This Is Spain

An epic year in 20 minutes.

adjustments

back to the real world

it's really strange to be home. i kind of feel like it's just a break and i will be back to Spain in a couple weeks! but it's so nice to be with my family and it's like nothing changed. i am really anxious to get back to school because Palm Harbor just isn't as exciting as Barcelona.

the hardest thing to get used to is when i walk outside and no one is there! and i have to drive everywhere. and it's so quiet! it's also extremely humid here and hard to breathe. but i will get used to that again soon enough.

i have been eating all-american food and it's been great. i forgot how much i missed some things. cheeseburgers are the #1 thing!!! the beef in Spain just isn't so great. but it's weird when we finish dinner and the sun is still out. i'm also getting used to tv again which is weird. i forgot how many stupid reality shows are on and now i think it was better without tv. i did turn on the Spanish channel though and could understand :) they were talking about Lindsay Lohan going to jail......

the good thing is, i found a house in Orlando and it's with 4 randoms so i'm excited! i'm kind of glad i'm not living with friends so that i will meet new people and i will have something to look forward too. i need to find things that will keep me busy and i hope these people are fun!

all i know is things will never be the same

what airline is this?

my flight home.

after all i went through on my way home, i have to say i am a very lucky girl.

i get to the airport. they are checking my luggage and tell me i can only check two bags and it can only be 60 kilos. i tell them i have my life with me and i have three bags. the lady asks if i can stick one into the other. this is going to be a long day.

i start taking things out of one bag that i will need, and try making room in another to fit it in. i'm there about 10 minutes and then the lady goes, okay you know what, you have less than 60 kilos so just check all three bags. halleluyah!

so the first hurdle is down. i get through security, and then comes the gate. when you go through the gate, they have to check your passport since it's to America and they want to know how long you have been there to make sure you didn't overstay, etc. you can only stay for 90 days as a tourist. if you overstay with no visa or anything, you could either be put in jail or fined about $1,000.

i walk up to the guy, he smiles at me, takes my passport, smiles at my passport (the picture's pretty bad). he's flipping through it, and asks when i got to Spain. i say January instead of August, since i went home and came back. he shakes his head, and shows me my visa. of course, it's about six months expired. i just say, "oh, that was from last year."

he goes, "yes, so where is your stamp?" as in, my stamp of when i came back in. i showed him the one of when i came back and it's from December 31. close enough to January. he shakes his head. i just look at him kind of confused, praying i won't be turned away or called aside or anything, and crack a smile. he gestures behind him and says, "just go, just go." i made it!

second hurdle down.

so i get to the gate and my airline is Pakastani Airlines. i know, what was i thinking. i was probably the only white girl there. so as we're getting on the plane, they have to check every bag, every person. there is a huge line, and they sit there and take everything out of your carry on. they reach me finally, and they take my bag, take everything out, open everything. they open my books and leaf through every page. they tell me to turn on my laptop. they open my gum back, all my medicine boxes, everything. then they pat me down. this i passed of course, it just took forever!

the plane to Chicago was not full at all. probably because it's Pakastani and nobody wants to get on that! only a few movies were American, the rest were in their language. the food was Pakastani, there was tea with every meal, the announcements were in their language. the good thing was there were extra seats so that meant extra space to spread out!

in the end, i made it to Chicago. nine hours later.

my flight from Chicago to Florida was nothing after that. i lost one bag, and it was all shoes (i know, that's sad). but i filled out a form and they sent it to my house the next day.

my first thoughts in the airport coming home:
what time is it?
the diet coke tastes weird.
everyone is speaking English.

it is now Sunday and my arms still hurt from the IVs in the hospital.

the end.

my last two days in Barcelona were not ideal. of course i can't end on a normal day! i am Murphy's Law.

monday afternoon i woke up late and i couldn't even get out of bed. i was exhausted. i just laid there for an hour and then finally got up and decided i should pack. i started folding some clothes but i was just so exhausted and drained i couldn't even do it. i stopped and laid back in my bed. i fell asleep. i woke up again later, still exhausted. but this time i felt sick too. i tried to pack again and only got like one shirt in. i tried drinking some water and couldn't even get it down. i knew i wouldn't be able to eat anything. i started getting kind of dizzy and short of breath, and then it hurt whenever i tried to breathe normal. i had no idea what was happening!!! my blood sugar was really high, so i figured that was it. it wouldn't go down, and i ended up taking myself to the hospital. no one was home so i just googled one and took the metro. i think that was a bad move but i was probably delirious and just went.

