Adios!

On the last night with my adorable host parents, of course we had to take a selfie:)  

Oh How I'll Miss the Metro...

The metro was my lifeline in Spain.  Whenever I saw a red "M" sign, I knew I was in the clear.  Just a shout out to my roadmap to Barcelona;
however I will not miss the large amount of time I spent walking and taking the metro to get places.  A 15 minute walk across campus? No biggie.

Last Day in Barcelona: An Overview

My last day in Barcelona, we all visited the beautiful Palau de Música Catalana that is constructed in a modern artistic style.  We then went to a group lunch with some of the professors at an amazing paella restaurant by the port.  As I'm not a huge fan of shellfish, I stuck with the vegetable paella, and it was delicious.  Accompanying that was the famous pan con tomate (tomato and olive oil on bread), classic Spanish Iberic ham, and other seafood dishes.  For dessert, a chocolate coolant:).  Because of the large quantity of food and the classic slow European restaurant service, I felt like I was at a Thanksgiving dinner.  After hugging and Spanish kissing (one on each cheek) everyone goodbye, I'm now back at my host parents' house starting to pack for my flight tomorrow.  My host mom made me her famous churros con chocolate for a goodbye dessert!


I can't believe I'm flying back to the USA tomorrow. The term went by SO FAST, it's crazy. I'm sad to leave the amazing, fun city of Barcelona with all my new cultural experiences. However, I am also ready to return home, see my family and home friends, and head back to Dartmouth for sophomore summer! I'm not looking forward to returning to the insane, fast-paced Dartmouth schedule with loads more work than Spain, but Sophomore Summer will be so much fun just the same. I CAN'T WAIT! On that note, some of my thoughts on Barcelona:



Things I will miss about Spain:
1) The amazing food: spanish tortillas, churros con chocolate, empanadas, pan con tomate, chocolate croissants, any kind of tapas/pinxtos, (sangria:))
2) The laid back culture; the spaniards know how to stop and smell the roses.
3) The Spanish language:  I really enjoy speaking Spanish-it's really fun to try to communicate in a new way with new people!  Speaking Spanish makes conversations more fun and interesting, especially when speaking amongst our Dartmouth group, as we are challenged to use our relatively limited vocabulary to talk about a variety of topics
4) Music on the metro
5) The ability to travel and have new experiences: my favorite places other than Barcelona were the beaches/hikes at La Costa Brava, the beaches at Sitges, Madrid, Ronda, and Granada
6) Getting a break from living in the Dartmouth bubble
7) The Spanish/European style and generally more formal attire, as well as the romantic ambiance of Europe
8) The milder climate
9) Despite the paranoia about being pick-pocketed--the lower overall stress level
10) My adorable host parents


Things I am glad to be leaving behind in Spain:
1) The insane amount of robberies/pickpockets and my corresponding state of constant paranoia
2) People asking for money on the metro
3) The catcalls/less discreet staring...for some reason the spaniards don't try to hide that they're checking you out...
4) Being taller than the majority of the population
5) The laid back culture: sometimes I just want to get stuff done! And walk at a rapid pace down the street to get where I'm going!
6) The exchange rate
7) Not being able to safely walk alone at night
8) Being one of the only girls lifting at the gym (I guess this is the same in the U.S...just not at Dartmouth with all the other athletes:)  So excited to be the ONLY basketball sophomore on this summer and have the full attention of all the coaches and conditioning staff..)
9) The slow restaurant service and seemingly avoidant waiters that you literally have to chase down in order to get the check
10) The "simple" lifestyle of my host family: I had to take super fast showers, and each time they had to manually turn on the hot water for me to use.  Also the weak halway-functioning toilet flushers and the slow internet.  I cannot WAIT to get back to the high-efficiency US with an abundance of well-functioning technology.  Having said that, it was also kind of nice to not have to worry about carrying/checking my iPhone every five seconds and to sometimes just give up on the internet and work without it.

