I swear. I have abandoned my poor blog and its readers, and it won't happen again. But really, I haven't done that much in the past month worth posting. Like, nothing extremely extraordinary. So I'll try my best to entertain and enlighten you.
I guess the biggest news of all is that I moved apartments. While the people at the other place were wonderful, I needed more space. And I kind of felt like a visitor, not that I actually lived there. Like I was always in my bedroom because being in the living room felt weird. And it was kind of filthy. I like to be able to walk around without shoes on. In my new place, I have lots of space and it's much cleaner. It's also closer to school and I can have visitors over. It's in Eixample, which is the biggest district of Barcelona, and there's an awesome market nearby with fresh everything everyday.
So what else have I been up to? I go to class 4 days a week. Mondays and Wednesdays consist of a class on the history of Barcelona in a cultural context followed by Linguistics. The Barcelona history class is really interesting, and we get to read books by authors from Barcelona (in Spanish of course). And linguistics really helps me understand why things are said the way they are. Tuesdays and Thursdays are for Composition/Conversation and Literary Analysis and Commentary. I have conversation with Mireia (of ILP fame) and Sofia for literature. The conversation class helps with speaking colloquially and writing and the literature class improves my reading, although the commentary part reminds me of junior year AP English. In general, classes are very manageable. And I have plenty of free time for my favorite activity: studying for the GMAT! I'm scheduled to take it on December 10, 2009 at 10:15A. Get excited.
I've also been quasi working on grad school applications, although that is about to get pretty serious. I'm applying to at least 4 schools. Hopefully one of them will welcome me with open arms (and some sort of way to pay for it like an assistantship or something).
Other than class and grad school stuff, I hang out with friends (most of whom are American, but I'm branching out). It's hard to not hang out with Americans because I'm only taking classes with Americans right now. I've gotten a good taste of the nightlife, including the local club scene and bars and such. There's a bar that's actually right near my new place called Dow Jones. The way it works is that drink prices function like the stock market, and every half hour the market crashes and drink prices reset. So if everyone in the bar wants Tanquerray (as everyone in the bar should), the price of Tanquerray goes up and all the other gins go down. Market crashes are great, too. They last for like 5 minutes and you have to scramble to get to the bar and get cheap drinks.
Another thing that is of interest is Halloween. Really, truly, Halloween is an American holiday, somewhat imported to Spain. People don't really dress up, and children almost definitely do not go trick or treating. But there is plenty of American influence. There are Halloween stores, and bakeries and restaurants put up decorations, but not like America. One of the girls in the program is here with her son, and she took him trick or treating around the city, which must have been exhausting, and I saw some kids in costumes. But it's really not a celebrated holiday here. Either way, I was feeling much better after battling the flu all week, so we went to an Irish pub that had decorations and drink specials for the occasion. I didn't dress up, though.
Oh! The weekend before Halloween my former history TA, Jason, was in town for the weekend which was awesome. I love when people visit because it's a really great excuse to eat really, really well and explore and flaunt my (somewhat little) knowledge of Barcelona. Jason and I had two nights of tapas and drinks and I got to meet some of his Catalan friends from when he lived here for a few months, and they were so nice and had some hilarious stories. It was also really great to see a familiar face, someone I knew before I came here, since we are entering prime homesickness period, but if you read my schedule below for prime homesickness period, you'll understand that I probably won't have time to be homesick, which is good.
So the last 6 weeks or so haven't been busting with abnormal excitement (I do live here after all, and if it's super exciting all the time, I will not make it through the year), the coming weeks will be more exciting. For example, on Tuesday I will be attending a FC Barcelona Football game! Which I'm excited about. They're playing someone unimportant (it's not the Real Madrid match), so tickets were reasonable and a group of us are going! Then, on Friday I will be traveling away from Barcelona for the first time since I landed here, off to Saragossa (o Zaragoza en castellano) which is about 3 hours north of here, for a 2 day trip set up by the program. I'm excited to see a part of Spain that I haven't seen before! I'll report back most definitely.
Next week is midterms, which should be interesting. There are only 2 exams per class in all of our classes, and they count for quite a bit. After midterms is Thanksgiving (November 26th)! The program sets up an elaborate and delicious feast for us at some hotel in Barcelona. I'm not sure what will be making an appearance, but I'm hoping there is some green bean casserole and mashed potatoes with gravy, but really, I'm not picky. Then, after I take the GMAT on December 10th, I'm jetting off to PARIS! PARIS! PARIS! for my first out of country trip!!! I'm going with Jenny (from the program), Isabelle (of lifelong friendship), and John (also an old friend, who will be in Europe for a month). Then, John will be coming back with me and visiting Barcelona for a spell. Then! It's Christmas break! The plan right now for Christmas is to go spend some quality time with my Uncle Dan in Gothenburg, Sweden. I haven't bought tickets yet, but I'm hoping to spend a week or so with them, and I'm so excited!! I never get to see Uncle Dan or his lovely family, and Sweden will be amazing at Christmas and a totally different experience than I'm used to. I haven't quite figured out what to do for New Year's or my birthday (January 7th) yet, but that should come soon. Then, shortly after Christmas, all my applications are due. So things are about to get really busy and really exciting, and I'm excited! Again, I apologize for the lack of posting, but I will try to be more frequent and do more interesting things (without exhausting my reserves). Bona nit i fins aviat!
11.08.2009
9.28.2009
Yay for La Mercè!!
This weekend was the best so far. I'm not joking. A huge festival, La Mercè, started Wednesday night, and the past 4 days have been incredible.
For the reasoning behind La Mercè, click here.
Wednesday I had the foresight to plan ahead because everything was going to be closed on Thursday, so I did go to the grocery store, this time equipped with my dictionary. I learned what some things are. I haven't cooked any Spanish food yet, the festival took up a lot of my time.
While I was making myself dinner, I was talking to Wilma, the girlfriend of the couple I live with. She's awesome. She was telling me she hadn't seen me in awhile. And I told her I had a sinus infection. Only when I used the word my dictionary told me mean sinuses (seno) she looked shocked and grabbed her breasts, indicating that I was saying I had a breast infection. Great. I had been telling who knows who that I had an infection of my boobs and not my sinuses. I spent the next 20 minutes laughing so hard I didn't catch the actual word for sinuses. I am learning so much living here, trust.
After dinner, I headed out to meet up with Adam and Tom and go to a rock concert near the Modern Art Museum. The music at the concert was awesome. There were a ton of young people, many of them Spanish and Catalan, and the music was great. I'm not quite sure what bands played, but I enjoyed them and Estrella Damm very thoroughly (Estrella Damm). It was a great start to the festival.
Side note. Drinking in the streets here, to my knowledge and experience, is not illegal. Beer is sold in vending machines. Also, if you want to pretend you're in Spain on a hot day, mix a glass of half beer, half lemonade and enjoy very cold. It's called clara and it is super refreshing.
Thursday was awesome! I woke up at noon because I had set an alarm for 10:30A, so that I could catch all the cool stuff that was happening. And I got myself together and headed to Plaça Sant Jaume for some real festival activities. Before I got there, the sardanas had danced, but I missed them. I did get to see castellers, which was totally worth the trip and fighting the crowds to see. Castellers are essentially towers of people that are formed solely by people climbing each other. It is frightening and exhilarating to watch, and I cannot speculate on participation since the people who are involved are practiced professionals. The way it works is the bottom is formed by a huge base of people, then they build from there. The groups come from different neighborhoods and have special uniforms and take lots of pride in themselves, and the groups are made up of men, women and children. The children come in to play at the top of the pyramid, where a small child (wearing a helmet) climbs to the very top and blows a pyramid signifying that the human structure is complete and then immediately begins descending. Sometimes, the structures collapse, but rarely are people hurt. Here's a video, and here's some history. AND NOW FOR THE PREMIER OF PICTURES I HAVE TAKEN. Here's some pictures I took of castellers!
