Sunday February 21, 2010

Hola a tod@s!

Another weekend down in Barcelona...my how time is flying! My weekend got off to an interesting start. On the way home from school on Friday, Mimi and I stopped by the supermarket to pick up a bottle of wine to share for the night. I placed the bottle in my school bag and then put it under my bed when I got home. Throughout the afternoon, I kept smelling a strong scent in my room, but figured it was just my imagination thinking it was wine. Well, I suddenly looked down and there was a puddle of red wine on the floor. The bottle cracked and soaked through my notebooks, calendar, and Spanish cell phone. It was such a disaster! Mimi and I can still smell red wine in our room, and I will constantly be reminded from the stains and smells all over my notebooks and calendar...oh well, you live you learn!

On Friday night, Mimi and I set out to find one of Cecilia's favorite local bars, Raim. This bar is known for having the best mojitos in Barcelona, which is hands down my favorite drink. Despite the rainy conditions on the way there, we really enjoyed the mojitos and our experience in an authentic local bar in Barcelona. After this, we met up with Sarah Johnson and our friends Cornelia and Moira at one of our favorite bars, Ryans. Cornelia and I enjoyed sharing a delicious Sangria (I'm hooked!), and we called it a night after being at Ryans for a couple of hours. 

On Saturday, I ate breakfast at home and then enjoyed a lazy morning in bed catching up on the last episode of Bachelor. What is Jake thinking??? Vienna needed to go at the very beginning and Ali needs to come back. I won't even go there though... After tv time, Mimi and I went to one of our personal favorites...McDonald's! I swear, they do something different here because I seriously cannot get enough of their burgers, fries, and Toblerone McFlurries. Who would've thought? 

The weather on Saturday was absolutely perfect: about sixty degrees, breezy, and not a cloud in the sky. With two midterms and two papers this week, I desperately needed to study, so I put my backpack on, turned on my ipod, and walked to the beach. As I walked down the Diagonal Avenue, the Ramblas, and the Port, I literally almost cried because I was so content. When I finally made it to the beach, I e-mailed my parents explaining that my insides hurt because I was so happy. So what if I had to study? I was sitting on the beach in Barcelona, looking out at the Mediterranean Sea with sailboats and blue skies. 

After a couple of hours of studying, I walked back towards the port, where I kept getting whiffs of the local vendors' waffle stands. I also heard a street performer singing Here Comes the Sun. I had no choice...I had to stop and take advantage of this opportunity. I indulged in a waffle topped with whipped cream and hot fudge while listening to some of my favorite songs. Oh my gosh I am hungry just thinking about that waffle. At that moment, there was no doubt in my mind that this was my 3rd perfect day of the year!

I walked back home and got ready for the big night we had planned...we had tickets for the FC Barcelona game! Mimi and I met Sarah on the metro and eventually made it to Camp Nou for the 8 o'clock game. We were at the very top of the stadium, but that didn't matter to us. We finally had our favorite ballpark food (Frankfurt Sausages in a baguette) and enjoyed every minute of Barca's 4-0 stomping on Racing. The only hiccup of the night came when my metro card conveniently decided to stop working when I was in a stampede of people getting on the metro after the game. Still, nothing could get in the way of my perfect day! We returned home to a delicious (and late!) dinner of homemade chicken nuggets and salad. I finished up one of my papers, and then got a wonderful night of sleep and relaxation.

At the game with Sarah and Mimi

FC Barca v. Racing

Today, I woke up early and continued studying for my midterm that I have tomorrow. Mimi and I then met Sarah for a 1'clock church service at the famous Santa Maria del Mar Cathedral. One of my biggest regrets from my experience in Madrid in high school was not going to church, so I was really glad I was able to go to this service. The cathedral was absolutely gorgeous too. Mimi and I went to Sandwich and Friends for lunch, and then I spent the last few hours studying at Starbucks. 

I had a great weekend and can't wait to get through this stressful week... I'm going to ROME on Thursday!!! I hope you all enjoyed your weekend!

