1 day....

So today is the big day. I leave in an hour to start my journey home. I will be leaving on a train to Madrid...arrive in Madrid late tonight and then go straight to the airport. At the airport I will wait and wait and wait...haha...Ya I will be there for awhile and then fly out mid morning! I'm stoked. It seems so surreal though. They say while studying abroad you learn things about yourself and about the world. I would definitely say that I have changed as a person for sure. I have experiences and people I have met and memories I have made that will stay with me for a life time. I know that I will miss so much about my time here. It is weird to think that I will be going home. I have looked forward to this day and thought of all the things I have missed in America but now that I am going there I dont know how to feel.

I have had a great time and look forward to what God has in store for my future! Hopefully another big adventure soon!

2 days.....

Not much to say today...I head out tomorrow evening for Madrid and then will chill at the airport and leave Saturday Morning! CRAZY! It has been a blast though...

Here is a small taste of what my last amount of time in Barcelona is looking like....

3 Days...

So this is really the end of the third day but it was a sad one. I said goodbye to a lot of great friends and really realized that I have been away from home for 3 1/2 months and really studied abroad....the concept seems so strange. Three more days and I will be back home and life will go on as normal and how it has since I have been gone. The evening ended with shopping with Marcela and Nora and getting last minute presents for people and then meeting Calvin, Allison, her sister and Lacey for dinner. We ate at a Lebanese Restaurant and had 3 bottles of Spanish wine. We laughed about all the great times we had had together. It was the perfect way to say goodbye but so sad! At least Nora and I have one more day together!

Interesting thing for today....
These are the little mail boxes. They are all over the place and you drop your letters off in the box. Nora has an obsession with these! haha! I just thought they were neat because they look so different!

4 Days...

Today was my last day of the semester. I took an International Business final and an Architecture of Barcelona final. I think I did really well and I found out that I passed my Spanish Class so that was exciting. All of grades are pass/fail here! Now I am just super tired and about to start the second half of my week. This half will be saying goodbye to everyone and packing and then the last two days are travel travel travel.

Interesting Thing for today....


The sign above is from a bar from right down the street. Here everyone goes to bars to watch the game. They get sooo crowded when there is an FC Barcelona game. Many people go an hour or so before the game just so they can get a good seat and at the game people yell and holler and cheer for their team like crazy!

5 days.....

Today was Spanish final. It was the longest final of my life. The first hour and a half we had to write two paragraphs and do two listening exercises. We then took a break and came back for another hour and a half and did grammar exercises and reading comprehension. The final was worth 70% of my grade! YA CRAZY! After my final I printed out my flight info for going home! AHHHHH! Came home ate lunch, took a shower and a nap. When I woke up was excited to see an email that God had given me the job I wanted really bad in the Spring. I am sooooo excited! So far the Spring semester looks like it is going to go very smoothly.

Well I am down to 5 days and its already 8:15 pm here...so im study study study for my business final tomorrow. I take that and Architecture and then am done for the semester! HOORAY!

The interesting thing for today...
This is the potty at my house. It was really weird getting used to because if you notice you pull a cord from the ceiling to flush it. When i first got here I looked everywhere for where to flush and when i looked up I saw the part is usually at the back at the ceiling a a cord next to it. haha! It's funny how somethings are sooo different here!

6 days....

Today I spent most of the day just chilling. I went to meet with friends at Starbucks around 4pm and we studied for a good three hours! Then I saw Ronnie from home because his band is here playing in Barcelona! It was good to see him! We just walked around and talked for a little while! It was my last Sunday in Europe and I am bout to start a week full of lasts...last day of school...last dinner with my family...last shopping with friends...last last last...

Interesting thing for today...
All of the pharmacies in Europe I think but for sure in Spain are marked with a little green cross outside the door that is lit at night. You can see the pharmacy from far away. This is not like WalGreens at all though because they only have meds here. They barely carry anything else...maybe occasionally shampoo but you are expected to go else where to get items like that!