I was seriously not breathing for most of the time they were climbing each other. It was so frightening but awesome. And it really brought the people, and the community together. Also, it's just one of those things we would never do in America.
After the castellers (I was there for quite a while, in the sun, a wee bit hungover), I came back and rested up for Thursday night. I met up with Adam for a dinner at a pretty typical bar. We both had two eggs, french fries, and he had croquetas while I had pollo. Even though it was very simple, it was super satisfying and just the right amount.
After that, we found a grocery store and purchased one bottle of gin (aside: I have yet to find liquor in plastic bottles. Everything is in glass. This is a good sign as I have a taste for cheap liquor. Well actually I have a taste for very expensive liquor but can only afford the cheap stuff) and two bottles of juice and headed over to the Parc Ciutadella, where there was an open air jazz concert. We parked not too far from the stage in the grass and started sipping on gin and juice while enjoying really awesome jazz bands. Eventually we were joined by Matt, and ran into some others from our group. We sat for quite a while, talking, drinking, and enjoying the weather. We even got to see some of the fireworks show that was going on at the beach. Then the concert ended, and we decided not to waste our buzzes. So we started walking towards La Rambla, liters of juice and beers in hand.
The walk wasn't really eventful, except we did find one of those self-cleaning public restrooms. I took a picture without realizing what it is (included in this picture: a Spanish stranger I surprised as she was coming out of the restroom):
We ended up on La Rambla, after Adam taught Matt how to properly roll his sleeves for 10 minutes in the middle of the street. Upon arrival at La Rambla, we were handed free coupons for shots (which we totally needed) which we naturally sought. There was a catch: we had to buy something, bummer. I had a pint of Heineken, Adam had a pint of Guinness, and Matt decided he was done (liar) and the bartender handed us two shitty, warm shots of vodka while some Irish guy at the end of the bar kept smiling at me. We found a table and drank quickly since some other people from the program wanted to meet up.
Now, as you may have been keeping track, some of us had quite a bit to drink at this point, this author included. And there may have been a photo shoot in Plaça Catalunya while waiting for friends. But those pictures will be kept under lock and key for the time being. Once the guys (Alvaro, Joseva, and Tony) arrived (sober), the night was kind of over. We started walking to a bar and ended up running into some people and stopped to talk forever (in drunk time, in real time maybe 20 minutes). However, while we were waiting I had to go to the bathroom so Matt, gentleman that he is, accompanied me to the bar we intended to end up at, and we went to the bathroom and took shots of Stoli. My buzz lasted well into Friday, and so did his. I took a cab home, and had a great conversation with the driver about the festival and America, it was lovely since I am a fountain of foreign language when I've been drinking. I immediately passed out and woke up at 1:30 on Friday with no desire to do anything that day besides lay in bed, drink water, and take Advil.
So that's what I did. I also made a spreadsheet of things that I need to get done for grad school applications, so I was a little productive. However, Saturday I woke up feeling much better and ready to go again. I went to the grocery store again (I ate all of Wednesday's procurements on Friday when I was recovering) and learned even more about what was there. Then I met up with Jenny, Tom, Adam, and Matt for CORREFOC. Correfoc is the coolest part of La Mercè. I cannot even being to tell you. First of all, you're supposed to wear clothes that cover you because it is a parade of fire. Please, watch a video. That was from last year, but it's pretty similar to what I experienced. When photographing, I was trying to take pictures while being showered with sparklers. It was a little frightening, but such an adrenaline rush and so much fun. Here are some that I took:
Now most people wonder why it is done. First of all, it's fucking awesome and something we would never ever do in the United States, and second of all, you can read the background history, and trust me when I say the small burns I acquired were definitely worth it.
You can't really top a fire parade, now can you? No. And Saturday after the correfoc wasn't exciting. We ate kebabs and sat on a park bench and enjoyed some ice cold vodka and Fanta Naranja, a personal favorite (shout out to my dear friend Kaleb for providing the flask to keep me properly liquored on the go). But you have to get the balance just right or it is absolutely terrible. I got tired and came home, with Tom in tow, and we played the Sims for awhile before he headed back to his place. I slept soundly and woke up Sunday ready to get some stuff done and then go to closing ceremonies. I studied a little for the GMAT, fooled around on the internet in a researching graduate schools fashion, and eventually left for Plaça Espanya and the closing ceremonies of La Mercè.
I did not know one place could hold so many people. Seriously. First of all, the train was fine until like Plaça Catalunya, when approximately 45 million people crammed onto the train. Holy shit, I don't usually have crowd anxiety (I'm not a huge fan but I can handle it), but I wanted to cling to the ceiling like Spider Man just so I could breath. Not only was the train crowded, but I finally got off at Plaça Espanya to discover that there were approximately 6.9 billion people (yes, that is approximately the population of the Earth) crowded into the Plaza. I was trying to meet up with Adam and Nick, but due to noise and just a general lack of ability to move, I just gave up and enjoyed the show. It was fireworks set to music themes. American music themes that is. But it was awesome. Although, due to the crowd and my height, I wasn't able to see very well, but it's fireworks so it's mostly in the sky, so it wasn't a loss. I didn't get home until 11:45P though because they weren't letting people on the Metro for safety reasons. When I got home, I made myself a pretty badass sandwich, and after some more patrolling of the internet, slept so soundly I completely slept through my alarm this morning and woke up at 11:25A, 5 minutes before my class was due to start.
Whoops. I was informed by classmates that we didn't do that much and not to worry, so I didn't freak out. I met up with Jenny at 1P for lunch, and we walked to a Mexican restaurant I discovered online. It was soooo good. I haven't really been that homesick, but man this hit the spot! After a feast of nachos, guac, fajitas, and cheesecake, I headed to linguistics. Also, for those readers in the far reaches of Texas, this is what Mexican food in Spain looks like:
After linguistics Jenny and I went walked around and shopped a little, and laughed a lot. It was a great afternoon. Tomorrow! I have a job interview! If the Spanish government is reading this, it's voluntary since I'm not allowed to work on a student visa in this country. I will be spreading my knowledge of foul English language to small children! I guess I'll teach them how to speak properly, too. I should go do my homework and pick out something to wear, but I'm thinking of looking as Mary Poppins as possible. They'll never know what hit them.
9.22.2009
FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!
FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! Ah, yes, the things in life that still get me super excited. But first, the time between the last day of ILP.
ILP ended on Tuesday with very little pomp and circumstance. I really thought more was due, like someone with a giant cake and a shiatsu massage, but at least it was finally over. After ILP, I didn't have an distinct plans, except to catch up on sleep, equip my apartment with lots of pillows, and study for the GMAT.
Well, I definitely slept a lot. And I did go to Ikea. Let's talk about Ikea.
I had never been there in America, which is just tragic, because it is AMAZING. Everything is adorable in a tasteful way. I got some bright red sheets, pillows (perhaps my one true love), a vanilla candle, some tupperware, and a giant reusable bag that works great for groceries and such. Either way, I will be utilizing Ikea in future decorating and outfitting operations. They literally have everything, and make everything so easy. Although I haven't had to put any furniture together so I might be joking around. We also had lunch there, and since all the stress of ILP and finding an apartment had taken a small toll on my digestive system, the mild meatballs topped with somewhat rich gravy and a side of fries settled just fine. I even considered taking some home with me, but didn't since I need to get used to Spanish cooking.
Thursday was spent sleeping really late and starting to study for the GMAT. So far, that's not looking so good. Luckily I haven't scheduled the test yet, so I have a little time, but I want to take it like beginning of November-ish. For those reading that are not in the inner circle, once I am done here in Barcelona, I will graduate, and would prefer avoiding the aching job market for as long as possible. I would also like to get a master's in something that would make me marketable. Since health care and its related fields interest me, I've decided to apply as a Master's in Health Administration and MBA (dual-degree) candidate. We'll see who takes me.
