St. Patrick's Day has always held an important place in my heart. In gradeschool, we would sing Irish songs during the week. I have a beautiful voice, contrary to popular belief and could spread Irish cheer with a single high note from "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling." Alright, maybe not, but I was always the go to girl when a song had a line containing Colleen in it. "Ah, Colleen, do you know what they mean by your name?" Why, yes, in fact, my name means girl. Then the boys would call me girl for the next three weeks. At least they didn't know that literally translated, Colleen Maguire means girl of pale color.
Throughout the day, I would get excited seeing someone in green, but then realized they were probably just wearing green. During a 2 hour long coloring session, I tried to explain to my kids that in America, you're supposed to wear green on St.Patrick's Day, and if you don't, people are allowed to pinch you. "Queeeeee? Los Americanos son ridiculosos!" :)
Happy Irish Day!!!
Besos y Abrazos
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Enjoy the Snow! jaja
Or so my Spanish friend, Marga said last Monday when it started snowing in Barcelona. I woke up Monday morning thinking it was an ordinary first day of the week, but oh no, it was definitely not. Normally, I get up before the sun rises and embark on my journey to class. But there was no way I was bundling up to head outside in a snowstorm. I had not signed on for THAT! While I was safe in my room, the little kids at the school below my window were running around the playground with their shirts off. Never seen snow, huh? I think, "Global warming, you jerk." They couldn't have been more thrilled. Oh, the joys of being a kid.
On a completely unrelated side-note, I have officially mastered "surfing" the metro. In the early morning when I have to take the metro to my 9 am class, it is overcrowded and almost impossible to get a hand on one of the poles. Lucky for me, with some practice, I now know the exact curves and turns of the metro. It's all about the shuffling of the feet and keeping your equilibrium low haha. Now, being the nerd I am, it's kind of a game - to see if I can make it to class without bumping into someone. Look Mom, no hands!! :)
P.S. I got tired of the polka dots.
Besos y Abrazos
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Megan in Barcelona
Day 65
Two weeks ago, today, I was waiting at the airport for Megan and company. It ended up being quite the hassle getting myself to the airport via walking, metro, and train. It ended up being even more difficult trying to find Megan at our designated meeting spot and time. You forget how dependent you are on cell phones!! Getting a big hug from Megs made it all worthwhile.
Thursday: The ladies were tired after their around the world travel day, so they checked into their hotel and took a bit of time to get clean. We decided that since the weather was so beautiful, we should take advantage and be outside. We walked to Las Ramblas, grabbed some lunch, and continued to walk down Las Ramblas towards the ocean. Taking a break, we grabbed a seat at an outside cafe to enjoy some Sangria. A street performer grabbed our attention by attaching a leash to a mans backpack and walking him like a dog. He also karate chopped an asian man, fist pumped a black man, and mocked everyone that walked past him. Totally not okay, but pretty hilarious. He had our table laughing the entire time. We walked along the ocean for a while, then headed back towards the hotel. Split up to meet for dinner later. I took them to my favorite Mexican restaurant "Rosa Negra". I didn't think they would be ready for typical mediterranean food quite yet. Enjoyed some margaritas, delicious food and good company - called it a night "early" at 1 am.
Friday: Day trip to Montserrat :) Megan McGovern really knew her stuff, guide book in hand. Thank goodness, because my knowledge ends once we leave the city. We took the train and got up at the wrong stop, because we accidentally listened to this little old man who was convinced he knew where we were going. I think collectively, we decided it probably wasn't wise to follow advise in a different language. It was another beautiful day! I'm so so happy that the weather cooperated for their visit. It proves very challenging to motivate yourself to sightsee when it's raining. We took some pictures, climbed some mountains, ate some chocolate la la la dee da. When we got back to the city, we took a nap, planning to meet in a few hours. We went to a restaurant nearby recommended by the hotel. It turned out to be this little Spanish restaurant with a drag show upstairs...um? There was also this quite attractive, talented magician who did tricks for us at our table. After dinner, I took them to my favorite bar, "La Oveja Negra". I was convinced I was going to get them to meet some Spanish boys, and sure enough, our table was eventually overcrowded with language barriers. For the most part, they spoke decent English, but every so often, I'd get looked to for translation. At one point, I accidentally told them that Jenna sold drugs, instead of pharmaceuticals. Oops! haha :)
Saturday: I woke up and met with the Megans to explore more of city. We walked north towards La Sagrada Familia, did a bit of tourist shopping, and continued walking with our sights set on Parc Guell. My apologies, I had not realized that meant walking around the world!! The walking we did that day could make up for a month's worth of being lazy. We stopped for sustenance: water and a chocolate croissant. haha And finally made it to the top of the city! The sun was shining, so we sat on a bench, overlooking Barcelona. We had planned to meet the Jennas at champagneria, but it was packed, like a normal Saturday afternoon, so we hopped over to my favorite kebab place instead. The joy of carved meat and special sauces charmed the girls just as it had me. I got to steal Megan away for a little sister time. I think we talked for maybe 15 minutes, then took a nap. Not surprising. At night, the ladies got pizza from my boys across the street. They were thrilled to have more pretty American girls in their pizzeria. Jumped in a cab to Pippermints, where the drinks are bigger than your head. Megan and I welcomed the challenge trying to drink one together. We completed it just before closing time. The night was still young, by Barcelona standards, so we got in a cab headed towards the Spanish hotspot "Razmattaz". It's a discoteca with four different floors, each playing a different kind of music. It was certainly different being there with the Megans and Jennas than my usual group of friends.