Obsessed With Picasso

The other day, I visited the Picasso Museum in Barcelona. Of course I had heard about Picasso's artistic fame in the past, but I had never learned the details of his career nor why he is so extraordinarily famous. Well, now I know. HE PAINTED AMAZING THINGS WHEN HE WAS IN HIS TEENS THAT MOST PEOPLE CAN'T PAINT UNTIL THEIR 30'S!!!(or that most people can't paint at all...) I was amazed when I saw his perfect sketches and paintings realistically depicting complicated scenes that he had created when only a little boy. I guess it helps that his father was a painter and taught him his ways, but still. PICASSO WAS AN ARTISTIC GENIUS. I still can't get over it. Not to mention his creation of Cubism, which I now can sort of comprehend thanks to history and culture class!

Tap Water Please??

Note– Spain's water is fine to drink! Especially if it's filtered. My host parents' house has a filter, so I can drink the tap water thank goodness. Most restaurants have filters as well; however, they will pretend that their water is the dirtiest thing on earth to get you to buy bottled water. Every time I go to a restaurant and ask for "agua de grifa," the waiter looks at me with annoyance, and after discussing that yes, the tap water is fine, reluctantly brings me a free glass of water. So different from the U.S. where tap water is expected!

Barcelona Weekend

 The weekend after our tour of southern Spain, we had planned to travel to San Sebastian in the north to see the pretty beaches and soak up some sun. However, it was just our luck that that weekend was the one weekend it decided to rain in pretty much all of Spain. We couldn’t picture ourselves enjoying beaches and walking the streets amidst 55-degree wind and rain, so we sought out other options. Some of the group ventured to the sunnier island of Mallorca, but I decided to stay in Barcelona to see more of the city as well as figure some things out with my normal life back at Dartmouth (at home, with my computer and semi-functioning internet!).  Despite missing out on a tropical beach weekend, I still managed to have an amazing time in Barcelona.  Some other girls stayed along with me, and we explored the city.

One day that weekend, the sun peeked out from behind the rainclouds and my friend Hayley and I headed to Barceloneta for some beachin. Just when we thought we had outsmarted the rain and were about to set foot on the sand, it started pouring. However it was nothing that couldn’t be remedied with some gelato. My friend and I also met up with one of our intercambios (Spanish students learning English who we’re paired up with for the program). She invited us to her apartment, and we hung out at her rooftop pool (so cool!) and played with her PET PIG!!! Georgina, the intercambio, is very hipster and alternative, so it makes sense that and her and her boyfriend decided to purchase a pet pig. Apparently it’s going to be a growing trend in Spain…she told me of one other friend of hers with a pet pig. I have to say the pig was not as cuddly to hold as my golden retriever back home. After seeing Georgina’s pool and pig, she took us to lunch at a restaurant she had picked out. Upon arrival, I laughed to see that it was a Spanish version of Johnny Rockets. Of course she would pick the “American” restaurant just for us!

That night, Hayley and I decided to check some more Barcelona must-sees off our list, so we went to the famous Las Arenas shopping mall to get a view of the city from the top floor sky deck. Afterwards, we went to the popular Dow Jones Bar where the prices of drinks go up and down with supply and demand like the stock market– pretty interesting for two Economics majors! To finish the weekend off, Hayley, Georgina, another intercambio Elena, and I went to hear our favorite Barcelona DJ (called “Nasty Mondays”) at a club near the beach. It was a pretty ritzy club, particularly that night as the club was hosting an after party for the X-Games that Barcelona had hosted that weekend. The club sported tables of sushi as men and women chatted in cocktail attire– very classy. The best part about that night was meeting Joe Ingles, a 6’8” Euroleague basketball star who plays for the FC Barca basketball team! I’m putting that one down on my list of celebrity encounters for sure.

 Another highlight of the weekend was getting to see my friend Ashley from back home in Winnetka. She had studied in a Sevilla, Spain for the semester and was finishing her time abroad on a cruise with her mom! They both took my out to dinner and we caught up. It was a great to see a friend from home in Barcelona. 

Granada: La Alhambra

 We had learned a lot about the Alhambra and its artistic merit in History and Culture class at the University of Barcelona, so we decided to take not only one but TWO tours of the Alhambra– one at night and one during the day. It was even more beautiful and grand than the photos suggested. The night tour was shorter and smaller, but seeing the gigantic structure lit up with fountains splashing and buildings reflected perfectly in its large pools was a gorgeous scene. The day tour was longer and included not only the main section of the Alhambra with the famous Lions Fountain (fuente de leones), but also the expansive rose gardens and other stone towers of the palace. The rose gardens were absolutely stunning with their huge, multicolored blossoming roses intermixed in arches of greenery. If you’re going to Granada, the Alhambra is a must-see.