Thursday I also took a nap and had an intercambio date with a guy I met at a bar. He is Spanish and interested in learning more English, and I'm interested in learning more Spanish and Catalan, so we met up for drinks, well I had beer and he had coffee. It was interesting, and awkward, but not in a bad way. I learned some things about Spanish culture and language, and about him. He's a really nice guy, and hopefully we'll hang out soon.
Friday I woke up late (more on this sleeping business below), and putzed around, studied a little for the GMAT, and then went to a house party at the flat of some of the guys from the program (Alvaro, Toni, Patrick, and Joseva). It was a blast. Not only were people from the program there, but a couple Spanish people that people from that program have picked up on the way, Joseva included since he is from Basque Country and not part of the California-Illinois program. Everyone was very merry, this author included. Some of us may have arrived back at our flats in the wee hours of the morning. Some Spanish gentlemen may have seriously lost at beer pong (not by my hand, I'm the worst of the worst, except for that one time on New Year's Eve...), and we may have pissed off their neighbors. And I vaguely recall catching popcorn in my mouth for sport.
After arriving home at an unladylike time (6:30A), I slept until 4P. The people I live with must think such interesting things about me.
I was going to study and eat lunch by myself, but Jenny decided to join me and I didn't study but I did eat (delicious hangover pasta with bacon) overlooking la Sagrada Familia. After lunch we hung out at my place until like 9 when we met up with Matt to go to a bar and watch the FC Barcelona soccer game against Atletico Madrid. Now, I am not the world's biggest soccer fan, but it is interesting. Not nearly as violent as lacrosse, but it can get intense. And Barca is definitely awesome. I didn't have anything stronger than Fanta at this bar, due to the previous evening's festivities, and arrived home no later than 12:30 (which really isn't that late for Spain).
The next day I woke up around 1P and decided that I was going to buckle down and knock some serious GMAT studying out. I had lunch at a cafe nearby (veal and fries and a grilled pepper, so tasty) topped off with some sort of coffee involving whipped cream (no complaints here) and actually got some work done. Needless to say, I have a solid idea of just how much more work I need to get done, and it is quite a bit.
FINALLY THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!
I have always gotten really excited about the first day of school. New notebooks, clean slate, LEARNING TO BE HAD. However, I woke up on Monday feeling crummy. Not in the every-organ-in-my-body-is-committing-mutiny kind of way, but in the I-slept-for-that-long-and-I-can-sleep-forever-still kind of way. And my ears hurt, and my boogies were the color of grass. I do not have time to be sick here, no sir.
My first class is called Barcelona en su contexto and is taught by the same woman that taught my culture class. She's awesome as a teacher. And she has such a soothing, relaxing voice that I'm pretty sure she should get paid more for it. The class is going to be interesting, from what I gathered, and there are a ton of people in it. All of my classes are program people only for now. In October I'll start Catalan and there will be other people in there, and next semester I'll take more classes with Spanish students, but for now I'm still getting comfortable and don't want to make a fool out of myself (or my grades) in an actual University class. Then I had a 2 hour break.
SO I WENT TO THE BAGEL SHOP.
Something I don't understand about Barcelona is the abundance of lox and cream cheese, and complete lack of bagels. What am I supposed to put the delicious smoked salmon and cream cheese on? This is apparently the only bagel place in Barcelona. In Madrid you can get bagels at the grocery store (like the big one, not the smaller neighborhood ones), why not Barcelona? Either way, I had a delicious cheese bagel with cream cheese and veggies on it. I'm so sure I've never made so much noise while eating (my mother can attest to how much noise I make when I'm really enjoying food). So I bought 6 for the road and have cling wrapped them and frozen them for later consumption. Afterwards I finally got to explore some. I wandered in and out of shops and sat down and people-watched for awhile on La Rambla.
At 3P, I had linguistics class with Toni Torres. Now, I love Toni Torres; his laugh is this infectious belly laugh that lights up a room and makes you laugh right along with him. Will his laugh win me over regarding linguistics? I'm not sure. It might be interesting, we shall see. I do think I will learn and understand the Spanish language much better with it, but we haven't really started learning yet, so time will tell. Also, all of my classes (with the exception of Catalan) are in Spanish.
After class, I had my first experience with the Spanish medical system. The program gives us insurance as part of the cost, so we can go to the clinic when we're sick or broken. Between the extremely excessive sleeping and the strange colors I was seeing, I knew I had a sinus infection. This particular place was like an Emergency Clinic, but not so serious. I didn't have to make an appointment and it's private, so only for people with private insurance. I got there and told the guy what was wrong, more or less, in Spanish and he swiped my card and instructed me to wait for my name to be called. And then everyone and their mother decided to come in, naturally more sick and therefore more of a priority than me. I waited about 45 minutes (this is not an exaggeration, I often exaggerate) to see the doctor for like 10 minutes. There appeared to be only men working there, even the nurses, which I thought was interesting. And one woman who looked miserable and said something in Spanish, which I can only assume meant "Being old hurts. Don't do it." The doctor pushed on my face and informed me that I have sinusitis (it's the same word in Spanish, just pronounced differently), and gave me a prescription for some antibiotics and sent me on my way.
After I picked up 25 euros worth of medicine (I'm not so sure I need all of it?), I came home and laid down on my bed to rest. I fell asleep at 9P and woke up today at 12:30P. That's 15.5 hours of sleep. I did wake up at 2:30A and took my first dose of antibiotics, and with 2 doses under my belt I am feeling much less tired and crummy.
My first class today was at 3P with Mireia (also known as the Tim Burton character from ILP), Composición y Conversación. She's still Tim Burton-esque, if not more so since she dyed her hair more purple-ish/red-ish and still the sweetest woman, well besides Pilar (the program director). I wouldn't want to see her and Pilar compete, it would be tough. That class will be really useful for refining my writing in Spanish, particularly with grammar and vocab. At 4:30 I had Literatura. First of all, it's hard to get excited about a class when the only thing you can hear in the classroom is the echo of the teacher's voice. The classroom has terrible acoustics. Hopefully it will get changed soon. Of all the classes, this might be my least favorite, but you never know. I'm not knocking it until I try it.
After class, a few of us went and got kebabs. Kebabs here are more like gyros and less like sticks of meat but are delicious. I split one with Eunice (thank you sinus infection for killing my appetite), then Amanda and I went to the bookstore. I had been wanting to buy a Spanish cookbook for awhile and AHOY! I finally did. This one is seriously legit. There are 400 recipes divided into Entradadas y Primeros Platos (appetizers, soups, salads, etc.), Pescados (fish), Carnes (all meat but fish), y Postres (desserts). I checked for the important things: snails (check), bacalao (salted cod - check), crema catalana (check). Also, it is in Spanish and done on the Metric system, which will be interesting, AND every recipe has a picture! So I will start cooking Spanish food, and blogging about it! Tonight I had an oregano bagel for dinner and orange juice, but I did cook myself lunch of ravioli with zucchini/onion/meat sauce which was tasty but I couldn't eat much of it, so I have leftovers! Tomorrow I have class at 11:30A (in case your wondering, I mostly did not strategically plan class so I can sleep in, but it worked out really well in my favor), then a break where I will come home and do laundry and eat lunch, and then class. This weekend is La Mercè, which I will explain when I actually understand it, but it's some sort of giant party and everyone's excited, including me. Also, I'm still waiting on lentil recipes, since my 400 recetas book seems to have none (what crap), so post them if you have one! Until next time, and I promise to take some pictures!
ILP ended on Tuesday with very little pomp and circumstance. I really thought more was due, like someone with a giant cake and a shiatsu massage, but at least it was finally over. After ILP, I didn't have an distinct plans, except to catch up on sleep, equip my apartment with lots of pillows, and study for the GMAT.
Well, I definitely slept a lot. And I did go to Ikea. Let's talk about Ikea.