by the time i got to the hospital, i could barely breathe and was in so much pain. i was talking to some nurses and they wouldn't take me to a room so i told them just give me a shot of insulin right there becaues i thought i was going to pass out. once i started crying they took me away! of course i had to do all of this in Spanish, and it's really amazing what you can say in an emergency.

they took me to a room and hooked me up to all these IVs of water and insulin and glucose, etc. etc. it hurt so bad. my blood sugar took forever to come down because they just had me on an IV with a tiny bit going in at a time. i needed a full shot to get it down quick! but i never got one. about 6 hours later and 7 liters of water in me later, it was finally back to normal. they took a million blood tests and just kept sticking me!

in the end, they said i should stay overnight. they wanted to make sure it stayed down and everything else was okay. they even took x-rays. i passed out and slept for the entire time i was there, any time nobody was doing anything to me. in the morning they finally fed me and gave me an actual cup to drink out of. i was DYING of thirst! an IV doesn't cut it.

after awhile my blood sugar became 37, which is extremely low, and i thought, i'm never going to get out of here. they gave me some sugar, took more tests, blah blah blah. i talked to about 20 doctors. the cool thing was that all of the nurses were really young and would just come and talk to me about other things so that i was distracted. they kept asking why i was by myself and one of the doctors gave me his phone to call someone so they knew where i was. my friend olivia ended up coming by to see me.

so i'm there tuesday and they are finally saying things are stable and my tests are coming out okay. then some specialist guy comes in and tells me he wants me to stay. i told him no way! i have a plane across the ocean tomorrow! he actually asked if i would change my flight. i said no, and i was very stubborn. if they said i was okay, and i felt okay, i was going to leave. a few hours later he asked if i could stay one more night and just leave straight from the hospital to go to the airport. um, what?? who would want to do that! plus i had to pack. i told him that. he asked if someone could pack and bring my bags. i think olivia would have done it, but there was no way i would make her and there was no way i'd go from the hospital to the airport.

in the end, at about 7pm on tuesday, they let me go. they gave me new insulin that would last for about a week. now that i am home i have a new pump that is working fine and everything is back to normal.

i would have been so upset to spend my last night in the hospital. i didn't go out and party or anything, but my boyfriend came over and we just hung out and i'm glad i spent my last day with him. i had to say goodbye! that was the saddest thing though and i can't believe i actually left. i will be back.

CAMPEONES

we are the champions!

i'm sure you have heard because i am way late with this one, but Spain won the world cup!!! it was one of the most exciting nights of my life.

i went to a bar with my friend and we got there an hour early and it was completely full already. we watched the first half of the game there and then we got hungry. they were out of food! so we left and went to another place that actually had a seat and a gigantic huge screen tv and the best pizza ever.

we went into two overtimes and it was so intense and exciting and crazy and i can't even explain!
once we won, the restaurant basically turned over. of course, the next thing is to take to the streets. so so so many people, so much red and yellow. so many flags. people getting naked. people climbing the street signs and traffic lights. fireworks. beer flying. it was awesome.

i'll have pictures later.

tick tick tick

this is what happens when you piss off Catalunyans:
Saturday in Barcelona, super intense day and needs to be addressed!

so Saturday i walk outside thinking it's a normal day... (not normal, on any given saturday, never think this), but, i just thought nothing would be going on for once i guess? so i get outside, and this is what i see:

everyone is Catalan, everyone has flags, everyone is angry.

this is what went down (in short):

Catalonia has its own Constitution. Spain thinks some of Catalonia's amendments are unconstitutional. so Spain tells Catalunya they are taking those amendments out. They are restricting the Constitution. of an entire nation. this is so serious for them. i've never seen any country (or any person for that matter) so intense and passionate about one thing in my whole life. it's not PETA against a meat-eating person, it's not a Christian against a Jewish person, this is serious!!! get it??

so basically, Catalunya is more "Spain" now. but  they waved their flags of "Adeu Epanya!" (goodbye spain). they know what they want. they want what they want. they will continue to be and speak and act different than any other "nation." they don't even support the Spanish football team. that is serious!

change of tongue?

