Week One: All I Can Say is Wow

As of today, I have been here one week, and I can hardly believe all of the amazing things I have already seen and done and learned. I don't even know how to put it all in words! I left my camera cord at home, but it's in the mail so I will hopefully get some photos up soon so you can see some for yourself. When I am walking around the city (usually open-mouthed and gazing in wonder), I think "man, I love this place and totally want to live here!...Oh wait, I do!"

Barcelona is absolutely amazing, and there is so much to see and do. One side of the city is mountains, and the other is the sea, so getting around is pretty easy because you are either going up hill or down. Of course, I have to pull out my huge map quite often! I've actually had quite a few people ask ME for directions, which I find flattering, thinking "wow! you think I'M from here?" Avoiding flip flops and ball caps, I guess must not scream American.

There are about 500 other students in my program, many from the east or west coast. When I say I'm from Kansas, the popular response is, "Oh. (confused look on face) That's interesting." This week has been just Spanish class, and next week my regular classes start. I am taking three communication classes, a class on Barcelona, and a Spanish class. All of the classes have field trips around the city and a cultural take. I live a little over a mile from school, which I walk. I walk most places, except when I venture farther out into the city I take the metro, which this Kansas girl finds to be quite the accomplishment! Walking at least six miles a day, I'm definitely getting my exercise.

I have breakfast and dinner at the apartment, and for lunch I got groceries for sandwiches and such. Big creepy cured hams hang all over grocery stores (and we have one in our kitchen!) and it is actually quite delicious. I have enjoyed all the food my host parents have cooked. It has been different every night, from chicken, to pasta, to pizza, to prawns with eyeballs. Today I tried paella, a traditional Spanish dish, for the first time at a little cafe on La Rambla. La Rambla is the main strip in town with lots of shops and crazy street performers, like trees and statues that are actually people and junk-yard bands. I got a video of one of the performances that I will post once I can upload it!

I've been able to get around with my Spanish, but some things have definitely gotten lost in translation. When I went to a cafe, I thought the server was asking me if I was American...and I somehow was ordering a coffee. It's frustrating when I speak Spanish to someone and then they just speak English back to me ("come on, is my accent really that bad?") My host mother only speaks Spanish, so I have definitely been practicing at home and usually get by with hand motions if words don't work. My host dad speaks English too, so he's been helping me learn and translate. They are both wonderful hosts and I live in a great part of town. There are a lot of really cool shops (which is very dangerous for my wallet) and charming wine bars and cafes everywhere around me. Bershka, H&M, and Zara are now my favorite stores. For any chicas out there interested in Euro fashion, they all wear boots here, and usually leggings with long shirts or sweaters and always a scarf. The girls have kind of mullet-like haircuts and lots of facial piercings. Maybe I'll go native and pierce my lip...haha just kidding.

As for the day by day, I've been writing it all down so I don't forget. Every day, I try to venture somewhere new and go to a different part of the city. Here's how the first week has been:

THURSDAY: Hello Barcelona! Though the fuzz of jet-lag, I somehow made it to my apartment after a starry-eyed taxi ride. I unpacked, settled in, met the roommate and family, and ventured around the area a bit. I got a sandwich since all I had had in the past 24 hours was airplane food. Pics of my room to come!

FRIDAY: Orientation! Or shall I say: Top Ten Ways to Get Robbed, Raped, and Stabbed in Barcelona. We met at school in our orientation groups, and the leader went over safetly information presented in a way that would make Chuck Norris paranoid. We learned other information so useful that I can barely remember it. After orientation, I ventured around the area a bit. School is in a hoppin part of town and right by La Rambla and a beautiful plaza called Placa Cataluyna. I also got a cell phone, which was definitely interesting to purchase and figure out in Spanish. On the way home, I stopped by an adorable cafe for a chocolate pastry. I walk by it every day and the owner always tells me hi!

SATURDAY: Orientation trip to Besalu and Vic. Besalu is a small, charming town historic to Catalan. Barcelona is in the Catalan region, which is very proud of its history, traditions, and language. So proud, that Catalonia wants to annex itself from Spain. The Catalan region is not proud to be Spanish, and Spanish is actually not the first language of children here. I have found that just about everyone speaks Spanish, however, but most signs and such are in Catalan. I learned that shops actually get a tax break if they post their signs in Catalan only, not Spanish, because the people are so adamant about preserving Catalonia.

SUNDAY: City venturing and Parc Guell. Sunday morning, I went to Mass at a little church a few blocks down from where I live. Being in a city that is like 99% catholic, there a chruches everywhere, and they are all so beautiful. Unfortunately, no one is very religious, so I celebrated alongside a few little old ladies in a nearly-vacant church. Thankfully, the Mass was in Spanish, not Catalan. Afterward, I got lunch at a little cafe where I sat and journaled. I then picked up some groceries, dropped them off at home, and then got on the metro for the first time to go to Parc Guell. If you have ever seen a picture of Barcelona, you have surely seen a picture of Parc Guell. If not, google it because it is AMAZING. It is by Gaudi, who has done much of the architecture in Barcelona, including La Sangra Familia (which I plan to tour on Saturday). His style is very unique, and this park is decorated with mosaic tiles. Gaudi dedicated most of his life to his constructions, and is actually up for sainthood. It is quite the climb to get to the park, and parts are so steep they put in escalators to get up. With a view that looks over all of Barcelona, the treck is definitely worth it. Pictures to come!

MONDAY AND TUESDAY: Spanish class and Scavenging. Yay Spanish! I have such a thirst for leaning the language. I'm going to try to do some online vocab lessons every day so I can get better. Monday and Tuesday night, we had a scavenger hunt set up through school. I enjoyed seeing some different parts of town, but we got a little lost. Also on Monday, I went to the Gothic area, an older part of town, and I saw the Barcelona Cathedral. It was absolutely huge and amazing and I need to go back on a day that the roof access is open.

WEDNESDAY: Class and wandering. Still continuing with the routine of class in the morning and wandering around in the afternoon. I went down La Rambla with a few girls from school, and we took it all the way to the port. There is a big statue by the port of Christopher Columbus. We also went to a fresh foods market, that had everything from candy, to vegetables, to cow stomache.

THURSDAY: I can't believe my eyes! Today was AWESOME. After class my roommate and I went down to the port and the Olympica area. This area was completely different from any part of Barcelona I had been to before and seemed like a different city altogether. Down by the port, their were numerous boats, and it seemed to be a good place to relax and pick up a tan. There was also a mall and cable car rides up to the mountain that I have got to go on sometime! We then proceeded to walk about 4 miles to the Olympica area that was a huge park surrounded by some great landmarks and other parks. We saw the stadium where the 1992 Olympics were held, a palace, a magic fountain, a big plaza that had huge steel archways, "Parc Del Gat (Park of Cat)" that was BEAUTIFUL and looked like it came out of a fairytale book, and Placa Espanya which had a great view. All I can say is W-O-W. Pictures to come!

So in summary, I love it here and studying abroad is probably the best thing I have ever done with my life. I'm already learning to be so much more independent and grow on my own and Barcelona is absolutely fabulous. But don't worry, I could never forget about you, and I alreay bought my plane ticket back home so I'll be coming back!