I had never been there in America, which is just tragic, because it is AMAZING. Everything is adorable in a tasteful way. I got some bright red sheets, pillows (perhaps my one true love), a vanilla candle, some tupperware, and a giant reusable bag that works great for groceries and such. Either way, I will be utilizing Ikea in future decorating and outfitting operations. They literally have everything, and make everything so easy. Although I haven't had to put any furniture together so I might be joking around. We also had lunch there, and since all the stress of ILP and finding an apartment had taken a small toll on my digestive system, the mild meatballs topped with somewhat rich gravy and a side of fries settled just fine. I even considered taking some home with me, but didn't since I need to get used to Spanish cooking.
Thursday was spent sleeping really late and starting to study for the GMAT. So far, that's not looking so good. Luckily I haven't scheduled the test yet, so I have a little time, but I want to take it like beginning of November-ish. For those reading that are not in the inner circle, once I am done here in Barcelona, I will graduate, and would prefer avoiding the aching job market for as long as possible. I would also like to get a master's in something that would make me marketable. Since health care and its related fields interest me, I've decided to apply as a Master's in Health Administration and MBA (dual-degree) candidate. We'll see who takes me.
Thursday I also took a nap and had an intercambio date with a guy I met at a bar. He is Spanish and interested in learning more English, and I'm interested in learning more Spanish and Catalan, so we met up for drinks, well I had beer and he had coffee. It was interesting, and awkward, but not in a bad way. I learned some things about Spanish culture and language, and about him. He's a really nice guy, and hopefully we'll hang out soon.
Friday I woke up late (more on this sleeping business below), and putzed around, studied a little for the GMAT, and then went to a house party at the flat of some of the guys from the program (Alvaro, Toni, Patrick, and Joseva). It was a blast. Not only were people from the program there, but a couple Spanish people that people from that program have picked up on the way, Joseva included since he is from Basque Country and not part of the California-Illinois program. Everyone was very merry, this author included. Some of us may have arrived back at our flats in the wee hours of the morning. Some Spanish gentlemen may have seriously lost at beer pong (not by my hand, I'm the worst of the worst, except for that one time on New Year's Eve...), and we may have pissed off their neighbors. And I vaguely recall catching popcorn in my mouth for sport.
After arriving home at an unladylike time (6:30A), I slept until 4P. The people I live with must think such interesting things about me.
I was going to study and eat lunch by myself, but Jenny decided to join me and I didn't study but I did eat (delicious hangover pasta with bacon) overlooking la Sagrada Familia. After lunch we hung out at my place until like 9 when we met up with Matt to go to a bar and watch the FC Barcelona soccer game against Atletico Madrid. Now, I am not the world's biggest soccer fan, but it is interesting. Not nearly as violent as lacrosse, but it can get intense. And Barca is definitely awesome. I didn't have anything stronger than Fanta at this bar, due to the previous evening's festivities, and arrived home no later than 12:30 (which really isn't that late for Spain).
The next day I woke up around 1P and decided that I was going to buckle down and knock some serious GMAT studying out. I had lunch at a cafe nearby (veal and fries and a grilled pepper, so tasty) topped off with some sort of coffee involving whipped cream (no complaints here) and actually got some work done. Needless to say, I have a solid idea of just how much more work I need to get done, and it is quite a bit.
FINALLY THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!
I have always gotten really excited about the first day of school. New notebooks, clean slate, LEARNING TO BE HAD. However, I woke up on Monday feeling crummy. Not in the every-organ-in-my-body-is-committing-mutiny kind of way, but in the I-slept-for-that-long-and-I-can-sleep-forever-still kind of way. And my ears hurt, and my boogies were the color of grass. I do not have time to be sick here, no sir.
My first class is called Barcelona en su contexto and is taught by the same woman that taught my culture class. She's awesome as a teacher. And she has such a soothing, relaxing voice that I'm pretty sure she should get paid more for it. The class is going to be interesting, from what I gathered, and there are a ton of people in it. All of my classes are program people only for now. In October I'll start Catalan and there will be other people in there, and next semester I'll take more classes with Spanish students, but for now I'm still getting comfortable and don't want to make a fool out of myself (or my grades) in an actual University class. Then I had a 2 hour break.
SO I WENT TO THE BAGEL SHOP.
Something I don't understand about Barcelona is the abundance of lox and cream cheese, and complete lack of bagels. What am I supposed to put the delicious smoked salmon and cream cheese on? This is apparently the only bagel place in Barcelona. In Madrid you can get bagels at the grocery store (like the big one, not the smaller neighborhood ones), why not Barcelona? Either way, I had a delicious cheese bagel with cream cheese and veggies on it. I'm so sure I've never made so much noise while eating (my mother can attest to how much noise I make when I'm really enjoying food). So I bought 6 for the road and have cling wrapped them and frozen them for later consumption. Afterwards I finally got to explore some. I wandered in and out of shops and sat down and people-watched for awhile on La Rambla.
At 3P, I had linguistics class with Toni Torres. Now, I love Toni Torres; his laugh is this infectious belly laugh that lights up a room and makes you laugh right along with him. Will his laugh win me over regarding linguistics? I'm not sure. It might be interesting, we shall see. I do think I will learn and understand the Spanish language much better with it, but we haven't really started learning yet, so time will tell. Also, all of my classes (with the exception of Catalan) are in Spanish.
After class, I had my first experience with the Spanish medical system. The program gives us insurance as part of the cost, so we can go to the clinic when we're sick or broken. Between the extremely excessive sleeping and the strange colors I was seeing, I knew I had a sinus infection. This particular place was like an Emergency Clinic, but not so serious. I didn't have to make an appointment and it's private, so only for people with private insurance. I got there and told the guy what was wrong, more or less, in Spanish and he swiped my card and instructed me to wait for my name to be called. And then everyone and their mother decided to come in, naturally more sick and therefore more of a priority than me. I waited about 45 minutes (this is not an exaggeration, I often exaggerate) to see the doctor for like 10 minutes. There appeared to be only men working there, even the nurses, which I thought was interesting. And one woman who looked miserable and said something in Spanish, which I can only assume meant "Being old hurts. Don't do it." The doctor pushed on my face and informed me that I have sinusitis (it's the same word in Spanish, just pronounced differently), and gave me a prescription for some antibiotics and sent me on my way.
After I picked up 25 euros worth of medicine (I'm not so sure I need all of it?), I came home and laid down on my bed to rest. I fell asleep at 9P and woke up today at 12:30P. That's 15.5 hours of sleep. I did wake up at 2:30A and took my first dose of antibiotics, and with 2 doses under my belt I am feeling much less tired and crummy.
My first class today was at 3P with Mireia (also known as the Tim Burton character from ILP), Composición y Conversación. She's still Tim Burton-esque, if not more so since she dyed her hair more purple-ish/red-ish and still the sweetest woman, well besides Pilar (the program director). I wouldn't want to see her and Pilar compete, it would be tough. That class will be really useful for refining my writing in Spanish, particularly with grammar and vocab. At 4:30 I had Literatura. First of all, it's hard to get excited about a class when the only thing you can hear in the classroom is the echo of the teacher's voice. The classroom has terrible acoustics. Hopefully it will get changed soon. Of all the classes, this might be my least favorite, but you never know. I'm not knocking it until I try it.
After class, a few of us went and got kebabs. Kebabs here are more like gyros and less like sticks of meat but are delicious. I split one with Eunice (thank you sinus infection for killing my appetite), then Amanda and I went to the bookstore. I had been wanting to buy a Spanish cookbook for awhile and AHOY! I finally did. This one is seriously legit. There are 400 recipes divided into Entradadas y Primeros Platos (appetizers, soups, salads, etc.), Pescados (fish), Carnes (all meat but fish), y Postres (desserts). I checked for the important things: snails (check), bacalao (salted cod - check), crema catalana (check). Also, it is in Spanish and done on the Metric system, which will be interesting, AND every recipe has a picture! So I will start cooking Spanish food, and blogging about it! Tonight I had an oregano bagel for dinner and orange juice, but I did cook myself lunch of ravioli with zucchini/onion/meat sauce which was tasty but I couldn't eat much of it, so I have leftovers! Tomorrow I have class at 11:30A (in case your wondering, I mostly did not strategically plan class so I can sleep in, but it worked out really well in my favor), then a break where I will come home and do laundry and eat lunch, and then class. This weekend is La Mercè, which I will explain when I actually understand it, but it's some sort of giant party and everyone's excited, including me. Also, I'm still waiting on lentil recipes, since my 400 recetas book seems to have none (what crap), so post them if you have one! Until next time, and I promise to take some pictures!