i find myself saying some things in English that are literally translated from Spanish, but they are things that i would never say a year ago. this is hard to explain. but for example:

"dime algo" means like, "tell me what you think," or maybe even better, "let me know." but literally, it means, "tell me something." so sometimes i will just say "tell me something!" when i am talking. it's not that awkward, but still i never said it before.

another one:
i will say "mas o menos" at all times, even when talking English. it just means "kind of." sometimes i will even mess up my English sentences because when you translate them literally, the words are in different order. so i will say something like, "at the beach, there also is restaurants." or, "how it is?" instead of, "how is it?"

some other things i have noticed, only because my sister told me this one:
when i ask questions, i state them instead and then end with a, no? as in: "you have been there many times, no?"
and since she told me that, i also notice i say Spanish noises, like ay and ufff, which they always say. like instead of ugh. also, when i am typing online, when i laugh i say, jaja, instead of, haha. swearing is also more fun in Spanish because i feel like i'm not swearing at all :)
also, they say yes and no like three times each, never just once. so now i do that, even in English.

i don't know, it's all strange and weird but it's funny to me. i am getting better, and the coolest thing is that Catalan is getting easier to read! i can make out most things. and some foods i don't even know in Spanish but in Cataln i do, since everything at the groceries are labeled in Catalan. i hope i can go home and speak normal. broken English is only cool if you have an accent.

this is it

i have so many emotions right now it's hard to think! i had my heart set on Barcelona from the start, but i never knew i'd fall in love with it this much.

i keep thinking back to the person i was when this all first started, and i kind of want to laugh, but i won't ;) it's just weird when people tell you you will change and then you can actually tell that you have. even last semester feels like a completely different world than this semester. it's just a new group of people, a new place to live, etc. etc. new adventures always!

it's not that i don't want to go home, but i don't want to leaaaave!! you can't always get what you want though, right? but i can, because i did! and i will be back one day, ha!

some cool recent things:

i went to a restaurant with my friend and it was a low-key restaurant and i asked her why the menu was all in English? she said i was crazy because it was definitely all in Spanish, haha. look how far i've come!

there's this bookstore that i walk past everyday and i just remembered something about it. when i first came here, in the first few weeks, when i had my Spanish course before real classes started, the teacher recommended this bookstore for a Spanish book she said would help us. i remember going to the store and it was in a place i hadn't seen yet, and i was in love with the area! it's super nice and clean and i was so lost. well, now i live there! and i am still in love with the area. it is still super nice and clean. so super nice that i can't afford anything in the stores around here. but they are fun to look in!

so i am ending on a good note either way. tonight is the world cup game between Spain and Germany, and Saturday and Sunday are the Finals!! i am so lucky to be in a place like this for the world cup. it's insane. yesterday Uruguay lost to the Netherlands and it was sad. a lot of people were rooting for Uruguay and i was too, maybe just because everyone else was. but it was a really interesting game so who cares haha.

on Tuesday, the day before i leave, we have a little fiesta planned. we are going to get lunch at one of the japanese buffets (i will have catalan food on monday :) ) because we all love it, then we will go to the beach and chill out and relax from eating too much. then at night we will stay on the beach and watch all the crazies out to play and maybe go to a bar or something later. it will be fun i'm sure!

also, right now are the HUGE sales going on all over the city, like 50%-70% off. i mean come on, you can't blame me for buying a 7 euro pair of shoes right?? i know i shouldn't, but some deals are too good to pass up. today i am going to buy a dress that i saw for 6 euro! yes i am a girl and i will get excited about clothes...

que serà, serà.

home?

so i come home and i see my roommate moving stuff out. my landlord, that is...
this is how the day went:

i see my other roommate, Silvia, who is normal and she is the English teacher here. she's really cool. so she was confirming that i leave the 14th of July and she says she is leaving the 23rd. she is asking me about the 3rd room because it was occupied but only for about a week and is now empty. i said i saw a girl and she said hi to me once but i don't know who she is. the room is completely empty now and i don't know who was there. Silvia just keeps saying, "this place is really weird."

so, Silvia has two friends from France staying for a few days. they are taking the empty room. but i get home and Juan, the landlord, is moving things from the apartment. it's late and i figure he will not say anything so i just say hi. he says hi. so i go in and ask where Silvia is, and her two friends say she is asleep. they start asking about Juan and why he is leaving.

i tell them i have no idea, i just came home, but Silvia had mentioned it. so much has been going on!

