So much to say!

Ok so I have a million things to write about so this going to be a long one! First of all I had my study trip this past weekend with my program to Girona and the Costa Brava. We were all seperated into 3 different groups and each group went to a different place on each day since theres like 300 people in my program. Anyways so I was group two with my new friend Alison from Colorado College and her friend Helen from school, anyway we went to this place called Jonquera first and went to see the Exile Museum or the Museu de Exilios, which is about the expulsion of Jews during the civil war of Spain, unfortunately my friends and I decided to go out the night before to this amazing bar called La Ovella Negra and had a little too much sangria. So since the whole museum was written in Catalan we decided to grab some cafe con leches instead... oops. But after getting some much needed caffeine our group leader informed us that we were heading to a little town called Coillure in France for lunch! I was so excited to visit my 3rd country in Europe! But this little town was the most picturesque beachside town ever. It was the definition of a postcard. We walked around for hours and stopped and grabbed some lunch, I got mussels and french fries (which were delicious) and we all split a bottle of wine (I mean we were in France, why not?). The poeple were so sweet and friendly the whole experience was just adorable. We also got to see the grave of the famous poet Antonio Machado, who I had never heard of but the graveyard was pretty cool. Afterward we headed into Girona where we would be staying the night and had an enormous feast of salmon and pasta for dinner.

The next morning we explored the city of Girona which is famous for its roman ruins and its jewish quarters We got a tour guide for the day and got to go in the Roman cathedral which was probably the coolest cathedral ive been in thus far. It was enormous and has the widest nave in all of europe. Girona was really cool cause it is a place with funny little stories and superstitions, like on the side of the cathedral there is a gargoyle called "witch of Girona" who is supposedly a woman who walked around cursing so much god made her into a gargolye so water would run through her mouth and clean it of its filthy words. After seeing some Arab baths which wasn't that interesting and just kind of gross Alison, Helen and I grabbed some sangria and delicious tapas for lunch. Girona also has really well perserved remains of the Roman city wall so we got to walk on top of the city walls and soak up the beautiful view of the city. After a long day of walking we headed back to the hotel for another yummy dinner of caprese salad, curry chicken and a baked apple with rice pudding ( a traditional Catalan dish) for desert, needless to say I had some amazing food this trip. Afterward Helen, Alison and some other girls from Santa Clara and me went out on the town in Girona which was definitely more low key then what I have experienced in Barcelona. We went to this cute little local Irish Pub where there were wasted Irish men watching a futbol game singing Amazing Grace and Simon and Garfunkel, it was hilarious, but we were all exhausted so we didnt stay out late.

The following day we headed into Figueres to see the Salvador Dali Museum or La Teatre-Museu Dali. This was by far the coolest part of the trip. I really didnt know much about Dali just that he was famous for his melty clocks paintings but I definitely know more now. He was a freaking genius. He used an old theater for his museum and designed the entire thing the way he wanted it. It was insane, everything was soo weird and so random. Right when you walk in theres this absurd exhibition of the play on the Spanish words Car and Naval..so carnival, I can't even explain it. Although everything was really weird no one could deny his talent. The works he accomplished in his lifetime is seriously mind blowing. I could have spent days there, I loved it. After the museum we headed to this tiny midevil town called Besalu which is famous for the Roman bridge that takes you into the city. I need to figure out how to put pictures on this thing because it was indescribably beautiful and overwhelmingly charming. I took about a hundred pictures..I'm going to attempt to put some up! Anyways, after that we headed to Cadaques which was the place where Dali grew up and lived. We didnt go into his house but I can imagine that its probably just as weird as the museum was. Afterward, we spent a few hours wandering around Cadaques, this cute little beachside town and then boarded the bus to finally head home. We were the last bus to arrive at 9:30 at night and as I told my mom I have seriously never experienced the weather that I did that night. This is surprising given that I from Tacoma but I have never seen it rain that hard...ever, and naturally I got to walk to the metro with my rolly suitcase in a complete torrential downpour...it was actually kind of hilarious how hard it was raining. Anyway aside from that I would say the trip was a definite success and I got to meet a lot of people which was good!

