Hi everyone! It's been an awesome week here in Barcelona. I love the city and I would love to live here in the future. So much has happened, so I'll try to remember as much as I can! I arrived in Barcelona around 8am Barcelona time, which is 8 hours ahead of Arizona and very different from my normal sleeping schedule. I took some tylenol pm on the plane so I could sleep, and I really think that helped my body adjust to the time quicker. But I was still so exhausted! During the middle of the day, all I wanted to do was sleep. The first two nights all of us from the study abroad program were in 4 separate hotels; there is over 200 of us in CEA this semester studying in Barcelona. We checked all checked into the hotel, and then instead of sleeping, I went out to lunch with some hallmates I just met. We walked about 30 min each way to Las Ramblas, which is a very touristy street, but the atmosphere is like none other. There is so much life here; people walking everywhere and speaking so many different languages. It's so different from anything in Arizona, where we just drive to and from. Anyway, we three walked to get something to eat, and of course you have to try what Spain is famous for: paella and sangria. So good! Paella is my new favorite food here, and the sangria just tastes better here. Later that night, I went out with some different friends I met, and we tried out the Spanish custom of staying out until 5am. The bars here are fun, but we all kept an eye out for each other too, cause jetlag and alcohol is not the best mix. They don't start going out here until like 11pm to 12am at the earliest, and then the clubs don't get busy until around 2:30am. We went to a bar first and then to a couple different clubs on Port Olympic, which is right on the water. It is such a scenic area! Not to mention the scenery of European men! Whew! Why wasn't I here before? haha. The group of girls I was with met a university soccer team from Amsterdam and hung out with them for a while before leaving for the night. Also speaking of bars and clubs, I went into the ice bar here in Barcelona, into a chilly -12 degrees, fully made of ice, bar. Very fun! They give you a huge parka like jacket with gloves, but it was still cold. And the cups were made entirely of ice. I'll have to go back there again.
After the first couple of nights, we moved into our permanent housing. I'm in a residencia, which is like the dorms. I got lucky with the handicapped room, so I have twice the floor and closet space all to my self! There are 10 girls on my hall, and we each have a single room and our own bathroom. We share the cooking lounge, and everything is very modern and nice here. I'm glad I chose to live instead of an apartment, because I heard great things but also bad things about different apartments. I like the area and the place I'm living, and it was well worth the extra money to know I'd have a safe and relaxing enviroment to come home to.
I love all of my classes! I'm taking International Business, Intenational Finance, MicroEconomics, MacroEconomics, and Spanish Civilization and Culture. All of my classes except for my Spanish culture class are taught in English. I do feel like I am expanding my vocabulary base for my spanish skills, but I wish I was more immersed too. I live with all American CEA students studying abroad, and my classes pretty much have only students studying abroad except for my international business class, which has some students from Germany. I really want to become fluent, or at least learn a lot of new vocabulary, so i'll have to branch out somehow to practice more. I think that is all I can remember for now. I'll post some more soon/when something "blog-worthy" happens and when I start traveling. For now, goodnight and adios!
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