It's raining here for the third day in a row. Apparently this is rare for Barcelona, so it's a little irritating. Also, since my unfortunate run-in with an umbrella thief a couple weeks ago, I have yet to purchase a replacement. I think an IKEA run is in order...
It's ok though, the rain here is more like a drizzle, so I don't mind walking around in it. On one of my walks the other day, I discovered a cute little Mexican restaurant called "Las Mañanitas," right by our dorm! We're going to check it out soon, and I'm hoping it will become a regular treat where I can find tacos con carne asada, and maybe a good marg every now and again :)
Started one of my new classes yesterday, and another one today (in about an hour... class from 5:30-7pm will take some getting used to). So far, so good, seems like as long as I keep up with the readings and participate in discussion, a good grade will follow.
Plan for this evening is to lay low, do some homework, and maybe do some laundry, seeing as I'm quickly running out of clothes. I FINALLY had a Skype convo yesterday that lasted more than 30 seconds before the internet connection crapping out. Hooray! It was great to see my roomies, I miss them, but we'll survive a few months apart :)
Happy first day back at school for everyone back in the States, I'm thinking about you all (and Facebook creeping) lots!
Sandy
1.19.2010
1.15.2010
Settling in.
So, my room is a pit.
I'm looking around and a little amazed that in less than a week, my roommate and I have created this sort of explosion involving clothes, shoes, chips and salsa, pringles, and toiletries. Let's be honest though, when I say "my roommate and I," what I really mean is 90% belongs to me, and the other 10% is just on her side, but could still be my stuff. So. I'm done with class for the day, and this will be my project. All of my past roommates know that when I'm in the mood to clean, I do it, and I do it well.
But before I take on this massive project, here's what's up: Orientation week has officially come to a close, and starting next week, the process of stairstepping our way into the semester will continue. My language class began this week, and I will add two more classes to the mix on Monday: "Barcelona and the Latin American Literary Boom," and "Language, Culture, and Communication." The Monday after that, I'll start my two university courses at Universitat Pompeu Fabra: "Barcelona: The City and its History," and "Hispanic Poetry, Poets, and Songwriters." It's been nice having a lot of downtime, but I'm ready to get into the swing of things and have a schedule. Basically, I'm craving being busy again :)
As far as the orientation activities, I've really enjoyed this week. Just as a preface, Barcelona is made up of several barrios, or neighborhoods, that are each unique in their own way and known for different things. They say it's almost like having several little cities within the greater city of Barcelona, so this week has involved a lot of getting to know and experience the different flavors of each barrio. On Monday, we took a tour of the Barri Gòtic, or the Gothic quarter. This is the oldest part of the city, and has a lot of Roman history. The streets are narrow, and there are a lot of beautiful, old churches and some interesting museums as well. Something that I love about Barcelona and just Europe in general is how they have integrated modern businesses into these old areas of town- you still feel like you're surrounded by history, and the integrity of the buildings hasn't been destroyed, but you can find great little shops and restaurants everywhere. Later on in the day, each language class was assigned a neighborhood to explore and participate in a gymkhana, or scavenger hunt. My group was assigned to the Gràcia district, a posh neighborhood on the upper part of town (which just means it's closer to the mountains than the beach). It's an alternative, young, and trendy area with theaters that show independent films, little cafes, and restaurants with lots of international flavors. My group had a rough start to the scavenger hunt, and wasted a lot of time on the first few questions. We thought about quitting, but we finally got the hang of it, and I think we all really ended up enjoying it. Not all the questions were obvious, so that gave us a chance to ask locals questions about the history of a church or clocktower, etc. So two and a half hours after starting, we finally finished the scavenger hunt with a newfound knowledge of the area. On Wednesday, we took a tour of Barcelona's Modernist architecture, which basically took us down one of the major streets, Passeig de Gràcia. This is one of the streets I take to get to the IES center and my classes, so it was cool to look at it with a more detailed eye. We saw La Pedrera and Casa Battló, the houses designed by Gaudí, and several other interesting buildings along the way. It's easy to become complacent and forget to look around and notice the details around you, so it was a good experience to hear the history behind the lampposts or sidewalk tiles (all designed, of course, by Gaudí). By Thursday, I think people were getting a little annoyed with all these excursions, so a smaller group of us actually went to El Museo de Xocolat, or the Chocolate Museum. Bad call, people. It was like a wine tasting, but with chocolate. We learned all about how chocolate is made, and how the flavor variations come about. For example, if a cacao tree is planted in the same soil as a farm that grows coffee beans, even if that farm is not that close by, the chocolate will absorb some of those flavors and will have a hint of coffee. We also learned why dark chocolate is healthier, and why some people in the know don't believe that white chocolate is actually chocolate (ask me about it!). Of course the best part was getting to taste test, yummmmm. So basically, I'm really glad I decided to go.
