Today was the first day of my Spanish classes. I just found out that my Spanish classes are every day this week (Once my other classes begin they will only be MWF). I was fairly disappointed because I had planned going out most the week since my other classes haven't begun yet. It all worked out because I had an extremely long day and it feels nice to relax a little bit. I need to continue reminding myself to pace myself with spending money..I do have over four months left here.
Anyways, I woke up this morning around 9 and decided not to shower because there wasn't hot water. I have taken a total of 1 hot shower since I've been here which is pretty crazy. The house is very cold in the mornings (it doesn't help that my bed is up against the window) and it's never a good way to start off a day shivering in the shower. Oh well, tomorrow I will just have to suck it up, it could be much worse. After mi desayuno I relaxed and finished my coffee until 10 when I left for the metro. I arrived at the IES center around 10:40 and then got into the classroom early and talked with some students that were already there. We have a great group of students in our class and I can definitely see us becoming close. There are less than 20 people in our group which will help us learn more and get to know each other.
Once la clase started our Profesora talked a little about herself. She actually lived in Madrid most of her life, and is not Catalan. She has most of her family in Andulucia but also in Madrid as well. She has lived here in Barcelona for 5 years I believe and also studied in the US for a couple years. She seems like she is very friendly and outgoing which will help us become close with her. She made it clear that she would love to get to know us and be more than just our teacher, which was cool. After she was finished talking we did a little icebreaker activity and introduced ourselves and where we were from, etc..
We got a 15 minute break at 12:15 (Class is from 10:45-12:15, and 12:30-13:45) and I grabbed a caffe with Peter, one of the guys in my class. He is from California around San Francisco, and seems to have the same interests as me when it comes to traveling all over Spain. Many of the students studying here have little interest in understanding the culture and the Spanish people in general, which is somewhat annoying. After the caffe we returned to class and discussed a little history, phrases to use while eating at a restaurant, and where to find certain items around the city. Finally class was over, and we got together with a little group to find a caffe to grab a sandwich. We had to be back at the IES center by 3:30 for our "scavenger hunt" around the city.
We ended up eating at a little sandwich shop, which surprisingly had great food and wine as well. We talked and I met a few more people but it was mostly people I already knew at the caffe, about 7 of us in total. We finally met back at the IES center but the entire meeting was completely unorganized. In my opinion, IES had been on top of everything for the most part, but today was a different story. I was with half of my group and the other half already left. We got a map and took a shortcut to where our group would be walking by at some point. It was four of us guys, and one girl named Kelly. I almost forgot about this, but Kelly is from Crystal Lake, which is ridiculous because it's about 10 minutes from my house in Algonquin. What a small world! Anyways, we sat outside a cervesaria until they walked our way and we all met up and talked for a little bit. We all went to a small caffe to have a snack and some refrescas. The girls all left, and then all of us guys just hung out and talked a little bit. I met another guy, Paul who is also from California but goes to school in Indiana. I also met Nick who runs Cross Country in Pennsylvania at a D3 school which was cool.
Finally I made my way back to the Passeig de Gracias where I hopped on the metro to head home. I was thinking on my ride home about why so many countries dislike America but I kind of realized why today. Some of the American students here are so ignorant to the culture, it bewilders me. I was thinking about home and about how fast my time here will be. I could definitely see myself living here, not necessarily in Barcelona, but in Spain. It truly is a beautiful country and there is always something to do.
This photo below is one of the crazy costumes on Las Ramblas. This actually was a man, dressed up as a fat woman, which I found hilarious. But every day I see something different on Las Ramblas which is one of the reasons it is so great.
Once I got home I ate a delicious dinner, as always. Anna made us an excellent chicken dish with sauteed vegetables, a salad, bread, and I had some flan for dessert. I relaxed and had some tea before coming into my room to clean up a little bit.
I finally figured out some information about the gym, Dir. It is very expensive depending on the package (Including my student discount)between 300-400 Euros for the semester. There is a Dir gym right down the street from mi casa, and also from the IES center which is very convenient. I need to figure out which package is the best for me and then I can finally start working out again.
The weather here was absolutely beautiful. I can definitely get used to this Mediterranean climate and the 50's and 60's every day. Today was sunny and 55 which was a great temperature for browsing around la ciudad. Tomorrow is supposed to be nice as well, and I hope I will find out more about the Barca game on Wednesday.
We took a few pictures last night with my family that I forgot to post...
Buona nit
