Busy First Weekend

What a busy, long, exhausting first weekend in Barcelona! On Saturday, some kids from my group and I went to the beach, Barceloneta. We hung out there, relaxed swam, and drank really good beer. For lunch, I ate (more like destroyed) a chicken samosa. Its not that it was that good, I was just tired from my day at the beach. Afterwards, we headed over to my friends apartment to check it out. ON the way, we stumbled upon a mall where you could stand on the top floor and look out across the city. It was right in front of Plaza de Espanya, which is a beautiful round-about. To get down, we got onto a pretty glass elevator right in front to the Plaza. On the way to the apartment, we also went into a little shop that sold fruits and veggies. I got a Roma tomato and a peach for just 50 euro cents! Its amazing how cheap fruit is here. That night I came home and had dinner meatballs and salad. I had planned on not going out, but I got a hold of my roommate of one day and we ended up going to an Irish Pub. My first bar experience! It was awesome to say the least. First off, I got to spend time with an awesome person aka Leah the roommate and company. Second, I got bought my drink so I didn't spend a dime. Third, that drink was not nasty beer, but instead good apple cider. And lastly, there were men there with Irish accents. Need I say more? The trouble came when I learn that half the underground was closed. I did not realize this fact until I was halfway home. Instead of taking a taxi like a normal city girl, I pulled out an old fashion paper map and found my way back with no problems!

Today started off on the right note because I finally found tea here! Most people here drink coffee. I tried it! I went to Dunkin' Donuts and got a Cafe con Leche and I hated it! So this morning I was quite content to drink a pot of English Breakfast and Pan con Tomate y queso (I'm addicted to this snack). After, the friends and I went to Park Guell, one of the prettiest things I have every seen. The tile work and architecture are breathe taking and the views of the city are unparalleled. Words can't really describe it to be honest. ON the way to the metro, I bought and FC Barcelona jersey, number 4 because its my lucky number. Afterwards we caught the metro over to La Sagrada Familia, another breathtaking piece of Gaudi work. While we didn't go inside, we plan on going back when it isn't as busy. For lunch, we went to a random shop and I had the traditional Tortilla Espanolya which is basically a quiche with potatoes and onions. Yummy. Oh and a side of pan con tomate of course. Oh and Sangria too! I came back and was able to Skype with my dad for the first time! YEAH! For dinner, we had a delicious vegetarian lasagna. It was so so so good!

{Barceloneta}

{Park Guell}

{Park Guell}

{La Sagrada Familia}

{Newest Addition to my Closet}

{Precious English Breakfast Tea}

Second is the Best!

Today was great. I started off the morning with a bowl of cereal provided by my host mom. She is such a nice person and my Spanish has gotten a lot better, even though its only my first full day here. My group then had more cultural orientation, followed by a trip to La Barceloneta, which is the local beach. We first saw the beautiful harbor. Then we went to an awesome market. Every district has its own market here with fresh fruits and meats (think Pikes Place Market in Seattle). I got some  delicious fresh tomatoes. We then walked down the boardwalk and met the other American group that is here. The directors treated us to lunch where we had a ton of seafood, particularly Paella and lemon sorbet slushy things for dessert. Then we were able to do our own thing so a small group from my group walked down the beach. This was my favorite part of the day because we don't have a beach in Colorado or Wyoming obviously. Then we went and got a nice cold local beer in a very small local bar. Afterwards, we went and saw the beautiful University of Barcelona. It was so pretty! The architecture is phenomenal there! I came back after that and relaxed before having dinner made by my host mom which was more fish with yogurt for dessert. I debated going out or staying in for the night, but after a failed attempt to go out, I ended up exploring a bit and what do you know I stumbled upon Camp Nou (FC Barcalona's Stadium). It looked really pretty at night and I absolutely can't wait to see it during the day. 

