My New Home

Day 1 Barcelona, Spain

Arrived at my final destination on Wednesday afternoon. Got my first taste of Barcelona when the buses transporting students from the airport to the hotel were full, and I got elected to be in charge of telling a taxi where to go and paying him with Euros. I met a couple of nice girls and relaxed in my hotel room waiting for my roommate to arrive. She is awesome and we clicked automatically - this really boosts my confidence in the roommate matching software study abroad programs like this use. Had a lovely "American" dinner in the hotel restaurant. They tried really hard to make food that we would recognize, but I don't ever recall potatoes and pasta with french dressing all being served simultaneously. It's the thought that counts, though. I think I'll lose 10 pounds while here - some of the food makes me cringe, and boy, is it expensive!!

Day 2

Woke up to go to breakfast and orientation for classes. It was very boring, and I was getting tired of being cooped up in the hotel. It is ridiculous how rude some of the people in this program are. It's no wonder why so many people hate Americans. Finally out of the hotel - went on a bus tour of the city. Barcelona is breathtaking - a bustling city, nestled between the mountains and the ocean. I can't wait to experience more of their culture, and feel as though I'm not a tourist once I get my bearings in the city. In an attempt to get ourselves on Spanish time, my roommate and I took a "siesta". After waking up and going downstairs, we randomly met some Barcelona handball players (um...what is handball, really?). It wasn't until later that we realized they were kind of famous. Oops. With some CEA people we knew, we went to a late dinner (9:30) and went to a bar. Called it a night early and were back at our hotel by 3:30 (ha!)


Day 3

Just barely woke up in time to make the bus to our residencia. We moved into our residencia, and didn't waste any time trying to look for food and some necessities. We found our way to a Spanish type Macy's and proceeded to try and figure out how to read the labels, sign up for mobile phones, find the bathroom. I never realized just how different Catalan is than the Spanish they teach at home. Becca and I settled for some chips and salsa for lunch and oodles of noodles for dinner. Wooooo spanish food!

Something I've learned: The people of Barcelona take great pride in the fact that they speak Catalan, and that their language is a unique aspect of their culture. If you make an effort to learn phrases in Catalan, for example "Bona Ni" instead of "Buenas Noches", they will appreciate and respect you more as an American in their country.