A change of pace

so clearly I'm not so good at this writing everyday thing...but I decided it's only because in the past couple of days, I actually haven't done anything that worthy of my theme, which thus far has been the "dumb foreign college student".  Yes, I am actually getting the hang of the metro, understanding/speaking more Spanish, and people even have stopped me on the street to ask for directions.  I'm not gonna lie, that makes me feel pretty cool...for about half a second until I realize I actually can't answer their question, I only know my own routes (by landmarks, not street names).  Oh well, I suppose I have a couple months still to figure it out.  Anyways, for a change of pace, there will be no embarrassing stories about my Barcelona bloopers in this post, unless I randomly remember something...
Since my last post, I have had two sessions of my intensive writing and grammar course.  And I actually really like it. My teacher is really laid back, but engaging.  The class is small, 10 students, so it's a lot less intimidating than I expected of an "intensive" course.  i guess the 4 hour daily sessions are what make it intensive.  But anyways, I have gotten to know a couple of people (yes, I actually have talked to strangers and made some friends, Mom.) and am especially excited for my new friend, Kori from Colorado.  When we were introducing ourselves to the class, Rafa (our teacher) asked her where her name came from.  She replied "a book...it's called The Hiding Place, by Corrie ten Boom." Only two weeks ago, on my missions trip to Costa Rica, I was feeling very nervous about coming to Spain, and adjusting to the change of scenery from my Christian friends and classes in the "Gordon Bubble".  I really wanted to look for a church to go to for the semester, but I am super shy, and dislike going to new churches by myself, so naturally I was feeling pretty anxious, trying not to worry about it, knowing that God had it all under control.  So when Kori mentioned the origin of her name, although I suppose I was jumping to conclusions, I was relieved.  And after talking to her a little more, finding out that she indeed is also a Christian, worrying and praying about the same things I was, I am now even more convinced of His perfect plan. Plus I'm really excited that I won't have to go to church by myself  :)

In other news, my birthday came and went, although this year it sort of lasted 30 hours instead of 24, and at last I am 20, the year that really doesn't mean anything (as I have been told...).  I did a little shopping, a very little, finally got to go out for tapas with our small group, and did a little dancing afterwards.  All in all, it was a good birthday, apart from missing all you guys back home.  By the way, thanks so much for all the birthday wishes! :)  Today, Andrea and I got up with intentions of going to La Sagrada Familia (if you don't know what it is, google it...very cool) because it's free admission for Saturdays in January, but by 12 they weren't letting anyone else in.  So instead we ventured in the opposite direction, toward the ocean.  We ate lunch, waked around la Parc de Ciutadella, and through the Arc de Triumf, of course snapping a few photos along the way.  Although it was a measly 45 degrees outside (which I realize doesn't exactly compare to the weather back home, but I prepared for warmer...) it was a nice day to be out exploring.  However, I'm sure when the 75 degree weather rolls around in March, I will enjoy walking around much more :)  Well, time for me to say goodnight.  Thanks so much for your prayers and birthday wishes! Love and miss you all lots!