I love how easy it is to get around the city, so I have been walking places every chance I get. I'm starting to get my bearings, and it feels good. Walking through the Arc de Triomph last night to get home was satisfying, and something I could only get in Europe! I'm looking forward to familiarizing myself even more with Barcelona, discovering other places in Spain, and visiting other countries. Paris? Definitely. London? Sure. Rome? Why not?! The possibilities are endless, and that's an exciting prospect.
Sandy
I'm looking around and a little amazed that in less than a week, my roommate and I have created this sort of explosion involving clothes, shoes, chips and salsa, pringles, and toiletries. Let's be honest though, when I say "my roommate and I," what I really mean is 90% belongs to me, and the other 10% is just on her side, but could still be my stuff. So. I'm done with class for the day, and this will be my project. All of my past roommates know that when I'm in the mood to clean, I do it, and I do it well.
But before I take on this massive project, here's what's up: Orientation week has officially come to a close, and starting next week, the process of stairstepping our way into the semester will continue. My language class began this week, and I will add two more classes to the mix on Monday: "Barcelona and the Latin American Literary Boom," and "Language, Culture, and Communication." The Monday after that, I'll start my two university courses at Universitat Pompeu Fabra: "Barcelona: The City and its History," and "Hispanic Poetry, Poets, and Songwriters." It's been nice having a lot of downtime, but I'm ready to get into the swing of things and have a schedule. Basically, I'm craving being busy again :)
As far as the orientation activities, I've really enjoyed this week. Just as a preface, Barcelona is made up of several barrios, or neighborhoods, that are each unique in their own way and known for different things. They say it's almost like having several little cities within the greater city of Barcelona, so this week has involved a lot of getting to know and experience the different flavors of each barrio. On Monday, we took a tour of the Barri Gòtic, or the Gothic quarter. This is the oldest part of the city, and has a lot of Roman history. The streets are narrow, and there are a lot of beautiful, old churches and some interesting museums as well. Something that I love about Barcelona and just Europe in general is how they have integrated modern businesses into these old areas of town- you still feel like you're surrounded by history, and the integrity of the buildings hasn't been destroyed, but you can find great little shops and restaurants everywhere. Later on in the day, each language class was assigned a neighborhood to explore and participate in a gymkhana, or scavenger hunt. My group was assigned to the Gràcia district, a posh neighborhood on the upper part of town (which just means it's closer to the mountains than the beach). It's an alternative, young, and trendy area with theaters that show independent films, little cafes, and restaurants with lots of international flavors. My group had a rough start to the scavenger hunt, and wasted a lot of time on the first few questions. We thought about quitting, but we finally got the hang of it, and I think we all really ended up enjoying it. Not all the questions were obvious, so that gave us a chance to ask locals questions about the history of a church or clocktower, etc. So two and a half hours after starting, we finally finished the scavenger hunt with a newfound knowledge of the area. On Wednesday, we took a tour of Barcelona's Modernist architecture, which basically took us down one of the major streets, Passeig de Gràcia. This is one of the streets I take to get to the IES center and my classes, so it was cool to look at it with a more detailed eye. We saw La Pedrera and Casa Battló, the houses designed by Gaudí, and several other interesting buildings along the way. It's easy to become complacent and forget to look around and notice the details around you, so it was a good experience to hear the history behind the lampposts or sidewalk tiles (all designed, of course, by Gaudí). By Thursday, I think people were getting a little annoyed with all these excursions, so a smaller group of us actually went to El Museo de Xocolat, or the Chocolate Museum. Bad call, people. It was like a wine tasting, but with chocolate. We learned all about how chocolate is made, and how the flavor variations come about. For example, if a cacao tree is planted in the same soil as a farm that grows coffee beans, even if that farm is not that close by, the chocolate will absorb some of those flavors and will have a hint of coffee. We also learned why dark chocolate is healthier, and why some people in the know don't believe that white chocolate is actually chocolate (ask me about it!). Of course the best part was getting to taste test, yummmmm. So basically, I'm really glad I decided to go.
