The last days in Barcelona

Today is my last and final day of school, here in Barcelona. My last time riding the city buses, last time for everything really here. It's been a crazy 5 weeks and sad for some. But I have enjoyed myself. It was a great opportunity many people will never experience. I couldn't have asked for a better host stay, food (especially!!), better professor...I've been lucky on this trip. The past three days Carmen has made fish for my meals...it's soooo good! Tonight I am getting salmon too! Aww I can't wait. I am actually almost all packed, but a bit nervous to be overweight? Oh no! I have a few more things to put in my suitcase, but I can't believe how much clothes I brought. I thought I packed light...and I didn't! I am giving some of my stuff to Teti and Carmen, like bath wash, extra metro passes (like 5), and whatever else I can't fit in my suitcase. I just can't wait to get home...I'm not even worried about the planes home because nothing can be worse than our train rides to Paris and back to Barcelona. Horrible! I just have to get through tonight, because we are going to the airport at midnight. Kaila has an early flight to Milan (because she is going to Greece with 3 other girls) then the other 4 of us will be waiting to get home! I actually am excited too because we get to watch movies on the plane...our own t.v.'s and get to pick from like 50 movies. It's awesome! Something else to look forward too! haha. Well I just can't believe this time is finally here, I am off back home! Ciao Barcelona..you've been good to me! Hopefully I can come visit again! :) See everyone soon!

For the last week or so...

Oh my gosh, it's been forever since I've been here writing! Sorry! It's been crazy hectic and it's crazy I am already leaving in 3 days! I have finally got used of the living here, but of course, I have to leave now! I will really miss Barcelona and I have chosen it as my favorite city thus far. I've only been to a few in Europe, but my favorite out of the few! This past weekend I was in Paris! I have already posted pictures on Facebook! The Eiffle Tower is beautiful...especially at night. Even though, I've already visited there, it was better the second time around. I think I have grown up a lot and can appreciate the city much more! Even though, I was nervous practically the whole time I was there, I was glad to visit again. We didn't get to do much because we were only there 2 full days, but I saw most of the famous monuments and some more history. I didn't go into the Louvre AGAIN...but oh well. Maybe I'll be back there someday! The train ride there and back took forever, specially the way back, they had some train problems. We were on the train and in train stations from 9 AM until about 11:30 PM...it was not fun! But we had a quote for the whole trip..."It's all part of the experience"...haha...now we live by that quote! I didn't eat an actual meal in Paris, just snack foods and anything cheap. My diet was horrible, consumed mostly carbs, and no protein, calcium, or anything else really. Carmen made up for me though, she served me fish, potatoes, and spinach last night...it was delicious! I had sausage and beans the other night...mmm mmm mmm. I will really miss the food when I leave! The fresh vegetables and fruits...ohhh how I wish Wisconsin would all that and be CHEAP! Oh well. Tonight we are going to a FC Barcelona soccer game, should be very interesting! It doesn't start until 10 PM so I won't be getting home until probably 1:30 or 2 in the morning...then 2 more days of school this week and then time to leave! This is just crazy how fast everything has gone. I remember when I first got here and was not liking it so much and now I really do enjoy Barcelona. I am just lucky I was able to come here and experience this. It's a trip that I may never get a chance to do again. I really have to thank my parents for everything, because they helped me so much on this trip! Even though, I don't say it enough, I am very thankful for them! My spanish is improving, which is why I am here, so I know I've got too! I have finished my 4 compositions and now will have to start my 5 page paper that is due Sept. 7th. I want to come home because I miss everyone and home, but I don't want to because that means reality is coming...and I have a lot to do! Especially with school, SHRM, and who knows what else! I am finally 21 and just want to enjoy my time with my roommates this year! They won't be here next year because of graduation...and they will be wanting to live up their last year, that means I'll be dragged along...not complaining though! That means juggling school, extra curriculars, work, social life, and of course Jordon! Man, college is fun but hard! I can honestly say though, this has been the best summer of my life! I went to New Orleans, Spain, France, got a new car (YAY), and got to spend a lot of time with Jordon...which doesn't happen quite often! It's crazy how fast this summer went by...but I am sure glad I had it. Like I said, I live a lucky life...I have my family that helps and supports me, a boyfriend that truly cares for me, good friends that I can rely on, and many other people in my life that I am thankful for! Sorry I am going on and on about this...but this whole experience has shown me a lot! Being away from home...you really learn who you are as a person...it can be scary...but good all at the same time.

8-9-09 Sunday

So sorry for being so late. I haven't had much time to sit and use my computer at night. But anyways, Sunday was a very relaxing day in Madrid. We got up early in the hostel, around 8:30 and got packed up and ready to go. Kaila, Marisol, and Rochelle switched their bus ride back to Barcelona. Instead of leaving Madrid at midnight, they left at 2 PM. They had to be at the bus stop 2 hours prior to leaving, so we wanted to get out of the hostel right away. But first, we had the free breakfast offered, which was a crossiant with jam, coffee, and orange juice. Mmm. We left the hostel and headed toward a huge park (which I guess is similar to Central Park in NYC). It was huge, had a lake in the middle of it, and lots and lots of people! We hung around there for a bit and around 11 Marisol, Rochelle, and Kaila left. Gina, Betsy, Emily, and I walked around Madrid a bit more...stopped at a cafe for some churros con chocolate, which is a typical breakfast in Madrid. It's just churros with a hot chocolate drink. It was pretty good. We did some souvenir shopping (which all I bought was a book). Later, we went back to the park to hang around for about 3 hours. Emily slept, I read Twilight, and Betsy was busy journaling...she writes down everything! I wish I could do that..I just don't have the patience or the time. After we relaxed, we got on our way over to the train station. That was about a 20 minute walk. We stopped at a restaurant to get a bocadillo con calamares, which is just bread and calamarie! It was interesting but good. Teti told me to get one and I listened! We got to the train station and were about an hour early before our train left, so we walked around and sat. The train station was actually really pretty inside. There is a garden (kind of like a jungle look) I have a picture on facebook. Pretty neat for a train station! Our train left around 6:30 pm and we got to Barcelona around 9:15ish. I got onto the Metro and went home. I got home and there was black rice with calarmarie waiting for me...not too appetizing. I ate some of it though, I would feel too bad if I didn't! I unpacked my stuff and hopped into bed. I was so tired! Kaila arrived home around 11:30 and got ready for bed as well...I slept really good that night! It was great. Overall, the weekend was fun and exciting! But I still like Barcelona way more than Madrid!

8-8-09 Saturday..Happy Birthday to me!!!

