Back on the Blahging Saddle

So! Here we are again! 

We're always doing something in this crazy city, so that makes it kinda hard to keep up with this little blahg of mine. Sorry! But since I'm here, and it's a little overwhelming to talk about everything we've been doing, let me hit some highlights for you.

Food!

-Jamón (ham-ohn): This is a specific kind of ham that is salted, dried, and eaten on sandwiches all over Barcelona. Let me tell you, it is DELICIOUS...I've pretty much been living off of the stuff for the past week. I go to deli's and order it, go to the market and get it for home lunches, and pretty much jump at any chance I have to get some more. I think I'll pretty sad when I go back home and can't find any in America.

-Paella (pie-ay-ah) : Paella is also found all over Barcelona. The rice dish is about 9 Euros a pop (~$11.50), and is normally topped with seafood and different veggies. The rice is a lot like our yellow rice, and the seafood has mussels, shrimp, clams, etc. I don't really like pulling apart little pieces of cooked seafood, so I'm not that big of a fan. But it's definitely a frying pan-served, Barcelonan experience.

Places I Go Frequently

-The marketplace: This is a totally new world for me. The market very close to my house (seriously...a five minute walk!) looks like a flower shop in the front, but once you enter, it opens up to a whole new grocery shopping experience. The ground floor is filled with large fresh produce booths filled with every kind of fruit or veggie imaginable (and some you haven't imagined yet)! Mix in some booths that are selling different kinds of chicken (with about six workers all slaving away and attending to countless customers), then throw in a fresh fish booth or two the mix (with their heads still on and everything), then wrap it all up with a jamon shop or two. 

Below that level lies the "real" grocery store. It's pretty small in comparison to America's grocery stores (definitely smaller than TX State's little HEB)...and it's filled with fun things. There are two aisles reserved for wines, a large non-alcoholic beverage section with everything from banana juice to Coke Zero without caffeine (I definitely bought both), a large pasta section, a small dessert/sweets section, a lot of spices, and a smaller freezer section. 

Ham, anyone?

  

-School: I go to class at UPF, one of the many small schools located in Barcelona, four times a week from 10:30-12 and then 1-2. We switch classrooms almost every day and have many adventures trying to log in to the library computers, operate machines meant to work in Spanish, order food from the cafeteria from non-English speakers, and purchase copies. 

I really like being here because it's one of the only places that the people I meet (probably) aren't pickpockets. I've met a few students who've helped out with copies or have interesting t-shirts...but the study abroaders mostly keep to ourselves and work on homework and papers together when we're on campus.

The bottom floor is one of the two cafeterias. They have fresh squeezed orange juice!

This is the courtyard I walk through every day. The library's hiding below this level.

-The Metro: Oh, golly. The Metro is my best friend here! The station's about a fifteen minute walk away from apartment, and we use it all the time. No, but really. All the time. Thankfully, we've got a month-long pass that the program's paid for.

But that's not the best part about all of this. I just LOVE getting to see the different kinds of people on the Metro. It's super interesting!

Part of the subway map. I'm at the yellow line stop, Girona.

Some interesting things I've seen on the subway: 

• A decent amount of intense PDA. I just finished up a group paper about that today...it's pretty crazy what you see on a subway!
• Many local teenagers covered in clothes indicative of the American culture. I've seen a lot of teens with the American flag on t-shirts, USA socks, the occasional Justin Bieber shirt with English phrases, and other clothing with various phrases in English. Typically, the city's inhabitants really don't like tourists and will frequently roll their eyes whenever they see us coming (it's amazing how much we stick out!). But their teenagers seem to love American culture.
• All of the different languages spoken. Barcelona is certainly a tourist town. It's very odd for me to see the local instructions printed in both Catalan and Spanish...but to be on the subway and hear German, French, English, an asian language or two, and the typical mix of Spanish and Catalan? It's nuts.