This week has been all sorts of exiciting. I only had 3 days of school because this weekend is La Merce which is Barcelona's biggest festival celebrating their patron Saint. Since its a four day weekend a lot of kids are going out of town but Nickie, Gina, Kelly and I decided to stay here and enjoy the festival! I'll definitely update afterward, I've heard its pretty crazy!! Today for class I had to go to the Musue d'la Cituat and see the old Roman ruins of the city. The museum is located in the Barrio Gotico which is where the orginal Roman city was and it is by far the best part of the city, I could get lost there for days. But the museum was pretty cool, we did an audio tour and learned all about Roman Barcelona. They perserved and renovated this entire section of the old Roman city ruins and have it undergound in the museum, I wish I could have taken pictures because this stuff was old!! Its weird that Barcelona is a young city by European standards but was created in 10 bc..I mean really. Anyways afterward Kim and I got churros con chocolate for the first time and I really wish I hadn't gotten it because now I am definitely hooked. The chocolate here is seriously amazing.

But now for the most exciting news..I booked my Salzburg flight! YAY!!!!! I am going the 25th of November to the 29th so I get to have Thanksgiving with the besties in Austria! It pains me how much I miss them. I get to see them on October 23rd though cause they are coming to Barcelona which is going to be absolutely amazing! I can't even express how excited I am!! Ok so I think I've pretty much got this all up to date..here are some pics from my trip:

Helen, me and Alison at the Irish Pub in Girona
One of the weird random exhibits at the Dali Museum!
Besalu! (How beautiful huh?)
The Cathedral of Girona
Coillure, France

Back to School, Back to School!

So I just finished my 3rd official day of classes..heres what my schedule looks like:

Monday and Wednesday --> 9:00 am Barcelona: The Cosmopolitan City

        10:45 am Spanish Intermediate II

Tuesday and Thursday--> 10:45 am History of Contemporary Europe

3:45 pm Introduction to the European Union

5:30 pm Democracy in Western Europe

Yeah my Tuesday and Thursday are rough. Here they don't have any classes between 12:15 and 3:45 (except for some random Spanish classes). So I have this huge three and a half hour break between classes on some days. Luckily I'm done at 12:15 on Monday and Wednesday's which is really nice. I think I'm going to really like m classes. I have the same teacher for my EU class and my Democracy class, he seems really laid back which is nice because those were the two classes I was worried most about. He's from Turkey and has a very thick accent. I think that my history class is going to be extremely boring, the teacher doesn't seem to much into discussion but loves really boring lectures. My spanish class is good. I started that the 4th day I got to Barcelona. However, our teacher only speaks in spanish, which is ok for me because I think I tested into a lower spanish than I should have but all of the other students seem a little lost. She barely understands any English at all which is hard when your trying to understand a difficult concept and you keep getting it explained to you in the same language you don't understand. But I think we will all get used to it. One thing I did not expect in being here is exactly how much I would be using my spanish. I hear it soo much throughout the day from my Senora, from my teachers, from people in stores and randoms on the streets. Its good but a little overwhelming at times.

Today Nickie, Gina and I went to on a search to find this cookie shop that Gina had seen by the Picasso Museum and this couple heard us speaking english and asked us for directions! It was exciting because were actually able to answer their questions like people who actually live in Barcelona. We found out later we gave them the wrong directions but it was cool that they came to us! ;). I also found out when the Salzburg kids are coming to visit..October 23rd! I am seriously counting down the days but this definitely means I need to get to work on finding the good places to eat and get cheap drinks (their used to 1 euro beers and shots, we definitely don't have that here). I am so excited to see them and hear all about everything! These every once in awhile e-mail's and skype sessions are not doing the trick! I think about them every day and miss them soo much!

This weekend all of our program is heading to Girona and Costa Brava. Unfortunately it's supposed to rain on and off all weekend which kind of sucks but it should still be a good time. I don't really know anyone thats in my group except for one girl thats in my Spanish class so at least it will force me to make friends which is definitely a good thing! Since Nickie was sick we haven't really gone out at all or really made an effort to get out there but tonight we are officially going out on the town and tomorrow were going over to Lizzie and Gillian's apartment to make dinner and go out afterward. I have some high hopes for this week! I'll update when I get back from Costa Brava. Missing my little one so much! You too Mom and Dad!

