montjuic con salsa [barcelona, spain]

Though I was exhausted from lack of sleep, today was a huge improvement on yesterday. Though Spanish class was rough as always, of course being treated like the "special kid" in class never helps, my art history class was cancelled, which meant only one class for the day. Not too shabby.

Because we're leaving for Paris Friday morning, I'll be missing my Mediterranean Environment Study trip to the Botanical Gardens, so I decided to go after class to do the "study quiz" on my own. Upon arriving at Montjuic, where the gardens are, I spent a lot of time taking in the sights while searching for the gardens, mostly because I was pretty lost. There was no one there. A couple locals, some school children, a German couple, and a bunch of construction workers on the entire mountain. It was wonderful. So nice not to be surrounded by people, or Americans at that.

I saw a horse barn (definitely not on the map), the Olympic Stadium, a couple parks... and finally after a couple hours of making my way up the massive mountain, I found the Botanical Gardens. They looked a little barren at first glance, but after looking a little closer I realized how beautiful it was. I was the only one there for almost the entire time in these huge gardens overlooking the city. It was peaceful, perfect for photography. It's up there in my favorites with Sagrada Familia. A little different, but it's up there.

I stayed until they closed the garden and then I walked the long walk back down to the metro station. I had this intense rush of thoughts as I went down the mountain... like how living is made up of the 5 senses (taste, touch, see, hear, smell) and of culture (food, music, art, language) and we're living in this world full of nature and the manmade, and travel includes all of these things and the more you travel, the more lives you have lived. I thought about how sometimes I feel like places just flow right through me like I'm made of air, like I'm becoming part of that place, and sometimes places swell up inside of me until I feel like I'm filled up to the top with that place and can walk away still holding it inside. Then there are some times when I forget where I am and routine takes over and it doesn't matter if I'm in Barcelona or Virginia or Pennsylvania or China, because I'm only brushing my teeth, only eating breakfast, only walking. Those are the times when we stop travelling. But you can start again any time you want to just by looking up at the trees, even if you walk past them every day. You can always travel, no matter where you are. It's not about going to a new place, it's about seeing something new.

I took the metro home and changed for my first salsa class. It was so much fun; I am so, so glad I decided to take it. The most entertaining part was this blonde girl who was acting extraordinarily blasé about the class because she had taken dance classes before (given away by the fact that she, for some reason, decided that after the class in the middle of the dance studio was a good time to practice some double pirouettes...??), and she was doing all of the steps right but she looked so ridiculous. When people refer to looking "white" when you dance, this is what they're talking about. She was over-exaggerating everything, erratically jolting her hips and shoulders in perfect time with the music, but with no kind of natural movement or fluidity. She really thought she looked great too. It was really quite, quite funny. Jen and I had a good laugh over that one.

Today was a really good day. And do you know what I realized? I don't care how many Mean Girls I encounter - nobody can ruin all of this.

claws are out [barcelona, spain]

Man, there was a lot of cold air in Barcelona today, and I'm not talking about the weather. I just had a series of unpleasant interactions with a series of unpleasant girls. I won't bore you with the details, but seriously, it lasted the entire day - I felt like I was living in the movie Mean Girls. Bed is really the only answer to this one.

j'aime paris [barcelona, spain]

Day started out like normal - up early to finish my homework in the cafe. I had a great sense of calm this morning, like I was finally getting into some kind of routine. Spanish class went a lot better. I just sort of started talking a lot more, and you just really have to get over what other people are thinking or how many mistakes you're making. I think that's really the key.

Jen and I realized that this weekend is one of the only ones that we could go away for about a month, so we just got tickets to Paris on a bit of a whim. I'm so excited. I can't wait to just practice my French and hear French. I love it. There's a very big part of me that wishes I had stuck with French. I think I would be seriously good by now. But, there's many years to do that.

It's a good weekend to go too because three of my roommates are having guests and it's going to be crazy here. So, yeah, just me and Jen - we wanted more people to come but nobody was quite up for it on such short notice. We'll have a great time though, and this way it won't be too complicated trying to make a bunch of people happy. We're leaving early Friday morning and getting back Monday afternoon just in time for my last class... it's going to be a very long weekend!! But, hey, we're in Europe.

On a bit of a sidenote, I had this feeling today that traveling just feels so right to me. I have never been able to just stay in one place for too long... I get bored with people, places, jobs, et cetera very quickly and I love this feeling of being so far away and being surrounded with so much I don't know and have never seen. I feel so comfortable being uncomfortable - if that makes sense. For some people, I think this experience will be a one-time thing that they look back on from time-to-time, but for me it feels like a natural next step in a journey that will continue for a very long time. I don't have a sense of "getting it out of my system," it's more like, "okay, what next?"

not much [barcelona, spain]

I was going to some sight-seeing today but I really just need some time to recover from this massive shock of travelling. It's a lot to take in all at once really. I watched a movie (Practical Magic - if you ever see a copy, burn it) and then pretty much posted photos and chatted online all day. I still have to do my homework, so that's the rest of my night. Sorry not to be more exciting!

Honestly, I'm a tad homesick. I could go for a hug really. Times like this I wish I had a Senora like my friends in homestays. Maybe I'll just hire a little Spanish woman to walk around with me and give me a hug when taxi drivers screw me over or when people are rude or when my roommates blow me off... that would be nice. Alright, homework time.

