The Last 24 Hours

The last 24 hours have been interesting. After writing my last post, I headed down to the Menjador (dining room in Catalan) for dinner. I was almost dizzy with jet lag and starving so food was definitely welcome and I had some expectations but was curious to see what they were serving us. One of the graduate assistants that flew over with us said that we would get tired of the food, which I quickly understood why.

The dining room is large and luminous with brightly colored tables and chairs, a large, steaming buffet and a self-serve espresso machine at the end. You get a tray and a glass (I've been getting multiple glasses because I require lots of water) and the primer plat (first plate) is salad with lettuce, tomato, carrot, and corn from a can. A very Spanish salad that you put oil and vinegar on. I also had pasta with meat sauce, sausage, and french fries. Jet lag made dinner kind of patchy for me.

The plan was to go to the Festa Mayor de Gràcia which is this huge and amazing festival. So we walked to the metro stop, which was about 12 minutes away, and took it all around the city to the area that the festival was supposed to be in. As I had suspected from looking at the website, the festival had ended the day before, but there were still a ton of people walking in the streets so we just kind of wandered around looking for a place that would hold our group of 10. Spanish bars and restaurants are mostly small, you can have 4 people at a table, and you would never really take a big group without warning the place first. So it was kind of hard to find somewhere, and no one really wanted to make a decision. I was tired of walking around so I just walked in somewhere and everyone followed me.

The bar was tiny. With literally enough space for the bar stools and people to walk past them. Not really conducive to 12 people who want to sit and drink. But we made it work. The bartender was nice. First I had a beer, which was incredibly refreshing after walking around in the sticky heat for an hour. I wasn't planning on getting anywhere near drunk, because all I wanted was really good sleep, and that was never going to happen if I drank too much. But then the bartender pulled out some sort of mystery liquor for one of the waiters and I had to try it. It was called Licór de Hierbas (herb liquor) and smelled TERRIBLE. You're supposed to drink it after dinner for digestion, and it's like 60 proof. So I ordered a chupito (shot) and was of course egged on by the group I went out with.

Everyone smelled it and grimaced, as did I. But I took it. And it was surprisingly good. It had a sweet, earthy taste and it made my tongue numb and my insides warm. And I am positive it aided in my digestion. I stayed a little longer, but didn't drink more, then Adam and I headed back to the Collegio because I was practically falling asleep on the bar. We made it to almost 2A and when I got back I got on the computer and didn't fall asleep until 4A.

At 9A someone stopped by and knocked to see if we were going to breakfast. I woke up but was intent on going back to sleep but I just couldn't, so I trekked down to the menjador for a breakfast of pastries, fruit, juice and milk and coffee, and ham and cheese. It was satisfying but not particularly noteworthy.

After breakfast some people headed to the beach, but I was feeling so sleepy and didn't know how I would fare sitting out in the sun for a long time, so I decided to stay back and read/nap/watch TV. After a couple hours of lounging I decided that I was hungry and should see outside at least once today. I was thinking I would stroll around, check out some shopping, get to know the area a little. I forgot something important. Everything, and I repeat EVERYTHING is closed on Sunday (they call it Fiesta). Particularly in this neighborhood, where there are very few neighborhoods.

I managed to find a restaurant, Pans y Company, where I had a sandwich and fries and Fanta Naranja. The sandwich was definitely the best thing I've had here so far. It was fresh baguette with garlicky mayonnaise, grilled zucchini, caramelized onions, bacon, and sausage. SO TASTY. And I got to eat afuera (outside) on a beautiful day. It was a lovely lunch.

After lunch I hiked back to the collegio, since nothing was open and no one was out. That's another thing, there were hardly any people around. Which makes me wonder what Spanish people do on Sundays. Laundry? Nap? Eat? All of the above? I could speculate for days but I'll try and make some Spanish friends and figure it out instead.

After lunch I read, and then managed a really nice 2 hour nap. At 5P we had an orientation meeting and took a placement exam. I was still hazy from my nap and probably did not do very well. It's just a placement test. They explained some things to us, and gave us some stuff to help us get around the city and navigate the program, which was nice.

After that, I watched the Project Runway season premier, because I figured out how to watch American TV abroad. Now, before everyone gets all huffy about doing American things and such while I'm abroad, I should tell you how I feel about it. I'm American, that I cannot change. And there will be some things that I say and do and are interested in that I blame on my identity as an American. And oh boy, do I love television. However, I definitely think that I should try as much as I can as often as I can and if I have a choice between doing something American or hanging out with Americans versus doing something Spanish or hanging out with Spaniards, I choose the latter. So don't worry, I will gladly abandon American culture if it means learning and experiencing things about the country I'm in.

Back to Project Runway. I can't tell whose going to win, I wasn't particularly impressed with anyone, and I wish they kept that girl on for the drama. Because you know she was going to do crazy shit every single time. We'll see what unfolds.

Tomorrow is the first day of classes, which I will explain more about tomorrow, since this has gotten quite long even though my day was mostly uneventful. Classes are for 5 hours and then I'll probably go to the beach or to buy a few things I need. Not ready for a cell phone yet, need a resident card, but you can add me on Skype if you want to chat (username: scotti.wingfield). Until tomorrow!