Granada: Albaicín Neighborhood

After getting some rest after our late night out, we ventured back to the Albaicín neighborhood for some amazing Moroccan cuisine. We walked up the steep hill once more and searched until we found a cozy Moroccan/Arabian restaurant furnished with pillows, colorful tapestries covering the walls, candles on the small wooden tables, and colored crystal light fixtures hanging from the ceiling. To complete the ambiance, some tables indulged in hookah while incense perfumed the air. I had the best hummus I’ve ever tasted, a spinach and cheese empanada concoction called “briwat,” and some Moroccan sweets for dessert. It was possibly one of the best meals I’ve had in Spain, as it was something new and different I had never tried before. After our breakfast/lunch/dinner, whatever it was, we explored the neighborhood shops that lined the streets. Each shop sold pretty much the same things, like Arabian scarves and ceramic elephants, and I was surprised they could all stay in business. We literally looked in every shop and compared prices to find the best deal (I bought a paisley pashmina scarf for 10 Euro and later found some for 8 Euro and others for 12 Euro, quite the pricing scheme). We even made friends with one of the shop owners, and he gave us all small free gifts. He gave me a bracelet, and explained (all in Spanish of course) that he loved making new friends and making people happy with the lowest prices and supplementary gifts. He asked us our names (first names only of course), and later managed to find one of my friends on Facebook! (Kind of creepy actually, there are a lot of “Kelseys” with brown hair on Facebook, not to mention he had no idea where she was from). He was harmless though, and it was nice to talk to locals and practice our Spanish. The Albaicín, while a bit scary for me because of its exotic nature, was actually one of my favorite experiences in Spain.

Granada: Camboria Club

One night we went to a discoteca called La Camboria– it had an outdoor patio with an amazing view of the Alhambra, lit up bright white with spotlights in the night. The club also had an underground sector made of caves. We didn’t make it into that part, as it seemed a little sketchy, but we did end up somehow crashing what appeared to be a high school birthday party on the patio level, as girls were going around handing out goodie bags full of birthday hats, party horns, lays, and streamers. Us crazy Americans made the party for sure. Getting home that night was another adventure. The Camboria Club is in the Albaicín area of Granada, which is up a steep hill and far away from our hostel. Taking a taxi home would have cost us a fortune, so we decided to walk home together in our safe group of ten. After about half an hour of walking, we split off to go to our various hostels. However, the hostel where three of my friends and I were staying was located on a small side street that we somehow always failed to find. After walking through the narrow, winding streets of Granada for about another forty-five minutes, we came upon the one open coffee shop (Yes, there are very few 24-hour restaurants and shops in Spain. Where are my 24-hour CVS and McDonalds when I need them??) and asked for directions. We finally made it home around six thirty in the morning, just in time for the start of our free hostel breakfast! I was starving by that point in the night (or morning…), and the free breakfast was the perfect end to the night before sleeping until around 3pm that afternoon. It was quite the Spanish experience. I still can’t believe Spaniards can survive staying out so late every weekend.

Granada: Cheap and Delicious

At most restaurants in Granada, if you buy a drink, you get a free tapa!! BEST DEAL EVER. Plus the drinks aren’t bad at around 4 euro. AMAZING. But actually, in general, Granada is much cheaper than Barcelona-sadly because they are having a rougher time economically. But still, it was nice to be able to eat out and not break bank.

Granada: Best Hostel

I had never stayed in hostels before Spain, but I have to say we picked some great ones for our trip. Thanks to hostelworld. Our hostel in Granada was really new and clean-we even got our own room with bunks for just the four of us girls. We basically had our own nice full bathroom for the first two nights, until more people checked in. The hostel also had breakfast included-pretty much all the breakfasts at the hostels and breakfast in Spain in general is minimal, but the hostel provided all sorts of yogurt flavors, corn flakes, bread wiith butter, several types of jelly, and chocolate spread (no not nutella, just chocolate-soo delish), oranges, and croissants. Pretty good for a cheap hostel breakfast I must say. Also, the hostel had a free sangria night (my fav); we made sure to take advantage of that. For the sangria party, everyone at the hostel congregated in the courtyard at picnic tables and chatted. We met a cute couple-the guy from Rome and the girl from Germany, as well as some college kids from Vermont (no way).

