la ultima cenaaaaaa

quite a busy week i had! i gave my "final" presentation in my advertising class. it's not over until January but some of the girls have to leave this week since they are only here for a semester so i did the project with them and got it out of the way. i think we did pretty well. we had to make a whole marketing campaign for Dunkin' Donuts. it was actually fun, i made a couple ads that would serve as billboards. and i realized i would really really love to do that for a living.

Wednesday was a birthday of one of the exchange students and we met at a bar that had one euro beers! quite a good deal. it was a small bar and there were about 20 of us and we took up half of it, but it was so much fun. and the birthday girl had gotten these chocolates but she didn't like them and we all tried them and nobody liked them so we started giving them to the bartenders and they thought we were so nice hahah. but they didn't like when they found a pile of half-eaten chocolates on the table... they were a present for the girl and they were from the "Middle East" but she didn't know where.

last night we all went to this place called La Fonda near La Rambla for "the last supper" of all the exchange students. it was probably the best paella i've had here! and calamari, i think i've become addicted. i get it everywhere i go. it's quite a strange food to become obsessed with, no? but maybe cause we're on the Mediterranean it's just so good. i think we were there for like four hours. it was great! and some of the kids who were leaving had brought these spanish flags and they had everyone sign them and write messages on them.
here's what happened there:
-i was named "the hippie"
-i was told by a French boy i had to sit by him and speak "American" because he wishes he was American and he loves to listen to us talk (????)
-that same boy also said he loves American culture. i responded with, "we have no culture" (compared to here! come on!)
-i was told that i can come to Leon in France and stay for free and i am very excited
-i somehow wound up next to the New York girl who was never very friendly to me, but of course after enough sangria she wanted to be my best friend. but i still didn't forget how cold she was before
-we were the last people to leave the restaurant (i guess they close early for Barcelona?) and even after, we proceeded to stand around right outside the door talking and taking pictures

the innocence of foreigners

today i woke up and was looking at the weather online and i have this gadget on my desktop that tells me the current temperature. so when i saw it today i thought it was either broken, my computer had frozen, or it was telling me the weather for Barcelona, Alaska. it was in the 40's! i found out that's what it really was. i couldn't believe it though. turns out the high reached 50 today but that's it. i am assuming it will be in the 30's tonight, and therefore i will not leave the house. that really upsets me though. i don't want the weather telling me what to do! the good thing is my roommate came up to me and said, "oh by the way, if you're cold, i'll show you where the heater is and how to use it." what a relief! i didn't even know we had a heater! by the way, "heater" in Spanish is "calefaccion." i don't know why but i find that amusing because where does that come from??

anyways... someone asked me today, "isn't it 'Oh my God' in English?" and i said, "yes, why do you ask?" and they said i always say "gosh" and they were confused. i laughed. i don't understand why i say gosh but i do, and i never say "oh my God." but i tried to explain it to them. i guess it's like slang? but they said i say it a lot and it's funny. it's also funny to me because i went to go see Marta right after i had moved and i was talking to her and Joana came in the room and she said she just wanted to say she heard me say, "ohhhhh my gosh!!!!" and had this funny expression and she said i always do it, and she misses it, and she misses all my expressions. i never realized what i did. hmmm....

i love when i hear people that are speaking English to me and they say a word that is completely off but still somehow makes sense. like today someone was saying they wanted to get highlights and they said, "i will go get new stripes in my hair soon."
it makes me wonder what i say in Spanish that is so wrong and i don't get corrected for. but when people say things like that sometimes it's so cute i don't want to correct them. it also makes me realize how innocent an accent can make someone seem! that can be a good and bad thing......

yesterday i found out that next week i have a ten page paper ("more or less") to turn in next Monday for my last Inteligencia Emocional class. on self-awareness. well it's a good thing papers are my forte and i can knock out a good one pretty easily, and i've already finished eight pages. i'll take it!
i don't have a test in that class so i think actually after next week i won't have that class anymore. maybe i should ask, no? story of my life

the sights and sounds

today i woke up and it was freezing out and cloudy and i didn't want to move but then there's the fact that i can't stand sitting in the house all day so i went out anyway. i walked down to La Rambla again because everything is closed on Sundays but in that area there is always something going on. and it only took me about 15 minutes to walk there, pretty nice!


some things to see as you're walking around this city:

>all the restaurants have their menus posted outside so you can see what they have to offer, but some have pictures and they are really the most unappetizing pictures of the food and i don't understand how they see them as good publicity for their restaurant.

>a lot of the stores have these crazy outfits that i don't even know what to call them. they are like tube tops with legs. and they are satin or cotton and the legs have elastic in them. they are the ugliest things i've ever seen. i don't get it. but every store has them, and yet i never see anyone wearing them.

>some of the more touristy shops will ask you if you need help when you come in, and if they want to keep talking they ask, "spanish? english? french?......" they know every language! i'm so jealous!!!

>a lot of places when i go to pay the person will say, "merci," and i think, why? do i look french??