{El Merdaco de Barceloneta}

{Paella}

{Universitat de Barcelona}

{My favorite thing I ate today: Bread with Tomatoes}

{The Beach}

First Day Wrap Up

I am officially worn out! I got lost trying to find the school, lucky me. But I really like the college and the director is awesome. And i found out this is such a small world too. One of the girls here is friends with someone I work with. And one of the guys here played soccer with two of my residents. It made me realize that this world isn't so scary after all. After Orientation, the interns took us on a tour of the town center which is absolutely beautiful! I had Gelato for dinner, Nutella flavored of course! And then I got lost trying to find the metro stop that I needed to take to get home. And when I got back to my apartment, I met my roommate who is really awesome. Too bad she is leaving on Sunday :( Overall, it has been a long, long day and I am exhausted. I promise my next posts will be longer. I am just too tired to write now.

{First Sight of Spain}

{My room}

{Plaza be Catalunya}

{Nutella Gelato}

Todo, We Aren't in Wyoming Anymore!

Holy Wow! I am so overwhelmed right now. I feel like a fish out of water. I have never lived in a big city at all. Everyone here drives super fast and the buildings are taller than the dorms in Laramie. I'm trying to relax and stay calm. My flights were okay though I didn't sleep at all. This afternoon I have orientation and I have to try and figure out how to use the metro. I think whats really freaking me out right now is that my Spanish SUCKS! My host mom is super nice, but she only speaks Spanish and she showed me around using Spanish and I have no clue what most of what she said was.... Guess I will have to figure it out as I go.... Wish me even more luck than before!

Leavin' on a Jet Plane

Well folks, I am all set my bags are all packed. In fact, my suitcase is only half full and if you know me, that is saying something. I am usually the person that packs WAY too much. This just means more room to bring things home. I really couldn't sleep last night because I was too excited. I figured I could sleep on my 14 hours of flight time. I'm feeling nervous right now because this is my first time ever flying by myself. Mom and I went to Starbucks and Santiago's for breakfast burritos this morning as a goodbye breakfast. I made it to the gate to get to Atlanta 2 hours early. Leave it to me to get her super early. I think I'll probably just nap. From Atlanta (which on a side note will be my first time in Georgia), I will have a 9 hours flight from the Big Peach to Barcelona, where I will arrive at 8:30 local time, so midnight Colorado time. Wish me luck! 

{Half Empty Suitcase}

{All my luggage}

 {Snowy wanted to come with me, but we knew Tori wouldn't like that}

{Pre-Flight Breakfast}

No more work!

Today I finished my last day of work before I head of to Spain. I went to the bank and exchanged all my tip money for euros. I'm really glad I decided to save it all. Now I feel like I am not completely broke. I also found out I will be staying with an older lady in her early 60's while I am there. She is a widow and her son lives in the apartment below hers. I will also being staying with some other international students. I look forward to meeting them all. 

Now for the next two days, I will be packing.

{My current state of packing}

 

The hardest part is while I am packing for Spain, I am also finding stuff to send up to Laramie to my town home while I am gone. That way, I don't have to freak out as much when I get back and have to go back to Laradise. I am becoming more and more excited for this trip everyday. I can't see what sort of relationships I form with people over there. The nerd in me is really excited to start up my classes again. I will be taking Sports in the Spanish Society (should help me with Pharmacy right?) and a Spanish class. Each class is 4 days a week and each is 3 hours long. I will be taking the Metro to get there, which I look forward to because I miss the London Tube. 

14 days!

I leave for my trip in 14 days! I finished up my shopping and I think I have everything. If not, I hear they sell things in Barcelona, so I guess I can just buy them there. It is really starting to hit me that I am really going! As most of you might not know, I have a countdown for this trip that has been going for quite sometime now. When I started, the days were in the 200 and now they are in the teens. Its amazing how time flies. 

               

 I think I am most nervous for the speaking part. It has been a good 2 years since I have used my Spanish and even then I wasn't very good. Now I will be going to a country where I don't speak their language. It reminds me of my trip to Paris. I remember how frustrated I was that I couldn't understand what everyone was saying. Hopefully, my quick wit and the little bit of Spanish I do know will get me by just fine. 

                

I think I am most excited for the history and the beach. If you think about it, America has only been around for 200 years. In Spain years, that is young. There are things that have been there twice as long. And the architecture will be stunning. Before I wanted to be a pharmacist, I wanted to be an architect because I love the creativity that goes into designing a simple building. The beach will be so nice. Having grown up 10 minutes from the mountains my whole life, I can't wait to be in the sun by the ocean for a whole month!