Sunday January 31, 2010

Hey everyone! I hope you all have had wonderful weekends. Last night, I got back from our 3 day trip to the Tarragona area of Spain. For the most part, I had a wonderful trip with great weather and beautiful places. We arrived in Tarragona early Thursday morning and toured all around the city. Tarragona was on of the most important cities during the Roman Empire. We visited an ancient circus, theatre, ampitheatre, forums, temples, public baths, and gardens.

Tarragona

Tarragona

While I certainly enjoyed a lot of the sites that we saw, my favorite part of the day was our long lunch break. Mimi and I ate lunch with our new friends Lauren, Jess, Elly, and Jen. They were each from a different part of the U.S. and it was so much fun finally getting to know new people. At lunch time in Spain, many of the restaurants have a "menu del dia" which is the menu of the day. They give you a menu with several options for a 1st course, 2nd course, and dessert, and they also give you bread and wine. The prices usually vary from 8 euros to 20 euros depending on where you go. It is considered a steal because you get a lot of bang for your buck. Well, this meal was no exception! For 12.50 euros, I enjoyed bread, wine (lots and lots of it was served...and hey, I was paying for it!), salad, chicken, potatoes, and a traditional spanish dessert. Needless to say, this meal was phenomenal and I truly enjoyed getting to know each of these girls. Also, the wine helped us to enjoy the touring for the rest of the day, which was getting a little repetitive!

The best 12.50 Euro lunch I could have asked for!

At night, we checked into our 3 star hotel which was actually quite nice. All weekend, I was spoiled with 3 course meals and waiters doing everything for me. It was such a treat! I even got a HOT shower and lots of water pressure, something that is a rarity around here. Our water is so cold here that I have found myself showering at the gym a lot. Even there, the water turns off automatically when it's been on for about 30 seconds, so it makes showering quite difficult.

View from our hotel room of the Roman ampitheatre and the Mediterranean Sea

On the second day, we visited El Medol and the Torres Vineyard. El Medol was another place with ancient Roman ruins. By this time, we felt like we had seen everything so it wasn't very interested anymore. I did really enjoy the tour of the Vineyard, however, as we got to see how the wine was produced and even sample some of their wine. The Torres family has won awards all over the world for the quality of their wine, and they have even expanded their vineyards to places like Chile and California. I really wanted to bring wine for each of you to try, but it was simply too much to pack and risk breaking...sorry!

How lucky am I!? Morning sunrise from my balcony

My Spanish class on the beach at El Medol

The third day was my least favorite day, but we still saw some beautiful places. We went to the small town of Montblanc which was a medieval town. While there, we visited many cathedrals and even toured a monastery. The only bad part was that the weather was absolutely FREEZING. I truly cannot remember a time when I was that cold, and we spend nearly the entire day outside. Even when were were inside, it was like being outside because nothing was heated. We were supposed to take a 2 hour hike, but because of the miserable windy conditions, it was cancelled. Thank goodness! That was the first time that I can ever say that the weather really made me feel sick. It was unbearable!

On top of the world...but soooo cold! 

Now that I have been in Spain for over three weeks, my apartment is really starting to feel like "home." (Don't worry mom and dad...my real home is always in Charlotte). It was just so amazing to come home to a place that's my own and cuddle up in some warm sweatpants for the evening. I am so lucky to have a place like this! I have a group project due tomorrow for my Management Across Borders class, so I am off to meet my team members at Starbucks (yes, Starbucks are everywhere!). I miss you all!

Wednesday January 27, 2010

Happy Hump Day! Sorry I have been so slack in my posting this week. Now that classes are in full swing, I don't have the free time that I had during my first few weeks. Since my last posting, I have not done anything exciting, but I will say that I had my best meal yet in Spain! Several weeks ago I talked about a place called the Bagel Shop that is the only place in Barcelona to find bagels. I had my tastiest and cheapest meal yet there yesterday, and then found out the worst news ever. They're closing next week! This is the hangout for all of the IES students at lunch time, so we are all very disappointed. I'm going to try to visit that place as often as I can in the next week. We've also been back to George Payne's Irish pub for lunch twice this week, as there is a buy one, get one free special Monday-Friday. Slowly but surely, we're finding the cheapest ways to have good lunches in Barcelona! I am also proud to say that I have gotten to know a lot of new people this week during my lunch hour. Having attended Latin & Wofford, I have been in a southern "bubble" for most of my life. I am really enjoying meeting people from all over the US and even some from around the world.