7 Days....

Today was another study study study day,....the big Spanish test is now only 2 days away! Ahhh...a little scary.

The interesting thing for today is...


These are pictures of the street signs. Its amazing how small they are. They are also positioned on corner of the streets and are almost impossible to see. The first couple days here I was so confused because I could not figure out where the street signs were and how to get where I was going. I do not know how a person can tell if they are driving in a car and I am sure this has caused many car accidents. If you look at the last picture, the little white square is the street sign and I am standing across the street...So imagine being at the intersection! It's CRAZY! This is one thing that I learned very quickly here. You have to memorize where you are going because its nearly impossible to follow street signs!

8 days...

Today was a pretty lazy day. This weekend is supposed to be all study study study. I ended up staying up pretty late watching a movie and slept in today. I then had to run some errands and go pick up a new mic for Skype because mine decided it didn't want to work my last week here! BOO! haha! But now I am sitting down to try and starting working on my work for finals next week. I have an extra credit project I need to write up.

But the interesting fact for today is....
So this is what I was talking about that my teacher told us about yesterday. It is a log that "appears" on the doorstep of Catalan children around this time every year before Christmas. The children are told that the log is alive and have to leave food out for it every day. Then when the children arent around the parents eat the food and leave parts to make it look like the log ate the food. Christmas morning comes and the children hit the log with a stick and sing a Christmas song. They then lift the blanket but nothing is under it. The parents have the children go in the other room and pray and put presents under the blanket to make it look like the log pooped the presents out. The child comes back and hits the log and sings the song and there are presents. They do this a few times and when all the presents are gone the behind the log is a black candy that looks like coal and it means that is everything.

My teacher explained that he thought they did this because it originated in farm lands and it taught Children about feeding the animal (leaving food for the log), killing the animal (beating it with a stick) and then eating and using the rewards that the animal produced (the candy and presents). KINDA WEIRD IF YA ASK ME! hahaha! But there is a Spanish/ Catalan tradition for you!

for more info :http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ti%C3%B3_de_Nadal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dB_N7-HXTlI

9 Days....

Today I woke up and went to class. In my business class I had a review for the final and then had my last Barcelona Architecture class. It was crazy. My architecture professor, Toni, yes they make you call them by there first name told us about a Catalan Christmas tradition that i plan to talk about later. I then came home and chatted with friends, took a nap and talked to people back home!!!


Today's Spanish info is...


They have these recycling bends on every street. It is kind of crazy but residents are expected to go downstairs and sort their trash in the different bends. I think it is a good concept though and then they come...the different recycling trucks...and pick up everything in their colored been. I saw a truck picking up all the glass before...you should have heard when it all fell into the back of the truck. It was a loud crashing noise. In my house abuela is encharge of taking all of the recycled items down to the street.

10 Days Left

So today I had my first final. I had to talk about myself, a photo (which happened to be of Max)
and have a conversation with another girl IN SPANISH! It was crazy insane! I think we did pretty well though, from what I heard she was pretty nice to us. I then walked back home got here and went to sleep for three hours. Apparently im on a strange sleeping schedule that is in between Spain time and USA time. I watched some tv, read some of my book and just chilled. I have another early morning of class tomorrow.
I have decided to every day talk about something new I saw while I was here that I found a bit strange, frustrating or interesting.

TODAY'S IS....
Spain has this bicycle company that allows you to rent bikes for the year. You take them off the designated place and can have them for a total of thirty minutes at a time. This is interesting to me and pretty cool. The stands where the bikes are are all over the city. It is cool because having a bike you take the chance of it getting stolen and with this company you can always have access to a bike but not have to worry about it getting stolen!

The Coutdown Begins tomorrow!