P.S. I finally posted some pictures on my Flickr account! Just click on the link under "Artwork and Photos" in the left toolbar.

a night of surprises [barcelona, spain]

Got up late (again) and went with Jen to search out some lunch. Nothing was really open so I ended up going to the grocery store and getting a random assortment of food. I got a baguette (here only like 60 cents) still warm from the oven, so delicious, and I ate the entire thing shamelessly because it was just that good: close your eyes and smile good. Mmm.

At 7pm I met up with Jen and Kate to go to dinner. We were going to go to the amazing place downstairs, Mamasitas, but it wasn't open until 9pm (yes, Barcelona, we know) so we just decided to go to Las Ramblas where everything's touristy and we knew would be open. We went to the first place we saw because we didn't have time to be super-picky. If I remembered the name I would tell you. We each ordered one plate and ate the bread they give you at the beginning of the meal (they charge you for it here even though they bring it to the table - if you don't want it you just let it sit there). The food was absolutely awful. Not just bad for Spain, because I've only had amazing food here so far, but bad for the U.S. Anywhere. It was horrible. The bread was like little dinner rolls you buy at Costco or get at Denny's, the tomatos on my friend's caprese salad were green, and the chicken I got was just coated in pepper and burned. We should have sent it back to the kitchen. It was 15 Euro per person... Ahhh!!! I asked to talk to the manager and told him it was the worst meal we'd ever had. That made me feel a little better. Just don't eat on Las Ramblas.

After that we went to our final destination for the night: a ballet called Trencanous at the Teatre Condal. The tickets were reasonable. Unfortunately we couldn't read the description of it online because it was in Catalan, so what we didn't realize was that it was a "reinterpretation" of the Nutcracker, the only other professional ballet I've seen. Ironic, I suppose. It was good - what I'd expect for the money - and I definitely want to see another ballet. I don't think Barcelona's known for their ballet but maybe at a bigger theatre here or in Madrid one weekend.

On the way home we were leaving the metro and some guy who looked more Latin-American than Spanish groped my friend Jen while we were walking. I heard her give out a little scream behind me and I thought he just ran into her, because had I known what happened I would have sent my pointy-toed Steve Madden right into his crotch. Jerk.

After I got home I was in my pajamas ready to go to bed when my roommate said she was going to a bar down the road, Pippermint, and another girl I knew was there with her boyfriend, who I really wanted to meet. I decided to just go, Saturday night after all, and we had a pretty good time with the 2-liter Sangrias. We got back reasonably early though, around 2am, and got a good night's sleep.

Like I said, a night of surprises.

tourist go home [barcelona, spain]

Got up pretty late and met up with Jen for lunch and the gym. We went to a tapas place in Plaza Catalunya we've been to before that we really like. They're all under 2 Euro and are pretty small so we usually each get three and then share. We've made it our goal to try the whole menu. Its a good, cheap meal - healthy, not too filling, et cetera.

Then we walked to the gym. I was a little too full to work out quite yet so I did some weights on my arms and went on the eliptical machine. By the way, I didn't bother looking at the conversion chart for weights (kilos to pounds) and ended up curling 7 kilos, which is 15 pounds, and shoulder pressing 8 kilos. My arms are killing me, but it just shows - mind over matter!

At 6:30 we had a spin class, which was absolutely brutal. I sweat more than I ever have in my entire life. I've been converted - spin is the way to go. Then we went down to the steam room - also amazing. You're soaking wet when you leave, and I suggest lotion because otherwise all of your moisture just permanently exits your pores when you go outside. Thus completed our 3-hour spa day.

After getting home, showering, and having some dinner (and washing all of my roommates' dishes) I was just getting ready for a quick nap when my friends informed me that we were leaving at 10:30 to go out. 10:30 on a Friday night is unheard of here - we're talking 8:30 in the U.S. Very tired, I went out with them to L'Ovella Negra and then with some Spanish guys they know to some random bar where we were clearly the only Americans. I practiced a lot of Spanish, and also learned that the word for "straw," when pronounced with an accent on the wrong syllable, should not be something you ask for in a bar. So from now on I'll just be drinking directly from the glass.

After that we went to a club but by then I just wanted to go home. The doorman was being a total jerk to us, making rude comments about us being American, once again. We were literally just standing outside the bar, not being loud or anything. I don't understand how such a majority of people here can be that anti-American and blatantly discriminatory. It's not even about the government - they know that most of us (young people) don't support it - it is really just about us being American. Who made this okay?

long week [barcelona, spain]

Got up early to study for my Spanish quiz at the cafe I always go to down the road. Had a nice coffee and delicious pastry while I studied - good motivation. Went to class, the quiz ended up being nothing I studied really and was very hard, so I'm not sure how that went. In between classes I got some lunch and went to the computer lab. Then two more classes, didn't get home until 7:30pm... exhausted!

Had some dinner, did laundry, got ready and then my friend Jen came over to decide where we were going to go out. We ended up sitting on the couch, drinking wine, and watching YouTube videos and playing on Facebook. Then we got tired around 1:30am and decided to just call it a night. Oh well, good night's sleep! And no classes on Fridays!!!

dia normal dos [barcelona, spain]

Spanish class was extremely hard, as it appears it will be for the entire semester. I went to my first spin class ever in between my classes. It was definitely the toughest workout I´ve ever had - lots of sweat ensued. I headed back to IES for my art history class.

It was a pretty good lecture - all stuff I´m really interested in, but the people in that class are so painfully stupid. She put up one new slide about every 10 minutes, with maybe 3-4 brief bullet points and these two girls were like "my hand really hurts from writing so much, can you post these online?" To which she obviously replied "if I post them online you won´t come to class". Honestly, I had maybe 2 pages of notes from an hour and a half lecture. At Penn State a 50-minute lecture will get you like 10 pages, and trust me, they aren´t hard classes. Seriously - have you been to college? It´s called "taking notes"... just ... ahhh.