Silvia told me that there was an English guy that was supposed to be renting the empty room. the only thing is he never came to see the room. strange, no? well then i guess the kid sent Juan (my landlord) money from a British bank account. then he said he couldn't move in last minute. he asked for the money back, and Juan sent it to him. turns out, the whole deal was fake, the bank account was fake, and Juan ended up sending him like 1000 euro. first of all, i don't know why the British dude would send 1000 euro as a deposit or whatever... something was strange. but Silvia said that's what Juan told her. so he wants to leave after we leave. but i guess he is starting now.

so i don't really know what to say to him because according to him i don't know anything. but i hope he got his money back and i hope he finds a good place to live. i really would not like renting the place out if i lived there. so many crazy things go on!!! but i only paid half rent this month since i'm leaving on the 14th and i hope he doesn't expect any more!

this is why it's "oldschool"

so this is really more for me, but i just want to remember what my place was like ;)
i don't know if it's more "lack of upkeep" than "oldschool," i think it's more a combination of both, but here we go:

my kitchen, which looks like it's from the 70's. add to this a gas stove/oven, which by the way i can't use the oven anymore. i singed some of my hair off trying to light it and now i'm too scared! (i'm okay mom, don't worry). also, a coffee pot that operates on the stove and barely makes one cup at a time. automatic coffee maker, i really miss you!

yeah, our fridge doesn't have a light.. it hasn't always been like this, but it's been probably almost a month since it's been out and he hasn't fixed it.

no dryer, but i feel lucky, i knew some friends that didn't even have a washer.

now this has been like this since i've been here.. you have to reach in there to flush it! so dirty.

ehh, this is in the other bathroom, self-explanatory.

no locks on the doors, this is no good.

ahh, the cellphone that i hate. i can't even change the sounds or make it vibrate or anything.

heat, but no AC.

looks like someone got lazy and didn't feel like finishing painting.

but i still love this place!!

sant joan

last night was "La Nit de Sant Joan," or, the longest day of the year and the beginning of summer. so what else could that mean but party in the streets!

any excuse for a fiesta, right? the party starts at sunset and ends at sunrise. everyone is in the streets burning things and setting off fireworks. i mean, even if you want to sleep, there is no way you would be able to.

another part of the celebration is to burn furniture in the streets with HUGE bonfires. and it's on every main street in the city. i mean, who really has all this old furniture waiting around to be burned?

in the underground!

and then of course, la playa, the beach! thousands and thousands, i'm not kidding, of people running around the beach and everyone has bottles and firecrackers and smoke and music and it's just a crazy party on the beach. you couldn't even move! it was kind of scary because the metros were sooo crowded they had to rope it off to make the traffic move easily and they had to block people from crowding in where the train came and only let so many go at a time. and the buses were so full they would just drive past the stops with the word "complet" on the front because they were so full they couldn't handle any more people! the taxis were charging 5 euro just to step in the car. i thought for sure one of us would get robbed. luckily i had nothing on me! and i actually saved someone else from getting pickpocketed. five guys were getting on after this one guy who had a backpack.  right before the doors closed they all left and i was like, that's weird. and then it hit me, so i told the guy and he ran out the doors before they closed. i guess each of the robbers had opened one zipper because all of the pockets were open in his backpack! there was a lot of security tho so i'm sure they took care of them !

i met a lot of new people yesterday, as usual. and it was my friend david's last day. he goes back to london today. i'm sure it was a good night to go out on though! yesterday was also good because we went to watch the england game and the US game for the world cup and they both one! so everyone was happy. i love the chaos in the bars after the games ;)

so of course since it was an all night party, today is a "holiday" and everything is closed. everyone needs to catch up on their sleep!

PRAGA

again, i could rattle off my usual list of adjectives that consume this blog every time i come home from a new place...
but Prague is beautiful!

the bridge with the beautiful stone bridges at night with the castle in the background and the "eiffel tower" of Prague up on the hill and all the beautiful buildings in the mountain all lit up. one of my favorite things.

the many many crazy art fixtures of people who were angry at Prague and the Communism, etc. etc...

yes, that is what it looks like, and underneath, that's the map of the Czech Republic

the main castle itself with it's gothic design and enormous stature.

the gorgeous buildings, each one different and now clean that they have money to take care of them. from above, they all look white with orange and turquoise roofs.

the greenness of it all! so many parks and gardens you can sit and have a drink. although many Czechs say Prague is so gray, it has a certain something to it that shines. maybe it's because everything is so old and interesting, or maybe it's just because i'm from America where nothing is old.