SO tomorrow I will start my coming home countdown because i will be at 10days till I'm there. I am sooo excited. Today I had a lazy day and met friends to study! My life will basically be study study study...pack pack pack...and travel travel travel for the next 10 days! Then i will have my mom and dad, sisters, incredible boyfriend, grandma and Brooklyn all waiting at the airport for me! Wow...only 10 days...Maybe I will try to 10 things I have not done yet...something for each day left...You will just have to wait and see. But Christmas shopping is finished and I have all kinds of goodies to bring home to friends and family. And side note im ready to be back in the US of A where people dont smoke in your face the entire time you are walking down the street! That would be nice...I feel like im getting the black lung...But you think I can take some of the pretty Christmas street decorations with me???

Adios from Barcelona!

Another weekend has flown by...

This weekend seemed to fly by. It has been a weekend full of holidays so doesn't officially end until Wednesday but I have a midterm Wednesday so that means i have to study! BOO! Well Friday I chilled at my house because I had a interview at 4pm. I spoke with the woman and then Alfonso and I went grocery shopping for food so that I could cook an American meal. While walking there we saw all the Christmas lights were finally lit up and decided to walk around. It was so pretty. I then made pancakes for my family with maple syrup. They loved them. They had never had maple syrup before.
On Saturday I went with Nora and went shopping for family and friends and to a flea market. It was a cool little market and we found a ton of great gifts at great deals. We also went to the famous Christmas shops around Sagrada Famila. The shops had decorations and all kinds of candy nuts and crepes. Spain also has these little logs that people buy and put presents in. The log has a face on it and then at christmas they use the nose and the presents go out the backside of the log. Kinda weird if you ask me.
On Sunday we went wondering around again. This time we made it to a museum since it was free museum day. The museum was the best pictures in world newspapers in 2009. It was really awesome...apparently it travels the world and just happens to be in Barcelona right now. It was awesome to see since I am a journalism major and everything.
On monday, today, I went to study with my friends at this cool funky cafe. We ordered coffee and tea and tried to stay focused on Spanish. We are supposed to meet up again tomorrow. It was nice to see everyone and just chill. We all were shocked that we leave next week and bummed that the majority of our time left will be lots and lots of studying. I finished my Christmas shopping as well today. HOORAY! I got Max something pretty cool and now am completely finished. Then at night came home and made my family mashed potatoes, fried chicken and green beans. It was really yummy and tasted just like home.

This weekend has flown by and was a lot of fun. It is crazy to think that I only have a week and 3 days left. WEIRD! Well tomorrow I need to get a lot of studying done and go homework crazy! Finish strong...

Adios from Barcelona

2 WEEKS AND 5 DAYS!

How crazy is that?!?! Its almost coming to an end. This week I have two presentations on Tuesday and two interviews for jobs for next spring. Then the next week I have an oral exam for Spanish and the week after that I have 3 finals! AHhhhhh!

Things to do before I leave besides school....
-Tibidabo
-Labyrinth
-Presents for People
-Pictures with host family and of my house...

THIS IS INSANE! WHEN I LOOK AT THE BIG PIC ITS ALMOST OVER. I am happy to go home but at the same time it will be sad to leave my host fam and Barcelona! WOW! I studied abroad and lived in a different country for 3 1/2 months! I think it just hit me! haha!

THE BEST WEEK OF BEING HERE!

The best week of study abroad was last week because the love of my life came to see me! It was amazing to see him. He arrived on Saturday Nov. 21. He was so tired but I dragged him to see the Monjuic Fountain. When we got there and it started he loved it. The next day we went all over the city. We first walked down to the Gothic area and checked out the cathedral and roman pillars. We then took a rest and sat at Plaza Catalunya. It was so nice. Then we went over to the Arc de Triumph and to park Ciutdella(sp?). At the park we saw the fountain and rowed in little boats. It was like a mini central Park.

We decided to hit up the beach next and just sat and talked and watched the waves come in. We then walked back grabbed a pizza for dinner. It was yummy.

While he was there we also took two day trips. We went to Monserrat and Tarragona. At monserrat we climbed the mountain and at Tarragona we went and saw the Roman Ruins. Each made for a really funny day, great sights, lots of laughs and time together we will remember forever!