9.14.2009
A Sigh of Relief
I FINALLY found an apartment. But naturally this did not happen easily, oh no it did not.
Last time I left off I was frustrated as hell. Things were not going my way in the slightest. For some reason, in the entire city of Barcelona, Spain, a rather large city with an impressively large young population, did not have an apartment that I could live in for even a week. But, I still had a week, right?
In the end, I made 14 appointments and saw 11 apartments. I was stood up twice. Then, on Thursday I went to see an apartment in what is apparently the industrial district. I was really looking for a place to live short term while I found something long term. The second to last place I saw, I walked up, and was instantly creeped out. But I had made an appointment so I called the guy (we had agreed to meet at 2:30) to let him know I would be there in 5 minutes and he was like oh, I'll be there in 15. I waited almost half an hour and left without seeing the place. Fortunately, I took the next place I saw. So currently, right now, I'm sitting in the living room of my apartment.
I like it a lot. It's in a great area, I have a huge bed, and an interior window. The interior window is fun because I can hear everyone's business. Although, for the most part I cannot understand, but that will come soon enough. And even though I don't get direct air circulation, it still gets chilly when I sleep because I have a giant fan to help me out. It's also 3 blocks from la Sagrada Familia. Every time I get off the Metro I am taken aback. It is so awesome that I get to live so close to such an amazing piece of architecture and art. I moved in yesterday. It's on the third floor (American standards, el primer piso Spanish standards) with no stairs, which is fine as long as I'm not hauling my suitcases up. Today I went to the grocery store for the first time, and cooked my first meal. I had cheese raviolis with pesto and sauteed zucchini. It wasn't bad. I also bought toilet paper, water (you don't really drink from the tap in Spain), bread, and cheese. And today I went to El Corte Inglés, the supermarket, and bought TORTILLAS and REFRIED BLACK BEANS. Tomorrow I will make quesadillas.
Side note. So this supermarket in El Corte Inglés is AMAZING. I could die in there. I love grocery stores. This place had an entire aisle of canned clams. Which didn't really interest me that much. However, I do plan to try cooking lentils soon, since I discovered I actually like them, since they are a lot like beans and I love beans. If you have any good recipes, post them because I fancy some lentils soon.
Back to my apartment. I really like the people I live with. My roommates consist of a couple (both are 30) and a Brazilian woman who is probably around 30, and they are great. Most importantly, they do not hesitate to correct my Spanish, which I prefer because I would rather be corrected that talk incorrectly, and they're super nice about it. I will not lie, it's a little intimidating. David, the man, speaks English, so sometimes if I'm flustered I resort to that, but I'm trying really hard to talk to them a lot so my Spanish will get better quickly. My conversation teacher told us the best way to become fluent is to have a boyfriend or girlfriend that natively speaks the language you want to learn. I will get on that pronto.
Side note. Today was a clumsy day. Not a bad day, I just couldn't manage to put one foot in front of the other without some serious consequences. The climax of my clumsy day was at McDonald's. I had just spent an entire hour in the mega Spanish grocery store and was dying of hunger. So I take my tray and start up the stairs to find a table. What do I do? Eat shit. Spill everything, right there on the stairs immediately interrupting the flow of everything. Luckily 4 people who worked there immediately came to my aid, and they replaced my lunch no problem. But oh man was I embarrassed. Of course, as soon as I sat down, I looked down and realized my fly had been unzipped for a solid 2 hours (now I know how it feels to be ZAW). Luckily no other accidents occurred, but I was glad I didn't actually know anyone that saw me fall.
Other than apartment hunting, and class, I haven't been able to do a whole lot. Friday night I went out with some people from the group, to a bar called Pippermint, where if one so desires, one can purchase a 13 liter beer or sangria or mixed drink. This writer does not desire to drink 13 liters of alcohol in one sitting, contrary to some opinions. After that we had scored free passes to a club, Bikini, and went dancing until the wee hours. Naturally, I slept until 3:30P on Saturday, packed my stuff up, and on Sunday moved in. Yesterday everyone was closed so I couldn't go to the grocery store, so I met up with Adam and we got surprisingly delicious pizza from a place right up the street from me.
Tomorrow is the last day of ILP (the language program), finally. I think I have 2 quizzes that I should probably study for. After tomorrow, classes don't resume until the 21st of September, so we have this surprise 5 day vacation. I was thinking about traveling, but due to a certain loan company's propensity towards paper checks that take weeks to clear, and having just moved in, I've decided to stay here and work on grad school stuff (GMAT here I come) and get to know the area a little better. Today a cluster of thunderstorms brought in a cool front, and it's absolutely blissful outside. I feel so much less stressed and overwhelmed now that I have finally found a place to settle into. It is really a sigh of relief.
Last time I left off I was frustrated as hell. Things were not going my way in the slightest. For some reason, in the entire city of Barcelona, Spain, a rather large city with an impressively large young population, did not have an apartment that I could live in for even a week. But, I still had a week, right?
In the end, I made 14 appointments and saw 11 apartments. I was stood up twice. Then, on Thursday I went to see an apartment in what is apparently the industrial district. I was really looking for a place to live short term while I found something long term. The second to last place I saw, I walked up, and was instantly creeped out. But I had made an appointment so I called the guy (we had agreed to meet at 2:30) to let him know I would be there in 5 minutes and he was like oh, I'll be there in 15. I waited almost half an hour and left without seeing the place. Fortunately, I took the next place I saw. So currently, right now, I'm sitting in the living room of my apartment.
I like it a lot. It's in a great area, I have a huge bed, and an interior window. The interior window is fun because I can hear everyone's business. Although, for the most part I cannot understand, but that will come soon enough. And even though I don't get direct air circulation, it still gets chilly when I sleep because I have a giant fan to help me out. It's also 3 blocks from la Sagrada Familia. Every time I get off the Metro I am taken aback. It is so awesome that I get to live so close to such an amazing piece of architecture and art. I moved in yesterday. It's on the third floor (American standards, el primer piso Spanish standards) with no stairs, which is fine as long as I'm not hauling my suitcases up. Today I went to the grocery store for the first time, and cooked my first meal. I had cheese raviolis with pesto and sauteed zucchini. It wasn't bad. I also bought toilet paper, water (you don't really drink from the tap in Spain), bread, and cheese. And today I went to El Corte Inglés, the supermarket, and bought TORTILLAS and REFRIED BLACK BEANS. Tomorrow I will make quesadillas.
Side note. So this supermarket in El Corte Inglés is AMAZING. I could die in there. I love grocery stores. This place had an entire aisle of canned clams. Which didn't really interest me that much. However, I do plan to try cooking lentils soon, since I discovered I actually like them, since they are a lot like beans and I love beans. If you have any good recipes, post them because I fancy some lentils soon.
Back to my apartment. I really like the people I live with. My roommates consist of a couple (both are 30) and a Brazilian woman who is probably around 30, and they are great. Most importantly, they do not hesitate to correct my Spanish, which I prefer because I would rather be corrected that talk incorrectly, and they're super nice about it. I will not lie, it's a little intimidating. David, the man, speaks English, so sometimes if I'm flustered I resort to that, but I'm trying really hard to talk to them a lot so my Spanish will get better quickly. My conversation teacher told us the best way to become fluent is to have a boyfriend or girlfriend that natively speaks the language you want to learn. I will get on that pronto.