After that I got my books with Jen (no copyright laws = 40 Euro for 4 "readers" - One good point about Spain). Then I went home, threw together a random dinner, and spent about 6 hours on the computer updating my pictures, looking up travel destinations, and doing a little bit of homework. I never feel like I get anything done though. I need a couple weeks to get it together here. So much for traveling every weekend!

most normal day yet [barcelona, spain]

Today was pretty much an average day. I woke up and went to the computer lab at the IES center and printed off my homework (of course about 10 minutes before class) and then walked to the other building for my Spanish class. We did some really advanced vocabulary-type stuff. I can't really explain it too well. It's not like learning a new verb-tense or something, it's more like the specific stuff that you don't really learn in other Spanish classes. Like, how it's better to use one specific verb for one specific rhetorical situation. I don't think I'm cut out for it quite yet as far as my knowledge of Spanish, but my thing is always that I can understand it I just can't remember it.

After that I went and got my horrendously expensive gym membership which I don't really want to discuss any further. On a positive note, I have some serious motivation to go to the gym. I showered there and then went back to IES for my Mediterranean Environment class. There's not much to say about that except that it's an enormous joke. And that I love it. Then I went to my Contemporary Spanish Film class. It's the first one with a teacher who can speak English well and who is really interesting and animated. Plus he's really attractive, in a George Clooney sort of way. He's just one of those really cool, fun professors who are really into the subject matter and into teaching. It'll certainly be an interesting semester! (And I'll keep updating the Sevilla trip during the week.)

first day of classes [barcelona, spain]

Hey everyone, it's 12:45am and I still have Spanish homework, so I'll fill in the rest of my trip tomorrow. For now I just don't want to get behind because it's harder to remember the longer I wait.

This morning I got up to go to the computer lab and finish my homework due at 12:15 in true Jessica fashion. However, I forgot to account for the 30-minute travel time to get to the center of the city and ended up not doing it. Luckily my teacher could not care less and told me to bring it tomorrow. Ha, still haven't done it but I'm getting to it.

After class I had a break and got lunch with my roommate Katherine and then tried to do some shopping (I wanted to buy boots but decided I didn't need them - yay for me!) Then I went to my International Events in Barcelona: An Artistic Approach class, which is about events like the World Fair and Olympics and how they relate to the growth and change of the city as its related to art. It's an interesting class for me, though I can see how other people would get bored. My teacher is this adorable Sicilian woman, who I somehow feel love for by some distant bond of the "homeland." She's actually the first "real" Italian person I've ever really met. I love her accent, it's adorable.

After that I kind of had this film viewing thing for my film class, but I wasn't sure if we had to go... so I didn't. But another girl I know didn't either so I think it's okay. It didn't really specify where it was and everything. I have the first day of the class itself tomorrow so we'll see if I'm screwed or not. Instead I went with my friends Jen and Kate and got our "readers" ordered, so at least I did something productive. Of course, Jen and I did a little shopping after, but we were good. Relatively.

When I got home we went to dinner for my roommate Katherine's birthday and had a serious gourmet, 3-course meal at a restaurant next door - white tablecloths and all - for only about 20 Euro each, including wine and coffee. Good find for sure. The food was very good and they had this dessert that was absolutely unbelievable. All of my visitors will be experiencing it.

Alright, seriously, homework time. I'll get the rest of my weekend up tomorrow and hopefully also get my photos on my Flickr account. Adios!

ready to go home [sevilla, spain]

Got up in the morning (tough, once again) and packed to leave the hotel. After breakfast we all loaded up into the bus for - you guessed it - another tour. It was really boring on the bus but not as bad as when they made us get on and off of it three times during the morning.

First we stopped by a church that was conducting mass and it was very inappropriate that we were there. I don't even remember what it looked like. It was freezing cold outside, I do remember that. Our next stop was a leisurely walk through a park that would have been beautiful in warmer weather and at a later point in the day. I'm sad I wasn't able to fully appreciate it. Lastly we went to Plaza de Espana. It had warmed up a little by then and I was a little more awake, so that was a better experience than the rest. It's basically a big building with little "shrines" to all the cities in Spain along the base of it. It was a really nice building and for some reason reminded me a lot of Vienna - just based on size mostly. Its "grandeur" was a little unexpected in the middle of Sevilla.

We finally got back to the bus and headed to the airport at about 2pm for our 3:30pm flight. We had another stop-over in Mallorca, which was three hours long. Just what we wanted. On a positive note, I got to have some good conversations with girls I hadn't really gotten to know during the trip, so that was nice. We finally got on our second plane, in which I had a minor panic attack for no reason in particular, and then arrived in Barcelona around 10pm. Long day for travel, I'd say. But it was the first time Barcelona really felt like home.

que bonita [cadiz, spain]

Woke up hurting a bit and then headed out on another endless bus trip. Once in Cadiz, we stopped briefly at a little beach that was so perfectly photographable it was painful - just so authentic and quaint and real, for once. After a few minutes we had to get back on to the bus because, Lord knows, we were in desperate need of another tour. As soon as we got off the bus and into tour groups, I knew I just couldn´t stand there the whole time listening to Spanglish and wasting another beautiful day, so I walked away quickly and found my way to another beach. This one was a lot bigger, but still very pretty and there weren´t too many people, and almost no tourists. I found a spot and laid in the sand, soaking up the sun and listening to the waves crashing. It was sublime.