In Monserrat we saw the boys chior sing and the black Madonna. We were not really sure what it was but this one lady kept telling us to go go go. The best part by far was climbing and hiking in the mountain. We went up so many stairs that are calves were killing us the next day...well mine more so i guess.

The trip to Tarragona was a blast too. We saw so many Roman Ruins and were both ewwing and awwing over it but by the end of the day were finished. It was really cool. We went to this chinese restraunt and had to wait 20 minutes for the woman to get off the phone with her friend for us to get our ticket and max got this really sick nasty dessert that he kept playing with and trying to eat. It was funny! We laughed so much.

We spent the last day in Barcelona. We ate at a really cool restaurant that had a buffet. The buffet was little boats that would float by with your food in them. It was really cool. They had some scary looking food and some really good stuff. At one point Max was like it was good i just dont want to know what i ate!

The week together was amazing but made for a horrible goodbye. I cried at the airport and wanted to leave with him....2 weeks and 5 days seems like its going to take forever! haha! But i know going back and being able to talk about our time in europe and laugh together will be amazing. Just seeing him my family and my little baby Brooklyn will be nice!

Adios from Barcelona

Differences between here and there: AND my agenda for my first day back!

Differences:

-The metric system
-no fast food
-temperature measured in Celsius
-the toilet...to flush you pull from the ceilling
-the coffee here is to die for!
-you get to walk more and it's great exercise
-cellphones cost a lot more

Agenda:

In the airport at Phili...eat Chickfila for dinner! YUMMY! Talk on my American cellphone and send text messages! Fly back to Dallas. See my fam and boyfriend. Get lots of hugs and kiss from the man I love. See my little dog! Awww...I miss her. Drive ASAP to Taco Bell...cheesy gordita crunch to go! Look at all the road signs in English and admire that everyone speaks English! Go home take a looooonnnnngggg hot SHOWER! O how i have missed this. Put some sweats on that came out of the dryer and smell fresh and clean. Watch TV in English with my fam after renting a movie from Red Box and maybe day two a Walmart or Target run just because I forgot what they looked like! haha!

Then show pics of Spain and think bout my amazing host family and friends! O spain...

National Park Weekend!

This weekend was basically a "get all of my work finished so I can hang out with Max next week." On friday I went and purchased a few more presents for people back home. I found some great stuff. I am excited for Christmas and being able to give everyone their awesome gifts! Then Saturday I woke up early and went with Alfonso and David to a National Park to look at some places to film the short film they are working on. It was a lot of fun. The weather was perfect, the fresh air was amazing, it was nice to see nature and the view was spectacular. The day went by so fast. We left around 11 picked up David...grabbed food and headed out. It was about an 1hr and 1/2 from Barcelona. When we arrived we had a hard time finding the location we were looking for. We took these gravel roads and Alfonso's car got sooo dirty. It would have been the best place to have a jeep but with the way they drive in Europe i'm scared they would flip it. We found some great places and had lunch at one of the sights. Then headed back and I worked on more work and made guac for the host fam, which was a huge hit! Well today is another work day because the man leaves to come to Barcelona in 5 days!!! thats crazy and i realized out of the 4 weekends i have left here two will be spent with him...well at least for part of them!

Adios from Espana!

FC Barca Game!!!

On Tuesday night we went to the FC Barcelona game. It was a lot of fun. The stadium was not very crowded because Barca was expected to win and the game was on the TV. It was still really neat to see what Soccer in Europe is all about. The "wave" like in the United States still happened and the Spanish people still had cheers like we do. It was crazy. It made me miss college football games. At the beginning of the game everyone stood and took their hats off for the national anthem. I was so confused and for one second thought i was about to hear the US national anthem. They ended up winning 5-0 and I got to see Messi play, which was exciting. I also rode on the back of Alfonso's vespa to the game and carried my helmat around with me. I felt like a true European...a futbol game...a vespa ride and carrying my helmet!


Adios para Espana!

LAZY WEEKEND and yummy tiramisu!