Ronda

 Back to vacation—Ronda is the cutest little town I’ve ever seen. It was a nice break in between all the cities I’d been travelling to. Ronda’s main attraction is a gigantic rocky gorge that encircles the town’s historic village. The first night’s scenery was breathtaking-we met up with the guys from our group who had been traveling on a slightly different itinerary (actually they copied our itinerary and just moved some train times around…so original), and had an amazing dinner overlooking the gorge as the sun set over the rocks and surrounding hilly farmland. It was a picture perfect moment.

 Ronda was also nice because we stayed in a hostel that was actually a converted bed and breakfast. Compared to our hostel in Madrid where we slept in a cramped room that fit twelve people, we instead shared hotel-room-esque doubles. Not to mention we got a discount eating at the hostel’s restaurant. And the staff was so friendly, like all the people in the small town of Ronda. Our last morning there, we had to leave at 6:30am before the hostel breakfast started to catch a train to Granada. The owner prepared us a sack of oranges and yogurts for the road! So adorable.

After the first night in Ronda, we of course we had to hike down into the gorge and see the beautiful scenery. At one point the trail split, and we took the narrower fork that led to an area I’m pretty sure most tourists avoid, as the paths were about two feet wide and only permitted walking in single file, not to mention the fences stopping us from falling down to the bottom of the gorge were weak at best and mostly broken. (Oh well, YOLO!) We hiked all the way down to the river at the bottom of the gorge and saw some old city water station/shack that for some reason had not yet been removed. We also made sure to take the famous “bridge photo” looking up at the gorgeous stone bridge connecting the historic village with the rest of Ronda through the gorge.

Another night, we gave in and stopped at McDonald's, the one fast food restaurant in the town,for a late night snack. I hand't eaten McDonald's in a few years, and the french fries tasted amazing even in Spain. The funny thing is, American commodities are really expensive in Spain, so the typical 2/3 dollar burger was around 10 dollars instead. Kind of a rip off McDonald's. Ronda is tied for my favorite place I visited on vacation, with our next and final stop: Granada.

Pause: Run

A little break from my vacation adventures—this morning, with the insistence of my host dad (yes, my host parents tell me daily that I NEED to work out and run and go to the gym so I will be hungry for meals…like I don’t already work out enough for basketball…), I went for a run on Avenida Diagonal, one of the longest streets in Barcelona that passes near my house and extends through the majority of the city. I’m normally not the kind of person who just casually goes for a run, as I am a basketball player and normally work out by doing sprints in a gym, as basketball is more about short sprints than long slower runs. However, I LOVED my run this morning! Running through Barcelona is a great way to get to know the city. The Diagonal has a great running/biking path alongside the roadway where lots of people work out daily. When I left my house, it was a beautiful day-65 and sunny, perfect for running. Of course, about halfway through, it started to rain and even hail!! What the heck Spring in Barcelona. Despite the weather, I continued running, and actually enjoyed running in the rain. It was a great start to my Saturday. Later today I plan on going to a movie theater in Barceloneta that is showing the Great Gatsby (El Gran Gatsby)! Although I would love to try to understand the movie in Spanish, I’m hoping the theater has an English version, as I do not want to spoil Leonardo DiCaprio with a typical high-pitched Spanish voiceover…

Cordoba

We left Madrid really early in the morning to catch a train to Cordoba. I have to say Cordoba is my least favorite city I’ve visited in Spain thus far. The walk from the train station to the actual city center where the mezquita is (red and gold striped double arches, you’ve seen pictures) was very eery and strange. There were hardly any people walking around, and there was a huge four lane road with barely any cars on it. Cordoba also had a funky smell (ok all of Spain does because of the weird sewage system-but Cordoba’s was worse) which tainted the city. The mezquita was just like the pictures, however it was not as interesting as I had imagined. It was basically a ginormous rectangular room with hundreds of red and gold striped arches in a row. Thanks to Christian take-over at one point in time, smack dab in the middle of the mosque was a Catholic church, where the ceiling changed into a steep white dome and the amount of ornate decoration increased tenfold. It was a little much. Sorry for all the hating on Cordoba! It was a cool city, there was just not much to do there. Luckily, we only stayed for the day and left the same night to head to Ronda. The part I loved about Cordoba was seeing the quaint white houses with blue flowerpots holding colorful flowers adorning the walls. Cordoba has such mild weather that the house owners keep the flowers out all year round!