We have our IES field trip this weekend, so we are to be at the Hard Rock Cafe at 7:45 am tomorrow morning. The Liberal Arts and Business program is heading an hour and a half south of Barcelona to a town called Tarragona. This is one of the most historic areas of Spain and has lots of Roman ruins. We will be there until Saturday night doing a hike, touring, visiting museums, and even wine tasting! Apparently, the Tarragona area has a famous vineyard and we get to sample some of their products. I am very excited as I have never done anything like this. Most of the people in my program are dreading this trip, but I think it'll be a good way to see areas outside of Barcelona at the expense of IES! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and I will try to post about my trip next Sunday!

Sunday January 24, 2009

Hello all!

It's late afternoon in Barcelona and I am enjoying a lazy Sunday in bed- the perfect ending to a busy weekend! On Friday evening, we went back to the Black Sheep near the beach and even made it there without getting lost. We were so proud! Mimi and I are finally learning how to go the right direction on the metro. After a little "pregaming" on sangria at Black Sheep, we went to Kennedy's Irish Sailing Club on the beach. This was Candice's favorite spot during her semester abroad here last year, so we were all excited to check it out. It certainly did not disappoint and we all had a fabulous evening. There was a live band playing traditional American music. All of the Wofford students are used to getting on the stage and dancing/singing with the band, so we had to practice a little constraint here in Barca! I did manage to get a high five from the lead singer though. I also enjoyed the evening because I got to hang out with my new friend Danielle, who is Mary Rives' good friend from UNC. She introduced me to some of her friends too, so it was nice meeting others outside of the Wofford group.

Mimi and I slept in on Saturday morning and then took a long walk around the city. We both really like exploring areas of the city we haven't seen before. Last night, we ate dinner with Cecilia and Maya in our homestay. We have been so spoiled this week because Elena has had to work late and as a result, Cecilia has been in charge of the food. Cecilia understands the types of food we Americans prefer and has cooked us some excellent meals this week. Unfortunately, Elena will be back earlier from work all this week so I'm afraid it's back to the dark turkey and chick peas. After dinner, we walked to Sarah Johnson's homestay because her senora was out of town. So high school! It was really cool to see a different spanish apartment and compare it to our living situation. I gotta say, we were a little jealous. Her apartment was so much more spacious and they had lots of good snacks...Mimi and I couldn't get enough of the endless selection of food they had! Still, we are so lucky to have the apartment we are in and I know it could be a lot worse. We went to an Irish pub called George Payne's afterwards, but called it an early night because we were all exhausted.

Today, Mimi and I went out to lunch at a new place called Cafe Kilimanjaro. It was kind of like a Spanish Panera Bread with lots of different sandwich offerings--and it was relatively cheap! One thing I've noticed, though, is that if I can find a meal for under 8 euro, it's probably not going to fill me up. Their portions are just so much smaller here and they don't serve sandwiches with sides or anything. So, after our delicious sandwiches we headed to Starbucks for pastries and coffee. Finally something to satisfy my sweet tooth! 

After Starbucks, we walked to the Sagrada Familia which is a famous church that was designed by Gaudi (same designer of the Parc Guell that we went to on Friday). I have enjoyed playing tourist this weekend and seeing some of the famous Barcelona landmarks. Now off to a week of studying!

Gaudi's Sagrada Familia

My .30 Euro Bathroom that was IMPOSSIBLE to operate. Definitely stood out as a foreigner here!