Sunday/Monday: The ladies took a little day trip to Valencia. I had to stay home to take a midterm...and experience SNOW?!! More on that crazy weather to come.
Monday night: Megan and company got back in time to go back to the pizzeria for round two of dinner and go out with my friends. We went to Loco Lunes at Otto Zutz. I had shown them a club overpowered by natives, and now I wanted to show them one overpowered by students studying abroad. A foolproof way to tell which kind your at is the dancing. Americans prefer more skin to skin contact while dancing. Personally, I'd love it if we all danced more like the Spanish: in our own little personal space bubbles. After we had gotten our fill of people-watching we had to search far and wide for a cab. I was in comfy shoes, so I found myself running down the streets trying to hail one driving past.
Tuesday: I had to go to class boooo, but I met up with the girls at Champagneria for some lunch and in between class refreshment. After class, I got more Megan time, which I always love. We met up with Megan, Jenna, and Jenna later for some more toursit shopping and dinner near La Sagrada Familia. Had to say goodbye to Megs that night, since we both had early mornings, but I knew I'd see her in 6 weeks, which is practically right around the corner.
I LOVE YOU MEGORA! Thank you for being in Barca with me!
Besos y Abrazos <3 Glen :)
Two weeks ago, today, I was waiting at the airport for Megan and company. It ended up being quite the hassle getting myself to the airport via walking, metro, and train. It ended up being even more difficult trying to find Megan at our designated meeting spot and time. You forget how dependent you are on cell phones!! Getting a big hug from Megs made it all worthwhile.
Thursday: The ladies were tired after their around the world travel day, so they checked into their hotel and took a bit of time to get clean. We decided that since the weather was so beautiful, we should take advantage and be outside. We walked to Las Ramblas, grabbed some lunch, and continued to walk down Las Ramblas towards the ocean. Taking a break, we grabbed a seat at an outside cafe to enjoy some Sangria. A street performer grabbed our attention by attaching a leash to a mans backpack and walking him like a dog. He also karate chopped an asian man, fist pumped a black man, and mocked everyone that walked past him. Totally not okay, but pretty hilarious. He had our table laughing the entire time. We walked along the ocean for a while, then headed back towards the hotel. Split up to meet for dinner later. I took them to my favorite Mexican restaurant "Rosa Negra". I didn't think they would be ready for typical mediterranean food quite yet. Enjoyed some margaritas, delicious food and good company - called it a night "early" at 1 am.
Friday: Day trip to Montserrat :) Megan McGovern really knew her stuff, guide book in hand. Thank goodness, because my knowledge ends once we leave the city. We took the train and got up at the wrong stop, because we accidentally listened to this little old man who was convinced he knew where we were going. I think collectively, we decided it probably wasn't wise to follow advise in a different language. It was another beautiful day! I'm so so happy that the weather cooperated for their visit. It proves very challenging to motivate yourself to sightsee when it's raining. We took some pictures, climbed some mountains, ate some chocolate la la la dee da. When we got back to the city, we took a nap, planning to meet in a few hours. We went to a restaurant nearby recommended by the hotel. It turned out to be this little Spanish restaurant with a drag show upstairs...um? There was also this quite attractive, talented magician who did tricks for us at our table. After dinner, I took them to my favorite bar, "La Oveja Negra". I was convinced I was going to get them to meet some Spanish boys, and sure enough, our table was eventually overcrowded with language barriers. For the most part, they spoke decent English, but every so often, I'd get looked to for translation. At one point, I accidentally told them that Jenna sold drugs, instead of pharmaceuticals. Oops! haha :)
Saturday: I woke up and met with the Megans to explore more of city. We walked north towards La Sagrada Familia, did a bit of tourist shopping, and continued walking with our sights set on Parc Guell. My apologies, I had not realized that meant walking around the world!! The walking we did that day could make up for a month's worth of being lazy. We stopped for sustenance: water and a chocolate croissant. haha And finally made it to the top of the city! The sun was shining, so we sat on a bench, overlooking Barcelona. We had planned to meet the Jennas at champagneria, but it was packed, like a normal Saturday afternoon, so we hopped over to my favorite kebab place instead. The joy of carved meat and special sauces charmed the girls just as it had me. I got to steal Megan away for a little sister time. I think we talked for maybe 15 minutes, then took a nap. Not surprising. At night, the ladies got pizza from my boys across the street. They were thrilled to have more pretty American girls in their pizzeria. Jumped in a cab to Pippermints, where the drinks are bigger than your head. Megan and I welcomed the challenge trying to drink one together. We completed it just before closing time. The night was still young, by Barcelona standards, so we got in a cab headed towards the Spanish hotspot "Razmattaz". It's a discoteca with four different floors, each playing a different kind of music. It was certainly different being there with the Megans and Jennas than my usual group of friends.