Madrid II: El Parque Buen Retiro

After the Dartmouth-sponsored trip ended, we spent a lot of our time in the gorgeous Buen Retiro Park. We bought delicious sandwiches and grabbed some croissants from the free hostel breakfast and picnicked in the grass beneath the trees in the park. Naps (with one of us on the watch for thieves of course), massage trains, and hair braiding were involved (throwback to 5th grade sleepovers). After picnicking we traversed the paths of the vast park and took pictures in the beautiful rose gardens. A lot of locals roller blade around the park, and I desperately wanted to join in as I’ve never roller-bladed before! Next time for sure. The park also includes a large pond with boats that you can rent and paddle around in. Of course we took advantage of that, and even raced some other boaters (having two basketball players rowing, of course we won☺). It turns out that one of the girls in the other boat was a student at Stanford studying Spanish in Madrid! Our victory obviously proves that Dartmouth>Stanford. We also visited a palace, saw yet ANOTHER cathedral, and walked around the streets of Madrid visiting shops and eating delicious meals. Thank goodness Spain loves smoked salmon and goat cheese (sadly along with loads and loads of olive oil on EVERYTHING...). Mmm. I have been trying to decide which city I like better, Barcelona or Madrid. The people in Madrid seemed friendlier and more open, but the city itself was busier, more crowded, and dirtier. It reminds me of the Boston-New York difference, Boston being Barcelona and Madrid being New York. I think the closed-off people in Barcelona has to do with the whole Catalonian independence idea. If the people in Barcelona were more open, and if Barcelona had a giant park like Madrid, it would be the perfect city. Even without those things, Barcelona beats Madrid in my book.

Madrid and Toledo

I started my time in Madrid on a planned program trip with my Dartmouth professor Isabel. We all stayed in a really nice hotel off of the Plaza del Sol in central Madrid. We visited the Prado and the Reina Sofia art museums, where the great works of Diego Velasquez, Salvador Dalí, Goya, Picasso, and many others are housed. My favorite artist by far is Velasquez. Velasquez was the hired painter for the royal court in Madrid, and is famous for his unique “Las Meninas” portrait of the royal family. He also painted many scenes mixing mythological Greek gods with very human scenes from Velasquez’s own life. I love his painting style and the technical perfection he achieves in his very realistic figures. In some of his paintings, one being “La Fragua de Volcano,” it looks as if you could reach out and grab the figures depicted. Love it love it love it. Dalí’s paintings were interesting in their own way, but the subject material is very alien and was a little strange for me.

After seeing two huge art museums in one day, we had dinner at an Indian restaurant (yes, Indian food in Spain). I had only eaten Indian food once before, from Jewel of India in Hanover. I was a little nervous at first, but I actually ended up loving it (once I figured out what to order, thanks to the recommendation Jayant, a knowing student on the program). I will be ordering more Jewel of India when I get back to Hanover! We also went to a Flamenco bar to see a Flamenco show. I loved the fast-paced, loud Flamenco beats, and I still have no idea how the dancers moved their feet so fast and stomped on the wood floor for such a long time without their calves and quads fatiguing! I had never seen Flamenco before and thoroughly enjoyed the show, however it did get a little repetitive towards the end.

 The next day, we travelled to Toledo, a quaint little town outside Madrid. It reminded me of a little Swedish or German town, not that I’ve ever been to Sweden or Germany. We toured the beautiful town, saw the magnificent stone bridges and large stone walls surrounding the city, visited a large cathedral (I have now been to SO many cathedrals and mosques I can’t keep them all straight), visited cute artisanal shops, and finished the trip at a delicious Spanish restaurant. Arriving back in Madrid for the night, we all went out to the huge “Capital” discoteca. Unfortunately, during our nights in Madrid, three more of us lost out iPhones to Spanish thieves…more on that later. After the program trip ended, three friends and I planned a week-long vacation during our break from classes. We stayed three more days in Madrid, and then travelled to Cordoba, Ronda, and Granada.