After about and hour and a half my friends called to say that the horrible tour was over and they were going to get food. I met up with them at a restaurant overlooking the ocean and had a delicious plate of paella, though I was a little suspicious of some of the creatures on my plate. This took quite a lot of time (Southern Spain is even slower than in Barcelona) so we pretty much headed back to the bus after eating. It was a long walk and we wondered through some side-streets, so by the time we got back to the buses it was time to go. Another 2 hours on the bus...

That night we had dinner at the hotel (not fantastic, but free always tastes just fine to me) and then decided to get tickets for a more professional flamenco show. We got to the flamenco place a little after it had started and got our complimentary drinks (vino tinto for me!). Flamenco is composed of three basic parts: the guitar player, the singer, and the dancer. They use a lot of clapping and stomping to make these really complex rythms that are hard to imagine they´re coming from hands and feet. The show was phenominal and really worth every penny - in fact I would have paid more. Sure, it´s a little cliche to go to a flamenco show in Sevilla, but do it anyway.

After that we headed out to some various bars and eventually ended up at a salsa bar. Luckily I had had enough wine and tequila to be comfortable dancing, though I can´t even begin to imagine what I looked like. The people there were very kind though, and tried to help me out, no matter how hopeless the cause. We danced the night away and got home around 4am.

la mezquita [cordoba, spain]

After a pretty decent hotel breakfast, we took an excessively long bus trip to Cordoba. (However, the extra sleep was much appreciated, no matter how uncomfortable.) We went on a tour of the main attraction of Cordoba: a mosque that was turned into a cathedral. It was actually really interesting because the architecture and building materials were very Muslim, but then there were paintings and statues of icons all over the walls and parts were built and created in a very traditional Catholic cathedral style. Strange, but there seemed to be something very significant and symbolic about it all...

I ended up leaving the tour early because it was beautiful outside in the courtyard. There are orange trees everywhere in Southern Spain - they should tape a Tropicana commercial there. The weather was really nice, about 70 degrees, although other than the middle of the day in direct sunlight, it's pretty cold there. I like Barcelona a lot better because even though it doesn't get quite as warm during the day, it's more mild throughout. The South has more extremes, if that makes sense.

Later I joined up with my friends who actually stayed on the tour, who said it wasn't worth staying, and we went down the side streets led by a very friendly Spanish woman who directed us to some good restaurants. The people there were so much nicer than some of the (excuse me) assholes in Barcelona. We went to a tiny restaurant and I asked the waiter what he suggested (I do that a lot here - you get the best food). I got a kind of gazpacho-type "salsa" that is very Cordoban called Salmorejo. It was delicious but I couldn't tell if I was supposed to put it on bread or eat it with a spoon... it was a bit awkward. I also got patatas bravas as a side, which is more or less flat french fries with a sauce on them. They're good but you can feel them in your stomach for about 16 hours. It was a heavy meal.

After that we went to their big Plaza to have a coffee and sit in the sun. It was really warm and a pretty place to sit and relax. After that we walked back to the bus and took another long journey home to the hotel. There wasn't really time for much of a nap before dinner. We ended up going to a local flamenco bar. It was a good show to get a feel for the local people. The woman was a tad manly, but the place was packed and the locals were all clapping and singing along and dancing. It was a really good way to experience the city. We hung around for a while after the show (had a few too many beers) and then went back to the hotel.

class trip [sevilla, spain]

Had to get to the airport by 6:45 for our flight. It all went pretty well - there was a 30 minute layover in Mallorca and then we finally got into Sevilla at about 1pm. We got settled in with our randomly selected roommates (mine was really nice) and then went to find some lunch in town. The streets were really beautiful - very quaint and what you would picture a Spanish town to look like. We ended up at a very local place where the waiter had a very amazing mullet (they're all the rage in Spain) and not too many teeth. We got a combo plate for 5 Euro that had a fried egg, some really good chicken, a ham croquet, a fish stick, a hair or two, and some fries. I love the way these people eat. Awesome. Minus the hairs.

After that we all walked to the Cathedral which was a lot better than the Cathedral of Barcelona. A lot bigger with a pretty bell tower that had a really good view of the city. Couldn't tell you too much more about it - cathedrals tend to run together a bit after a while. Then I got separated from my friends so I walked around by myself for quite a while, which I sometimes prefer and I needed a little time to myself after all that traveling and tour-group action.

Later on we had dinner at the hotel (not too bad for free food) and then got ready to go out. We went to a bar on this road called Betis along the river where a bunch of the other people in our program were going. It was really crowded and they had 1 Euro tequila shots which I took advantage of for a bit, but then it got a little too crowded and we got tired so we headed back to the hotel around 2am.

lazy day at camp todd [barcelona, spain]

I got up for class and hauled myself over to the IES center. Class was decent. I'm tired of working with this one obnoxious girl who thinks she's smarter than me because she's taken Spanish for like 6 years and she looks like a boy. I want to hit her. Anyway, after class I failed to get my books for Monday, which I'll regret because I'll be gone all weekend. Oh well.