Wednesday February 17, 2010

Hello!
Despite cold and rainy weather, I've had a good week with many new experiences. This week is Conference week at IES, so each of our professors has brought in various speakers to talk about relevant topics. Yesterday, I attended a speaker on Entrepreneurship in Spain and a Spanish Marketing seminar. While I was dreading each of these presentations, I ended up learning a lot about Spanish culture that I did not quite understand before.

In Barcelona, there is an extreme hatred for Madrid, exemplified by the rivalry between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona (believe it or not, it's like UNC v. Duke on steroids). The people of Barcelona are known for being quite stubborn, so I thought this hatred of Madrid and the surrounding regions was just them being stubborn. I learned in my presentations, however, that it has a great deal to do with the Spanish government, particularly during the Franco dictatorship. Following the Spanish civil war ('36-'39), Franco ruled Spain and completely repressed the people of Catalonia (the autonomous region that Barcelona is capital of) until his death in 1975. For instance, he banned the official language of Catalonia (Catalan) and limited the freedom of speech for the citizens. Barcelona is also a huge economic power in Spain, and they have always felt like they pay so much to the government in Madrid and never get anything for their region in return. For these reasons, Catalonians are very bitter towards Madrid and desperately want to be their own country apart from Spain. This little bit of history is probably a total bore to most of you, but I really enjoyed learning about the explanation for this huge division in Spain.

After my two conferences, I headed to the eastern side of Barcelona where my Sports and Society class got a tour of Camp Nou! Camp Nou is the home to F.C. Barcelona, which is Barcelona's most popular soccer team. This stadium is the biggest stadium in Europe and one of the largest in the world with a capacity of around 100,000 people. The people of Barcelona are CRAZY about FC Barca, especially after last years' amazing results. The team won all "6 copas" in 2009, including La Lega, Copa del Rey, Supercopa de Espana, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, and the Fifa Club World Cup. This probably means nothing to most of you, but Barca made history with these accomplishments. They were the first team to ever win 6 title victories in one year. Needless to say, it was so exciting to see Camp Nou and learn more about the history of the team.

Camp Nou!

6 copas en un ano!

(i.e. Barca is pretty much amazing)

My two conferences today were equally as interesting as Tuesdays. First, we had a speaker from the one of the Olympic committees who gave a presentation on the legacy of the '92 Olympics in Barcelona. I have always heard how proud Barcelona is of the Olympics, but I had no idea how much of an impact it had on the city. The speaker opened the presentation saying, "Had it not been for the '92 Olympics here in Barcelona, none of you would be studying here today." Basically, the Olympics completely transformed the city from a place that was destructed by war to a fine European city to live and visit. According to many experts, the '92 Olympics were the most successful Olympics ever, and this is in large part due to the changes it brought for this city. Tomorrow, my Sports and Society class is going to tour the Olympic museum and stadium, so I look forward to learning even more about this great legacy!

I'm sorry I know I just wrote the most boring blog post ever, I just felt like sharing some of the things I've learned about Barcelona. I am so fortunate to have had this opportunity to get outside of my Charlotte and Wofford "bubble" and learn about the great world around us. Life doesn't get much better than this!!!

Sunday February 14, 2010

Hey everyone!

It's quarter till eleven and I'm just settling in back home after a wonderful weekend in Madrid! Mimi, Sarah and I arrived at the Madrid airport at 5:15 on Friday afternoon where Patterson so kindly picked us up. After a long metro ride into the center of the city, we checked into our hostel, Hostal Esparteros, where Mimi, Sarah and I shared a triple. Much to our surprise, the hostel was pretty nice and much like a homestay. The owner was constantly checking on us, helping us out with directions, and even giving us advice on how to avoid being pickpocketed (something I could have used a week earlier!).

