's a mountain with a huge church or palace on it that looks similar to the structure of the sagrada familia. all throughout the park there are people selling cool jewelery and dancing and playing music. it was like a festival. we were like little girls in disney world except it was even better!

we also went to sagrada familia which is by gaudi also, and it is super super big and still under construction. it was amazing of course. we didn't go in though, we figured we'd come back another day and do the tour.

so after that we got some gelado, dulce de leche, the best! and walked around the area and then we found part of downtown which is the "high-end shopping" with every designer name you can think of. but it's cool cause they're all on the street. and the streets were packed with people it was crazy, but i love that!

that all took the entire day and now i am so tired just sitting in my bed looking at the pictures. i wanted to get a hold of my friends from class to see if they want to go out tonight but i don't even know if i can make it! we all became facebook friends so we can keep in touch =)

i'm just glad i had someone to go with me today because it was much more fun with a partner in crime..

i am lost!

well today was good i guess. i woke up for class this time! ha, but i feel i am in over my head! as we work in class, sometimes we do group work, which is good because it makes us speak spanish. but, i'm working with kids from all over, who proceed to speak french or german, while i am trying to speak spanish and trail off to english, so we are all mixed up! it's very confusing trying to work with them. but it's kind of funny.
also, while in class, it started raining golf-ball-sized hail! it was very strange, only for about 10 minutes though, and then it was sunny. the weather now is beautiful, not hot at all. my weather on my computer says 75* - perfecto!
all i have to say is i am very grateful for this class because i don't want to think about where i'd be without it. everyday it seems like i understand more and i've only been in it three days, but there is still a lot i don't understand. for instance, there was a homework assignment i had no idea even came up. but it was just to get a piece of news from spain and summarize it. so i did it today really quick before class. the only thing i am missing is my spanish-enligh dictionary which i wish i had brough =( oh well, i'm sure i can find one here. my advisor at the school gave me a catalan-english phrase book. so that should help some. it's just weird because catalan looks french and their words seem to blend together when they speak. which i guess that's how it would be for anyone coming to a new country.
most of the kids in the spanish class are just staying for the first 6 months though. i've only heard of one who is staying the whole year like me. but maybe i will meet the new ones when they come next year!
this weekend is going to be all about exploring, and i can't wait to see some of these places! i heard there's a really good picasso museum that is a must-see. of course i have the sagrada familia and parc guell on my list. i will write and post pictures of everything of course!

viva espana!

OY, this has been a whirlwind, to say the least. i just got back from five hours of class and it was quite exhausting! not only do i have to sit there and pay attention, i have to UNDERSTAND what they are saying. but i am so glad i have gotten to take this class because it will help me a lot. there are only about 15 kids in the class and they are from all over, some from france and belgium for the most part, others are german, japan, etc. it's overwhelming!
side note: it's funny because as i'm typing some of the words are coming out in spanish and i have to go back and re-type them in english =)
i made friends with a girl named France, like Fransa i guess, and she is from france. she said we have to go out together because she came not knowing anyone either. but i have been doing well for not knowing anything. i bought a metro ticket and figured out the routes all on my own! and yesterday when i first got to the school, it took me about an hour of walking around to find it. but i did and then i made it in time for my first class. i was SUPER sore yesterday and when i got home i passed out quite early. today i woke up at 1pm!!! and then had class at 3 again. everyday for a month. but it will help. i just can't wait for saturday so i can go exploring!!!!!!
i have to go shower now, but i will be back to write more of course
chao!