Travels

I'm about to leave for a 10 day vacation from Barcelona, so I'll be back with many more stories after that! My itinerary includes Madrid, Toledo, Cordoba, Ronda, and Granada. Sadly I left my iPhone in a taxi last weekend and have failed to recover it...apparently it started to make roaming calls to the Gabonese Republic in Africa...my bad. I have successfully avoided being pick pocketed thus far (knock on wood), but I managed to rob myself of my own phone. Oops. Unfortunately I'll be without a camera on my vacations but luckily there will be plenty of photos to steal from my friends going with me. ¡Abrazos y hasta luego!

Cava

The other day we went on a trip to Cavas Cordoniu, the vineyard and winery where they now produce the famous Spanish Champagne called Cava. The winery is a work of art, officially declared a historical artistic building since one of the members of the Cordoniu family redecorated the whole place with the help of a famous architect. (They also use old broken cava bottles as wall decorations and for making chandeliers. Que guay). We got to tour the underground cava storage and see all the champagne fermenting. The guide drove us around through the dark brick tunnels on a little train—I felt like I was in Harry Potter. It was so cool to see, but the entire place smelled like a more intense, concentrated version of a frat with all the fermenting alcohol! My favorite part was getting to taste some different varieties of cava. We all got to try the red Pinot Noir Brut cava, which is less sweet (the guide kept saying it was good for women watching their caloric intake…) as well as the sweeter white Chardonnay cava. I preferred the Pinot Noir. I feel like such a cava connoisseur now. (Also thanks Dartmouth for paying for us to taste champagne!)

Valentine's Day in Spain

Valentine’s Day in Spain! Sort of. El Día de Sant Jordi, the 23rd of April, is known for its beauty. Sant Jordi (Saint George) is that patron saint of Catalonia because of his martyrdom for his Christina religion. But the legend is really what the holiday is about-it’s classic: There’s a princess trapped and guarded by a fierce dragon. Prince Sant Jordi comes along on horseback and slays the dragon, and a red rose bush blooms where the dragon’s blood spilled onto the ground below. Sant Jordi plucks a red rose off and gives it to the princess, saving her life. How chivalrous! *Dartmouth boys take the hint! Let’s bring some of this European chivalry back to the states…please! Anyway, its tradition that the men give roses (red is traditional, but they come in all sorts of colors) to their lovers, or mothers, and then the women give the guys a book. It’s a combination of Valentine’s Day and like World Book Day or something. I bought a red rose for my host madre and a book for my host padre. I had no idea what type of book my padre would want, and after looking a while I decided on a Ken Follett historical fiction book about WWI. Ken Follett seemed legit, and dad’s like history, right? It was really cute because when I gave them their gifts, their sons were over at our house with flowers for my host mom. The sons confirmed the legitimacy of Ken Follett to my padre, and he proceeded to thank me for choosing a good book. Ha. It was also a nice touch that all the guys in the Dartmouth group bought us red roses, and in return we all bought them The Little Prince book. How adorable.

La Costa Brava: Beach Day!

This past Saturday, I travelled an hour and half by bus north from Barcelona to La Costa Brava for a day at the beach with some friends. La Costa Brava is on the Mediterranean, and there are multiple beaches lining the coast, some with beautiful rocky cliffs dropping straight down into the bluish turquoise transparent water below. After stocking up on delicious snacks, we started off at a normal sandy beach with sailboats and kayaks docked nearby, and proceeded to make our way over and around a small peninsula on a hiking path that connects the various beaches. I felt like I was back on my Dartmouth DOC trip taking a nature walk through the woods. The path was surrounded by greenery and provided stunning views of the Mediterranean scenery. After descending a cliff (with the stairs provided of course, there was no major rock climbing or cliff jumping involved), we landed at our picnic spot—a small cove with some huge fallen rocks perfect for sitting on and basking in the sun (or, a perfect spot for couples, as there were two couples enjoying the scenery before we got there. However, they decided to leave upon our arrival…). We soaked up the sun and had some snacks, and one of the guys (on the water polo team of course) even ventured into the rocky water. Eventually we left and continued hiking up and down stairs in the greenery over the beautiful rocky peninsula until we got to our final destination sandy beach in San Feliu. It was the perfect way to spend a Saturday. And it was certainly much better than being in Hanover where it apparently snowed last week. Sorry Dartmouth!