This weekend was pretty lazy. Friday I went shopping all day...well more like window shopping..haha! I found some great presents for people at home so that was fun! I'm excited to get back and give them as Christmas Presents! HOORAY! I love giving cool gifts to people and seeing their faces when they open them! Friday night I hung out with a lot of friends and had a fun time..well interesting would describe it better! haha!

Saturday and Sunday were pretty chilly so I ended up just hanging out at home and chilling with the fam! It was fun. My host bro was in a crazy mood and kept making us all laugh. He was very entertaining! He also decided to cook a giant feast for lunch which included Spanish tortilla, pasta and tiramisu! It was amazing!

We have all been being lazy and eating and laying around today. It is so cold outside. Sometimes you have to have weekends like this. This week is pretty busy for me at school next week too. I have lots of meetings (3), projects (2), homework and have to go to the ISA office to turn in a paper for OSU. CRAZY!

Adios para Espana!

Facing Obstacles

It is strange coming to the last six weeks of my study abroad experience. As I look back at the last 7 weeks I realize how much I have grown and how many obstacles I have had to overcome...from the language barrier with my host family and the new culture, which is very different from America.

It has been such an experience. On one hand I look forward to returning to the Estados Unidos (US of A) and on the other it will be sad leaving everything I have grown to know and understand as life. I am so thankful to have been born and raised in America. It is crazy to see what my life could have been like if not. Not that it is bad but you begin to miss the everyday things...the happiness most Americans have and the smiles they greet you with on the street, the freedom that reigns and how easy it is to do anything.

This last part of my trip I have really been encouraged to press into God. I am so thankful He has given me this experience abroad and so thankful He has provided me to look at the unknown and have a "conquer it" attitude.

some verses i read today that were really awesome were...

"But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere- in Jerusalem, through out Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
-Acts 1:8
"So I pray that God, who gives you hope, will keep you happy and full of peace as you believe in him. May you overflow with hope through the power of the Holy Spirit."
- Romans 16:14

I know this experience has been a blessing from God but being excited about going back to familiar lands (literally) I don't want to miss what He has left for me the last couple of weeks. He has stretched me, molded me, pushed me and is doing something in my life this semester. And it seems that I have forgotten He is right next to me the whole time! Wow He is awesome!

STRETCH ME....MOLD ME....SHOW ME SOMETHING NEW EACH DAY!

This Past Weekend...

Park Guell
Host Bro
The Movie!


This was the last weekend of October and First weekend of November. It started out is just a regular weekend in Spain but turned out to be quite eventful. Friday afternoon I went and met up with the ISA group for a tour of the Picasso Museum. It was really awesome and amazing to see how much talent Picasso has at the age of 8! Marcela and I then walked around the Gothic area, ate some dinner and went to see a movie in English. We were so excited and thought it would be like home. We bought tickets, went to the grocery store and got snacks to bring in in our purses and headed back. We also grabbed some popcorn. The popcorn was way sick...the movie had assigned seats and the movie was just plain stupid. We ended up leaving early. It was so funny though and definitely made us ready to be back to the states for a movie.

I headed home all smiles and got home to a broken mic, which meant no skype date with the boy. Marcela being amazing said i could come and get hers and since it was only 11:15, which is way early in Spain i thought it sounded like a great idea. Little did i know i would almost be mugged and have to run to get away. It was pretty scary. Glad God was watching over me because there is no way i could have made it away by myself.

Saturday i slept in and we went shopping for a new mic and family souvenirs. I found some great stuff. Came home and got ready to go to Park Guell with Alfonso, David and Marcela. I decided to dress Euro and wore shorts with tights underneath and sneakers. It was quite exciting. The park was really pretty at night. The night ended with going out for Halloween and meeting up with some of my friends from my spanish class. We had a blast and laughed quite a bit.