Friday January 22, 2010

Gracias a dios que es viernes! (TGIF!) It's been a long and busy week and I'm so excited to kick back and enjoy my weekend! After spanish class and lunch, Sarah, Mimi and I set out to find Guell Park, which is a Barcelona park that Gaudi designed. In fact, the main picture at the top of my blog is taken from Guell Park. Mrs. Maker and I randomly selected that picture from google images before I came to Barcelona because it was pretty, so it was nice to connect a picture with a real place! All I can say is if you come to Barcelona, you MUST go to this park. It was so so beautiful and had great overlooks of the city. On one side you could see the ocean, and then you can turn around and see the mountains. It was also nice to see lots of greenery and get away from the busy city life for a little bit. The temperature was perfect, the skies were blue, music was being played... it was just another day in paradise!

We're hoping to meet up with some of our new friends tonight and some bars by the beach. Let's hope I have learned from my mistakes on the metro last week and can make it there at a decent hour. I hope you all have wonderful weekends!!

The mountains surrounding Barcelona

...and the sea!

Me & Mimi by the wall that's featured on my main picture

Wednesday January 20, 2010

Whew, I am exhausted. The day got off to a great start with my first spinning class ever...and it was in Catalan! Mimi and I went to DIR fitness today and attended a class at 9:30 and we both absolutely loved it. I'm not sure how much I'll like it when I'm sore tomorrow, but I definitely want to do that class again. The teacher was so enthusiastic and they played fun music. When the Black Eyed Peas' "I Gotta Feeling" came on, the whole class started singing and the instructor said something along the lines of "this one's for the American girls." It was such a fun experience.

I had my regular MWF classes again today which all went well. It is so weird to start class at 12:25, which is when I'm usually done in America. By the time I finish at 7, it is dark, which is also weird! The best part of my day occurred during my lunch hour when I discovered a little piece of heaven. At the suggestion of Laura and the Wofford Interim group, Mimi, Sarah and I finally made our way to the market that's off La Rambla. There were aisles and aisles of seafood, meat (and I mean meat...eyeballs, rabbit feet, etc.!), pizza, sandwiches, vegetables, and fruit. Dad, as I gobbled down my 1 Euro box of raspberries, I thought of you the entire time. They were so incredibly delicious. I also found a nice organic/vegetarian stand which is my favorite kind of food! It was so fun to be in a Spanish market and find food that I thoroughly enjoyed. As Sarah Johnson says, I was "American full" for the first time this trip-- that is, I was stuffed!

After a full day, I am so worn out and not looking forward to starting my homework...I'm not used to it anymore! I'm not sure how long this daily posting is going to last!

Tuesday January 19, 2010

Another great day! I had two new classes today, both of which I loved. My first class began at 12:25 pm and is called European Sports and Society. The professor is a native of the UK and now lives in Barca with her husband and daughter. I am so excited about this class as we will focus on soccer (football) and bullfighting. We will also go into certain topics that are associated with sports in Spain such as politics, media, gender roles, the impact of the '92 Olympics, etc. This class looks right up my alley!

A group of us went out to lunch at a place down the road that was an all-you-can-eat buffet. I swear, this place could have been Burwell! (The Wofford College dining hall). There was a delicious salad bar, pizza, pasta, french fries, fro yo, and even FOUNTAIN soda. It was a good thing I had a big lunch because I ate about two bites of my dinner (meat unknown...never ever good).

Beginning at 3:45, I had my final class, which is called Introduction to the European Union. It is a political science and economics class that talks about the history of the European Union. On day one I think I took 5 pages of small-print notes...we flew! I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of discussion, though, and am so excited to learn more about countries that play such an important role in the global economy. I have now had all of my classes and am so pumped up about every single one of them...I don't think that's ever happened to me! Let's hope my feelings remain this way throughout the semester!

Since returning home, I have been looking up various travel options for the next 4 months. I am happy to say that I booked my first flights! I will be traveling to Rome for my first three day weekend to visit Sarah Kana & Margaret Strom. I could not be more excited about this trip! I'm off to do some homework now...have a good one!

And the classes begin!