I once was lost....and so were my keys

Today I was excited to have a little more time to explore Barcelona.  Andrea and I had talked last night and decided to meet at her house around 11 am.  I would walk to her place because I knew how to get to the area, and it wouldn't be a bad walk. so, at promptly 11:15 i left my house to meet andrea for a little bit of shopping. i was pretty impressed with myself when I got to la plaza universitat, where andrea lives, but soon after less impressed when i realized i didn't actually know where she lives, aka, here address. so i walked around looking at house numbers, relieved to see the right street name, but as i walked around the block realized the street numbers skip...while i stood there wondering why one side had houses 1-4 and the next side 61-58 it occurred to me that its probably because they are different streets....okay so i'm clearly not a city girl...anyways, after 40 minutes of walking back and forth, up, down and around (a couple of times), i decided to sit on one of the benches near the plaza. basically on the verge of tears, wondering if i should just return home or how the heck i was going to find my friend, i noticed the street across from me was Plaza universitat also...i walked closer to the street and sure enough, saw andrea walking towards me. so i basically sprinted over to her, excited to see a familiar face after circling around like the sad little lost american girl that i was.  we laughed a little about the situation and she presently showed me exactly where she lived, for next time. fast forward through a little shopping, chatting with a few students from the UB and another 2 hours of orientation to walking home from the hotel with andrea.  I'm definitely getting more confident with directions, so we make a good pair, i'm the navigator and she just talks to people. anyways, we found our way from the hotel to andrea's place and decided to walk to my house so she could see where I was staying.  all was well and good until we got to my house. i had andrea wait downstairs because we're really not supposed to bring people over, and i went inside to drop off a few things and see what the plan for the night was. when i finally figured out how to open the door, i let myself in and realized  no one was home.  so i dropped all my stuff off in my room and went back down to andrea.  then, horrified, i realized that when i dropped all my stuff off, i really dropped all my stuff off, including the keys to my house. so now, i was locked out of the house, had no number to reach Maria at and no cell phone to call a number as it was.  luckily we had bought a phone for andrea earlier so i called the CIEE office helpline for dumb american students who do dumb things like this. after a frustrating chat with the receptionist there, only frustrating because she couldnt understand my name, i finally got Maria's number, called her from andreas phone, and left a message explaining the situation.  by that time, we had taken the metro (my first ride) back to andreas house, stopped at the cell phone store and bought a sim card for the phone that Maria had given me yesterday.  as we sat in the plaza, on the same bench i had been sitting as a lost little girl earlier today, Maria called back to say she was home and that it wasnt a big deal. so i took the metro back to my place.  all i could think was "at least i have some good stories for today's post..." :) tomorrow i start my first class here, and intensive writing class from 10-2 everyday for the next 2 weeks...should be interesting. i'll let you know how it goes, and maybe have a couple more stories for you all tomorrow. hasta manana!

PS. am i writing too much? i'm new to this whole blogging thing and i have a problem with telling really long stories...lo siento.

las primeras...

Barcelona....population 1.6 million...official languages: Spanish and Catalan...needless to say, this is going to be quite the change.  so here I am, sitting at my desk, in my home four thousand miles away from home, finally starting this blog that my mom is making me do...so. it's been 2...or 3? days since I left the states to embark on this grand adventure in Spain, and since then my head hasn't stopped spinning. it started with the plane ride from Hartford to Newark. I know statistics say it is much safer to fly than to drive, but trust me, after that ride, I do not agree.  I never thought that an hour ride could make you want to jump out the window of the plane...without a parachute...but this one succeeded in doing just that. so after we landed, Andrea and i promptly bolted off the plane in search of gingerale...after spending a couple hours in Newark, we boarded the next flight, exhausted and ready for a nice long nap on the plane. approximately 6 hours and 36 minutes later, we arrived at el aeropuerto de Barcelona, with about 30 minutes of sleep and 6 bags of luggage between the two of us.  more waiting, awkward first encounters with some other kids from our group, a bus ride, and finally we were at el Hotel de Havana (yes, I really am in Barcelona).  So, yesterday, Monday, was a day of orientation, more or less.  Orientation to the program, to each other and to the city.  And by the end of the day I was beyond exhausted. I had seen only a little bit of the city, but enough to be totally confused, spoke a lot of spanish...actually listened to a lot of spanish and prayed that I wouldn't have to respond, and ate an early dinner...at 8:30.  As soon as my head hit the pillow I was asleep.  Today, Tuesday, was more laid back, and much easier to handle after a good night's sleep.  We got a tour of the Universitat de Barcelona, where most of us will be studying (pictures to post soon), did a little more orientation stuff and met our home stay families...for which I was, and still am, pretty nervous.  Luckily, Maria and her son, Fran, are very nice and I really like them a lot, butttt they speak no english...I guess that will help me stick to my contract of speaking only Spanish while I am here. Bueno, I have probably written too much for one post, so I will say Buenas Noches and hasta manana (or whenever I have time to post again!) :) missing everyone back home.  love to all!