Side note. Today was a clumsy day. Not a bad day, I just couldn't manage to put one foot in front of the other without some serious consequences. The climax of my clumsy day was at McDonald's. I had just spent an entire hour in the mega Spanish grocery store and was dying of hunger. So I take my tray and start up the stairs to find a table. What do I do? Eat shit. Spill everything, right there on the stairs immediately interrupting the flow of everything. Luckily 4 people who worked there immediately came to my aid, and they replaced my lunch no problem. But oh man was I embarrassed. Of course, as soon as I sat down, I looked down and realized my fly had been unzipped for a solid 2 hours (now I know how it feels to be ZAW). Luckily no other accidents occurred, but I was glad I didn't actually know anyone that saw me fall.
Other than apartment hunting, and class, I haven't been able to do a whole lot. Friday night I went out with some people from the group, to a bar called Pippermint, where if one so desires, one can purchase a 13 liter beer or sangria or mixed drink. This writer does not desire to drink 13 liters of alcohol in one sitting, contrary to some opinions. After that we had scored free passes to a club, Bikini, and went dancing until the wee hours. Naturally, I slept until 3:30P on Saturday, packed my stuff up, and on Sunday moved in. Yesterday everyone was closed so I couldn't go to the grocery store, so I met up with Adam and we got surprisingly delicious pizza from a place right up the street from me.
Tomorrow is the last day of ILP (the language program), finally. I think I have 2 quizzes that I should probably study for. After tomorrow, classes don't resume until the 21st of September, so we have this surprise 5 day vacation. I was thinking about traveling, but due to a certain loan company's propensity towards paper checks that take weeks to clear, and having just moved in, I've decided to stay here and work on grad school stuff (GMAT here I come) and get to know the area a little better. Today a cluster of thunderstorms brought in a cool front, and it's absolutely blissful outside. I feel so much less stressed and overwhelmed now that I have finally found a place to settle into. It is really a sigh of relief.
9.06.2009
Sometimes...I'm Really Overwhelmed
Looking for an apartment is completely and utterly exhausting and overwhelming. And so is being in a new city, doing everything in a language and culture I am not fluent in. It can just be overwhelming. Even though I'm in this fantastic city, there are still days that are bad. Like today.
Let me explain some things. Right now, I'm staying in a dorm. We're provided breakfast and dinner. I don't usually eat breakfast, but you can scroll back and few posts and read about dorm food. The dorms are nice, but they're kind of like camp. You know you're here for a short period of time, everyone is in an awkward, needy place, so everyone gets along but there can be drama. And, unlike real camp, there's almost always alcohol involved. The dorms are nice, but only 3 weeks are included in our program costs and after the three weeks are up, you have to find your own place to live, and the 3 weeks end on Sep. 13th. We can choose to live here, but it's pretty pricey and the food is bad. So I've been looking for apartments. I have an idea of some things that are definite deal breakers (twin sized bed is pretty high up on the list of vetoes), so I've been trolling the internet looking for what I think I want, and it has been absolutely overwhelming.
I had placed an ad of who I am, what I'm doing here, what my hobbies are, what I want in an apartment, etc. I got literally 30 responses the first day. My mind just shut down at the thought of wading through all that. So what did I do? I took a nap. Then I woke up, reminded myself that I'm a big girl, and just went after it. I didn't bother responding to the ones that I didn't like or couldn't afford, but I managed to send out like 15 or so emails, and got a few responses.
First of all, yesterday was really good overall. I woke up at noon and went and saw two apartments. The first opened right up to the metro that would take me straight to the University, but it had cable internet (no WIFI) and no visitors allowed. But it was clean and the people were nice. The second also opened up to the metro in the same way as before, and the people were great, but there was no heat and I couldn't move in until the 17th, which is 4 days after my time ends here. Problem. And it was a little grungy. The first apartment had someone come clean everyday, but there was no window in the room, so no natural light or fresh air could get in. But, I figured I could put up with both of them if I need to, which made me feel better.
Last night I went out with a couple people from the group, including my roommate, and we had a great time. I once again made foreign friends (I just attract them I swear) and slept peacefully. Then today happened.
I woke up, on my own accord around noon, and had lunch at Burger King (sometimes you can't take 2 hours to enjoy several courses). I had made appointments to see 2 apartments, one at 5 and another between 5 and 7 in the afternoon. After lunch I came back, figured out how to get there, wrote down the addresses and headed on my way. I got off at the first metro stop, and went the wrong way for a few blocks, asked people where a major landmark was who for some reason didn't know (apparently I found a comun of people who live under a rock). I thought I was finally in the right vicinity so I called the guy to see if he could help me get there and he informed me that he had already rented the room. Awesome. Instantly pissed at him wasting my time, I stomped off to the metro to head over to the other appointment thinking that karma will smile down on me and this apartment will be more than perfect and I will be done searching.
Such false hopes. I arrived at the other apartment after another trek through the metro system and up a few blocks to discover I hadn't written down what floor it was on. So I called my friend and had him check my email, and pushed the buzzer, nothing. Waited a few moments, and pushed it again. Still nothing. I just walked away. If people are that rude, I will not go out of my way to rent from them. But I was still mad that I hadn't made any progress today. So I walked to the University and found some Cantaloupe gelato to make me feel better. It made me feel a little better. I made a couple appointments for tomorrow. One of them is in a location JCW (John C. Wilcox) said I shouldn't live, but I already made the appointment so I might as well check it out. The other one I'm hoping is good, it's a couple blocks from the university and the pictures make it look nice. It supposedly has a private balcony and built in storage. But it's a little on the expensive side. Which is so frustrating.
I'm going to start complaining a little, so if you don't like it, stop reading now.
The whole apartment hunting is really overwhelming. I know I'm going to have to compromise eventually, but I just feel like I still have time to look, but I'm kind of tired of looking. It's a slippery slope. And people want so bad to rent the place, but I don't want to live in a place I'm not going to be comfortable in. I know I'll find something, but today was so frustrating and discouraging. And I'm pretty sick of homework, we just have so much all the time and on top of trying to find an apartment and figuring out how to fit in to this city, it has gotten kind of a lot overwhelming at times. I know that once I find a place, and am no longer transient anymore, I'll feel a lot less overwhelmed.
But for now, I'm going to go do some (more) homework and try and go to bed soon. Ciao.
Let me explain some things. Right now, I'm staying in a dorm. We're provided breakfast and dinner. I don't usually eat breakfast, but you can scroll back and few posts and read about dorm food. The dorms are nice, but they're kind of like camp. You know you're here for a short period of time, everyone is in an awkward, needy place, so everyone gets along but there can be drama. And, unlike real camp, there's almost always alcohol involved. The dorms are nice, but only 3 weeks are included in our program costs and after the three weeks are up, you have to find your own place to live, and the 3 weeks end on Sep. 13th. We can choose to live here, but it's pretty pricey and the food is bad. So I've been looking for apartments. I have an idea of some things that are definite deal breakers (twin sized bed is pretty high up on the list of vetoes), so I've been trolling the internet looking for what I think I want, and it has been absolutely overwhelming.
I had placed an ad of who I am, what I'm doing here, what my hobbies are, what I want in an apartment, etc. I got literally 30 responses the first day. My mind just shut down at the thought of wading through all that. So what did I do? I took a nap. Then I woke up, reminded myself that I'm a big girl, and just went after it. I didn't bother responding to the ones that I didn't like or couldn't afford, but I managed to send out like 15 or so emails, and got a few responses.
First of all, yesterday was really good overall. I woke up at noon and went and saw two apartments. The first opened right up to the metro that would take me straight to the University, but it had cable internet (no WIFI) and no visitors allowed. But it was clean and the people were nice. The second also opened up to the metro in the same way as before, and the people were great, but there was no heat and I couldn't move in until the 17th, which is 4 days after my time ends here. Problem. And it was a little grungy. The first apartment had someone come clean everyday, but there was no window in the room, so no natural light or fresh air could get in. But, I figured I could put up with both of them if I need to, which made me feel better.