Castelldefel y Sitges= Heaven

So yesterday started out pretty terribly, I woke up thinking me, Nickie, Gina, Kelly, Jill and her roomate Kim were all going to go to Castelldefels together, but I woke up to a text from Jill that she was sick and Nickie wasn't feeling well enough to go, which meant not only that we didn't get to enjoy their company but that the cost of the hotel would go up as well. And on top of all this my host mom informed me it was going to rain this whole weekend. So I went into the whole thing with a horrible attitude almost on the verge of tears AGAIN because it felt like nothing had been going right. Starting first with the fact that I accidently booked a hotel outside of Sitges but 10 minutes away by train in Castelldefels which would make going out in Sitges pretty much impossible since the train only runs till midnight. However, things started to get so much better the second we got to the train station. The train ended up costing way less than we thought it would, only 1.30 euro. Then we got off at Castelldefels and took a 5 euro taxi ride to the cutest little hotel ever. We werent sure they would let us cancel one of our rooms since there were only 4 of us instead of 6, but they were soo nice and let us stay in only 1 room so we each only had to pay 14 euro! 

After we checked in and put our stuff into the room we walked about a half a mile through the town to the beach. But first we stopped at a little local restaurant and all shared a picture of Sangria. Castelldefels is the cutest little beach town!! The beach was nice and quiet and I got to put my feet in the Mediterranean for the first time. It seriously felt like bath water, it was soo warm. So we all got settled on the beach and instantly fell asleep in the sun. It was such a nice relaxing day. After the beach we showered off all the sand and headed into town for dinner. We walked down this long boardwalk on the beach and I finally got the mexican food id been craving!! It definitely wasnt the mexican food i was used to but it'll hold me over for a little while. Kim and I each got the cutest little margarita's and afterward we walked through this cute little downtown area with tons of restaurants and a little arcade area and some shopping. We all stopped and got some gelato which Gina said I would have to try at a better place she knows of in Barcelona, but I thought it was pretty good. Afterward we all went back to the hotel and all 4 of us slept sideways on two twin beds, (the things you do to save money in Europe). The next morning we got up and took the train into Sitges.

Sitges is definitely bigger then Catelldefels but still just as cute. There were tons of areas to go shopping but a lot of it was for men, I guess Sitges is known for its Gay scene. We walked around all day and went in a ton of shops and took in the beach side view. I got some post cards and bought Nickie a little magnet cause thats what she has been collecting throughout Europe to make her feel better. At around 3 we were all exhausted and took the train back home. So all in all the trip ended up being soo much better then I thought it was gonna be. Nothing went wrong and that definitely lifted my spirits and put me in such a good mood when we got back to Barcelona that Kim and I went for a little run at this area right next to our house where everyone rides bikes and jogs. It was really cool and it felt good to run a little bit. My mom told me i need to start exercising so I don't get sick. Anyways Nickie and I are gonna watch a movie tonight! Missing all my delta girls sooo much...hope Jungle Jam was a blast and good luck with En Fuego!!!!

Besos!

Swine Flu

So Nickie came down with some sort of illness the other day. She had a fever and all sorts of problems. We thought she would be ok so we were gonna see if she got better in one day and then go to the doctor today if she still wasnt feeling well. But then Angela decided itd be better if she saw the doctor yesterday and when she came back she informed that shed been diagnosed with the Swine flu....just kidding but she did have some sort of flu that lots of Americans have been getting since we got here. Its called gastrointitis or something like that and its from traveling and eating weird food and stuff. Anyways she had to miss a couple days of spanish class so i had to use the metro on my own which was a little scary but pretty fun! I went shopping yesterday with Gina and Kelly (two girls from highschool) and we walked all around La Rambla area and I got a cheap dress and some shorts I desperately needed. When I got back I tired to put some minutes onto my cell phone cause I ran out so i went to orange store (my cell phone company) near my house and for some reason theres always a ton of people in there. So i waited and 20 minutes later finally i was next but this lady came in and sat down next to me and when the guy was ready to help the next person she cut right in front of me and took my turn! it was like i wasnt even there...it was so weird. I know its not that big of a deal but its one huge difference ive noticed here, that people just arent as polite and dont really care about strangers or other people. Its really weird and difficult when your an american who really relies on their help.

Anyways tomorrow we are going to Sitges to get some beach time in before the weather changes. I hope Nickie should be totally fine to go. Classes finally start on Monday. I feel like I have waaay too much time on my hands and need to get into a routine or im gonna start going crazy. Itll also be nice to finally make some friends. I love Nickie and Jill but I really want to start branching out..i feel like a freshman again and its not a good feeling! Anyways I'm staying in again tonight but im for sure going out again on Saturday. I need to get over this homesick thing. Angela says that its really intense for the first two weeks and then it gets much better. I already am completely in love with the city i just need people to share it with!