>it is the middle of december and there are still dozens of people you pass with gelato in their hands! it's also hard to pass up when you see everyone with a tasty cone. another popular treat from the gelateria? hot waffles with melted chocolate or dulce de leche on top.

>it is the middle of december and people still sit outside the restaurants to eat, even if they don't have heating lamps! some places do and it's nice but i love how people just like to be outside and enjoy what's going on around them.

>everyone here has the best mentality. it's so refreshing! something i'm not used to for sure. i swear the motto for Barcelona should be, "Just Chill Out." everyone is always saying, "it's okay! don't worry! as long as you're happy that's all that matters." or if you are in a store and saying you might need to come back so you can think about buying something, they say, "don't think to much! don't worry about it!"

more reasons to love this place!

i love the winter!!! well, i love the christmas spirit here. it's over the top. there are decorations on every street and they have lights set up EVERYWHERE. when you look down the street it's as far as the eye can see. i love it! and i went to la rambla today to do some Christmas shopping, and there were tons and tons of vendors out selling all their hand-made crafts, jewelry, chocolate, cheeses, wine, etc. etc. etc. i could go on for hours.

last night my roommate Monica invited me out to the "Christmas festival." it was near the main Cathedral in the "Barri Gotic," or the gothic part of town. i went of course because a) someone new to go out with, and b) who doesn't want to go to a Christmas festival in Barcelona?? it was beautiful! again, lots of vendors and many selling nativity scenes and other Christmas decorations. all homemade of course! and there were people out singing Christmas carols and dancing and lots of balloons and lights flying (??) around. it was a sight to see for sure.

today i hung out with my other roommate and we played with her wii and i have only played a couple sports games on it but we played Sonic and it was so fun! i just like having people to hang out with =) and they have only spoken Spanish with me so it's difficult but i like it that way because it's the only way to learn!

ahhhh i have more but i am meeting with a bunch of people at a restaurant because it's one of my friend's last weekend here!!! and we are meeting at 8, early for dinner! haha. i still can't get used to waiting that long for dinner though. but i will be back.. chao

i need to try these goat cheese salads i'm seeing everywhere

i have had complaints, i apologize. but i really have nothing exciting going on. well okay of course i do, but it just all sounds the same in every post so i figured it would be boring.

some cool things that happened this weekend:

~twice when i was out walking at night to go into a friend's apartment, i met people. just randoms on the street. one just said hi and we were talking and the other asked me where something was and we talked too. and they both asked for my number and said, "maybe we can be friends." they always say that here! maybe we can be friends, or companions. too funny! that would never happen in Florida.

~i read something in French and understood it. and not just one sentence! i was in shock, i didn't even realize i was reading it until i stopped. and then it hit me and i was in disbelief. it was something on a website i was researching with a friend for school.

~i went to a birthday party this weekend and it was a Mexican Christmas party as well. they call it "Posada," where they celebrate the day of pilgrimage of Joseph and Mary when they were looking for lodging. in Mexico they have this huge celebration for it, and the girl whose birthday it was is Mexican, along with all her roommates. so we sang these songs they always sing and they had printed out the words for everyone!

~i've turned into one of them and have found myself munching on a plain loaf of bread as i stroll down the street...

i wanted to go away this weekend because i had a full four days off (!!!) and on sunday i was supposed to go with some friends to a city south of here, but of course it didn't happen because they never gave me details and i haven't talked to them since. and then this weekend there's a ski trip in Andorra that is only 120 Euros for lodging, food, skiing, and entrance to two clubs. so i asked if anyone wanted to go and no one is responding. TYPICAL!  i am just going to wait for spring and then go to the countries where i know people are already living so i can just go by myself. it's really frustrating because i want to go everywhere!

i am now listening to Spanish music because i have heard many people say they learned a lot of English just from the music. so we'll see! i wasn't too excited about it but i actually found a fun station ;) it's weird because in all the clubs we go to all the music is English. unless it's salsa night or something. but i guess all the Spanish stars need to go to America if they want to become really famous.

new places, new faces

i love when i'm at my stop on the metro and pushing the button for the doors to open while a mass group of people are standing on the other side trying to get in. and when the doors open they don't move and neither do i because i need to get out and there's too many people standing behind me to move. so they just stand there waiting for me to get out, but i can't because there are too many of them! so in the end i end up plowing them over and leave smiling because it's really not hard for them to step aside while we make room for them to get in by exiting.