I got home and decided I needed to do some exercise, and since I still haven't joined the gym I just decided to run outside. Apparently they don't do that here. Everyone was staring at me, but it helped me to keep going. I got in a good 20 minutes which is pretty good for my big flabby out-of-shape butt. I got home, showered, and took a 4-hour or more nap. I woke up, actually cooked for myself (a ton of cauliflower), and did some laundry. Now I just have to pack for Sevilla - we leave tomorrow at 6:15am for the airport. Gotta get some sleep!

chupitos [barcelona, spain]

It was necessary to go out on a Tuesday night because Wednesday was out of the question (early plane ride Thursday morning) and the rest of the weekend we'll be in Sevilla. We decided to go somewhere local (though it took us way too long to get there), so we decided on the Shot Bar called Chupitos. We weren't planning on drinking heavily, but then when you go to a shot bar, you should probably expect that. Especially when they're only 1.80 Euro! The first one was a flaming shot with Bailey's, vodka, and who knows what else. It was good but really super strong. After that we had a weaker one and then we got some 1/2 liter mixed drinks that were only 6 Euro - talk about a good deal! We didn't leave until about 3am, and stopped at this strange little deli place and got omlets. Mmm. Luckily I was able to get up for class.

sagrada familia y más [barcelona, spain]

Got up early to finish my Spanish homework, which involved walking around Las Ramblas at 9am. Fun. My Spanish class went a lot better today - I felt more comfortable and even answered some questions! I also realized that the people in my class aren't as good as I thought. We had to do a group thing and the girl who was next to me was recording our group work and she kept kind of rolling her eyes if I didn't know an easy word, but then later I had to read to the class what she wrote and I kept having to correct it as I went because she was mixing up "usted" and "tu" and the teacher could tell she wrote it wrong and that I knew the difference and told the girl she needed to fix it. I could tell she felt that one. Ha.

So here's a story: I was in the elevator and there were two young British guys in there talking... it went a little something like this: "My flatmate wants me to get him a job here." "Really? Isn't he American? They won't hire him." "Yeah but I think he could do it." "A Yankee? Really?" At that point I just kind of laughed and they looked at me so I kind of said, "Umm... I'm American..." So they were embarassed and apologized and tried to explain that they didn't mean it "like that" because the guy would have to talk to clients, who wouldn't want to hear an American accent - you know, I understand where it comes from, but honestly. Would you ever hear an American in an elevator in public say "I don't think they'll hire that Mexican, he has an accent." No. Hell no. Why do people think it's okay to trash-talk Americans? I mean, I know why they do it, but why is everyone so okay with it? News to my international friends: It's not okay!! Especially when you have American friends. Discussions, fine, but generalizations, no thank you. If you want us to leave our stereotypes at home, then please do the same.

Whew, sorry. Okay, next I went to La Sagrada Familia, an enormous basilica designed by Gaudi that is so intricate it has been in-process, being built, for over 120 years and will continue for somewhere between 30 and 50 years until it is finally finished. Gaudi died in 1926 and he is burried in the building itself. From an artist's perspective, it is almost impossible to comprehend: to be burried in your own work of art which has continued towards completion years after your death and through multiple generations... Wow. It was easily the best single "place" I have ever been. I didn't think I would like going into an unfinished building, but to see this beautiful architecture rising from creation right in front of you, to be able to see it again in 50 years finished and say "I saw them build that" - that is an experience. Artists: Come to Barcelona, even if it's just to see this.

I don't know if everyone has that reaction - of course, I love Gaudi. He draws so much inspiration from nature and works in this Neo-Gothic style that combines elements of predictable geometry with the irregularity of nature. Ahh. I could go on, but you really have to see it to understand. So good!

After that I went to meet my friends for the IES walking tour of Barcelona, which me and my friend Jen promptly separated from when we saw a good sale. We have four months to see Barcelona; rebaixes end in a couple weeks. We also got some good tapas while we were out. It's so so so so nice to finally have someone who I can really experience the city with. Mom was right - I just had to be patient!

class one [barcelona, spain]

Today was my first day of Spanish class during Orientation... actually last Thursday was my first day of Spanish class during Orientation, today is the first day I went. I was pretty nervous because I have somehow managed, via my courses at Penn State and my online test, to be placed in the highest level of Spanish. However, my talents do not quite reflect that. I have also chosen to take the "intensive" class which is kind of scary, but honestly, if I don't leave here knowing Spanish... what am I doing??

Class was definitely fast-paced and everyone else could bang out some serious Spanish. I know I'm not as good as some of them, but I'm not terrible either and I could hold my own if I didn't get so nervous all the time. I just completely choke and can't get out any words, Spanish or otherwise, and look like a complete idiot. I think it's some subconscious thing coming back to me from the days in Madame Berry's class where even the slightest slip-up or mispronunciation bought you a good 5-minute humiliation session in front of the entire class. So I think I'll be explaining that to her and hopefully she'll take pity.

After that was over I changed one of my classes from Women in Mediterranean Literature to Mediterranean Environment because you can only go on one of the Spring Break trips if you're in that class and I really kind of want to go on it. I wanted to make my own plans for Spring Break but everyone is all over the place about it and this seems like a really unique experience. I also could have taken a Mediterranean Oceanography class which I was really interested in, but it was full. I'm sad about that but hopefully this will be a good change in my arts-related schedule anyway. And if I go through with it, I'll be spending Spring Break in the Canary Islands!

Anyway, we had a homework assignment to find a bunch of places in the city and I tried to do that, but I just couldn't find my way around. Instead I decided to do some of my own walking around and went to the outdoor market off Las Ramblas called La Boqueria Market, which I've been to before and is a really cool thing to do. They have tons and tons of fresh food and I love to grab something to eat there because it's all fresh, homemade, and cheap. Then I went to try to find Puerto Olimpico and got lost but ended up at the Old Port downtown, which is also a good place to see. For some reason I just can't figure out this city. It's really confusing and you never want to sit down and read a map for fear of being pick-pocketed. The more I get lost though the better I know my way around, so I think in a couple weeks I'll be good to go!

tourist day [barcelona, spain]

Got up early (10:30) and headed out at about 1:30 to Parc Guell with Jen, Kate, and Isa. There's a lot of Gaudi architecture there. It has amazing views of the city and the buildings are so unique and interesting. Very colorful and fun to look at. Unfortunately there were a lot of tourists but I think going earlier and during the week it shouldn't be to busy this time of year. I definitely want to go back. After that we went to Las Ramblas and had churros and chocolate - it was a religious experience. Wow. After filling up with chocolate we walked through the Barri Gotic and went to the Cathedral. They had a really pretty courtyard inside that was pretty unique to other cathedrals I've been to, not to mention a public fountain we all drank from!

