Barceloneta

the beach where:

• you can buy an entire outfit, including a dress, hat, scarf, and sunglasses from the different vendors walking around
• by the time may comes around, you hear more english than spanish
• you have to give your purses to the young girls next to you if you go in the water or there's no chance you'll see them again
• you can buy a beer for double the price than at the convenient store, but you do because you're too lazy to walk up to the store anyway
• you can buy a donut from a guy named Janga who is so high he can't even think straight, yet he manages to carry dozens of donuts on a wooden board, dances around, plays the triangle, and sings for everyone
• you have the vendors' voices in your head for the rest of the day because they all shout out what they're offering in the same voice and same way every time
• all the vendors come around at once, even if they're selling the same thing, but once the cops come they all just lay down in the sand like it's normal and they won't be picked out, yet they have pants and long sleeves on
• you get more looks if you're actually wearing a suit than if you went topless
• if you see a mound of sand in the middle of no where, you know it's one of the vendors hiding their merch, and the cops usually scope it out and dig it up
• it's not just a day activity, it's a 24 hours a day deal. the clubs right on the beach keep the people out there all night
• you can really say or do whatever you want

family brunch

today was a pretty successful day. me and olivia planned a little "brunch" for some of the international kids. we started talking about french toast at a party during the week, and many of them had never heard of it. so we decided they had to try it, especially the frenchies.

we got a ton of eggs and bread, and then decided we should make scrambled eggs too. a lot of them knew about scrambled eggs, but they said ours were very different. we got peppers, onions, mushrooms, and ham to put in them. the only problem was it took us forever to find maple syrup. you can't have french toast without maple syrup! we went to like three different stores but of course it was in El Corte Ingles, which has like everything but is super expensive. it wasn't any Aunt Jemima either, it was called Bosco. "Sirope Para Pancakes." sounds like a winner.

so anyways we decided we couldn't do "breakfast" because no one would wake up for it, so we called it brunch since it was at 1pm. we made like two loaves of bread, and used three dozen eggs for everything. we had fresh strawberries and watermelon and mango, and to top it off, mimosas and bloody marys!

everyone loved it and said they had never heard or tasted anything like french toast. we told them how easy it was to make so they said they will try it. it was just kind of cool to see how different it was. like i think of eggs as something most countries eat, but even the hungarians and germans who said they eat scrambled eggs, said ours were different. most of them didn't like the bloody marys though haha.

so since it has been such a gorgeous gorgeous week, i'm talking 75 degrees and no clouds, no humidity, we decided to go to the beach afterward. it's 8:30 now but i actually feel bad for being inside, i want to take in the sun as long as it's out!

tomorrow is a holiday (what else is new), so we are going out tonight. it's Pentacost or something tomorrow, a Christian holiday, but we don't have it in the states? who knows, but here's to the next two months of bliss!

more things i will miss about barcelona:

• kebabs
• the mediterranean sea
• the way people are always singing and dancing around
• that dogs can go anywhere
• cafe zurich because it is probabl the best people-watching location
• the numerous holidays they have, and how much time people get off of work and school
• how laid-back and chill the security and policemen are. they just walk around the streets chatting and laughing with eachother
• when they say "que heavy" 
• all the little hippie vintage boutiques
• how everyone is always having picnics at the parks, beaches, even on the streets

canaletes celebration: barça wins

i'd like to just show you all the chaos i try to explain in words. if you could see this in person, you would understand no words can explain. you don't have to watch the whole thing, because it's pretty much just mayhem. but you will see why they call it, "Riot Night." p.s. it gets better in the middle>>

campeones!

so i know i haven't written much lately, but it's just been the end of school, finishing up projects, etc., blah blah who cares...

my projects are pretty much all the same thing, here's the rundown:
Entrepreneurship: make up a brand new product or service and show the entire plan of how you will start it, what materials you need, how you will make money, etc. etc.
we are actually doing a type of charity service, where we go around to poor cities like detroit and new york city (the ghetto parts) and miami and we find kids that don't have anyone to go to or just have bad influences in their lives and need something to keep their minds off the drugs and violence. we buy land in the area really cheap, make it into a park or field, and organize sports for the kids to play. we set everything up for them and provide the coaches, etc. then when we are done for the summer, we sell the land back as a really nice park or stadium..
Marketing Plan: this class is already done. we just had to make a few marketing plans from a book we were given about different companies. it was super easy and my group got a 9.5 out of 10. score!
International Marketing: come up with a product that already exists, and find a place it is not distributed. then change the product to fit the needs of the people and the area it will be placed. we are doing Ben and Jerry's in Morocco's private pools and beaches. they are frequented by the super rich and they don't really have ice cream there. our teacher loves the idea so much he wants us to present it to Ben and Jerry's. a girl in my group also lived in Morocco before and says she "knows a guy" she can call to offer the idea to him to see if he'd want to sell it. how random!
Consumer Behavior: come up with a brand new product and show how it works and how you will promote it, your target market, etc. we had one idea but it was really stupid so we are trying to change it by wednesday..... procrastination