Sunday/Monday: The ladies took a little day trip to Valencia. I had to stay home to take a midterm...and experience SNOW?!! More on that crazy weather to come.
Monday night: Megan and company got back in time to go back to the pizzeria for round two of dinner and go out with my friends. We went to Loco Lunes at Otto Zutz. I had shown them a club overpowered by natives, and now I wanted to show them one overpowered by students studying abroad. A foolproof way to tell which kind your at is the dancing. Americans prefer more skin to skin contact while dancing. Personally, I'd love it if we all danced more like the Spanish: in our own little personal space bubbles. After we had gotten our fill of people-watching we had to search far and wide for a cab. I was in comfy shoes, so I found myself running down the streets trying to hail one driving past.
Tuesday: I had to go to class boooo, but I met up with the girls at Champagneria for some lunch and in between class refreshment. After class, I got more Megan time, which I always love. We met up with Megan, Jenna, and Jenna later for some more toursit shopping and dinner near La Sagrada Familia. Had to say goodbye to Megs that night, since we both had early mornings, but I knew I'd see her in 6 weeks, which is practically right around the corner.
I LOVE YOU MEGORA! Thank you for being in Barca with me!
Besos y Abrazos <3 Glen :)
Monday, March 15, 2010
Catching up...
Day 63
It's been an exciting, crazy, busy couple of weeks. Midterms ran straight into Megan and her friends visiting, which in turn ran straight into a 6 am flight to Paris. I am now back, semi-rejuvenated, and ready to share my adventures with you all...tomorrow morning. :)
As for right now, I'm exhausted. Bona ni!
Besos y Abrazos
It's been an exciting, crazy, busy couple of weeks. Midterms ran straight into Megan and her friends visiting, which in turn ran straight into a 6 am flight to Paris. I am now back, semi-rejuvenated, and ready to share my adventures with you all...tomorrow morning. :)
As for right now, I'm exhausted. Bona ni!
Besos y Abrazos
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Rain, Rain, Go Away!
MEGAN COMES TOMORROW!! And the other Megan, and the Jennas, too! Woohoo, I'm so excited! She's bringing me mac and cheese and peanut butter... not to be eaten together :)
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
There's more to life than...
Going to class and going to bars.
Day 49 (By a couple minutes....)
Mom, you've been known to say that I march by the beat of my own drum. Okay, I know that when I was younger that just meant I was a brat, but now it has to mean because I'm quirky. And yes, Bridget, that is just a fancy way of saying weird. My point is: I'm not your average study abroad student who decides to come to Barcelona. I'm not a party animal. I love meeting new people, I love dancing, but I don't want to go out every night, nor would I survive the aftermath of doing so.
Before coming here, I knew that I wanted to do something besides the typical study abroad activities. It only took me a month to get connected with the local YMCA and now I volunteer every Tuesday night for a couple hours. It's one of my favorite parts of the week, well, besides seeing Austin's smiling face.
The first 10 minutes of my first night were extremely awkward. It was like the first day of school when you're trying to profile which kids you want to be friends with. I saw a table with a girl about 10 years old doing math homework. I jumped at that opportunity, because Math is the universal language right?? Uh...not when the kids have to translate from Catalan to Spanish, and then I'm trying to translate from Spanish to English. Yikes! I sat down and asked her if she needed any help. To which she responded, "Como te llamas?" "Colleen." "Queeeeeeeee?" Colleen never goes over well with the Spanish. I asked her what her name was and she said Ashley. Hmmm....ironic. She was doing 6 times tables. Only a week later, she comes into the classroom and gives me a big hug, my little "chica bonita".