After all that sight-seeing we decided to stop in a few shops on the way home for a brief shopping trip - it's hard to resist the 50-70% off discounts during Rebaixes sales. Then we went to a bar for tapas and wine and now, after dinner at home, we're headed to a bar called Peppermint down the road. I love these girls!

in for the night [barcelona, spain]

I decided not to go out tonight so I could do some sight-seeing tomorrow and not waste the day sleeping off a 6am club night. Isa and Jen from down the street came over and we hung out chatting and watching awful YouTube videos - good times. Tomorrow we're all going to meet up and finally see the city! Excited!

exploring [barcelona, spain]

Today I decided to go to El Barri Gotic (Gothic Quarter) and left around 2pm. I tried to take the metro there but I couldn't find it because the city is just baffling. I cannot figure out where things are, especially because there's hardly any street signs and all the maps on the streets are turned in different directions - so confusing. So I walked for quite a while and finally found the Arc de Triumf which is a really nice place to be and it happens to be right next to El Parc de la Ciutadella, so I just gave up on the Gothic Quarter and settled on a nice walk in the park. There's also a zoo which I plan to go to, and I'm definitely going to spend some of my extra time in the park. It was a very nice little trip for the day. I was going to go to a museum or something more exciting, but I figured they would be less crowded and better during the week.

Then on the way home I had some issues with my metro card, but managed to figure it all out thanks to my broken Spanish with the metro assistant. I was really proud that I actually got by with what I knew how to say and hopefully experiences like that one will help to improve my Spanish.

friday night [barcelona, spain]

We decided to go first to a club nearby called Opium, but they weren't letting people in who weren't on the list (aka Americans). I don't know if the American thing was the real reason or not, but assuming it is: One, that's complete discrimination and would never ever fly in America - a club not letting people in because of their race. Two, as wrong as it is, I can almost see why. There was a huge group of obnoxious girls yelling and whining to be let in, in English of course, all being loud and rude. It's really embarassing actually. We gave up and moved on to a new club.

We took a taxi (once again, so unnecessary but everyone refuses to use the metro) to a club called Catwalk at Puerto Olimpico. It was a pretty good time, though the drinks were 10 Euro each, and we met up with our random mix of new guy friends. We all had a good time dancing and left at about 3am.

We decided to take the night bus home, cheap so I was very happy. We were all sitting on the bus, a few of the guys standing up, and all of a sudden the driver rear-ended a van, sending the three guys standing up into a pile at the front of the bus. Other than a twisted ankle, nobody got hurt, thank God, but the bus driver started yelling at the guys!! After he rear-ended someone!! Luckily for the bus driver these guys come from a less aggressive culture, because all they did was yell back a bit and then get off the bus. It was so unbelievable - if I was a guy, I would have seriously injured that man. Such a jerk.

So finally we got a cab to go home and the cab driver drove in a huge circle instead of just turning left (a 3.50 Euro circle) and "got lost" getting us home, going all over the place and pretending he didn't know the address. It ended up being 12 Euros, which is way more than it should have been. We all noticed it and were telling him that we knew he was ripping us off but the other girls weren't as bold as I would have been alone, because I really wouldn't have paid him at all. Especially after that first awful cab ride, I've been more aware of it and always feel like they're adding extra mileage, but this was just blatant. They really just take advantage of tourists here. It's kind of disheartening but you have to get over it or you'll never enjoy yourself.

field trip [montserrat, spain]

Today we took a bus to Montserrat, a monastery set in a very unique mountain range. It was really beautiful and we got to hear the choir boys sing, which was really amazing. we hiked up the moutain and took a ton of pictures. I definitely recommend it to anyone who visits here - really amazing views of the city and beautiful scenery.

no comment [barcelona, spain]

Glad to hear people are reading this, though hopefully only family and friends or that would be a bit creepy. Although I suppose blogs are creepy to begin with, which I was fully aware when I decided to document my trip this way.

I'm going to hold back my ranting for the moment for fear of who will read this, but for now I will just say that I'm a bit frustrated with my situation. What I'll do for now is look forward to tomorrow and push myself to find a better way to make the most of this experience. Because if I don't it will be... just... there really is no "if I don't". I have to and I will.

Ciao!

on my own [barcelona, spain]

I woke up around 1 this afternoon and decided to go do some shopping on my own. Right now they're having Las Rebajas, or the after-holiday sales, so everything is really, really marked down and a good time to replenish my seriously sparse wardrobe. I liked walking around alone though. It's not dangerous during the day, but you are prone to pickpockets if you look like a tourist so it's good to know where you're going.