Patterson and Me at the Royal Palace

The three of us then left with Patterson to go to La Tosta, which was a restaurant that Sarah's spanish professor recommended. While there, we had the best sangria I have EVER had. We then went to O'Connells, which was a pub around the corner that had great drink specials. Neither Patterson nor I liked the prices at O'Connells, so we left for a while and went to a local bar called El Secreto. We became instant friends with the bartenders who were Phillipino, and were able to add them to the list of all of the international friends we now have (it's become quite the joke!) Our final destination was the Bourbon Cafe, which was located right beside the Puerta del Sol. The whole environment was a little weird: the employees were dressed in funny costumes, the music was interesting (i.e. ABBA, which is not typical Spanish bar music), and no one was hitting on any of us American girls. On Saturday morning, when we were recapping the evening, we FINALLY out the pieces together...it was a gay bar! Needless to say, we had so much fun and that is truly an experience we will never forget!

On Saturday, we did a lot of touring around the city. We started off at the Palacio Real, which is the Royal Palace. Next, we went to the Plaza Mayor where we enjoyed a delicious lunch on the terrace in the center of the Plaza. We eventually made our way to Park Retiro which was my favorite part of the afternoon. The park was so beautiful and full of trees and grass (something I really miss about home!). It was particularly fun because we went to the exact spot where a scene from the Bachelorette was filmed last season. While Mimi and Grace Perry (who also came to Madrid with her boyfriend Paul) went to the Prado museum, the rest of the group got a tour of Leah David's apartment where she is living for the semester.

Park Retiro

Park Retiro

On Saturday night, my big moment finally arrived! I was reunited with Elena Guerrero Izquierdo, who participated in the Charlotte Latin/Colegio de Nuestra Senora de Loreto exchange program with me 5 years ago. Elena hosted Brent Price so I spent a lot of time with her in both Madrid and back in Charlotte. She is truly the nicest girl in the world and happens to be drop dead gorgeous. As we ate dinner together, I sat in disbelief that I was reunited with a girl who I never thought I would see again! Unfortunately, Elena is in the middle of exams, so she had to go home when the rest of us went out for the evening. We left VIPS (the restaurant we ate at) and returned to El Secreto with our whole group. Saturday night was much more low key, but it was still very fun.

Patterson and I with Elena!

Reunited after 5 years!

On Sunday, I had another important date...I was reunited with my host sisters from high school! My Spanish phone died as soon as I arrived in Madrid so I had a lot of trouble communicating with them, but thanks to facebook, we were able to make plans at the last minute. We met in the center of Puerta del Sol and ate lunch at Museo del Jamon, which is a popular restaurant in Madrid with typical Spanish food. I could not believe that I was able to see my two sisters (Cristina and Camino) and Elena all in one weekend. I had such a wonderful 48 hours and am sad that the weekend is over!

Camino and Cristina, my host sisters from high school!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Happy Valentine's Day!

P.S. Aunt Terri, thank you for all of your sweet comments, they always make me so happy! Hugs to you too!

Thursday February 11, 2010

Hey everyone!

Sorry I have been MIA lately. I've had a very busy week but I can now say that I have finished my first midterm! In order to avoid the standard midterm week, my Sports and Society professor assigned us our midterm early which consisted of writing a 7 page essay on social theories. It was a stressful week but I'm happy to be almost through and have an exciting weekend ahead of me.

After our Spanish test tomorrow, Mimi and I will leave straight from school to the airport. We are going to MADRID this weekend! I am so excited to make this trip because of the Wofford girls that are there (Leah and Patterson), but also because I will be able to relive my high school experience. For those of you who don't know, I traveled to Madrid the summer after my sophomore year at Latin. While there, I lived with a family, attended some classes, and toured Madrid and the surrounding cities. It was such an incredible experience and I am so excited to see my old friends and host family this weekend.

I hope you all have wonderful and relaxing weekends, and I will be sure to update my blog on Sunday! Off to study for my test now...adios!

Sunday February 7, 2010

Is the weekend really over!?

Minus a couple of speed bumps, I had to most amazing 3 days and am so sad that this weekend has come to an end. After Spanish class on Friday (the longest hour and a half of my entire life), Mimi and I met up with Grace Perry, Sarah, Amy, Patterson, and Leah in the Plaza Catalunya. From that moment on, I had a smile that was a mile wide for the rest of the weekend. It was the most incredible feeling to be with so many wonderful friends in a place so far from home. We walked to a Mexican restaurant called Rosa Negra where we all had an incredible meal. The bartender even gave us complimentary passion fruit margarita shots in honor of Mimi's birthday after she proudly showed him her id.