basically i just have tuesday and wednesday of this week, then a test next wednesday and that's it! a year in spanish private school and i think i survived okay :)

yesterday was the last game for FC Barca, the futbol team. they didn't get to the championship, but they still had to play to see who won the "league." i don't really get it. but anyway, i went with a few friends to a bar to watch it, and they won, and then i think World War III started. in the streets afterward, there were as many people as cars, so that was kind of dangerous, they had no fear with the cars flying by. they just ran around screaming, blowing in horns, with their faces painted and all their gear on. even as i walked down the street, little kids would be screaming out their windows, "MESSIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!" Messi is the guy on the team that makes the most goals. i think the proper name for him in this city is God. then there were fireworks, fires in general, cars honking, etc. and the honking all had a rhythm. like i think about 85% of the cars driving down the street were honking, and all in the same tune. it was chaos. it was a really big deal though because Barca was the first in history to make 201 goals in one season.

the weather has been fantastic and i have been to the beach a few times and it has been super nice. but sunday was craaazy because there were probably a million people on that beach. everyone was like on top of eachother. i normally would hate that but since these are people from all over Europe, there is always someone to watch. that is my favorite thing to do here, people-watch! and all the girls take their tops off too. and tons and tons of men come around offering beer for a Euro, and all you hear is, "Cerveza, beer, cold beer, coke, fanta, cerveza, beer!" all in that order, every time. and then there are the massage women from Asia: "Massaje! Massagey! Guapa!! Massaje!" "massagey" should not be used, i would understand "massaje" first. and then there are the guys with fresh coconut and they go, "DURADURADURADURADURADURADURA!!!!!!!!!! coco!" "dura" just means hard. and then there is one guy who has donuts on this huuuge wooden board and he is cool because he dances around and puts the board on his head and talks to everyone and is actually entertaining. but you never get a break from them. i guess the beach is bittersweet?

also, i just have to note this to remember for myself, but i walked into a store to buy a beer and the guy asked how old i was. i remind you, you only have to be 18 here to buy alcohol.. and they never card here. i guess i'll just take it as a compliment?

the simple things

things i will miss about barcelona:

• the sea and the mountains all in one
• the architecture
• the fact that you can make at least one new friend everyday
• bocadillos
• no humidity, or maybe it just feels that way compared to florida
• the way people dress
• public transportation
• the ham, i didn't even like ham in the states
• the way they celebrate, and the fact that they have so many holidays during the year it's hard to keep up
• school
• speaking spanish
• the parties in the streets
• walking everywhere because everything is so beautiful
• gelato
• otto zutz
• the fact that there is something to do on any given night of the week
• access to some parts to europe for just 50 euro round trip, and other parts still way less than you'd pay in america
• when you're on the metro, dressed up and exhausted, coming home from a night out, and the moms and dads are all going to work
• the shopping
• how i live in a super posh neighborhood, yet my rent is nothing
• how helpful people here are
• how you can never be late, because there is time, and there is "spanish time"
• the airport and the fact that you can get there 20 minutes before your flight leaves and still make it through. they are so laid back
• listening to spaniards speak english
• the way i feel i took a year off of life to live in a fairytale
• FC Barca futbol team and the insanity of the fans, it's not even an obsession, it's a religion
• also, the way my teacher lets us out of class early when there is a futbol game
• the way the night sometimes starts the next morning

things i will not miss about barcelona:

• the way the night sometimes starts the next morning (call me grandma, but what do you do from 6-11pm by yourself??)
• the fact that you can never get away from the smoke in public places
• the way i am literally checking my purse every 2 & 1/2 minutes to make sure i still have everything
• the 600 people on the beach that all try to sell you the same thing: a massage, a beer, or sunglasses, and they never leave you
• when you are out to eat and order a coke and you get the tiniest bottle, not even a fountain drink, and no free refills
• sundays

i will definitely be adding more to this as i finish my weeks, hours, seconds here...