I took the bus to Las Ramblas and walked around a bit. They have this strange thing where street vendors sell animals all along the streets - live ones like a pet store. It's so bizarre but really fun to see. They had a lot of birds, bunnies, hamsters ... very interesting. I also went into the food market which is kind of set back a bit. It was really cool with a bunch of stalls with meat, fruit, bread, everything and all fresh. I really want to do my grocery shopping there if I can figure out when it's open and everything. Good cultural experience!

a night out [barcelona, spain]

Last night we decided to go out, which starts here at about midnight or later. Took a taxi to Las Ramblas to a club called L'Ovella Negra (The Black Sheep), and for the first time in the history of Europe, we were carded at the door and since my roommate and I didn't think to bring ID's, we had to take a taxi all the way back to our apartment and then back to the club. There my other roommates had already met a really nice group of guys who are studying here from all over the world (Germany, Ireland, Mexico). I also ran into a few girls from Penn State.

My roommates and some of our other friends and I left pretty soon and took a taxi to Puerto Olimpico where there are the shadiest clubs I have ever seen in my life. It was kind of nice though because they wanted you to come in so badly, they would give us all a free round of drinks, so we'd drink them and then leave to get free drinks at the next one. It was fun, just us girls dancing because the guys were a little creepy... we won't be going back there. Overall it was a fun night, got to know some new people, spent about 15 Euro each on cab rides, and got home around 5am.

new friends [barcelona, spain]

We met new girls earlier in the morning at our neighborhood breakfast and we went together and signed up for some field trips and other stuff. Later on we all went out to a party at the flat of one of the guys we met the night before - really nice people. We mostly walked around the city all night (very safe in big groups) to the Arc de Triumf, Barri Gotic (Gothic Quarter), and Las Ramblas, which are all places you could never go alone or with people who don't know they're way around the city. They can be pretty dangerous for dumb tourists, but I'm so glad we could see it all at night because it was really beautiful.

Because there were people from Mexico, France, and a bunch of other places, I got to practice my Spanish and French. I'm usually nervous but after a couple drinks it got a lot easier and we were speaking almost entirely Spanish. It's a good thing I learned so much because we got home around 4am and I accidentally slept through my first orientation Spanish class... I think I learned more with them though. Hopefully we'll be seeing more of them!

getting oriented [barcelona, spain]

We woke up this morning to the sound of a jack-hammer outside of our room. Apparently ours is the worst for noise so I'm glad I sleep pretty heavy. We went straight to the bus tour, which was nice to see the city but not too informative. It's almost overwhelming at first to think of all the stuff I want to see, but then I remember how long I'll be here and I feel okay about it. I just need to stay motivated!

We had a really long orientation also that was just awful and painful to be in when I could see the city from the window. Glad to get it over with though. Then we went shopping to get a few things, especially since I have almost no clothing here. When they write "nobody ever says they wished they packed more" that's just something they write. I can see how people majorly overpack - most girls I've talked to brought something like two 70-pound bags - but I seriously misjudged how much clothing I packed. Now I have to buy stuff here which is kind of a waste of money that I'd rather spend on traveling. Oh well, new wardrobe I guess.

the journey to avinguda sarria 8

My arrival day in Barcelona is a long and painful story; I will try my best to hold back the tears of frustration.

It truly began on Sunday just after Sam and I got off the ferry from Holland in Harwich Town, England. After much confusion, we realized that our train into London had been cancelled, replaced instead by the world's greatest form of public transportation: the bus. I can't even say how long the unsettling drive to the city center lasted, but I can say that the mood was rather somber.

But in our true travelling spirit, we pushed on and enjoyed yet another extraordinarily expensive tube ride on the most complicated subway system I have ever seen. Finally, we were able to meet up with our new friend Olly (from New Year's Eve), who promised us a ride to the airport and saved us quite a hefty cab fare.

We got to Heathrow a little after 3am, saving us from a night in a hostel but also from any amount of sleep. As Heathrow lacks signage as you approach the airport, we banked on Terminal 2, and since it continues to lack signage throughout the entire (world's second largest) airport, we had quite an adventure: The first clue led us to Terminal 1, a solid 15-minute underground walk from Terminal 2, where we were told we should return to Terminal 2, which we did only to discover that, no, what we were actually looking for was Terminal 1. And alas, we found that we were in the right place... the last two times... and walked back, bags in hand, to Terminal 2. Now Sam was good to go.

My voyage continued as I went to retrieve my stored bag from Left Baggage in Terminal 4, the most distant of all the Heathrow terminals, only accessible by train. As it was still only 5am, the first train did not come for another 30-some-odd minutes, although I must admit sitting alone on that cold and lonely smelly subway bench provided a much-needed rest. I got to my bag relatively easily - $160 and 30 lbs. later, I was on my way to catch my flight.

The sign I found happened to say that I needed to go to Terminal 1, which, surprise, actually meant to say Terminal 2. Oops! There I checked in, had to bring my horrendously "strappy" backpack to the land of misfit baggage, returned to the gate to find I was told the wrong gate number, and finally got to the correct gate with just enough time to spend $18 on a sandwich, yogurt, and some juice. I got onto my plane at final boarding at 7:20am.

Then I flew to Barcelona! I nearly slept through take-off and was not conscious for most of the flight (unheard of for someone terrified of flying). Luckily there were only about 15 of us on the plane so I had a whole extra coach seat to stretch out on. The flight went well, great views of Spain, and I was on the ground with a renewed faith in society.

I left customs perhaps a little too confident in my new airport navigation skills, because I couldn't find my bags where the arrow that said "Baggage Claim" pointed and had to re-enter through security (where they threw out my $4 juice) and walked an impossibly long way to my bags which were the last lonely stragglers, as everyone else had managed to discover some secret route. (Must have been written in Catalan.)