El Tibidabo

One day the group went on an excursion to El Tibidabo, the church on top of a mountain—the highest point in Barcelona, on purpose. Aside from being a gorgeous cathedral, it provided some awesome views of the city. There was also a random theme park next to the church to provide more economic gains from tourism. Classic Barcelona.

Working Out!!

Because my host mom feeds me massive amounts of delicious Spanish food and I feel obligated to eat most of it out of respect, I decided to join a gym. (Actually I joined because I’m on the basketball team at Dartmouth and need to work out. But either way.) The gym is called Dir, and they have a ton of locations within Barcelona. It was unnecessarily expensive to join for only 2 months, but I had to do it. On the upside, the gym has showers and I got a locker to store my stuff overnight so I can work out on the go. The gym I joined is close to the University of Barcelona, so I can work out right after class ends. This setup is ideal since my house is about half an hour from the University, and now I don’t have to go home before heading to the gym. Three other friends from the program also joined. Party at the gym! I always rep Dartmouth with all my Dartmouth basketball gear and get some interesting looks from the other gym-goers. One guy asked me if I was from the UK because apparently every name ends in “-mouth” there. I also talked to one of the trainers at Dir because he saw “basketball” on my shirt and proceeded to tell me he was a coach for a girls’ club team (The University of Barcelona doesn’t have school sports teams, so everyone just does club). Too bad NCAA regulations prohibit me from joining a team in Barcelona! I’m going to have to venture out into town and find a public court where I can chat it up with the local fanatics who strangely decided to play basketball instead of soccer. (note, the weights in the photo are actually really heavy..)

Best Tapa Yet

I brought some friends back to the restaurant my mom and I went to when I first got to Barcelona--Bar Lobo. We enjoyed delicious tapas and sangria for a girls night out. The best tapa of the night: fried eggplant with honey. AMAZING. On another note, we made a new friend at dinner. See the photo.

"¡Gracias!"

In conversation class the other day, I learned that it is actually inappropriate to say thank you a lot in Spain. I’ve been saying “gracias” to my host family about every five minutes because they’re so adorable and make me food and clean my room and do my laundry. I’ve tried to clean my own room and do my dishes, etc, but my host parents literally won’t let me help out. They’re so nice. Anyway, I talked with my host mom about saying thank you and she laughed. After 15 years of hosting Dartmouth girls on the LSA, she said she’s used to the excessive amount of thank you’s. However, she told me that ONCE A DAY if that is enough. This is so different from the United States, where not saying thank you after every little thing is considered incredibly rude. Now I have to stop myself from saying thank you so much in order to avoid sounding like a crazy American.

Cupcakes EXIST in Barcelona!!

If you don’t already know, I have a small obsession with cupcakes-both baking and eating them alike. So I was elated when I came across a cute specialty cupcake store in Barcelona really close to the university! I had asked my host mom previously if she knew about cupcakes, and she said she wasn’t really sure. Most Spaniards I have asked about cupcakes (if they knew the word for “cupcake” in Spanish), responded with Spanish words that are the equivalent of “muffin” and “tart.” I think cupcakes, especially the really sweet kind with rich frosting and moist cake, are primarily an American phenomenon. Traditional Spanish desserts sway more to the side of drier cakes with fruit on top. Chocolate and bready items like croissants are consumed as snacks during the day, and fruit is considered a dessert item. However, the cupcake I did have at the “Cup&Cake” bakery (brownie with cream cheese frosting!) was delicious, although I still prefer my Sprinkles and Georgetown Cupcake cupcakes back home. Also, for the record, I asked the woman working at the cupcake store how to say cupcake in Spanish. Guess what, it’s “CUPCAKE”.

Escaping the "Dartmouth Bubble"

 At first I was sad that I would be missing spring term at Dartmouth, as it is probably the best time to be there. The weather is supposed to be warm, or at least not negative, and so many more people are on campus because of that. It’s overall a way happier and energetic atmosphere than Dartmouth is during the dreary winter with a lot fewer students on campus. However, I am now extremely glad I decided to take a break from being on the Dartmouth campus and expose myself to a new culture and different people. Studying abroad has already given me a great amount of much-needed perspective that I had lost while surrounded by the “Dartmouth Bubble” for two straight terms.