Last night I went out with a couple people from the group, including my roommate, and we had a great time. I once again made foreign friends (I just attract them I swear) and slept peacefully. Then today happened.
I woke up, on my own accord around noon, and had lunch at Burger King (sometimes you can't take 2 hours to enjoy several courses). I had made appointments to see 2 apartments, one at 5 and another between 5 and 7 in the afternoon. After lunch I came back, figured out how to get there, wrote down the addresses and headed on my way. I got off at the first metro stop, and went the wrong way for a few blocks, asked people where a major landmark was who for some reason didn't know (apparently I found a comun of people who live under a rock). I thought I was finally in the right vicinity so I called the guy to see if he could help me get there and he informed me that he had already rented the room. Awesome. Instantly pissed at him wasting my time, I stomped off to the metro to head over to the other appointment thinking that karma will smile down on me and this apartment will be more than perfect and I will be done searching.
Such false hopes. I arrived at the other apartment after another trek through the metro system and up a few blocks to discover I hadn't written down what floor it was on. So I called my friend and had him check my email, and pushed the buzzer, nothing. Waited a few moments, and pushed it again. Still nothing. I just walked away. If people are that rude, I will not go out of my way to rent from them. But I was still mad that I hadn't made any progress today. So I walked to the University and found some Cantaloupe gelato to make me feel better. It made me feel a little better. I made a couple appointments for tomorrow. One of them is in a location JCW (John C. Wilcox) said I shouldn't live, but I already made the appointment so I might as well check it out. The other one I'm hoping is good, it's a couple blocks from the university and the pictures make it look nice. It supposedly has a private balcony and built in storage. But it's a little on the expensive side. Which is so frustrating.
I'm going to start complaining a little, so if you don't like it, stop reading now.
The whole apartment hunting is really overwhelming. I know I'm going to have to compromise eventually, but I just feel like I still have time to look, but I'm kind of tired of looking. It's a slippery slope. And people want so bad to rent the place, but I don't want to live in a place I'm not going to be comfortable in. I know I'll find something, but today was so frustrating and discouraging. And I'm pretty sick of homework, we just have so much all the time and on top of trying to find an apartment and figuring out how to fit in to this city, it has gotten kind of a lot overwhelming at times. I know that once I find a place, and am no longer transient anymore, I'll feel a lot less overwhelmed.
But for now, I'm going to go do some (more) homework and try and go to bed soon. Ciao.
9.04.2009
Saturday, Sunday, and Everything Between Now and Then
I have been kind of busy. But with just enough free time so sometimes I'm bored, but don't quite know what to do with myself. So I'll start where I left off.
Saturday I woke up at 12:45P. It was blissful. I went and looked at an apartment in the Gothic neighborhood, hated it, and walked around Las Ramblas before heading back to the dorms for dinner and more rest. Nothing really exciting about Saturday.
Sunday was even less exciting, I pretty much did homework all day. I did eat 2 lunches, one of them a really fantastic cous cous salad that was tasty but not really heavy and another a couple hours later of a sandwich with roast beef. I did homework all night and woke up the next morning early for class. The weekend wasn't really a proper start to living in Spain. But shit, I was so exhausted that it was exactly what I needed.
Monday consisted of class, and then a tapas lunch. Finally something interesting. A few of us went to a restaurant not too far from the University. It was decent, and I got to try something I had never had before: escargot. I was really impressed. I thought it would be kind of rubbery, but those little snails were so tasty. We also had bacalao (salt cod), eggplant and mozzarella salad that was delicious, marinated mushrooms, a bruscetta with blood sausage, onions, and cheese, and potatoes stuffed with prawns and hollandaise. I also had crema catalana for dessert, more on that later. Eating tapas with Americans who have never had them before is always interesting. In America you order what you want in a portion for just you, for the most part not sharing with people, except in family style situations. Tapas is little plates that everyone shares. But, being the Americans we are (they haven't beaten it out of us quite yet), we hoarded the plates that we ordered and just tried a taste of other people's, it was not the full on sharing session that tapas requires. After lunch I did more homework for the rest of the night. Homework during ILP will be the end of me.
Tuesday, I was tired again. I had managed to stay up late and negate all the good sleep I had gotten on the weekend. After class, I just wanted a sandwich and a nap. I got the sandwich, tuna with lettuce and tomato and mayo, and some french fries, but ended up getting back to the dorms at like 5P because we sat around talking, so no nap. But the conversation was good, so I'm not unhappy. More homework, but tonight I was feeling restless. I wanted to do something besides homework. So after dinner, Nick and I headed to the gas station for some more of my good friend, Don Simon vino tinto (1.38euro wine). Nick and I played cards and finished our tetra packs and then I sat out in the park talking to Tom until almost 3A. I definitely woke up with a little bit of the wine flu, not to be confused with the swine flu, because wine flu goes away eventually with the aid of food and hydration.
Wednesday was pretty dull, classes, sat around the dorm afterwards, pretty much the usual. Except for lunch. Eunice and I went to Flauta, which is a restaurant close to the University that is super popular and very tasty; it's the same restaurant we had our welcome dinner at last summer, and I have some really delicious memories of that so I decided that trying it for lunch would not hurt me. First of all, the place was packed, we actually had to wait for a table and it was a decent sized place, for Spain. I asked the man in front of me if he was waiting for a table and we started talking, he's been going there for years and suggested some things to look for. He was such a regular the manager came over and shook his hand, which is kind of a big deal in a place like Flauta that sees thousands of tourists and businessmen every week. Eunice and I decided on the Menu del Dia, a personal favorite, and I had the ensalad verdura for my first plate and conejo as my second. And crema catalana, something I've been craving for months, as dessert.
My salad came out and I knew from looking at it that it was going to be good. It was pretty, and was loaded with lettuces and ham and a sliced up fresh fig. Now, I had never eaten fresh figs, dried yes but never fresh. I have not been living properly without fresh figs, they are amazing. I could go on for hours about them, but I will tell you that I had one and have been searching for some ever since. Damn. The salad was perfect. Fig, lettuce, pine nuts, a cracker with goat cheese and dried figs mixed in, it was one of the best salads I've had in awhile. My second course was something else I've never eaten: conejo or rabbit in English. It came stewed with artichokes and carrots, and even though there were lots of little bones, it was tender and juice and definitely something I'll try again. Crema catalana is a lot like creme brulee, but a little bit creamier. I could eat it at every meal. In fact, I'm attempting a tour de crema catalana of Barcelona's restaurants. So far, Flauta has been my favorite.
Another highlight of the day, that evening my roommate's friend arrived from Nice. He's been traveling around Europe and is spending his last 8 days here. They were hanging out so late that he managed to miss the metro back to his hostel and ended up spending the night here. But for the first time in awhile I managed to go to bed before 2A.
I woke up on Thursday feeling great. Amanda, Nick and I made plans to meet up after class for paella, and I was once again feeling the itch to do something besides homework at night. After classes, Amanda and I took the metro and met up with Nick and sat down at a cute little restaurant with lots of people and had first courses of melon and jam for me and Amanda and shrimp in a garlicky tomato sauce for Nick. They then brought us the massive pan of paella mariscos (shrimp, crawfish, scallops, mussels, and clams), but we couldn't finish it there was way too much. We had dessert (crema catalana for me of course) and made our way back to the dorms. I stopped at El Corte Ingles to buy a beach towel and ended up purchasing the Sims 3 as well. I haven't really played it yet, but I will soon.