Today was my first full day of classes, as we have only had Spanish classes up to this point. I started off the day with Spanish at 12:25 which was followed by a long lunch break. We are now starting to return to the cheap lunch places we went to in the first week because there a so few that we like! Today's choice was the Bagel Shop and it definitely didn't disappoint. I then had European Television and Comparative Perspective class at 3:45. This is a communications class that takes a close look at the impact that American television has had on European television and then what they have chosen to adapt and what they haven't. I think I'm really going to enjoy this class and it will certainly be unlike anything else I've taken before. My final class was at 5:30 and called Management Across Borders. It looks like we'll be studying various cases of companies that have expanded globally and whether or not they have been successful. This class fits perfectly with my major (Business Economics) and I am looking forward to learning a lot about globalization as it relates to business. I was in class from 12:25 until 7:00 today, so it felt a little like high school again having a full day of learning!

After classes, Mimi and I met up with the Wofford group for a final time before they depart for Brussels tomorrow. She and I have always avoided the authentic Spanish restaurants, but the Wofford interim group really wanted some paella so we gave in to their wishes. Although it was quite pricey, we actually really enjoyed the paella (rice, vegetables, and chicken and/or seafood) and will be more open to Spanish food in the future.

I am about to go to bed as I have two new classes in the morning (well, I guess you can't exactly call 12:25 the morning, but I'm on Spanish time now- stay up late and wake up late!). I have enjoyed skyping with many of you and if we aren't already "friends," let's please fix that! My skype name is molly.mccrory. Happy Monday!

2nd Weekend in Barcelona

I have had a wonderful weekend full of great people, fun places, and many wrong directions! On Friday night, Mimi and I set out to return to the beach to go to the bars and clubs around there. Our first destination was The Black Sheep, which is a bar that is like a warehouse with lots of tables and cheap drinks. The Black Sheep is a metro ride away and should be relatively easy to get to...unless you're Molly and Mimi. We ended up going north on the metro verses south, and had to go all the way to the end of the route just to get turned around. At one of the stops, we were feeling a little tired and thought a Red Bull would be the perfect thing to give us a zap of energy. The only problem was, the metro was coming right when Mimi was trying to get the drink out of the vending machine. I hopped on the train as Mimi was frantically trying to get drink. Well, as you can imagine, the doors were closing and Mimi wasn't on. I forced the doors back open and we were reunited at last! We sat on the metro for the next few minutes and could not stop laughing... definitely could have been a scene from a movie!

After over and hour of metro rides and walking, we finally arrived at the Black Sheep and had a wonderful evening. We particularly enjoyed getting to know a new group of people apart from the Wofford students. I could write another paragraph on our troubles getting home, but I won't even go there.  We just learn from every experience!

Mimi and I woke up relatively early on Saturday and set out to explore the city. I particularly enjoyed the area surrounding the cathedral that had a little market and old, narrow streets. I felt like I was in a small European town when in fact I was just minutes away from one of the busiest areas in Barcelona.

On Saturday night, all of the students from Wofford that are in Barcelona met up with the Wofford interim group that is in town for a few days. We started at the Dow Jones Bar, which was a really cool experience. Like the name implies, it is a bar that has to do with the stock market. They have t.v. screens with the names of all of their drinks and their prices fluctuate like the stock market. If a particular drink is being ordered a lot, the price goes up. On the flip side, if no one is ordering the drink, you can get it for really cheap ( I drank Heineken...and I'm not a beer drinker!). Several times an hour, the stock market "crashes" and there is a mad dash to the bar because the drinks are at their minimum prices. I had so much fun here and was so glad we were able to get so many people from Wofford together! After Dow Jones, we taxied to a club called Elephant where we spend the remainder of the night. With two big nights in a row, Mimi and I are having a very lazy Sunday today!

We got the red bull...and Mimi!

The middle part of this picture (between the store called Chicco and the store called Prenatal) is my school, IES. It is a really nice building and in such a prime location.

The Wofford girls at Dow Jones!

Grace Perry Daughtridge, Beverly Duvall, Me, Sarah Johnson, Mimi Gunn, Elizabeth Garrison, and Neely Bailey

What a perfect day looks like...

Paul, Me, Grace Perry, and Mimi

The Beach!

Me & Mimi

Our gelado/helado/ice cream stop!

Just so happy!