I found the IES people and went through my arrival check-in, sweating through my clothes, bags under my eyes. They rambled off a bunch of instructions in Spanish to which I blankly nodded "Si, Si" and continued on my way. I considered the metro but thought, no, I'll keep it simple and take a taxi. I told the nice cab driver "Avinguda. Sarria. Ocho." (my street address) and enjoyed the picturesque drive to my new home in Spain.

The driver dropped me off, 20 Euro, but well worth it for the saved stress, and I walked up the driveway to a locked gate that none of my keys could infiltrate. So, I walked around quite a big street block to get the front but found nothing that resembled an apartment building. As there were no street signs, I walked a few more blocks in hopes of finding someone holding a piece of cardboard with my name written across it or a giant neon arrow pointing down from the sky. Instead I found an old Spanish man who laughed and explained that I was nowhere near Avinguda Sarria (stupid Americans!) and that I would have to take the autobus to a stop down the road.

I was in fact quite far from Avinguda Sarria as the bus ride was about 30 minutes. Because I only could see the name of each bus stop as we pulled up to it and had no idea what to look for, the second I could read "Avinguda Sarria" I yanked my bag from the seat and sprinted to the back door which was promptly closed in my face as the driver and other passangers fashionably ignored my blatantly obvious problem. The bus continued on to the next stop, a painful-to-watch five blocks down the road.

I exited the bus, took a deep breath and kept on truckin'; there was no turning back. My bags felt as if they had taken on an extra 40 pounds but I just kept pulling and pulling. And though my distress was quite observable, don't worry, this did not bother the people of Barcelona - the weather was far too nice to be bothered by such things.

I finally came to Avinguda Sarria. If I could have, I would have smiled. Now I just needed to find number Ocho, so I looked up at the nearest street number to orient myself and read "64". Each city block averages about 7 to 9 buildings. You do the math.

Just as my lungs were beginning to collapse, my shoulder blades ready to snap off, and my body covered in enough sweat to season paella for the entire population of Catalunya, I found Avinguda Sarria 8. And as I looked around me at the huge city of Barcelona, I felt proud, because I had conquered such an impossible journey, all by myself, and this was only the beginning.

day 1 [barcelona, spain]

After unpacking, I went to lunch with my roommates so exhausted I truly thought I was going to faint. I have never experienced anything quite like that. We bought sheets and towels and then went home to nap. Spent the night in recovering.

My roommates are: Sarah Borden and Sara Laks, live together in the other double room and are roommates at home at Tufts; Katherine, has a single room, was here last semester, and also from Tufts but doesn't know Sarah or Sara; Natalia, our RA who is really nice and cool; and the girl in my room is Amy, goes to Villanova and is from Ohio.

journey to holland

Got up painfully early to get to the train on time. Said goodbye to Richie. The train took us to Harwich Town to get to our boat, the Stena Line (http://www.stenaline.co.uk/). It's a huge boat that has restaurants, shopping, bars - like a mini-cruise ship. It takes about 3 and 1/2 hours to get across the English Channel and into Hoek van Holland, but we actually ended up getting one of the last to ever run; fuel costs were high so they're making it into a longer, overnight trip. We slept (uncomfortably) for almost the entire time and I was feeling a little seasick. It was a really good deal though because for $50 you get a train ticket to Harwich, the boat ride, and a train ticket out of Hoek van Holland to any stop in Holland. Damn good deal. (Cost more to Tube-it around London for two and a half days)

In Hoek van Holland we met up with Sam's grandparents because they just happen to live there! They had an adorable little house and were very kind, fed us and warmed us up with some tea. Then we got on the train to Utrecht, where we met up with Sam's two aunts and her uncle. They brought us straight to an amazing Tapas restaurant right on the Old Canal in the middle of the city of Utrecht. It was inside of one of the old cellars right off of the canal - really authentic, original architecture - loved it. We had a fantastic meal and then went back to her aunt and uncle's apartment to settle in.

They have a really nice apartment overlooking the New Canal and the surrounding park. Very big and full of art and literature. They pretty much epitomize the word "cultured" - made me feel horribly American! We also met the three cats: Darwin, Santiago, and Floreana (named after Galapagos Islands). We played with them for a while and then went straight to bed where we slept very well after such a long day of traveling.

new year's day [london, england]

After taking an especially painful tube ride to our hostel in Greenwich, we settled in and took a long nap until about 2pm. Rich and the others came to meet us there in the afternoon, so we set out for some sightseeing in Greenwich around 3:30. The story goes: We're walking down the street, enjoying this beautiful little town (much better than London), and suddenly we hear someone yell from an apartment building above the street, there's a big splat, and I turn to see that some teenagers had thrown an egg at us which landed directly on Kate's head - Thus becoming our second very bad impression of the British. Needless to say, our day of exploring Greenwich was ruined, and we returned to the hostel very confused and disheartened.

After recovering for a bit, Richie, Danny, Sam and I headed out into London so that the day wouldn't be completely wasted. We decided to go to St. Paul's Cathedral mostly because of it's accessibility via the tube, and it turned out to be a very good decision. The exterior is your standard dome, columns, et cetera, very pretty and classical, though somewhat spoiled by the construction in process not only on the cathedral itself but also on the tasteless high rises surrounding it on all sides.

However, luckily, the interior made up for all of that. It was seriously breathtaking. I think I may just have a weakness for cathedrals, but I was completely in awe. In the nighttime it's illuminated with gold light, and the choir singing filled the entire cathedral with this overwhelmingly beautiful music... There were tears in my eyes because it was just so incredible. It's difficult to describe without being too dramatic, so I will just say that I understand how someone could walk into a place like that and instantaneously believe in God.