I love how easy it is to get around the city, so I have been walking places every chance I get. I'm starting to get my bearings, and it feels good. Walking through the Arc de Triomph last night to get home was satisfying, and something I could only get in Europe! I'm looking forward to familiarizing myself even more with Barcelona, discovering other places in Spain, and visiting other countries. Paris? Definitely. London? Sure. Rome? Why not?! The possibilities are endless, and that's an exciting prospect.
Sandy
1.12.2010
On my own.
So mom and dad left on the 3rd, and I was staying at my cousin's place for a while, and now I'm living in the dorm! I can't believe I've been here for two weeks... But for an update:
Palma de Mallorca was great! We got there on the 31st, and I was tooo tired for the first round of sightseeing, so I took a nice nap. Watched a movie with the cousins while my aunt and uncle cooked, and then got ready to celebrate the new year. We brought in the new year with some champagne and a great show (or shows, rather) of fireworks all along the opposite coast, which was visible from my aunt and uncle's balcony. The next day, we were all invited to eat at my aunt and uncle's family friends place. They live in an old, old house from the 15th century! The house is huge and has all these great little nooks and places to explore, and it's filled with so much history. The man of the house cooked up a delicious paella, and we all ate and talked. [**Nerd alert**] Afterwards, he showed us his personal library with all these ancient looking books; part of me felt like I was walking through Dumbledore's office.
We got back to Barcelona, and I said bye to the parentals and headed over to Ricky's place. We had a pretty cozy little set-up: ten people in a 4-bedroom apartment with one toilet and one shower (which was by far the worst shower I have ever experienced). But we somehow made it work, and had a blast together! The first night, we went to this little cave bar called L'Ovella Negra; pretty famous for their cheap sangria, which was definitely delicious. The next day, we woke up early and took the train to the Torres vineyard, about 30 minutes outside of Barcelona in the beautiful Penedès region. We were all pretty wiped out from the lack of sleep from the night before, but once we got to the wine tasting, everyone seemed to perk up a little :) We got to try 5 different wines- 3 reds, 1 white, and 1 pink. They told us what foods they would taste good with, and showed us the proper way to smell the wine (don't swish it around, that oxygenates it and may make a not so great wine seem ok). A couple days later, we went to the Barcelona vs. Sevilla game at Camp Nou! Being inside the stadium was an awesome experience, and despite the rain and the loss, I really enjoyed it.
I loved hanging out with my cousin and all his friends, but was definitely excited to meet everyone on my program. So on Friday the 8th, I woke up early and packed all my things, then took an extended journey to the IES center in Plaça Catalunya (OK, it was an unintentional extended journey, I may have gone the wrong way on the metro and walked around the entire plaza before finding the correct street to turn on...) but at least I'm learning my way around the city! Rick and I took a taxi to my dorm with all of my luggage, which I somehow have added an entire suitcase worth of things since I got here, and I met my new roomie, Beata! The three of us went to IKEA, which will be my first of many trips, seeing as I had never been before and I LOVE IT, and got some towels, etc. When we got back, I met two of the three other American guys, Jay and Joe, and as the night went on, we decided to go out. The cool thing about my dorm is that the five of us are the only Americans- the rest are Spanish, German, French, Dutch, etc., and it's been really cool to meet them and talk to them. Anyway, it was the Russian guy Sergei (sp?)'s last night, so we all went to L'Ovella Negra to celebrate, and then to a dance club called Bikini. We were rolling pretty deep, with about 15 people with us. Not only were a handful of people from the dorm with us, but we were joined by some of his other friends, who came anywhere from Peru to Norway! I would say our first night was a success.