When people ask me what I want to do when I "grow up", I say non-profit PR. And I do, I really do. I loved it this summer during my internship, but secretly I know eventually I need to be a teacher. (Aunt Kathy shout out! <3) I could listen to you tell stories about your students forever - how amazing it is to watch a little kid understand something, to see that smile stretch across their face, and to realize that you helped teach them that. Wowza. It doesn't get much better than that.
Besos y Abrazos <3
Day 49 (By a couple minutes....)
Mom, you've been known to say that I march by the beat of my own drum. Okay, I know that when I was younger that just meant I was a brat, but now it has to mean because I'm quirky. And yes, Bridget, that is just a fancy way of saying weird. My point is: I'm not your average study abroad student who decides to come to Barcelona. I'm not a party animal. I love meeting new people, I love dancing, but I don't want to go out every night, nor would I survive the aftermath of doing so.
Before coming here, I knew that I wanted to do something besides the typical study abroad activities. It only took me a month to get connected with the local YMCA and now I volunteer every Tuesday night for a couple hours. It's one of my favorite parts of the week, well, besides seeing Austin's smiling face.
The first 10 minutes of my first night were extremely awkward. It was like the first day of school when you're trying to profile which kids you want to be friends with. I saw a table with a girl about 10 years old doing math homework. I jumped at that opportunity, because Math is the universal language right?? Uh...not when the kids have to translate from Catalan to Spanish, and then I'm trying to translate from Spanish to English. Yikes! I sat down and asked her if she needed any help. To which she responded, "Como te llamas?" "Colleen." "Queeeeeeeee?" Colleen never goes over well with the Spanish. I asked her what her name was and she said Ashley. Hmmm....ironic. She was doing 6 times tables. Only a week later, she comes into the classroom and gives me a big hug, my little "chica bonita".
When people ask me what I want to do when I "grow up", I say non-profit PR. And I do, I really do. I loved it this summer during my internship, but secretly I know eventually I need to be a teacher. (Aunt Kathy shout out! <3) I could listen to you tell stories about your students forever - how amazing it is to watch a little kid understand something, to see that smile stretch across their face, and to realize that you helped teach them that. Wowza. It doesn't get much better than that.
Besos y Abrazos <3
Madrid
Day 48This past weekend, CEA organized a trip to Madrid. Bright and early friday morning we had to wake up to catch the metro to the train station. Needless to say, going to the traditional weekly Thursday night Paella feast was not a good idea. After grabbing a quality American breakfast of McDonald's at the train station, we boarded the train to Madrid.
If you have the time when traveling around Europe, I highly recommend taking the train. You get to see so much more of the country than you would if you were flying. Granted, I slept most of the way there so I saw none of the countryside, but if I had, I'm assuming I could say it was really beautiful.
Getting off the train, we took buses to our hotel, Hotel Gaudi, a beautiful hotel right in the middle of the city, on Calle de Gran Via, only a 5 minute walk from the most recognizable sights. Friday we managed to grab some lunch and make our way over to the Palacio and neighboring Cathedral. It always amazes me that people actually lived in these places. Does anyone really need a separate room for getting dressed, for eating, for sleeping, for reading, for entertaining guests, for not speaking with your wife?? I guess, only if you're a king. The Cathedral was equally as amazing. Yet again, I find myself able to sit in a church for hours just thinking. Later in the evening after a quick nap, a bunch of us enjoyed a traditional Spanish dinner. By which I mean...it lasted three hours.
The next day we didn't do much of anything because it was pouring outside. It is really difficult to motivate yourself to walk around and see the city when you don't own an umbrella. We salvaged our day by going to a famous tapas bar called El Tigre. You pay 3 euro for a beer, and they give you a plate of free tapas. A place like this would make bank in the U.S., especially if they were handing out free in-n-out burgers. Mmmmm! Called it a night early because Sunday was supposed to be sunny.
Woke up Sunday morning and went to the famous flea market in Madrid, "El Rastro." Streets and streets of Spanish people making up prices for absolute junk. But every now and again, you'll stumble upon a treasure. Walked across the city, taking in the beautiful buildings, and spent the next couple hours walking around the huge park in the city center. I could have spent all day there listening to New Orleans style music and watching little kids play. Had to make the journey back to Barcelona in the late afternoon.
My overall thoughts of Madrid... When choosing to study abroad, people had suggested Barcelona over Madrid, saying that Madrid would feel more like an American city. They were right. It reminded me a lot of a Chicago meets Washington D.C., but landlocked. This was nice for a weekend, because it made me feel a little bit closer to home, but I don't think my experience would be as rich had I chosen to be there for four months. Though, it was extremely nice being able to read everything!! If only Barcelona signs were written in Spanish.
Besos y Abrazos!!
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