Grace Perry, Mimi, and Me

Day 8: My Perfect Day

Once in a blue moon, I have what I like to call a "perfect day." The last time I had a perfect day was in May when I was in the Virgin Islands with my family. We spent all day at Caneel Bay on St. John just relaxing, sipping on drinks, eat, and snorkeling. We concluded the day with our best meal of the entire trip at a cheap local Mexican restaurant with live music playing in the background. As we finished up dinner, I just sat at the table with my brothers and parents and couldn't stop smiling. I had another perfect day today.

The day started with the usual: a slice of toast followed by a bus ride to school. Then I sat through an hour and a half long Spanish class. Ok, I know this doesn't sound great yet...but it gets better, I promise. A group of us met in the lobby of IES and set out to go to the beach. None of us had been there yet, and that is one of the best parts of Barcelona. The sky was a perfect Carolina blue, and the temperature was cool but comfortable. It was sunny and breezy. We walked for about 15 minutes and finally saw sailboats in the background. We took a few pictures and walked along the beach. All of us were starving and we were trying to find a restaurant that Candice recommended to us...but of course we had trouble finding it! We then stumbled upon a take-away market that ended up being a Chinese place. Once again, we found a relatively inexpensive restaurant and sat on a bench by the water. It was so picturesque.

After lunch, we walked around a bit more and finally found an ice cream shop (I had a massive craving!!). I don't want to make anyone jealous so I won't go into details, but I just sat there and couldn't stop smiling because it was just so darn delicious. (It was Viennese Coffee, mmm)

Mimi and I came home from the beach and I went on a run. All of my favorite things in one day...and the night's just getting started! I'm so lucky to be here.

A glimpse into my life!

The tray of goodies Elena prepared for us!

Our living room. This is where we eat our meals and watch t.v.

What's not shown is the huge flat screen t.v. where we can always be sure to find Cecilia!

The three roommates!

Maya, Me, and Mimi

Day 7

I've now been here 7 days and it feels like I've been here for an eternity! I am finally feeling really comfortable navigating through this foreign city and continue to enjoy every minute. The only complaint I have is the euro, which is really expensive compared to the U.S. dollar. Mimi and I did have a breakthrough last night though! Traditionally, you are not supposed to have alcohol in the apartments if you are doing a homestay. It seemed odd to us, though, because it is such a part of their culture and we are clearly of legal age. So, we approached Elena and asked if it would be okay if we purchased our own wine to drink before we went out (yes mom, "pregaming"). Surprisingly, Elena not only said it was absolutely fine to buy our own wine, but she whipped out a bottle of her own red wine for the three of us to share. This was a wine that Elena had had in the cabinet for years and she had no idea what it would be like. Well, it turned out that it was a dessert wine and it seriously was the sweetest thing I had ever tasted. Most of you know that I am addicted to sugar, but oh my gosh this stuff was so sweet! We were only able to get a few sips down and were completely sugared out. Still, we're excited that we'll be able to pregame at our apartment and save money when we go out.

After our dessert wine, Maya, Mimi and I walked to Pippermint to join a big group for a drink. While there, I met some new people, including a really cute southern girl-- such a rare find! Most of the American students here are from the north so it was refreshing to find someone more like me. We then walked to Opium where we had our first club experience ever! It was this huge room with tall ceilings and white everywhere. There was also a world-famous DJ playing music the whole time. This will mean nothing to most of you, but I met Kyke too! I was seriously starstuck. We were just about 2 blocks away, so we walked home afterwards.

I had another spanish class today and then went with a big group to an Irish pub for lunch. This place was also right down the road from IES and we were attracted to it because of their "buy one get one free" promotion that's good from 1-5 Monday-Friday. This place was delicious and I came away full from my first meal yet. And it was my cheapest meal yet! What an accomplishment. 

Thanks for all of your comments on this blog. It truly makes my day when I hear from each of you!

Day 6

Hello all! Not much to update on today. We actually had a good meal for dinner last night, so no complaints! Elena served soup, Patterson-style cheese pasta, and peaches for dessert. The three students always find it funny how Elena serves small portions for her and Cecilia but then piles on our plates with tons and tons of food. She must think we're stereotype Americans that need a lot of food! I'm a little worried though- I looked around in the refrigerator and there are cow head parts sitting in there. Let's hope they're for their own lunches and not for us picky Americans!