Reunited!

Sarah, Mimi, Amy, Grace Perry, Patterson, Leah

Proud 21 year old!

After lunch, we took the visitors for a walk around the city and visited the Arc de Triumph and a park that's associated with the zoo. We then went back to get ready for the evening and met up with the entire group (Milan and London girls too) at their hostel. At this point, we had twelve Wofford girls together! The Milan and London girls also had friends from their program with them, so our group was too big to all get dinner together. We split up, and I enjoyed a wonderful and cheap dinner of McDonald's (which I again had the next day for lunch...who would've thought!?). Following dinner, we went to a bar called Ryans where we spent the majority of the evening. Patterson and I both managed to make a number of Spanish (and Finnish!) friends at Ryans which was pretty interesting. We left Ryans to go to Chupitos (the shots bar), but  didn't stay long and eventually ended up at a club by the beach called Shoko. While I was there, I was pickpocketed and my cash and credit card were both stolen. After such a perfect day, it was an unfortunate way to end the evening but I learned a lot from the experience and am thankful that I am safe.

Arc de Triumph

Wofford girls minus Mollie! (thanks patty)

On Saturday, I woke up pretty early and met up with Sarah, Amy, Leah, and Patterson for a day of touring. We started off at McDonald's, then made our way to the beach for live music and gelato, and concluded the day at Park Guell. We all had dinner together at a local restaurant and watched FC Barca dominate in soccer. Finally, we made our way to Dow Jones (the stock market bar) where we stayed for the rest of the evening. We had a big table for our entire group and it was so relaxing and low key (except when the stock market crashed and there was a mad rush to the bar!). I had the most amazing weekend with great friends and am so sad that it's over!

Kappa D's

Park Guell

Dow Jones

Wednesday February 3, 2010

Hello!

I made it through another long day of school and am one step closer to the weekend! I am so excited about this weekend as I have lots of friends coming into town for Mimi's big 2-1. Patterson and Leah are coming from Madrid, Kensley, Barrett and Mollie are coming from Milan, Amy from Brussells, and Summers and Maddie from London. I think it goes without saying that we are going to have an amazing weekend.

I have had a busy week but all is still going well. I made it through my first major presentation in Management and really like the group I'll be working with all semester. Our next presentation together is a case study on the clothing empire Zara which I am so excited about! (We got first pick!)

In the food department, I had my first scare with seafood which I do not eat. Last night, Elena announced we would be having fish for dinner tonight and what we were her children, so we must eat what she prepared. While Mimi was excited about it, Maya and I froze and freaked out! Elena knows that we don't like seafood but that didn't seem to change her dinner choice. All day, I mentally prepared for my dinner of fish and ate a large breakfast and lunch in preparation for my dreaded dinner. Well, much to my surprise, we were called to dinner and ribs were on the table. I have never been more excited to eat red meat! (If you can't tell, I am a picky picky eater). Now I wonder if that fish is in the freezer for a later date...let's hope they enjoy it for a lunch instead.

Even if they do serve me fish for every meal here on out, I am so lucky to have host moms like Elena and Cecilia. Elena is the happiest, friendliest lady in the world and makes me smile just looking at her. As I've gotten to know her better, it's so funny to notice her quirkiness and OCD behavior. For instance, she finally admitted how much it bothered her the way we jabbed into the butter container rather than make an even swipe on the top. She also likes to give us lessons on how to clean the sink or where to put the floor mat so it's in exactly the right place. I'm glad I'm not the only OCD person in the world!
Cecilia, my other host mom, has taken a break from her job as a management consultant until April to study for the GMAT. Apparently, Barcelona has two of the strongest MBA schools in Europe and she hopes to either attend one of those or another school in Europe. Elena and Cecilia are two incredible women!