Nickie and I are trying to plan our trips but having never done this kind of thing before its been really difficult! We know where we want to go its just how to get there and where to stay and what to do and when to go. Our program doesnt really help us at all which is really frusterating. They have option field trips but I dont want to be toured around really and their kind of expensive. Sop hopefully we will figure it out, its  pretty expensive so i probably wont be going a ton of places. Anyways Im gonna go watch a movie with my sicky roomie and I'll update after sitges!!!

Back on the Upside

After one really rough Sunday, I am back to my happy self. We were out till 5:30 on Saturday night and had kind of a weird night, but we slept until 3:00 the next day and pretty much laid around all day which I've decided is something I cannot do. Right now I feel like what's best for me is to stay busy and go out in the city. Whenever I stay still I get overwhelmed with missing my friends and family and all of the conveniences of being home. I saw how all of my friends in Salzy are having so much fun together and I just miss them all so much, even though I know its good for me to get out there on my own and I will never ever regret deciding to come to Barcelona. But everyone says that the first week is really difficult and they were definitely right. Today has given me hope! For IES we were supposed to go on a scavenger hunt throughout the city with our Spanish class which is like our homeroom. I think its a way to get to know the city and your classmates as well. But when we got the list it was seriously insane how much they wanted us to do so after the first stop the majority of us decided to get drinks a little bar and get to know each other better and they are all amazing! Everyone was so friendly and open and really wanted to get to know each other. We made plans to go out together tonight to a little place called Chupitos where shots are one Euro each (don't worry mom I won't go crazy). But I guess its a huge deal here so were going to check it out! I finally feel like I have some friends, Nickie and Jill are amazing and all I just wanted to feel apart of the group!

On Friday Nickie, Jill, me and buch of other girls who live near Jill from our program went out together. We went a little early because we wanted to find a little local place to get some drinks beforehand. After wandering around forever in the coolest area ever that was right by the beach we found a little place and stayed there for a good 2 hours until it was 2:30 and time to go to Opium Mar which is this insane club on the beach. It was seriously out of a movie. There were dancers up on platforms in crazy dresses and blasting techno music with strobe lights. I was not expecting that at all! It was fun but not something I'm going to want to do every weekend because its hard to keep track of people and its really loud, you definitely have to be in the right kind of mood. But it fulfills every definition of what people have told me about Barcelona. Anyways thats what's new with me! I'll update soon! 

Besos

When in Rome

Tonight is the first night I am officially going out. Last night I was going to go to a club with everyone but unfortunately the food here in Barcelona caught up with me and I was down for the count. I still feel a little woozy but am not so bad that I can't go out tonight. Its so weird because we aren't supposed to be at the club until 2:00 am, that is really late. But as my saying has been for this whole trip, "When in Rome" or I guess.. "When in Barcelona." We just got done with a delicious yet exhausting dinner. Angela has a rule where at dinner we all sit down together and listen to her speak Spanish so that we learn more. Its easier for Nickie to understand but by the end of them I am absolutely exhausted because it takes soo much concentration to understand what she's saying. So afterward I lie down and blog for awhile to recover :). She says that every night were going to have different Spanish food so that we can really get into the culture which I am going to love. It is definitely worth being so stressed out with the Spanish because she is an amazing cook! Nickie and I try not to eat as much during the day so we can truly enjoy dinner..tonight we had a dish called Pollo Tinieador, its a traditional Andulician dish that is delicious, we had some gazpacho as well.

Today after orientation Nickie, Gina and Kelly and I went to grab some hot chocolate which is something I have really wanted to do. Spain is very well known for their chocolate. We all got choclata suiza con nata. Its really good but very rich and dense. The chocolate here is genuine and they don't add a lot of sugar or milk so its pretty bitter. It definitely takes some getting used to but I can appreciate it. 

I caught up with Lauren's blog today and I heard from LJ and it sounds like their having an amazing time already! I miss them soo much and it feels so weird to be going through an experience like this without them and Jackie. But hopefully I will visit them very soon. I feel like a part of me is missing! But Nickie is the perfect stand in...we've been having a good time together. Tomorrow were thinking of spending the day at the beach, I'm not exactly sure how thats going to work out if were aren't going to the club until 2 but we will see!! Anyways I will definitely let everyone know tomorrow that I am alive, I'm a little worried myself. Missing everyone so much. Muchos besos y tienen una buena noche!