Mimi and I slept in today (as we'll be able to do every day :) ) because our classes don't start until 12:25. After our first spanish class, we went to another Candice-recommended restaurant called Sandwich and Friends. It was really delicious and very close to our school. I've been here 6 days and I already have three favorite restaurants- things are looking good!

I also finally made it to Zara today, which I was thrilled about. Zara is a popular European clothing store that has great prices. While I wanted to buy a lot, I came away with one shirt that I am excited about.

We're headed to a meet-and-great at a bar tonight with one of the club promoters in Barcelona. It's so fun trying something new every day!

Mimi & Me

Outside Pippermint. We actually made it to our destination!

Paul (Wofford, GP's boyfriend), Grace Perry (Wofford), GP's roommate, and Sarah Johnson (Wofford)

Day 5

One thing I'm sure of: I love Barcelona! Another thing I'm sure of: I never want to eat turkey again. The past twenty four hours have, like yesterday, been full of bad food and good memories. For dinner last night, sweet Elena served the three of us turkey, rice, and a cucumber & tomato salad. The rice and the salad were quite tasty, but the turkey...oh my gosh! I don't know about you, but I have never seen turkey that was this color. In fact, Mimi & I had to ask what meat it was because it was truly unrecognizable. For those of you who don't know, I'm a "selective vegetarian." I will come out of vegetarian hibernation, as Wilson calls it, for a good BBQ sandwich, chicken, bacon, and the occasional burger (see below!). So, if I'm not going to eat Uncle Butch's smoked turkey on Thanksgiving, I certainly don't want to eat an unrecognizable form of turkey. The three of us painfully ate as much turkey as we could, all of us leaving a good bit on our plates (very rude in Spain). At the end of the meal, Elena definitely caught on to us not liking the turkey and was able to laugh about it (and insisted she wouldn't serve it again!). She even ate the leftovers off of my plate! Patterson's granny: if I introduce you to Rafael Nadal, will you come be my personal chef?!

After dinner, we were still starving and in need of a fun night out. Mimi & I met up with Grace Perry, Paul, and Sarah, and they each brought their roommates along. We went to Pippermints and sipped on some delicious (but pricey!) sangria and good spanish beer. It was fun to relax with new and old friends and I look forward to returning there soon.

Mimi and I both had our Spanish classes cancelled today, so we were able to sleep in. It was such a treat!    We then went to DIR, the popular chain of gyms in Barcelona, and we each got ourselves a gym membership. It was so nice to finally get some exercise and Mimi and I are both very excited about the different classes that are offered. We even got a "free" gym bag for joining!

After our first workout session, Mimi and I rewarded ourselves with a trip to McDonald's. I don't think I've had McDonald's in 5 years, but seriously, this was THE BEST tasting burger and fries I have ever had. We think we'll become regulars at that restaurant when in need of some good and cheap food (which is often!)

I know I'm writing a lot today and I'm sure I'm boring all of you, but I have to say one last thing. Mimi and I walked by a shop on our way home from McDonald's that had a cute jacket in the window. We walked inside and this place could have been your store, Mrs. Maker! No joke, every single item in the store (mostly sweaters) reminded me of you. I guess you'll just have to make a trip to Barcelona to see this place!

Day 4

Day 4, and I'm finally getting in the swing of things! Today was a great day. We had a final day of orientation that covered life in Barcelona. It wasn't too informative, but I was able to change my spanish class to the next level up and shorten the time by an hour and a half each day. I was so relieved!

After orientation, I walked around the Corte Ingles which is directly across the street from IES. The Corte Ingles is Spain's biggest department store that literally has everything. In the basement, there's even a supermarket which I was very pleased to find. I waited for Mimi & Sarah to get out of their orientation and we then went to lunch with Sarah's roommate from New Jersey. I FINALLY had a fabulous meal...and of course it was so American! It was called the Bagel Shop and apparently is the only place in Barcelona to find bagels. I was thrilled, and I even saved a few euros in comparison to my other meals!