It’s my birthday! Finally! I am legally able to drink and not get in trouble, which is very good for my case! That seemed to happen a little more often in High School than it should have! Anyways, 5 AM came fast and I got ready to head out for my weekend to Madrid. Carmen called a Taxi for me because the buses aren’t running that early and I had to be to the train station around 6:30 AM, our train left at 7 AM. I was too scared and nervous to walk to the Metro by myself (it’s about a 20 min. walk from here) so they got me taxi. The taxi was there right on time, thankfully, and got me to the train station. The cost was about 12 Euros. I met Gina and Betsy at the train station right away, but Emily was not there yet…in fact she didn’t get there until about 6:50! She was freaking out and so were we...we quickly got through security and rushed onto our train! The train was nice, but very cold, but fast! It takes about 7 hours to drive to Madrid by bus and it took us 2 hours and 57 minutes to get there by train AND we had to stop at another station for about 10 minutes! It was crazy, but nice! We arrived in Madrid around 10ish and walked to our hostel. We met Marisol, Rochelle, and Kaila there. We weren’t able to check-in until about noon, so we put our belongings in a locker at the hostel and were off to check out Madrid. The first 10 minutes of being in Madrid, I knew I liked Barcelona much better! It’s just more dirty in Madrid, more homeless people begging for money, and more guys catcalling you! It was crazy! We walked around and some plazas, a basilica, a cathedral, a palace with gardens (which looked much like Versailles in France), and stopped at McDonald’s to eat. Ugh, I was hoping to make it through this trip with no McDonald’s! But we were all so hungry and starving, we just settled on it. At least, I haven’t been there as much as Kaila, Emily, and Betsy! They have gone about 4 times now! Haha! We walked back to the hostel after that to get ready for out night out to celebrate my birthday. Before we did that though, we went to two museums. They were free and Gina really wanted to go to them! We went to the Reina Sofia for like 20 minutes just to see a piece of work by Picasso. The “Guernica” which is a mural, it was pretty big, and I was able to get a photo of it. Also, we saw some work by Dali. After that, we walked to The Prodo and had to stand in line before we could get in. It was a huge museum, but Betsy and I got through all of it in an hour and a half! There was a lot of work by Goya, which I learned about my World of the Arts class at UWW. That was really all I knew in that museum. I am not very knowledgeable when it comes to this stuff! We weren’t able to take photos in The Prodo, so I don’t have any. After the Prodo, we made our way over to a plaza to eat. We ate a restaurant and we wanted to get tapas, because that is very typical in Spain to have. There little portions of meals and you’re supposed to go from bar to bar and try different things. We didn’t really do that, we just ordered some and tried it. I had beans with ham in olive oil! It was really good. I ordered a glass of wine (which I didn’t like) and gave it to Emily! She traded her sangria with me, which was delicious! After we ate, we were on a hunt to get some wine and just drink it in the street, but some guy came up to us and asked if we wanted free sangria. We were all for that and he took us to this new bar (they were marketing for it, that’s why the sangria was free) and had a glass of sangria. Emily told them it was my birthday, so they gave me a free shot! Haha! Kind of like a true 21st birthday in the States! After the bar, we wandered around more to find a place for desert! Emily, Gina, and Kaila went to a store to get wine, while Marisol, Rochelle, Betsy, and I decided on a place with chocolate cake! It was soo good! The girls came back with the wine and we opened it up and drank on the street (which is illegal to do, but was done anyways…rebels we are!) Kaila wasn’t feeling very well (because she got motion sickness on the bus), Emily was drunk by this time, Gina was chugging the wine out of the bottle, Rochelle was buzzing from the alcohol, Betsy, Marisol, and I were just happy to be out and doing whatever! It was really fun, we ended up going back to the hostel early that night, but I had a lot of fun! It was a great way to celebrate my birthday! I mean who can say, they were in another country on their 21st, were in Barcelona in the early morning, traveled to Madrid, went to the Reigna Sofia, The Prodo, and had drinks in Madrid! Nobody that I know, all I do know is I am lucky to have the girls here, they were awesome and really helped me forget I wasn’t at home. I wish I could have been in two places at once, because I missed being with my friends, family, and Jordon celebrating…but we’ll be doing that when I get back!  YAY!

8-6-09 Thursday and 8-7-09 Friday

Sorry I am really behind on my journaling. I’ve been really busy…well not really on Thursday night. We didn’t do much at all on Thursday. I went to school and went grocery shopping after school. Kaila and I came home right after that and hung out. I finally finished my lame book and could start reading Twilight…I bet I am going to get addicted like everyone else on this planet! That night for dinner we had macaroni with pieces of ham in it! It was very good.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERICA!!! Wish I could be celebrating with you and the girls! Can't wait to get home to do that! :)
Friday Kaila and I didn’t do much either. We went to school and went to a store to get some jewelry for Kaila. After that, we went back home right away because we wanted to get things packed for Madrid. Kaila was taking a bus there and was leaving Barcelona at midnight. We came home and packed and got things ready for the weekend and for dinner we had shish kabobs, they were awesome. Carmen and Teti decorated the table with some ribbons for my birthday and got me a ring for a gift. It was very cute! After dinner, Teti and I dropped Kaila off at the bus station and I came back to shower and get to bed. I didn’t fall asleep until about midnight or so, I was reading Twilight! Haha, but I had to wake at 5 AM! Ahhhh.

8-5-09 Wednesday

Ahhh Wednesday! It’s half way through the week! This week feels like it’s taking forever! Anyways, I had the weirdest dream last night…I have these dreams and wake up and can’t fall back asleep. I don’t know what is going on? I got up around 8 AM and typed a composition because I have so much time. I got in the shower around 9 and got ready. I ate some breakfast and then was off to school around 10 AM. I walked again today and it was really hot outside! I forgot my water bottle at the house, so that was no good. I just wandered around because I didn’t take my computer with me today. When I arrived at school, the morning classes were on break and I found Betsy and Emily. We went to a café and sat and talked for awhile. When they went back to class I went online to email and what not. Class time came and it was alright. I really enjoyed class the first two weeks, but now it’s just like “school” boring and blah! But at least I am learning! After school, Kaila and I walked home, but stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few things. We stopped at a few shops as well, but I didn’t get anything, just looked around. We got home around 6:30 and I called my mom to talk with her. It’s been over a week since we’ve talked on the phone last. All in all my day was kind of boring, I did my homework and Kaila and I sat around and talked. We had dinner around 8:30, we ate paella, which is a typical dish in Spain. It has rice, peppers, beans, and spices. It was very good actually, which I was surprised with myself. Usually, I don’t like that kind of stuff, but it wasn’t too spicy! I had some ice cream for dessert, but now I’m stuffed! Kaila and are off to bed soon, I can’t wait for the weekend! Only 3 days until my birthday…YAY! 