Sunday was a lazy day of catching up on everything I needed to get done and realizing that I have two more weekends before my boyfriend gets here. Well this week is a pretty lazy week at school but I realized I need to get on the ball since we do not have alot of grades left and since there are only 6 weeks until I am back in the U.S of A!!! THATS CRAZY!

Adios para Espana

USA....EU

Miss in the USA:

-long hot showers
-dryer for my clothes
-Fast food
-having a car
-the US dollar


Will Miss about EU:
-the amazing coffee
-siestas
-my host fam
-school being more relaxed

unexpected but super welcomed visitors...

This weekend started out like any other normal weekend...haha. That is usually how these stories start out...

Well i went to see some of Gaudi's work with ISA on Friday. It was really pretty and the view from the top of the building was amazing. The man was a genius. Everything he created was hand crafted and he came up with ideas that are very useful to us today.

Went home and chilled and happen to come across a facebook message. A friend from school (OSU) was in Barcelona and had been on the beach and had everything stolen....from her credit cards to her passport. Yes her passport. My family allowed her to stay here which was amazing.

It was a bad situation gone good and ended with us saying "why have we never hung out at school" On Saturday night we went to see the monjuic fountain and the Olympic grounds and on Sunday made our way to the Monjuic Castle and saw a beautiful view of the city. We also Americanized the weekend with movies and pizza. It was a lot of fun.

Today she was able to get an emergency passport and meet up with her friends in Paris. We had a blast though and realized we are alot alike.

This week i have a midterm...a paper to write....and some homework for Spanish...It should be pretty busy. I also booked a flight to Germany. I am pretty excited because i will be there in December and it should be cold and then come back and head out in a week and half for the States. Time seems to be flying by but at a stand still at the same time! I am so ready for Max to be here and get to finally see him after 3 loooonnnggg months! haha!

Adios from Barcelona

Italia! Milan & Venice

so this past weekend we went to Italia! We spent two days in Milan and 2 in Venice. Milan was amazing. The people were so well dressed and the food was incredible. On Wednesday we got in and went to our lovely hotel. Haha! it was horrible...Marcela sat on the bed and it broke..we had to get the guy to come in and fix it and yes we paid for a bed that we helped fix.

On Thursday we got up and hit the city. Our mission was to find a pair of stylish boots. Four girls finding the perfect pair...and yes we were successful! we all left looking posh! We also went to a Cathedral there and had an amazing italian dinner...wine and pasta.

On Friday we headed to Venice. We took the train and went to the city. The city was incredible. We must have chose a good weekend because the city was not flooded but definitely chilly. It felt so good! The city was breath taking. After looking at pictures i was shocked because they didnt even do justice to how beautiful the place was.

We had yummy pizza and pasta and wine and explored. We went to the famous square and the pigeons literally jumped on us. It was crazy. It was a fun experience. COming back to Barcelona was exciting but sad. We had such a great trip and so many laughs. This was a trip i will remember for the rest of my life.

Some of my favorite quotes were:
"its like a gondilla"
"o...CAMPING FUSINA"
" umm...sir could i get a blanket please it was cold last night.." response: "i turned on the heater what else do you want"
more to come....

My Birthday...Valencia...and a long weekend!

My Birthday Dinner!
Oceonographico
Valencia
This week was great! busy but fun! The week started with a celebration of my 22nd birthday. We went to a Mexican Restaurant with about 15 friends and ate yummy food. I also got a call from my boyfriend and he got me a northface jacket which he is bringing out in November. I am so excited. My parents sent money and put a box in the mail with some amazing American things...i am still waiting on it to arrive though.

The week went by well. I had a lot of homework and was busy with school. Friday rolled around and we left with ISA on a trip to Valencia. When we got there after the 5hr bus drive we checked into the hotel and went to get some food. Nora, Marcela and I ended up eating Chinese food which was really really good. We were running late and had to make a run for the bus so we did not miss the city center tour. It must have been a funny site. I am sure we looked like the people that run to the Cruise boat as it is pulling off.

We toured the city center, went back to the hotel and hung out by the pool and had a chill night with American TV and room service. Also a loooonnnggg hot shower. That was incredible.