Anyway, this post is way too long, so if you get through it, props to you! Basically, my language class starts tomorrow, my IES classes the next week, and my UPF (Universitat Pompeu Fabra) courses the week after that. I'm looking forward to getting on a more regular schedule, and now that I have internet in my room, I plan on updating this more often so my posts aren't ridiculously long.
Ciao!
Sandy
Palma de Mallorca was great! We got there on the 31st, and I was tooo tired for the first round of sightseeing, so I took a nice nap. Watched a movie with the cousins while my aunt and uncle cooked, and then got ready to celebrate the new year. We brought in the new year with some champagne and a great show (or shows, rather) of fireworks all along the opposite coast, which was visible from my aunt and uncle's balcony. The next day, we were all invited to eat at my aunt and uncle's family friends place. They live in an old, old house from the 15th century! The house is huge and has all these great little nooks and places to explore, and it's filled with so much history. The man of the house cooked up a delicious paella, and we all ate and talked. [**Nerd alert**] Afterwards, he showed us his personal library with all these ancient looking books; part of me felt like I was walking through Dumbledore's office.
We got back to Barcelona, and I said bye to the parentals and headed over to Ricky's place. We had a pretty cozy little set-up: ten people in a 4-bedroom apartment with one toilet and one shower (which was by far the worst shower I have ever experienced). But we somehow made it work, and had a blast together! The first night, we went to this little cave bar called L'Ovella Negra; pretty famous for their cheap sangria, which was definitely delicious. The next day, we woke up early and took the train to the Torres vineyard, about 30 minutes outside of Barcelona in the beautiful Penedès region. We were all pretty wiped out from the lack of sleep from the night before, but once we got to the wine tasting, everyone seemed to perk up a little :) We got to try 5 different wines- 3 reds, 1 white, and 1 pink. They told us what foods they would taste good with, and showed us the proper way to smell the wine (don't swish it around, that oxygenates it and may make a not so great wine seem ok). A couple days later, we went to the Barcelona vs. Sevilla game at Camp Nou! Being inside the stadium was an awesome experience, and despite the rain and the loss, I really enjoyed it.
I loved hanging out with my cousin and all his friends, but was definitely excited to meet everyone on my program. So on Friday the 8th, I woke up early and packed all my things, then took an extended journey to the IES center in Plaça Catalunya (OK, it was an unintentional extended journey, I may have gone the wrong way on the metro and walked around the entire plaza before finding the correct street to turn on...) but at least I'm learning my way around the city! Rick and I took a taxi to my dorm with all of my luggage, which I somehow have added an entire suitcase worth of things since I got here, and I met my new roomie, Beata! The three of us went to IKEA, which will be my first of many trips, seeing as I had never been before and I LOVE IT, and got some towels, etc. When we got back, I met two of the three other American guys, Jay and Joe, and as the night went on, we decided to go out. The cool thing about my dorm is that the five of us are the only Americans- the rest are Spanish, German, French, Dutch, etc., and it's been really cool to meet them and talk to them. Anyway, it was the Russian guy Sergei (sp?)'s last night, so we all went to L'Ovella Negra to celebrate, and then to a dance club called Bikini. We were rolling pretty deep, with about 15 people with us. Not only were a handful of people from the dorm with us, but we were joined by some of his other friends, who came anywhere from Peru to Norway! I would say our first night was a success.
Anyway, this post is way too long, so if you get through it, props to you! Basically, my language class starts tomorrow, my IES classes the next week, and my UPF (Universitat Pompeu Fabra) courses the week after that. I'm looking forward to getting on a more regular schedule, and now that I have internet in my room, I plan on updating this more often so my posts aren't ridiculously long.
Ciao!
Sandy
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