8-4-09 Tuesday

Hola! Today I woke up really early because I just can’t sleep. The past 2 nights I haven’t been sleeping through the whole night. I have these crazy dreams that always wake me. I don’t know? I just woke up and read for awhile, I didn’t shower today because I didn’t really want to…haha. Plus, it hasn’t been so hot here I don’t sweat as much. After reading, I got ready, and ate some breakfast. I left the house around 9ish and walked to school. I went to a café and got a cappuccino and looked over my homework and what we were going over today, which ended up being furniture, different types of houses, and that sort of stuff. Before I went to school, I stopped at this little shop and get a pair of earrings. They have really cute stuff and everything is on sale…which is a plus! I got to school around 10:15 and did my usual, email, blog updating, and facebook looking. Oh facebook…I pray I don’t do this during school again. I went to class and it was class…it seemed to take forever today! I sat next to a girl, named Ran, and she is from China. She is having a really hard time and I had to work with her, and that was really hard. She doesn’t understand much and even the teacher tries helping and she doesn’t get it. She can’t speak English, so it’s hard to help her! I really hope I don’t sit by her anymore. After school, Kaila, Emily, and I went to Passig de Gracia to do some shopping. I bought 2 shirts, a total of 7 Euros! Emily needed to get a formal dress for a wedding and she was successful! Kaila and I caught the bus home from there and arrived to our house around 8. We ate around 9 and had spaghetti and salmon! It was awesome…the salmon was great. I love when we have salmon! There was a full moon tonight so we were outside for a bit talking and looking at that. It’s so pretty because when it gets really dark, the moon light shines over the sea! I tried taking a picture but I don’t know how to take flash mode off my camera. Oh well, pictures wouldn’t do much anyways, you all just need to take a trip over here! Not too much going on today…this week will be pretty boring…haha just warning you!

Sorry

Sorry no post today...I don´t have my computer where I´ve written my blog already. Late start today! Tomorrow I´ll have 2 new ones...but on a side note, my birthday is soon! YAY!

8-3-09 Monday

Today wasn't my best day! I was tired and crabby...and it was one of those days where I just wish I was home. I think almost all of us felt that way. It's the time between where we're almost halfway down with the trip. Yes we've been here for over 2 weeks but we still have 3 left! Kaila now has class in the morning, so she had to get up quite early..and I really don't sleep through anything so I woke up when she did. I laid in bed for awhile but then got up and showered around 8. I ate breakfast and was out of the house by 9 AM...with absolutely nothing to do! I thought I would waste time by walking to school...but that took me about 25 minutes. I got to school and stayed on the computer for what seemed forever! I emailed, blogged, and looked on fb...which is quite boring! I should have spent that time doing my compositions, but I didn't! I went to class, which was alright, we have 3 new kids. One dude speaks 6 different languages, but his Spanish is horrible! I don't know how he tested into level 2, because he is no where near a level 1 class! Our teacher talked to him and I think he is moving down to level 1. After school, Gina, Betsy, Emily, and I walked to the train station, which took about 45 minutes, to reserve our seats for the train this weekend to Madrid. We had to wait in line for over an hour...it was crazy in that station! One thing that happened though, was we all sat on the floor because we didn't want to stand the whole time, and Emily sat in gum...it was hilarious! Probably the highlight of my gloomy day! We tried pulling it off, but it was being stubborn, we were just laughing so hard! Finally, it was our turn and it took the woman about 5 minutes to get us reserved...sitting in line for an hour or more and 5 minutes to get things taken care of...oh boy! I was really nervous for the next part because I had to ride the Metro by myself for about 20 minutes to get home and then catch the bus. That alone took about 50 minutes! I did fine though, it was about 8 when I left the train station...I was really scared, but I did fine! I got home and Kaila was sleeping but woke up soon after because it was time for us to eat! We had a great meal of something like steak (I think a much cheaper version), peas, and mashed potatoes! It was great. I had some frozen yogurt for dessert with fruit...mmm! The food was delicious and I learned that they don't use butter to cook! It's crazy...it's soo good though, no wonder why Americans are soo gordos! (fat) lol. After dinner, I talked with Jordon on the phone, which was nice, and he went to my parent's house to help them with their webcam. So now I'll get to see them sometime as well! After I talked with Jordon, I went upstairs, read for a bit, and was off to sleep! Thank goodness..hopefully tomorrow is much better!

8-2-09 Sunday...Trip to Tarragona

Buenos Dias! Well it’s Sunday today and I woke up at 6:10 AM! Ahhh, I got in the shower and got ready for the day in Tarragona. I had absolutely no idea what this place was, but I was along for the ride. Kaila and I got to the bus stop..early this time…but go figure, something goes wrong! The bus was late this time though, not us! We got to the Metro and were supposed to meet Gina, Betsy, Emily, and Matt at 8, but ended up getting there around 8:20. We are now known as the “late girls”. Which is very unlike me, because I hate being late and always like to have a plan. We run to the train station to buy our ticket, which was 9.80 Euros round-trip. We just made it on time to get on the train to Tarragona. It took about an hour and 5 minutes to get there. When we arrived, we weren’t really sure where to go or what to do, but Gina had done a report on some Roman ruins in Tarragona, and was interested in seeing those. We ended up getting a pass to go to all the ruins, there were about 7 different stops you could go to, and the cost was 5 Euros. We saw a Roman Amphitheater, walls, and other things. Kaila and Gina are history majors, so they were on a field day. While Betsy, Emily, Matt, and I were just walking with not really knowing anything…haha. It was fun though and neat to see. After we finished our history lesson for the day, we had some lunch, which Kaila and I packed a lunch…to save some money! From there, we were off to the beach for a couple of hours. It was really hot out and the beach wasn’t as nice as the others we’ve been to. A lot of seaweed floating in the water and the waves were huge!!! I got some sun though and a bit burnt. We walked around a bit and then got an ice cream cone to cool off. Just about every store was closed though, because of it being Sunday! It’s just crazy how so much is closed here! Not much to do here on Sundays. Oh well. We took the train back to Barcelona and took the bus back home and arrived around 7:15. It was a long, hot day, but fun at the same time. It was a nice weekend to get out of Barcelona because August 1st is the starting date for vacation in all of Europe. And I guess everyone heads south for the warmth…so people who are from Barcelona are on vacation elsewhere. Very interesting and another little tidbit about work here is that people in Europe have a mandatory month vacation time! Is that not crazy…but awesome at the same time! Never would we see that in the USA…unless you have some job that is way too nice! So I kind of fell asleep after typing some of this…whoops! I am very tired tonight. Anyways, we ate around 8:45 and had chicken and French fries! How American!! And Carmen and Teti had family over again today and made a cake. We had a leftover piece of that as well…it was organic and fresh. It was peach-like frosting, chocolate, and chocolate nougat bottom, it was very different, but not too bad. I would have liked different frosting stuff, rather than peach, but I can’t complain. Almost all of the food I eat here, I like! So to have some not so good stuff, is alright. After dinner, Jordon had called! We talked for about 15 minutes and now I’m getting ready for bed. Time for school again tomorrow...oh boy. Kaila now has morning class so I’ll have to go by myself, which isn’t too bad. I am a big girl, I can do it. Violence doesn’t happen here…just theft and stealing of money. But we live in a nice neighborhood and I haven’t had any problem with that or even getting hit on. Maybe it’s because I don’t really care what I look like here, nor do I have someone to impress! Or maybe the men here just think I am not pretty and have something against Americans…haha. Whatever the case may be, I could care less!  Alright, Adios chicos, I’m off to bed! Till tomorrow…Hasta luego!