 

i'm sitting in my NEW dining room and i feel great =) i never realized how badly i wanted to move... and yesterday i was in my room because nobody was home, but later i heard them out in the living room and i didn't know what to do and felt awkward. but i just came out and said hi and then i brought my book out and we just sat and chatted a little. one of the girls speaks pretty good English. the other doesn't but she is "supposed to be practicing" but she doesn't want to. i told her i'd help her of course but she seems timid about it.

the other girl said they mostly speak catalan so i will be learning that as well. i think i would like to move to a different place every three months. it's new and exciting. i also think that means i have a serious case of ADD....

i was walking around my place today and there are tons of little hidden shops that are super cute! my area is super nice and a lot more high class i think. even when i told Joana i was leaving she was like, you are going to be paying wayyyy too much! but actually, i'm paying less. i don't know how but i'm not complaining =) but there are tons of designer stores right on my street, it's weird. there's also a lot more cafes that i'm dying to try out. some look like they are in my budget. but there are some that look so posh and have coaches to sit on or are all white and crystal or i don't know. it's cool to live in a place like this though! no harm if i'm not paying for it.

guess what i found today: PEANUT BUTTER!!! and it's Peter Pan! it was ridiculously expensive but totally worth it, and i think i'm on my third spoonful, just eating it plain out of the jar. i'm so content right now :P i will probably get sick...

but i found this store that is like a super walmart and they have so many good foods that i don't see anywhere else! it's fantastic. mom they also have a full aisle of chocolates that you probably could have found some for cheap.. instead of from a special chocolate boutique... i'll just have to get some for you.

so i am still homesick but i'm already back in the grind and super busy so it's not bad anymore. it's going to be awful when i come home for a week though! i probably won't want to leave, especially with everyone there. but if you want to know my selfish thoughts, i'd rather everyone just come back here with me and live because i think it'd be a whole lot better of a life ;)

for now, i'll just take what i can get

we found this when my parents were here... and there are NO Lisa's here!

 

i don't even know where to start

i can't believe my parents are gone!!! i had such a good time with them and now i am so homesick =( that was the fastest five days ever but we did so much. the weather was all over the place though. the first two days were great and then the third day when we went up to the tallest mountain in Barcelona it started raining and it was so windy and freezing. and then the next two days were kind of cold, but at least sunny.. i showed them mostly everything i know of. we saw these "magic fountains" at montjuic which i hadn't seen yet, and they are HUGE and they play music an put colors in the water and it's just awesome looking. so many people are out to see it. they do it every friday and saturday night when it gets dark. we also went to see all the Gaudi places i know about and they were blown away. i was glad because i still go to see them and am in disbelief. he is a genius.

we ate and drank our lives away! every time we got cold we'd just say okay let's go get a coffee. or sometimes some wine. i even met them for breakfast once and the waiter was pushing beer on us because we had only ordered coffee. he thought we were crazy. i got to try all the food i've been hearing about that was too expensive for me to get =) paella, different fish, lamb, croquettes, calamares, all so so good. we had a hard time paying though because the credit card didn't go through half the places we tried! and one restaurant said they didn't even take credit cards. luckily we noticed right before we ordered. it's crazy how much cash they use here.

the coolest thing was i noticed how much i've learned here!! my parents obviously don't know any Spanish, but i didn't realize how much i actually do know. i took them to their bed and breakfast their first day and the lady that rented it out had only been taking English for two months. so she started rambling in Spanish and my poor parents were probably so lost. but i understood everything! and i could translate everything. it was amazing. and every time we went out to eat, a lot of the waiters didn't speak English, or the menus would be in Spanish, and i could translate everything, it's unreal!

here is a good story for you.. this is where my Spanish really came in handy. so we were getting ready for dinner back in their room and my dad said he'd be right back because he was going to get a couple bottles of wine since they were out. so he leaves and five minutes later he's back jiggling the door. my mom goes to open it from inside and it's stuck. so we're sitting there for about an hour trying to get this thing open. the key doesn't work. we even pass the key through to the inside and it doesn't work. it looks really jammed and we're shoving forks and bobby pins through the holes with no success. i told my dad to just open the wine and start drinking. i called the number that was listed in case we "had any problems" or lost our keys. but the number was disconnected. it kept saying to try back later. so finally, we called the fire department! i explained we were in the room and stuck and they came in about three minutes flat, sirens and everything.

i peek outside only two see a fire truck, ambulance, and a few police men on scooters. there were probably like 13 people in all. insane! so my dad let's them in and they come up to our room and i see this ax thing flying through the crack of the door down onto the lock. it doesn't work of course. and the guys outside are like, "How many children are in there? are you okay? don't be scared!!" but i told them it was just me and my mom and we were not children. so they said, "Okay, in five minutes we will be in the room." five minutes later, there is the TINIEST ladder i've ever seen, hanging from up on the roof down to our balcony in our room. the fireman is climbing down and his foot barely fits on the rung.

there are groups of people outside by now, asking us what's going on and are we okay? the fireman is in the room and he can't get the lock either. so he just unscrews the entire lock and takes it off. he fixed it too so it worked better than before. but when he opened the door there were 5 people standing outside with my dad. two of them smoking. they were laughing about it and i guess it was better than a call for a fire. i just can't believe how fast they came.

yes i was sitting there taking pictures of everything, but it was hard and so they are all blurry..

and of course after we opened the door and saw the others, mom was saying how cute the one fireman was and wanted to get a picture of me with him. so she was trying to be sneaky and snag one, but she couldn't figure out how to work the camera. sigh...

i have so much more to say but i have things to do so i will write more later.