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Published: January 14th 2008
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¡Hola a todos!
I cannot believe that almost a week has gone by since arriving to this beautiful city! I still can't even believe that I am actually here! We moved into our Residencia on Wednesday. It is in a cute little neighborhood, but within walking distance to downtown, which is perfect. It is a lot nicer than I expected it to be. I have my own room and bathroom, but I share a kitchen with another gal. She is from Barcelona and does not speak any English! I am really excited about that because I need to be forced to practice my spanish. She has been really helpful with which places to go in order to meet locals and what not. I have met a lot more locals so far than I thought I would! Barcelona is interesting because people come from all over Europe to live here, so I have met people from New Zealand, Ireland, England, Portugal, Brazil, etc. I feel like my Spanish was improving at first, but now I'm having trouble speaking Spanish and English- weird, huh? Writing this letter is sort of difficult actually... I keep getting jumbled on my words and switching back
and forth between spanish and english- spanglish, I suppose. I'm hoping that that is all apart of the process of adjusting to a foreign language and I'm not some weirdo. haha
The food here is interesting- a lot more bland than I was expecting. They definitely have some of the same foods as America, but smaller portions and less detail. For instance, salads have a couple toppings instead of piled with stuff, and sandwiches usually have a piece of cheese and a little bit of meat.... which usually consists of lamb, ham, or sausage. ish. :/ They LOVE their carbs and wine, that is FOR SURE. Wine here is extremely cheap, along with Sangria. Bottles are usually about 2 euros, which is equivalent to about 3 dollars in the U.S. and it is wayyyyy stronger than any wine I have ever tried. I don't know how they drink all day long! I have one glass and need to stop! Whew! haha Their coffee is AMAZING! Café con leche! Unrealllll! We sat at this café today.... some famous one that some artist used to sit at I guess.... but it's also famous for people watching. Anyway, amazing coffee here! So
strong, but so good and after going to sleep at like 4 am every night and getting up at 9, you need it! haha
The nightlife here is unlike anything I have ever seen in my entire life. I am not exaggerating when I say this: they stay out dancing until 8 in the morning! This is a typical schedule of the day. Wake up at 8 or 9, have a small breakfast (aka piece of fruit), go to school or work, have a BIG lunch at like 2, nap from 3-5 if you're tired from the night before, dinner at 9ish (usually a small sandwich), and then they go out for drinks from 11 until about 1, go to a club around 2ish (but the clubs don't get really packed until 3:30), leave the discos at 7 am, and then go to after bars that are open from 6 am until 9 am. NUTS, huh?! I went out until 6:30 a few nights ago and my feet have yet to recover! They dance like crazy ALLLL night! I went to this club called Razzmatazz, and they have five different dance floors, each with a different type of music.
This explanation doesn't even give a good taste of what it's like here. I'll have to take some videos or something. Another difference from the U.S. is that people don't get visibly drunk here. They know how to drink responsibly and have fun and maybe have 3 or 4 drinks through out the night.
I feel a lot safer here than I thought I would... I have not come across any pick pocketers or anything... I almost feel safer here than La Crosse. There is no violence here like in America.... they don't use weapons or force. Basically, if you're stupid about leaving your stuff accessible, it will get taken. The only things I don't like about Barcelona so far is the amount of smoke (my roommate smokes constantly in the room 😞) and how you have to buy bottles of water. Other than that, they seem to know how to live life and live it well.
Side note: Right now everything is on sale because of some major holiday, so for the next month I will be shopping lots... if any of you would like anything in particular, LET ME KNOW! I would love to buy things
...
The showers are TINYYYY! They definitely do not have any Germans that live here! haha that you will actually use instead of just guessing.
Next weekend we are going to wine vineyard! I cannot waitttt! I'll fill you guys in on it after we go. Also, my friend here is turning 21 in mid February and I think we are going to fly down to Morocco, the Canary Islands, or Portugal to celebrate! I'm really excited! :D Wednesday I am going to a Barcelona fútbol game- Wooooo to Ronaldiño! Life here is crazy and I can't exactly keep up with it- but I'm hoping eventually it will sink in that I am here!
My language class starts tomorrow and I am actually really nervous because I am attending an actual University here, unlike most students in my program. I guess it is the best Business school in the country, which kind of freaks me out. They will be taught only in Spanish, with spanish students and from what I have heard, they are really strict on absences. If you are a minute late to class you are considered absent and once you have three absences you fail the course. Also, you CAN'T go to the bathroom during class! ¡Aye de mio! We'll see
how it goes.... I tested into an intermediate course, which I am extremely happy about because it will be challenging, but not impossible.
What else??? I feel like I am forgetting a lot, but I suppose as the sem goes on, I will be able to post more details. It's funny- I have never been able to experience a life like this... whenever I travel (which is seldom), it's always rushing around, trying to fit everything in within a few days. It's nice to know that I have four months to tear apart the city, look at all of it's history and find some hidden treasures. 😊 I wish all of you were here to experience it with me, but know that I'm thinking of you! If you guys have any questions feel free to ask!
Bueno, I should probably get to sleep since I have class early tomorrow. Please keep me filled in on your lives and let me know if something in particular pops into your head that you'd like me to buy for ya!
Besos,
Ness
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Lisa
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Your trip sounds amazing so far! Yay! I'm so glad you are having a wonderful time. If you could send me a postcard that would be fantastic. I collect postcards from all over the place and I will add this one to my collection! Thanks Vanessa, have fun!!