8-1-09 Saturday...Trip to Montserrat and Sitges

Well today was the first time since I’ve been here that I have woken up before 8! I woke up at 6 AM to shower and get ready for our day. I got ready and got my bag ready to go to the beach. Kaila and I went downstairs to make our sandwiches and had to say goodbye to Ama…sad morning! Kaila and I were on off a later start to the morning and as we’re walking out the door and down the stairs we see our bus go by! Oh great, right? So we get to the bus stop thinking we’d have to wait about 5 minutes, ummm try 20! So now it’s about 7:20 that we’re on the bus, mind you we have to be on the other side of town, by 7:45 to make our bus for the trip! Of course, we have to stop at just about every stoplight on the way. Finally, our stop arrives and now it’s time for the Metro. So we literally run though the metro to find as we’re scurrying down the stairs our Metro’s doors are closing and it’s off. Now we have to wait another 5 minutes for the next Metro to come and it’s now 7:36 AM…it takes about another 10 minutes to get to the stop we need. Finally our Metro comes and our stop comes 10 minutes later and we’re running up the stairs and out the exit. Of course, we walked out of the wrong exit and we 3 blocks away from where we needed to be. Then we see buses leaving and get really scared! This is Kaila’s number one place to go and if she missed it she would be so upset…plus we’d be out 30 Euros! Thankfully, it wasn’t our bus and we found our group of people! Only in Spain, do they run behind on time…all the time! It always seems whenever Kaila and I have to be somewhere we are always late…but if we don’t we’re there before we need to be! *Ahem* Going to the beach on the first day of school…haha. Oh boy! Well anyways, now we’re on the bus going to Montserrat (about 45 minutes from Barcelona), which I found out is a Monastery, on top of a mountain. It was beautiful and scary all at the same time! Our bus ride up was on windy corners, on a narrow road, with the bus driver driving furiously and scary! I thought I would not make it! But of course I did, otherwise I would not be writing this! Anyways, we did a lot of walking and I think I may have burned all the calories I ate here in one day! Haha, right, I wish! But we did do a lot of walking and climbing stairs, I was dripping with sweat and my face was so red! I got a few good pictures and nice views from the mountain…and for once is was refreshing to be outside! There was wind and not a lot of sun, and just plain nice! After Montserrat, we ventured to Sitges (about an hour from Barcelona), which has a really nice beach and lots of stores. We stayed on the beach for the whole afternoon and swam in the water and suntanned. It was very nice and relaxing and I’m a bit burnt. I even put on sun block but am a little pink. Oh well. We arrived back in Barcelona around 7:45 and I called Jordon again…I wanted to see if he got a hold of my mom. Can you not tell I really miss him? Geesh. Afterwards, we ate dinner and had pizza and salad. It was really good and homemade. Mmm…we had some chocolate pudding for dessert…no ice cream tonight. Man I love ice cream! Now it’s off to bed early again because we’re taking another day trip to Tarragona. It has a beach and museums (which I am probably not going to, I am muesuem’ed out…) and I would just like to relax again for a weekend…today marks 1 week left until I am legally able to drink/buy alcohol in the US-of A. Man oh man, I am getting old! Buenas noches amigos! Mucho love…

7-31-09 Friday

Yay! Today is Friday! I am happy anytime when it’s Friday! Kaila and I got up, got ready, had breakfast, and made our lunches for the day. We were off to school and did our daily routine. Nothing too exciting happened today. I had to make an urgent call to my mom because I needed her to send my keys to my landlord…that was probably the most excitement of the day. I called her my mom at work, but she didn’t answer. So I called Jordon (which of course didn’t bother me) so he could reach my mom…I am really upset with our landlord too…but that’s besides the point. I’m in Spain…I’m not going to worry about our stupid house back home…haha thank you Chae and Erica for everything!!  You’re the best of friends! Class went well…we played a game, Taboo, but in Spanish. It was good with vocabulary. After that we went on a walk around our school. Our professor is kind of crazy…he just took us around and we stopped for a drink. I was the only one in our group who did not get an alcoholic drink…surprise surprise! They all got a drink that is popular in Barcelona, it was beer mixed Fanta…I tried a sip and did not like it one bit. It was kind of like Leinie’s Summer Shandy…so Jord you would have really liked it! After we went on our walk, (which I am still kind of surprised/weirded out about…I don’t know why…but I’ve never had a professor who wanted to take their students on a walk and stop and get a drink? Haha) I met Kaila back at school and we went home. It was Ama’s last night so we had a big dinner to celebrate. We dressed in our pajamas too! We had tortillas espanoles, fish, salad, and bread with tomato sauce on it (which isn’t my favorite). This is all of Ama’s favorite foods, it was so sweet! She has been here for 9 months, so Teti and Carmen have grown to love her very much! They gave her a gift before she left too and Ama gave Kaila and I a gift as well! I got a green scarf, it’s very cute! We’re going to miss Ama because she has helped us with a lot! From translating (when needed) or helping with words we don’t know…we were very lucky to have her! After dinner, we got to bed earlier because we had to get up early for our excursion! This is Kaila’s number one place to go, so she is very excited! I, on the other hand, have no idea where we’re going! Haha, what’s new? Tomorrow is the first of August, oh where has the time gone?