In short, life here is so different. It's odd to be able to write about these differences as I've been living them...to be able to see this side of the world from an insider's perspective. It's crazy. Sinking into this state of European normalcy is enabling me to see the world through another culture's eyes and is giving me the chance to walk the proverbial mile (or seventeen) in their shoes. I even feel like I'm starting to be good at identifying tourists and picking up social cues so I can blend in with locals!

Yeah...I think I'm blending in with locals.

Anywho, I have two tests to study for, so I gotsta go. I'll let you know if I make any big cultural faux pas in the future...but until then, adios!

'Til next time!

-Kelby

Here I Go Again (On My Own)

Hokay. Day 2! Once again, this is old...but better late than never!
Golly gee, time seems to move exceptionally slowly here. I feel like like I've been in Barcelona for at least a week now, but the calendar begs to differ.

This morning I woke up at 8:30 to read mah B-I-B-L-E, snack on some American granola bars and a banana (thanks, Mom and Dad!), and get all ready for my 10:30 class. I left with two of my roomies, Kristin and Lauren, and we headed on over to the Metro to get to class in a timely fashion. After walking past a group of protesters demonstrating against nationally raised tuition rates (complete with tents and angry signs!), we ended up showing up  ight on time to start off our Barcelonan education. I almost forgot I had class here, but I definitely remembered that pretty quickly when we started working. Yes, I'm actually in school while I'm here! There'll be tests, midterms, papers, research...everything! Yeah. School will be SO hard for me. All three hours a day of it.

Someday...I, too, will be able to sleep in tents on my college campus. But today is not that day.

The giant sign of protesting.

Hammer and sickle? I wish I knew if they want Communism or are protesting it...

After one class, we went downstairs and ordered late breakfast in Spanish. Booyah, baby. I hope to have mastered a few Spanish/Catalan phrases once I'm back in the states (And maybe by that point, I'll learn how to not be paranoid of pickpockets everywhere I go). Anyways, after an hour and a half of eating and talking with some of my friends, I went to my second class...and then we headed on over to a big park nearby the school. It was incredibly beautiful, and apparently there's a zoo in the middle of the park. I haven't seen it yet, but if I see a polar bear running loose in the middle of the park, I'll be sure to attribute it to the Dharma initiative let you know.

After that, we had a little picnic lunch and walked around freely. We started exploring the city and ended up walking aimlessly- adventuring through Barcelona. I saw a Spanish Arc de Triomf, the Sagrada Familia, a legit supermarket, some beautiful architecture, and a fantastic old section of the city. Plus, we talked about good music and movies, so that made for a good day.

Barcelona: not the only European town with an Arc de Triomf

Once we were done exploring, I went back to the apartment and uploaded pictures/rested until about 8, when a group of us went out to eat (an early dinner for Spaniards, evidently). Let me tell you, I was exhausted and had little blisters on my feet when I got back the first time, but going out was worth it. And our dinner was worth going out for again (despite my baby blisters).

We went out to the metro and ended up going to a place a block away from the beach to eat...one of my friends, Valeri, actually speaks Spanish, so she majorly helped us out with ordering! Surprisingly though, most Barcelonans have a really think Catalan accents when they speak Spanish...so it's pretty hard to understand them.

Anyways, it's been a pretty swell time, thusfar. By the next post, I'll actually have you all caught up on my life (and won't post it two days late). :D But until then, Buenos noches!

Let's Start At The Very Beginning

I've been in Barcelona for the past 36 hours, and it's already sweeping me off of my feet. 

Seriously! This is already so exciting! I left Dallas on Sunday around noon and arrived in the Barcelona airport at 9:00 on Monday morning (2:00 am Texas time, mind you). On the flight from Miami to Barcelona, I met a 40-something year old musician named Juan who's currently learning English. We talked for a good bit of time...and spoke of everything from sights to see in Barcelona to European history to Spanish phrases that will be useful. He definitely taught me a lot despite the rather large language barrier, but he was really just excited to practice his English. He kept thanking me for speaking with him (and kept calling me "passionate" instead of "compassionate" for helping him out). Unfortunately for jet lag, though, my speaking with him for so long also meant that I didn't get very much sleep on the plane...