The last item on the agenda for IES today was the scavenger hunt. I was dreading this as it was to last two hours in the freezing cold, but I actually ended up enjoying it! I got to meet some new people and see places in Barcelona that were absolutely beautiful. Among the places we saw were the Picasso Museum (we didn't go inside though) and the Arc to Triumph. 

Mimi is all better now and we're planning on meeting up with others at a bar called Pippermints tonight. We have heard that this place is known for their big drinks that you share with a big group. I am looking forward to this and hope we have more success than Saturday night! 

The (tiny!) room Mimi & I share

Day 3

Hola! The last 24 hours have been absolutely crazy, but definitely some moments to remember. We actually had a good meal for dinner last night (but still random, of course). Cecilia served chicken noodle soup, pizza, and salad. It was good, but after my very unappetizing pizza for lunch yesterday, I'm staying off of pizza for a while! Later in the evening, we talked with the other Wofford people who were all planning to meet at Chupitos, a bar that apparently is famous for serving over 200 different shots. The only problem was that there are TWO Chupitos, and of course we went to the wrong one (and we walked in the freezing weather). We struggled to find the first Chupitos and even paid a cab driver 5 euros to drive Mimi, Maya, and me no more than 500 yards. What a rip off! I then found out the address of the other Chupitos and finally made it there. The place was so crowded and smokey and hard to find anyone in. In fact, there was a 45 people limit in this tiny bar, but there must have been over 200 people inside. With Mimi not feeling well and our failure to find the other Wofford people, the three of us left around 2.

Today, we had a meeting with our RA and then headed to the shopping and touristy area, La Rambla. Maya was able to get some necessities at H&M because she still hasn't gotten her luggage. She had trouble with her credit card, though, so we must have spent 2 hours waiting on her. Needless to say, Mimi and I were getting quite irritable and decided to leave and get a late lunch while Maya worked things out with BofA. We had a nice meal, but decided to leave afterwards because Mimi is feeling so terribly. I have day two of orientation tomorrow and then classes start Tuesday! I'm ready to get in the swing of things!

Day 2

I've now been in Barcelona for a little over 24 hours and it feels like I've been here for much longer. I'm starting to learn the roads and navigate through the city. Maya and I went to our orientation at the IES center together this morning and made it after wandering around the streets for a while. Once we learn how to get there correctly, it is about 15 minutes by bus or metro. The center is really nice and in an excellent location. From what we hear, it is very close to the main shopping district and the big touristy area, La Ramblas.

After orientation, Maya and I came back to our apartment while be waited for Mimi to return. We all went to lunch afterwards at a place the three of us will NEVER return to! I had an undercooked pepperoni pizza that left my stomach grumbling even after I had finished lunch. That's a first!

We are going to go out in Barcelona for the first time tonight. I have met several people from UNC and Clemson that we hope to meet up with, and we will definitely hang out with the Wofford crowd. I'm looking forward to my first experience with the famous Barcelona nightlife!

SHOUT OUT

This blog would not be possible without the help of the wonderful and talented Mrs. Maker. THANK YOU! 

Day 1

Greetings from Barcelona! I arrived this morning after a long 12 hours of traveling and no sleep. It is so hard to believe I am finally here after months of anticipation. Luckily, I was able to avoid the worst of the inclement weather in Europe and make it here without any delays or lost luggage. One of my roommates, Maya (from NY), lost her luggage in London yesterday and won't have it for several days. Mimi is my other roommate  and we are sharing a room with a bunk bed and a desk. Our host mom is Cecilia, who we believe is in her late twenties. She speaks good English and works as a consultant here in Barcelona. We also live with Cecilia's mother, Elena, who moved from Peru 27 years ago. Elena doesn't speak any english but given her Peruvian accent, speaks very clear spanish. Elena is responsible for the cooking in the house. As most of you know, I am an extremely picky eater so I faced my first challenge on the first night. We had a good soup, chickpeas, and a hard boiled egg which I had a difficult type getting down. As long as it's not fish I think I will survive!

My first few hours have definitely been great and I am confident that I will enjoy my time with Cecilia and Elena. I am also excited to live with Mimi and Maya. Orientation starts tomorrow morning so the three students are going to try to navigate our way around the subway by ourselves. Wish us luck!