7-30-09 jueves (Thursday)

Hola amigos! Today was good. I didn’t sleep as well last night, I woke up a few times, but again I woke up before my alarm went off. I got in the shower around 8:30 and got ready. Kaila and I ate some breakfast and made our sandwiches for lunch. We rode the bus to school and stopped to get a piece of fruit. I got a peach today (which was huge and juicy…I could hardly eat it)…the pears were very small and didn’t look good. We got to school pretty early today…but I was able to talk with Jordon, so that was nice. I feel so bad because he is so tired (because it’s 4 AM at home when we talk)…poor Jordy! But it’s all we can really do! Today we also ordered our soccer game tickets. We’ll be going to a game v.s. Manchester City the Wednesday before we leave! I am pretty excited! I think it’ll be really fun! After that, it was time for the real deal, taking the test! I was so nervous going in…because it was going to be I will go to the next level or stay in the same class. Our test was just an oral part and a grammar part. The grammar was first and I thought I did okay and for speaking…I got so nervous. I didn’t like how we had to be tested. We got a sheet of paper (all the same) and we had to talk about what was going on the sheet of paper…it was little pictures of a guy going through his motions of a typical day (for example: getting up, showering, eating breakfast, brushing his teeth, going to work, leaving work, going out, eating dinner, and going to bed) I did very well in the beginning but then my nerves got to me and I just choked! I didn’t have a clue what I was saying…it just wasn’t good! Of course, after that we had a break and had to wait to see what our score was! My stomach was churning because I was nervous I didn’t pass! FINALLY after like 45 minutes and watching a lame movie, we got our scores back…AND….I passed!!! Actually I did very well on my grammar and scored a 17/20…and a stupid mistake on my part I didn’t fill in one of the boxes with the answer…I left it blank…ugh! And for speaking I got a 20/30. It’s not the best, but for being so nervous…I don’t know. My professor actually came up to me and said “You know you do well during class with speaking, were you just really nervous or what?” And I said, “I was really nervous” haha. He said other than that I did very well! So YAY! I am moving on to level 2! Now I just have to buy another book for 20 Euros…grr. I don’t know why we have to pay more and more…when we’ve already paid so much? I just would really like to know where my money has gone (or I should say my parents…thanks Mom and Dad!)!? After school, Emily, Kaila, and I went to Parc Guell and took some more pictures (which will be posted soon). We just hung around there for awhile and looked at the tourist shops. Around 8, we came back home and sat around. We ate around 8:45 and had a curry? It was noodles, pork, snow peas, with some curry stuff I guess? It was really good actually! I really liked it. Now Kaila and I are just hanging out…I’ve got to charge my battery for my camera, which will be the first time since I’ve got here…thanks Jord! This weekend is going to be fun and long, but so worth it! We’re going to two different cities! Can’t wait. Until then, talk to you later! Hope all is well with you! Adios!

7-29-09 Wednesday...nothing too exciting.

Today Kaila and I didn’t do too much. I woke up again before the alarm went off…I think it’s because I am getting enough sleep finally. I am sleeping throughout all the night…but I guess I woke Kaila up last night because I was talking in my sleep? Haha, who knew? I got up around 8:30 to shower and get ready. I was an American today for sure, I wore shorts and a tank top. Just the looks of my clothes had American written all over me…oh well. We ate our breakfast and were off to the bus stop. This time we were right on time, I think we waited for 2 minutes and the bus was there! I think we may have the time down now, every 15 minutes we’re thinking the bus comes around. We stopped at our usual places to get some bread and fruit. I’ve stopped buying water now because we can drink the tap water…they have a purifier, which is awesome! We went on the computers to email, blog, and facebook, like always. I am beginning to think you will all know my daily routine by about Friday (if you don’t already know it)! BUT today we did more, not just emailing, blogging, and facebooking. We booked our hostel stays in Paris and Madrid…about 20 Euros each, it was the cheapest we could find! I also got my EuRail pass today!! So now I am “officially” going to Paris and Madrid! YAY! After all the excitement, I went to class and we reviewed for our test tomorrow. I am pretty confident I will do well on this test. Its stuff I have learned before it’s just my speaking I am worried about! I hope I do well to move up to the next level! After school, Kaila ordered her bus ticket to go to Madrid, she’ll be on a bus for 7 hours! I am so glad I bought the EURail because it’ll take us 2.5 hours! She isn’t coming to Paris because she is on a tight budget. So after she finished that, we went to the grocery store to buy some things to make a lunch instead of buying the bread and fruit everyday! I picked up some granola bars as well. We got some bread, turkey meat, cheese, and mayonnaise for sandwiches. We took the bus home and were home the earliest we’ve ever been since we arrived, around 6:30! I studied for awhile, did a composition for UWGB, and now am going to read before we eat dinner. For dinner we had a way different meal…something I’ve never tried before. It was potatoes with squid and octopus. I didn’t eat all of it, but I did eat some of the squid and octopus. I had some kiwi for dessert. It was a nice relaxing night minus the studying and composition writing! Oh well, I’ll have to write 3 more compositions and five page paper before September 7th! Ahhh! Talk to you later 

7-28-09 Tuesday

So today, again, I woke up before the alarm went off? I don’t know what is going on…it was like 15 minutes before we were supposed to…so I just got up. I showered and got ready. We had planned yesterday with the group we were going to La Sagrada Familia (a church that was designed and started by Gaudi in 1882 and it still isn’t finished! It’s supposed to be done until 2026, the 100th year anniversary of his death) so I wanted to wear something appropriate incase we went inside…I wore a skirt and a nice white shirt. We had breakfast and were off to school. We still haven’t got the bus schedule down, because every time we go to wait for the bus, it’s never there right when we get there? I don’t know if we’ll ever get it down!! Oh well. We stopped for our usual breakfast, bread and a piece of fruit, which usually totals a little over a euro, it’s great. That constitutes as my lunch and snack! Gotta’ save my money somewhere, because I like spending it on other things…such as souvenirs, tours, and clothes. I was able to talk with Jordon this morning as well; it was nice to see him again.  I didn’t have time to blog…but I did get a few emails out. I was also busy looking up hostels to stay in while we’re in Madrid. I found one we’ll be booking tomorrow! We will be getting our own room too! We also are looking into going to a soccer game while we’re here! Matt got a front row seat for 61 Euros…we aren’t paying that though…the rest of us are looking at tickets in the nose bleed section! Oh well, it will be an experience I’ll probably never do again! In class today we were talking about jobs and differences in other countries. I think the craziest thing we talked about was that Spaniards usually don’t move out of their parents’ house until 30!!! All of us Americans were in shock! Mom and Dad, could you imagine me home until 30? I think my dad wanted me out when I turned 18…no no I am just kidding! Lol. Anyways, I thought I would share that…a bit crazy to me. After school we walked over to La Sagrada Familia and it was soooo awesome. Pictures cannot do justice for you all…you’re just going to have to come to Spain for yourself! It’s amazing…the designs and just everything! I took some pictures of that, as well as, a few with me in front! We did a little shopping around the area, there were many tourist stores around, and I got a few things for people! Kaila and I took the metro back but had to change lines in between…it was kind of crazy. But I understanding the Metro system pretty well, which is pretty cool! We arrived home around 8ish and now are relaxing! Kaila has her test tomorrow so she is studying away, while I’m doing this and doing homework. I have my test on Thursday, so I’ll be studying tomorrow night. Also, I should really start doing my compositions. We have other assignments from UWGB that need to get done as well. I hate doing homework during summer! We ate dinner around 9 PM and we had lasagna…it was really good, along with salad. I ate some flan for dessert, not a huge fan of it. There was no ice cream left and only one chocolate mousse left, which I let Kaila have, so I went with flan. As you can tell, I’m not the best with sharing when it comes to food! Can you blame me? I was the only child for about 10 years! Haha. Anyways, I’ve gotta get going with my work. Until tomorrow! Adios!