Marta said i was very lucky because the weather has recently been really nice (hotter than Barcelona even) and the people were so happy because of it. in the winter, everyone is depressed and she doesn't even like to go out and talk to them. she has a very interesting view on Czechs, considering how proud of her country she is.

she had so many stories to tell me about the history of everything, they way things were built, the art, the communism, and she had so many secret places to take me that i wouldn't have found on my own. one of them was a hotel near this really big, busy square, and on top was a terrace with a bar that overlooked the entire city. we sat there for hours.

some random things about the language:

• "ano" means yes. but sometimes they shorten it to just "no." so no = yes.
• "ahoy" = hello (this was very fitting for our Marina-themed party!)
• there is no "the" at all.

and, of course, the food. first of all, dirt cheap. i was thinking i should just move there for the rest of my stay and get twice as much out of my money! i probably spent about 70 euros my whole trip there. and the food is sooo good but sooo heavy! lots of meat and vegetables but the sauces are all really rich and thick. the soups are the best, and the beer is the greatest! i also learned that budweiser is a Czech beer, and they want you to know that. but it's not their top beer. Pilsner is the good one. and the dumplings are to die for!!

also, people still drive these around like it's normal--

and here are a few more i just like--

pink

the John Lennon Wall

another really cool wall, right next to the Senate building

a clock in one of the main squares that plays music and has puppets dancing around it every hour

the travels aren't over yet!

so i know i haven't been writing much lately, but i'm going on a break for a long weekend. the time has finally come for me to go to my most desired destination!!

it's time for Praga with my old roommate, Marta, who is probably the sweetest person i've ever met. she said she already has places to take me in the city. we also have a party tomorrow night called Decadance, and she said it's going to be mostly gays, but the DJs will be awesome and it's a really hyped up event. she went last year and said it was crazy. i'm excited! the theme is "Marina" so i guess we are supposed to dress like navy. i didn't want to buy anything new for it (or, rather, i don't have the money to!) but i have a cute red dress and some boots, and a sailor necklace i will wear.. Marta's going all out, she had a dress made for her by a friend! i'm pretty excited, i'm sure i'll have crazy pictures to share ;)

so i am leaving in a few hours and i will be back tuesday night!

the list goes on

more things to miss about bcn:

• 1 euro bottles of wine
• walking down passeig de gracia almost everyday just for the sake of people-watching
• the crazy-themed bars (tree house, chupitos, buddha bar, etc...)
• how in love everyone is with the tv show How I Met Your Mother (it's just so random?)
• watching all the tourists on passeig de gracia and how confused/in awe they are (is that cruel? i help people who are lost. i really don't know why they fascinate me so)
• the way people actually tell you what they're thinking, nobody is fake!
• no humidity ( i may have mentioned this )
• walking everywhere!!! it is never dull outside
• all things Gaudi-related

things i will not miss:

• the terrible selection of cereal

the fashion

BARCELONA, where anything goes...

the girls:

• scarves can be worn any day of the year and it's normal. in fact, if you don't wear a scarf at some point in time that you are here, you are definitely foreign
• they can wear silk pants with the crotch hanging down to their knees and it's normal (this is not attractive whatsoever)
• crazy multi-colored sneakers
• tights in june 
• flip flops in november are a no-no. even if it's 25 degrees
• no matter what the economy is like, the shoe stores are always packed
• even with a 30% discount, a pair of simple flip flops can still be 85 euro 
• high, high heels 
• nobody straightens their hair everyday
• winter = black and gray
• much more conservative than Americans

the boys:

• expensive sunglasses
• tight pants
• cigarettes like they are accessories
• no flip flops ever
• suits and ties are worn to school on a normal basis, and they don't get weird looks (this may be because i am at a private school?)
• scarves are also a must for men
• dreads are very very common
• pants are worn at a normal waist/hip level, no sagging!
• a white stud piercing under their bottom lip on the side (so ugly)
• preppy is not looked down upon
• they wear more pink and purple than the girls

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?