The next day we went to the Oceanogaphico. This is a famous aquarium in Valencia and has a lot to see. It is definitely a must do. We saw all the fish as well as an incredible dolphin show. We then ate some lunch got on the bus and made our ways back to Barcelona.

It was nice because there wasa festival on Monday so we did not have school and had two chill days. Sunday night we went and played some pool and fusball and went up to the mountains. The air was so chill and the stars so bright. We started walking up the side of the mountain and were caught off guard when we heard a snorting sound. It was a JAVLIN! we took off running got in the car and headed back! haha! of course laughing all the way back!

Overall the weekend was great. It started off the craziness of October...now on to Italy and study study study for MIDTERMS! Ahhh!

Lazy weekend in Barcelona

This weekend was pretty lazy. I just hung out in Barcelona. On Friday i met up with Marcela to Plan the rest of our trip to Milan and Venice! We are pretty excited! It should be alot of fun! We will be spending two days in Milan and two days in Venice! We also met up with my host bro and hung out. It was nice because we hung out at my house and had pizza and just chilled. It was like an American night! haha! That was fun! Saturday was pretty much the same. Slept in cuz i was uplate and just hung out. Sunday I went to this really cool museum. It has all of the Roman remains underground. This is because Barcelona was built over alot of the Roman ruins and they discovered them underground and so now you can go under and see them. It was really cool! This week starts the excitment though. My birthday is tomorrow and a group of us are going to get mexican food for dinner. Its looking like the group is going to turn out to be pretty big. Marcela and i are going to look at some dresses before and get pedi's. Then next weekend we are going to Valencia and the following Wednesday we leave for Italy. So i nice chill weekend was amazing compared to the craziness we have ahead. Throw in traveling and school and homework and you have a whirlwind! Well anyway I hope all is well in the States.

Adios from Espana!

The rest of the Festival and my weekend!

On Thursday we got up and all met at Jaume I metro stop to see the Castellers. This is a very famous sport in Barcelona and it is where people climb on top of each other and make towers. It was really interesting but extremely crowded. That night we decided to go out with all of the others and see the town. The festival is crazy because many people stay out and party on the streets and just through there trash in the street. It was weird seeing this.

On Friday I woke up later afternoon and met Marcela and we went exploring which turned into shopping. With our budget though we were very careful and only window shopped and didnt even try anything on. We should have known our weakness would get to us on Saturday though. We went to the mall off the ocean, down las Rambas and around Catalonya Plaza. We ended up trying things on a spluring just a bit. Then we rushed home and changed and met my host brother, Alfonso and his friend for the Barco Futbol game! After we all went and got pizza for dinner and ended up hanging out at my house for a bit. It was a great night.

Today is sunday and sundays always look the same. I do homework, watch my church from home and talk to my family at night. Im thinking i am going to add running into the mix though. THis needs to become an everyday thing again! O and of course in all of this I talk to my amazing boyfriend back home who is coming out here in a month and half! But this next week starts the craziness of trips...next weekend Costa Brava, the next Valencia and the week after Milan...o and my birthday is between all of that! Im thinking October is going to be a great month!

Adios from Barcelona!

the start of merce Festival and tour of the Gothic Area

Today was my last day of school for the week because the Merce festival starts tomorrow and it is the biggest festival in Barcelona. After I got out of class, I came back to the house, ate lunch and went to the Gothic tour. The gothic tour is the historic area of Barcelona where there are many old cathedrals and remains from when the Romans occupied the city. The tour was amazing. We went in a Cathedral where they were having mass and singing and we saw remains of the Roman walls and the pillars of the city. We then went to the center and saw the beginning of the festival. It was these huge puppets and live music and the puppets dance. It was crazy! It was funny to see and exciting because so many people have traveled here this weekend for the festival. This also means that a close eye needs to be kept on my belongings. With tourists come pick pockets. Well im off to have dinner with the family! Adios from Espana!