7-27-09 Monday...beginning of Week 2!

Well I survived my first week! Whew! Thank goodness, I wasn’t sure how it would be after the first couple of days. It’s crazy that a week has already gone by. Today I got up before the alarm…weird. I think my body is finally adjusting to everything as well. And the fact, we went to bed earlier may have helped…haha. Anyways, I got up and showered (yes, an everyday affair now!) got ready, and had some breakfast. Kaila and I took the bus ( we bought a 50 pass for about 31.50 Euros…it’s so worth it) I got some lunch, which is usually some bread and a piece of fruit. We got to school and did our daily routine…email, blogging, and whatever else. I went to class and it was good. After school, 6 of us went to the market on Las Ramblas. It has a lot of fruit, veggies, fish, meat, bread, candy…everything pretty much that is edible! I got some fresh strawberries and they were so good! They don’t really sell strawberries in the little stores on the streets, otherwise I would have them all the time! I usually just get a peach or a pear at those stores. They are so delicious. I will definitely miss the fresh fruits and veggies when I get back home…okay maybe not so much the veggies. Anyone who knows me well, knows I am a picky eater! We left the market and caught the bus, instead of taking the Metro and the bus, we decided to save a trip. The bus was the most cramped EVER! It was crazy! And it felt like forever on there…thankfully they have AC! We got home earlier then normal and I finished my book and worked on homework. We had dinner around 9 PM and it was rice with mushrooms, it was really good and salty! Mmm, I liked it a lot! I had some pasticcio ice cream for dessert as well, it was nice and refreshing! Kaila and I fell asleep around 11:30, early to bed…early to rise right? Overall, it was fairly easy to fall asleep too…it’s not as hot as last week! We actually have a breeze! Well that’s about it…hope whoever is reading this is doing well! I also uploaded pictures on FB from this weekend! Take a peek!

7-26-09 Sunday--Beach Day

Hola amigos! Today Kaila and I woke up early. I wanted to get to an internet café because today was my day to talk with my parents and Jordon over the telephone. I got news the night before that our hostfamily was having a family reunion. Kaila and I didn’t want to interrupt, so we thought we’d go to the beach with Emily. I needed to email my family and Jordon to tell them the news…which was kind of frustrating. The café didn’t open until 11 AM and it cost 1.80 Euros for one hour of internet, which wasn’t bad. What got me was, the dude who was running the place, used MY computer time to order an airline ticket for his friend (because he needed help). Basically, what happened was I had to type like 3 things for him… it was really bizarre. He kept asking me if the price was good and blah blah blah…and I had no idea? I don’t order airline tickets for a living…he just made me upset! But I bought an international calling card there for 6 Euros…so I could call my parents and then it didn’t work on a pay phone, only a home phone…soo weird. I get easily frustrated with this place sometimes. After we headed towards the beach and ate lunch at Foccaccio Café. I had a piece of pizza…but it really wasn’t pizza. It was more like pizza dough, with no sauce, with sausage and onions. It was quite good though. I also got some ice cream! It was delicious and refreshing. It’s so hot here! Finally, we made our way towards the beach and it was very nice to go in the sea and cool off. The only downfall at the beach is a lot of the woman go topless…not just young girls…I am talking like 50-60 year old woman…I don’t even want to think of how many boobs I have seen on this trip so far. Oh my gosh! Thank goodness, it’s not a nude beach…otherwise I would be outta’ there. I got some color though…so I am not so pale. We got home around 6ish and I called my parents and Jordon right when we got here, except neither picked up . My mom called later though, around 7ish and we talked for about 10 minutes. I don’t want to stay on the phone long because I’m not sure if we’re able to? Later, during dinner (which we had some chicken that was fried with some salad, it was good!) Jordon called though. Carmen answered and came out dancing and said Robyn, el telephono y "it's a man, it's a man" and was doing a dance. It was too funny. I was able to talk with Jordon for awhile...it was nice. I got to talk with my family and Jordon! That just makes me happy! I just miss home period. I’m doing all right, I just wouldn’t mind coming home! Well, till tomorrow!

7-25-09 Shopping Day!!

Kaila and I woke up around 8ish today. I showered and got ready. I’ve been wearing shorts (which before I left I researched about what they wear in Barcelona and I guess they don’t wear shorts?...not true) Anyways, we ate some breakfast and were off. Also, I took a picture of our breakfast every morning and some of our room, I’ll post those as well. We made plans to meet Emily at the Plaza de Catalunya Metro stop. We arrived there a bit earlier and waited, finally she came and her roommate Matt (yes, a boy, I know I feel bad for her). We started right away and went to Zara (which according to my Barcelona book Zara has “well-executed affordable copies of the catwalk styles.) My book was right, I got a dress and a shirt for only 9 Euros! After Zara, we went to H&M (which is also in the US) I got two dresses there, a bit more expensive. Oh well, my only time in Barcelona! Haha. Hopefully with these dresses I can fit in a bit more. Later, we met with Gina and Betsy and ate at Subway! It felt just like home. We walked down Las Ramblas and I bought a gift for my sister. We went towards the Gothic Quarter and saw the Barcelona Cathedral. We stopped in a few shops along the way too. Matt really wanted to go to the Chocolate Museum, so we did that. Thankfully, I had my student ID because we got a discount…yes! Anyway to save some money, I’m game. It’s so darn expensive here! Almost everything in the museum was made of chocolate…it smelled so good and sweet! Delicious! They even had sculptures of Wall-E and Bambi, I got my picture taken next to the Bambi display. We walked around more and decided to go home around 6 PM. We saw a lot of Americans today…it was pretty cool. We talked with an old couple in a shoe store and the guy was too funny…he was saying how the Europeans are 10 years out of date…and it’s kind of true! I wish I had the guts to take pictures of people…because some of them are hilarious! The mullet is sooo in here. I even saw women with the hideous haircut…if my dad still had his…he’d fit right in! When we got home, Kaila and I relaxed on our balcony, I read my book while she was journaling. That night, Ama made a Nicaraguan dinner…it was cabbage slaw (kind of like cole slaw, but not as much juice) with pork rinds and yoki (they don’t have it in the US). It was different but all right. We also had some sushi because it was Mocca’s last night. We also, took pictures of all of us together…it was fun! We went to bed kind of early last night…around 11:30. It was a great day!