Thursday night I wanted to go out, meet people, drink too much, something I haven't really done since I've been here. So Nick and I went, to La Oveja Negra, a bar I frequented last summer. They have damn good sangria and we got a pitcher and we found a table where some guys were playing a game. Turns out, they were Spanish, they were really nice and fun, and they were playing a rendition of quarters. I spent most of the evening talking to Elias, who spoke English, and he spoke English while I spoke Spanish and we corrected each other, it was awesome. Elias and I exchanged numbers and hopefully will hang out soon. He'll be really good for my Spanish and I might be good for his English. I drank entirely way too much sangria and Nick and I took a cab back to the dorm where I passed out, finally in clean sheets. However, one small problem. I had managed to lose my metro pass and my room key card at the bar. I know they were in my pocket and must have fallen out when I went to the bathroom. Being inebriated, I was naturally pissed, but now I'm over it because I'm never going to find them and they were replaceable, it just sucks. Class all day today, but today was good because Mireia (easily my favorite) gave us a list of colloquialisms, so now I know how to say all kinds of things to tell people to fuck off or whatnot. I did miss the first 2 hours because I was exhausted and straight up not in the mood, but I got it together for the last 2. The language program is intense in a way that I appreciate because it will help me a lot later on, but monotonous and I feel like a second grader. After class we found some cheap sandwiches and then I headed back to the dorms for a nap. At 6:30P I trekked over to an apartment that I thought would be okay. It was tiny, and I'm not talking tiny American standards, I'm talking tiny Spanish standards. Veto.
Tonight I didn't go out, since I'm still kind of recovering from last night, and tomorrow I'm seeing two apartments. Hopefully I find one I like soon, searching and the mere thought of having to settle somewhere else again really makes me stabby. Until next time, try something new everyday, you never know what will change your life.
Saturday I woke up at 12:45P. It was blissful. I went and looked at an apartment in the Gothic neighborhood, hated it, and walked around Las Ramblas before heading back to the dorms for dinner and more rest. Nothing really exciting about Saturday.
Sunday was even less exciting, I pretty much did homework all day. I did eat 2 lunches, one of them a really fantastic cous cous salad that was tasty but not really heavy and another a couple hours later of a sandwich with roast beef. I did homework all night and woke up the next morning early for class. The weekend wasn't really a proper start to living in Spain. But shit, I was so exhausted that it was exactly what I needed.
Monday consisted of class, and then a tapas lunch. Finally something interesting. A few of us went to a restaurant not too far from the University. It was decent, and I got to try something I had never had before: escargot. I was really impressed. I thought it would be kind of rubbery, but those little snails were so tasty. We also had bacalao (salt cod), eggplant and mozzarella salad that was delicious, marinated mushrooms, a bruscetta with blood sausage, onions, and cheese, and potatoes stuffed with prawns and hollandaise. I also had crema catalana for dessert, more on that later. Eating tapas with Americans who have never had them before is always interesting. In America you order what you want in a portion for just you, for the most part not sharing with people, except in family style situations. Tapas is little plates that everyone shares. But, being the Americans we are (they haven't beaten it out of us quite yet), we hoarded the plates that we ordered and just tried a taste of other people's, it was not the full on sharing session that tapas requires. After lunch I did more homework for the rest of the night. Homework during ILP will be the end of me.
Tuesday, I was tired again. I had managed to stay up late and negate all the good sleep I had gotten on the weekend. After class, I just wanted a sandwich and a nap. I got the sandwich, tuna with lettuce and tomato and mayo, and some french fries, but ended up getting back to the dorms at like 5P because we sat around talking, so no nap. But the conversation was good, so I'm not unhappy. More homework, but tonight I was feeling restless. I wanted to do something besides homework. So after dinner, Nick and I headed to the gas station for some more of my good friend, Don Simon vino tinto (1.38euro wine). Nick and I played cards and finished our tetra packs and then I sat out in the park talking to Tom until almost 3A. I definitely woke up with a little bit of the wine flu, not to be confused with the swine flu, because wine flu goes away eventually with the aid of food and hydration.
Wednesday was pretty dull, classes, sat around the dorm afterwards, pretty much the usual. Except for lunch. Eunice and I went to Flauta, which is a restaurant close to the University that is super popular and very tasty; it's the same restaurant we had our welcome dinner at last summer, and I have some really delicious memories of that so I decided that trying it for lunch would not hurt me. First of all, the place was packed, we actually had to wait for a table and it was a decent sized place, for Spain. I asked the man in front of me if he was waiting for a table and we started talking, he's been going there for years and suggested some things to look for. He was such a regular the manager came over and shook his hand, which is kind of a big deal in a place like Flauta that sees thousands of tourists and businessmen every week. Eunice and I decided on the Menu del Dia, a personal favorite, and I had the ensalad verdura for my first plate and conejo as my second. And crema catalana, something I've been craving for months, as dessert.
My salad came out and I knew from looking at it that it was going to be good. It was pretty, and was loaded with lettuces and ham and a sliced up fresh fig. Now, I had never eaten fresh figs, dried yes but never fresh. I have not been living properly without fresh figs, they are amazing. I could go on for hours about them, but I will tell you that I had one and have been searching for some ever since. Damn. The salad was perfect. Fig, lettuce, pine nuts, a cracker with goat cheese and dried figs mixed in, it was one of the best salads I've had in awhile. My second course was something else I've never eaten: conejo or rabbit in English. It came stewed with artichokes and carrots, and even though there were lots of little bones, it was tender and juice and definitely something I'll try again. Crema catalana is a lot like creme brulee, but a little bit creamier. I could eat it at every meal. In fact, I'm attempting a tour de crema catalana of Barcelona's restaurants. So far, Flauta has been my favorite.
Another highlight of the day, that evening my roommate's friend arrived from Nice. He's been traveling around Europe and is spending his last 8 days here. They were hanging out so late that he managed to miss the metro back to his hostel and ended up spending the night here. But for the first time in awhile I managed to go to bed before 2A.
I woke up on Thursday feeling great. Amanda, Nick and I made plans to meet up after class for paella, and I was once again feeling the itch to do something besides homework at night. After classes, Amanda and I took the metro and met up with Nick and sat down at a cute little restaurant with lots of people and had first courses of melon and jam for me and Amanda and shrimp in a garlicky tomato sauce for Nick. They then brought us the massive pan of paella mariscos (shrimp, crawfish, scallops, mussels, and clams), but we couldn't finish it there was way too much. We had dessert (crema catalana for me of course) and made our way back to the dorms. I stopped at El Corte Ingles to buy a beach towel and ended up purchasing the Sims 3 as well. I haven't really played it yet, but I will soon.
Thursday night I wanted to go out, meet people, drink too much, something I haven't really done since I've been here. So Nick and I went, to La Oveja Negra, a bar I frequented last summer. They have damn good sangria and we got a pitcher and we found a table where some guys were playing a game. Turns out, they were Spanish, they were really nice and fun, and they were playing a rendition of quarters. I spent most of the evening talking to Elias, who spoke English, and he spoke English while I spoke Spanish and we corrected each other, it was awesome. Elias and I exchanged numbers and hopefully will hang out soon. He'll be really good for my Spanish and I might be good for his English. I drank entirely way too much sangria and Nick and I took a cab back to the dorm where I passed out, finally in clean sheets. However, one small problem. I had managed to lose my metro pass and my room key card at the bar. I know they were in my pocket and must have fallen out when I went to the bathroom. Being inebriated, I was naturally pissed, but now I'm over it because I'm never going to find them and they were replaceable, it just sucks. Class all day today, but today was good because Mireia (easily my favorite) gave us a list of colloquialisms, so now I know how to say all kinds of things to tell people to fuck off or whatnot. I did miss the first 2 hours because I was exhausted and straight up not in the mood, but I got it together for the last 2. The language program is intense in a way that I appreciate because it will help me a lot later on, but monotonous and I feel like a second grader. After class we found some cheap sandwiches and then I headed back to the dorms for a nap. At 6:30P I trekked over to an apartment that I thought would be okay. It was tiny, and I'm not talking tiny American standards, I'm talking tiny Spanish standards. Veto.
Tonight I didn't go out, since I'm still kind of recovering from last night, and tomorrow I'm seeing two apartments. Hopefully I find one I like soon, searching and the mere thought of having to settle somewhere else again really makes me stabby. Until next time, try something new everyday, you never know what will change your life.
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