Day numero tres

Hola! Right now I'm sitting in Nickie's room waiting for my Senora Angela to cook us dinner. Today has been sooo busy. I feel like I haven't stopped walking since before I got to Portugal. It's definitely different than the U.S. in that way, everyone walks everywhere or uses the metro which Nickie and I have gotten pretty good at. We bought an unlimited month pass so we can use the metro as many times as we want. Which is really nice because where we go to school is a good 15 minute train ride. We underestimated the time this morning and were a little late to our orientation, which ended up being fine cause the whole thing was just to go over what we've already been told a zillion times, don't bring guests home, watch out for pick pockets and no hard alcohol where your staying. But we can have the normal amount thats accepted locally of wine and beer, so naturally Nickie and I went out today and bought a couple bottles of wine which was pretty fun. After orientation we went shopping in Las Ramblas and then we went grocery shopping at this amazing store near our house. Its located underneath this shopping mall and it has all these different types of shops like a japanese food place, a butcher, a place for cheese and italian food. Its seriously the coolest place ever. We also met up with our RA, Vincence, who showed us around our area and how to  find things. He works for this place that gives him a 40% discount at a really popular store in Europe called Mango so he said he was gonna take us all shopping which is amazing..I'm beginning to feel like I definitely didn't bring enough clothes.

Last night was our first night going out. We had a long of sightseeing with my family, we went to La Sagrada Familia, which is a church designed by Gaudi that is absolutely breathtaking. Its still under construction and wont be finished until 2030. Its seriously enormous. Afterward we went to Parc Guel which is a park also designed by Gaudi. It was cool but it was like 110 degrees out with about 100% humidity. We were all drenched in sweat. So we grabbed some lunch and Nickie and I took the metro home. After a 2 hour nap, the whole family came to meet Angela. We had lots of Sangria and snacks and then headed out to dinner at this amazing restaurant called El Pintor, which was this ritzy little French restaurant. I had salmon with a cream sauce and some apples on top. It was sooo good. Afterward Nickie and I met up with Jill, my best friend from high school who ended up being in a homestay really close to mine, and headed out to a bar called Pipperments. There were tons of Americans there from abroad programs who all seemed to know eachother. For awhile we all just stood there really awkwardly, but then Morgan and Michael met up with us and it actually ended up being a good time! Tonight were going to club with everyone so hopefully that will be better. Anyway, were about to eat dinner so I'll blog soon! Miss everyone!

Estoy en Barcelona!

I just arrived in Barcelona last night after a week long vacation in Portugal. Portugal was amazing! We stayed the first two nights in Lisbon where we just hung around in the city and visited a castle and a palace. At night we went out to dinner in the barrio alto where there are tons of little bars and places to eat and people just get drinks and wander the streets, it was really quaint! The first night we went to a fancy restaurant and I accidently ordered an entire fish, which is an experience I don't want to have again. Then we headed to Evora which is this tiny little walled city and we stayed in a converted convent that was really old. We got a little time by the pool and then spent some time in the city which had some old Roman ruins and lots of old churches. We only stayed there one night, so afterward we headed to the region of Algarve to the town of Albufiera which is a resort area for the British, so basically everyone had an accent. We went to Old Town where its basically one giant party, similar to New Orleans I would imagine. There were tons of people, tons of food and tons of bars. Me, Molly and Mike ordered a couple drinks that came out with a lit sparkler. After some much needed beach time and relaxation we headed to the "End of the World" in Sangres which is the most easstern tip of Europe and where it was thought the world actually ended. We then drove up the coast and back into Lisbon where the following day we would be flying out to Barcelona! So here I am sitting at my desk in my little room of my Senora's, Angela Simon's, little flat. Nickie's room is right next door. Angela is absolutely amazing, she only speaks spanish but her daughter, Melanie who is 33, is home from Madrid cause of a back injury for a month and helps us translate, even though Nickie is pretty much fluent. So, so far so good!! It's really weird that my family is just going to be leaving me here in this foreign country in two days but I'm getting prepared for it. Nickie and I are going to dinner with them tonight so I'm going to get a little nap in before we take the metro to the Plaza de Catalunya where the hotel is! I'll blog again once I get more settled!

Adios para Barcelona!