7-24-09 Friday

Today I woke up around 9 AM and showered. YAY! It was nice and I even showered with warm water. Kaila and I had breakfast and went off to school; it was really hot today, so we took the bus. We are really like the bus…even after my incident the first day! Getting us lost, by bus 92, instead of going to school, we went to the beach. Now I can look back and laugh buuut at the time…I was terrified! Annnyways, before we went to school, we stopped at a little café and got some lunch for later. I got a baguette so I could look/feel more European. I don’t think it really helped though! We went to school and used the computers, now our daily routine, I emailed, updated my blog, and loaded pictures onto Facebook. Then it was off to class, where it went pretty well. We took our test and I scored a whopping 14/20…eek. My professor said we should be scoring 12 or higher, so I did well. Besides the fact, I got the second best score in my class…so yay me! We corrected the test right after and I made 3 really stupid mistakes. Next week, we’ll be taking our EXAM!! I really hope to pass, so I can move to the next level! After class, we finally ordered our EURail passes. I am “officially” going to Madrid (over my birthday weekend …Oh and Jordon, if you’re reading this, we’ll still be celebrating my birthday for a week!! haha ) and Paris. My weekends are now filled up. The other weekend we’ll be traveling outside of Barcelona to two other cities…but one on Saturday and one on Sunday. This trip is going to move much faster this way, before I know it I’ll be home. After school, Kaila, Emily, and I came back to our house to drop off our things from school and my computer. I hate bringing this thing around with me. We went to the Fountain show near Placa de Espanya. Font Magica is the name of the fountain. It was huge and A LOT of water, with bright lights and lots of music. It was weird though because all the music was in English…it made me think of home. It was very pretty and I took some pictures. We also, grabbed a bite to eat around the fountain; of course it was very expensive! It’s a tourist trap; there is a lot of those around here. I ordered a grilled ham and cheese and water and it was like 6 Euros! Craziness. Tomorrow we plan on going shopping with Emily! I can’t wait!

Thursday 7-23-09 Tour of Montjuic

Today was a great day! Kaila and I woke up around 9 AM and got ready. We ate some breakfast and were off to school. We took the bus because my bag is so heavy with my computer in it and because it was really hot!!! We get our exercise from those walking tours, whew! Yesterday, I left my converter at school and luckily it was there when I came today….still in the same spot I left it. I talked with Jordon again today, via webcam, it was nice! J I updated the blog and sent emails, and finally posted some pictures on facebook. Now all I have to do is get my mom to sign up for facebook, so she can see them…haha that’ll be the day! I get emails from all family members and it’s really nice! It makes me appreciate them even more and I know they really do miss/love me…even though I knew that before I left. Haha. After using the computer, I went to class. We actually went over the homework today and I did pretty good. A few mistakes, but you’ll always have those. I am understanding most of the lessons and enjoy the class…I don’t dread it like I do sometimes at UW-Whitewater. We talked about directions today and we have a test tomorrow…not an exam, but a test. I guess there is a difference here? Two girls from my class were not here today, must be skipping, too much partying or something? Everyone is into partying here and until 5 AM! It’s crazy! I usually don’t go to be until 1 AM or later, but that’s because I am writing or doing homework or reading. After school, all of us went on a tour of Montjuic, it’s a really old place, on a mountain near the sea. We had to walk many stairs to actually see it. It was a place for protecting Barcelona from attackers by ship and so on. I just really enjoyed taking pictures more than listening to the history…whoops. I got some great views of the city! We also went by the Olympics sight, we weren’t able to tour inside, but we were able to peek like the homeless do. (Said by our tour guide, haha.) We walked past some museums and it was really nice. I’ll be uploading pictures on facebook as well. We took the Metro back home, as well as the bus to our house. We usually arrive home right when dinner is served, it’s great! Tonight, we had onion rings (haha) and some friend chicken with sauce on top. It was really good, for dessert I had a kiwi…thought I would keep it light! After dinner, Ama, Kaila, and I took a swim in the pool because it was very hot today! About 100 degrees. It’s hard converting from Celsius to Fahrenheit…and no one seems to know the conversions either! Oh well. Tomorrow, we plan on buying our rail passes. I’ll be taking a trip to Paris, Madrid, and Tarragona. Not really sure what Tarragona is, but I’m along for the ride! It’s in Spain, so it’s not too expensive. Overall, I had a great day and am feeling much better. I am glad I am talking with Jordon via webcam and am excited to talk with my parents on Sunday! J Until tomorrow, Hasta luego!

p.s. All my photos are on FB!

Day 4 7-22-09

Hola Amigos! Today Kaila and I woke up earlier...8:45...haha! We ate some breakfast and took the bus to school because it was raining a bit. Not too long though, by the time we got to school it had stopped! Plus I had plans to talk with Jordon via webcam! YAY! :) I took my laptop to school with me today and stated setting up my stuff. Jordon was already on before me, mind you, it would be 4 AM your time. Except, I told him 3 AM, so poor Jordon was up an extra hour! First our webcams weren't working, but that's because Jordon didn't have his plugged in...haha. We finally saw each other and it was so nice and comforting. I felt so much better after we had talked. I was even able to see his cat, Carson! Now I just need to hear from my parents, but that will be soon, on Sunday. Another girl on the trip, is exactly like me! Very anxious, worried, and really missing home. We talk a lot because we can relate, so it's nice to have someone with you like that. In the morning, I just talked with Jordon, updated this, and sent emails. I went to class and we went over verbs, worksheets, and talked about differences in our countries. It was very interesting, because in the US we eat at waaaay different times than everyone else! We don't walk and use public transportation as much, maybe that is why we are overweight! We have waaay more fast restaurants as well! Two other students were added to our class, one from Germany and the other from Seattle, WA. He is hilarious and can't speak much Spanish. He swears a lot. We all laugh at him, not because he doesn't know Spanish, but beacuse he just is funny! He can never remember what words are and just speaks Spanglish most of the time. He likes to party, that's why he is in our class. He had to switch into the afternoon, because he was missing too much in the morning! After school, Kaila, Matt, Emily, and I went on a walking tour of the Gothic Quarter. It was alright, we saw a lot of stuff we saw the other day. La Rambla area for the most part...oh well. It was nice. I bought some postcards and took more pictures. It's very touristy and I hold my bag very close to me, a lot of stealing in the area. On the tour, we met a woman who is originally from WI but lives in Germany because her husband is in the Air Force, she is practicing her Spainish as well, but is around her 30's. After the tour, we took the metro home and caught a bus to our house. It is a lot of walking and we were tired. When we arrived home, we had salmon and noodles waiting for us! It was the best meal I have had so far! Very delicious! And I actually ate all of it! I was very hungry because I only ate yogurt and a piece of toast for breakfast, and a granola bar and peach for lunch! I was very hungry. I took a shower, shaved my legs and armpits (it's been about 5 days since I did that..haha...I am going European style) and am all nice and clean. I get so sweaty and hot, my feet are black by the end of the day, I am really disgusting! haha. Today was a great day overall, I saw a shooting star while we ate and was able to talk with Jordon...I am feeling much better. My roommate Kaila, said the same thing, she can tell I am doing a bit better..thank goodness! :) I'll update tomorrow, love you all!