Once we arrived, we waited in the airport for 2 hours meeting each other and getting our bearings. Then, the thirty of us loaded onto a tour bus and got to our flats in "L'Eixample,"a region of town. The apartment is relatively close to La Sagrada Familia, a main attraction built by the architect Gaudi, and happens to be a quick walk away from a metro stop.

The lobby of our apartment building is beautifully old, complete with an old-fashioned elevator that has two sets of doors and leads up to all five floors. Rather unfortunately for the girls I'm living with, we're staying on the bottom floor, so we don't get to travel by elevator that often. However, avoiding the stairs is pretty fantastic.

The flat itself has a common room, two individual bedrooms, two bedrooms shared by two other girls, and three bathrooms. It's extremely spacious, and definitely something I could get used to. The orange tree in the back doesn't hurt, either. ;)

My cute, tiny room!

After we had unpacked for a bit, we ate some delicious pizza, had some down time (with no naps so we could sleep normally that night), and then the thirty of us were unleashed on the city! A big group of us then went to explore the city...and ended up sticking out like a sore thumb in the city. :) After wandering for a while, we ended up at a place with various appetizers. I ordered a mini hamburger because I wasn't that hungry and was afraid of allergy things...but when they brought it out, the bun's circumference was the size of a half dollar! So I had a biiiiiiig dinner. ;)

Afterwards, we went to buy soap and a few groceries with some money we were given for equipping the flat. My favorite part of grocery shopping was getting to see the different artwork on products and then comparing it to the American artwork. But I think that's the Marketing major in me. :D We bought a few things and then headed on back to our flat.

The best Barcelonan cereal around

As soon as we got home, I took a warm shower and fell asleep. It was definitely a good way to start off my trip. I'll give you today's update later on tonight. Talk to you soon!

Sitting, Waiting, Wishing

Note: I wrote this at 4:30 yesterday, so the info's a little outdated. But I'm pretty much exhausted currently, so this will have to do for now. I know it's less about my travels and more about my ideas behind them...*lame*...but the real info will come later!

So, here I am. Sitting in a Miami aiport…waiting for the rest of my summer to begin. To be honest, it’s a bit overwhelming. A bit ominous. A bit intimidating. But mostly, it’s invigorating.

I can’t wait to get to know everyone who’s going on this adventure with me. I’ve already met a few of the other Texas State students, but this is just the tip of the iceberg. It’s kind of odd, because I’ve already done enough Facebook stalking to know their faces. The people I’ll be spending the next month with stick out from the crowded airport like characters in a few movies I've seen recently. They’re casually introduced through their typical activities- they fumble with passports, rifle through over-sized bags with frustration, lug obnoxious pieces of luggage behind them- and all hold their breath in anticipation, waiting for the upcoming adventure. We’re all different, but very similar at the same time. This next month is certainly the stuff worthy of a story with damsels in distress, plans that seem to go wrong…but actually are executed correctly the whole time, men holding boom boxes over their heads playing love songs, and hatches being blown off after having fought a rather ominous-looking pillar of black smoke.

This summer is gonna be great. I’m SO READY to enjoy the Mediterranean sea, get to know people I’d probably never meet otherwise, avoid various nuts, adventure through three different countries, and maybe even grow up a little.

I don’t know what to expect about the next 30 days, but I think I’ll come back a little more brown and a little more adventurous. Can’t wait to tell you all about the people I meet and the fun I’ll have.

Talk to you soon!

Getting Ready

Barcelona's so close...I can almost taste it!!!!!!!!!!

In order to keep people updated, I'm going to try to blog. I'm not normally a big fan of public journaling...but for the sake of chronicling my adventures for my familia and friends, I'm going to try to keep up with this little sucker.

I'll be out of the country from May 21- June 21...and I'll be taking two classes for school, visiting the beach, exploring Paris and Rome, making new friends, trying exciting dishes, and last, but certainly not least, soaking in every bit of Barcelona I can muster.

In the meantime, I'm gonna start up the packing and maybe do a little background reading while I'm at it. I'm excited to share my adventures with you!