Day 3 Wednesday

Today I finally showered! Thank goodness, my hair was getting really gross and I sweat so much here...it's really hot! The water is expensive here so I guess we're not supposed to shower long. I turn off the water when I'm not using it and take cold showers! I can't wait to be back home to take 15 minute showers with warm water...haha. Kaila, Mocca, and I walked to school today, it takes about 30-35 minutes. We stopped at the library to go on the computers but I instantly got kicked off. I think the people know I am a tourist and was being rude. Oh well...we went to school to use the computers, but before that I stopped at the Hardware Store to get a converter...so I could use my computer at school. It was my first day of class and it went well. There are 4 people in my class from the USA (all in my group of UWGB), 3 students from Germany, and 2 from Poland. Our professors name is Hernan and he is very nice and fun. He talks strictly Spanish, which is great for me, but some of the people in my class don't understand him very well and are struggling. Oh well. Many of the students attending the school are only here for 2 weeks, so I'll have new people soon. On our first day we learned fruits and vegtables, went over verbs, and did some worksheets. We were given homework, which was not difficult at all! During my break, I went to a small cafe with Gina and Matt (people from UWGB) and we got some crossiants and water. When school ended I went to look for a telephone but they are very expensive. So no phone for me! I went to an internet cafe instead and emailed and talked with Jordon over AIM...I am very homesick today. Then I went o Parc Guell for a walk with Marisol and Rochelle (part of UWGB group, they live close to Kaila and I) and finally went home from there. For dinner, we had porkchops and fries, it was really good! I broke down crying at the dinner table though because I miss home so much. My host sisters were very nice about it and said Jordon and my parents could call the house whenver. That made me feel better and Kaila, Ama, Mocca, and I stayed up talking until about 12:10 AM showing pictures of our families, boyfriends, and friends. It was really nice and kind of helped keep my mind off things! I finally went to bed at 1 AM!

P.S.

If you look at my picture it is the view from my house...actually the balcony off my room! It is very beautiful and pretty! I absolutely love it!! :) And also, I miss my family, FRIENDS (thanks Chae), and of course mi novio Jordon...we finally were able to talk! I am doing much better. I'll update you all with my 3rd and 4th day tomorrow, I promise!

Day 2 in Spain

Sorry I am little late on this stuff, but bare with me. I don't have internet access 24/7...which sucks but oh well! Sooo day 2 was very interesting! In the morning, Kaila and I woke up a little earlier and went to the bus stop. (oh for breakfast, we just have yogurt and a piece of already toasted toast with Nutella...very good and light). So we go to the bus stop and there are 2 buses that go by our stop. One is 24 and the other is 92 line. I thought we could get to school by both buses, so we take the first one that comes, which is 92. Unfortunately, my thought was wrong. We have to take the 24 bus...so we rode all around Barcelona and was taken all the way to the beach! Our bus line finally ended and we had to take a taxi to school, which by this time we were already 20 minutes late! We tried asking people if they knew where the school was, but no one does! It was really frusterating, but we got to school fine after in the cab for 20 minutes. He was a crazy driver as well! So overall, we were about 40 minutes late for our first day of school!!! Thank goodness, when we got there our friends were in the room just sitting and talking! We had to take a placement test and then interview for a short time with a profesor, so they could place us in the right class. Of course, I was placed in the beginner class, along with 4 other of the people I came here with! I just cannot speak the language, I can write, but not speak very well! I got a 21 out of 40 on the exam (mind you I was getting over being lost) and I still scored better than 5 others in my group! After our orientation (which talked about activities the school hosts they are huge into partying!) we went walking around looking at stores and other stuff. We walked by all the the touristy things...like Las Ramblas (huge street where you walk and a lot of shops and street performers...huge place of stealing), the Med. Sea, Plaza de Catalunya, and many other things. After walking around, we went on the Metro but it does not stop very close to our house. Our house is up a steep hill and we had to walk up there, so before doing so, we stopped at the supermercado for water! Thank goodness! When we got home, we had dinner which was a ravioli pasta (which was good). I was not able to shower today either! It's been 4 days!!! Today, I was finally able to contact people and I had 3 emails from my parents already! I do really miss home...but I am trying to keep busy to keep my mind off of it!

My first days in la Espana

Hola! I know I have started a bit late on this...but here it goes. This will be my first blog ever and may not be very interesting to some, but I hope it can help my loved ones to know how I am doing and so forth. I started journaling in my notebook...last night...I know I couldn´t remember everything so I think I should start doing that ALL the time. Here is what I wrote: I´m in Spain...finally! The plane ride took forever! The flight from Detroit to Amsterdam was about 8 hours. Thankfully, we had movies on board. We had our own tv´s so we could pick and choose what we wanted to watch or do. I watched 17 again (with Zac Efron and Matthew Perry), it was alright, and I played a game....Jewel something or another. I only slept for about an hour because we were a row before the bathrooms, so people were hitting me, leaning on my chair, and more. It was not fun! We arrived in Barcelona on Sunday morning and I was very tired. Our drive to our hoststay took forever as well. The driver could not find the house and asked about 8 people if they knew where it was...about an hour later we were finally there! My roommate (Kaila) and I live with two sisters Tati (real name Maria) and Carmen. They are nice and Carmen cooks everything. We have a great veiw from our room, we can see the whole city because we are so high and have a balcany. (If I could upload pictures I would!) Also, we have a pool! Our suitcases were huge (thanks Mom) and we had to climb a ton of stairs. I should have firm butt and legs by the time I get back...haha. There are also two other students living in the house, one from Japon her name is Mocca, and one from Nicuaragua (spelling?) and her name is Ama. They are super nice and very helpful. Our first predinner (about 3 pm) consisted of plamenta and another salad...wasn´t a fan of those. After we ate, they let us sleep for siesta. When we woke, we walked through Parc Guell, which is a huge park full of buildings by architect Guadi, he is very famous here in Barcelona. You can wikipedia him, if you´d like! The park is practically their backyard, it´s pretty neat! After our walk, we were served dinner (around 9:45) and we had Spanish tortillas (potato and egg mixture) they were great! Along with some meat (like salami) and bread with tomato sauce on top. I really enjoyed that dinner, much better than predinner...haha. After dinner we went to bed, around 10:30ish. I have a hard time falling asleep but I manage. I really miss home, my family, and Jordon! It´s not the same here, but I´ll get through it! I would really like to talk to someone, but we´re not able to use their telephone and they have no internet in the house. I go to the school to use internet. I will have to buy a converter so I can upload pictures while I´m at school (on my free time of course). Today, I plan on buying a phone with some minutes so I can call. I´ll post another blog about my second day and today. Today is my actual first day of class! Should be interesante!