Barcino

I learned that Spain was originally inhabited by the Romans. Our group went on a tour of Barcino, the Roman part of the city that has been preserved. Roman ruins including parts of the Roman government forum, a cemetery, and a whole house, market, and sewage and water systems were discovered while digging to build the foundation for a new building in Barcelona as well as when one started digging to construct a new parking lot. To their surprise, they found ruins underneath the soil. For living so long ago, the Romans were pretty intelligent as they used relatively advanced technology in their water systems and machines. We use some of the same types of machines the Romans used back in the day to make wine.

Late-Night Locos

Another night, with the guidance of our group of Spanish friends partnered with us for the program, we went to a discoteca after hanging out at a bar for a while. We got to the discoteca around 2, and there were a few people hanging out, a few dancing. It was then that I realized that people in Barcelona are crazy! Nobody goes out to discos until at least 3 IN THE MORNING. I tried going out like a Spaniard last weekend only to discover that siestas are a must if I want to survive the night. In general, timing for everything in Spain is later than the corresponding times in the U.S. For example, people eat a gigantic lunch at 3pm and then a smaller dinner at 10pm. Therefore, it would make perfect sense to go to a bar around 12am and stay there until around 3am when they would head to the discoteca for some drinks and dancing. Workdays are also constructed differently. Most workers have long breaks during the day for coffee, snacks, and lunch. They could even get a little siesta in if they wanted. The city restaurants are full of adults eating leisurely throughout the day every day of the week. This phenomenon does not exist in the United States. However, because of the prolonged breaks, Spaniards also work later, until 10 or 11pm, and then proceed to eat dinner afterwards. Too bad most days my classes at the University start at 8 or 8:30. At least we don’t have class on Fridays☺.

“The Irish Flag”

Last weekend, the group went out for our first night on the town in Barcelona. We went to a really cool Irish bar with an awesome ambient atmosphere. According to Nicole, my Irish friend on the trip, the Irish aspect of the bar was completely authentic--although the only music played in the bar was American Top 40, which seems to be the case at most bars and restaurants in Spain! Apparently American music is super cool and trendy despite the fact that the Spaniards have no idea what the lyrics mean. Whatever. We enjoyed some drinks at the bar while chatting and people watching. A lot of English-speakers frequent this bar. After talking for a while, another friend on the trip decided to try this shot called “The Irish Flag” just for kicks. The ingredients? Crème de Menthe, Orange Liquer, and what I believe is typically Irish Crème. Although at this particular bar, it was MAYONAISSE. DELISH.

Tall and Blonde

Being tall, blonde, and light-skinned in Spain clearly and permanently marks me as American, or at least a definite foreigner from Scandanavia or Britain. I’ve also been told that I (along with the Dartmouth group) dress like I’m straight out of a Ralph Lauren magazine. This is in high contrast to the more dark and edgy Spaniards with their black leather studded jackets. It’s kind of scary being an American in Barcelona because of the difficult economic times the city and country of Spain is going through. Pickpocketing is more than rampant (see my other post), and Americans and other tourists are perceived as easy targets. Also, because of my American appearance and my apparently horrible Spanish accent, even when I ask questions of Spaniards in Spanish, sometimes they respond in English--a little disappointing. Guess I have to start lisping like a true Barcelonian. Or should I say Barthelonian.

Want a Bag?

At supermarkets and other stores, a bag for your purchased items costs extra, although they don’t tell you that when they ask you if you want a bag. Also, after paying for a bag, they don’t even have a bagger to put your items in the bag for you. Rip off.

Smoking Craze

The majority of Spaniards smoke cigarettes, and they smoke EVERYWHERE (during breaks between classes at school, on the street, on restaurant terraces, everywhere. Except thankfully it is prohibited inside restaurants and in the metro.) Is there lung cancer education in Spain??

Pickpocketing IS REAL.

The first day of classes, someone in my program got robbed. I was eating lunch with him and another friend from the program in a basically deserted restaurant. Only one other person was eating two tables away from us. The three of us were chatting away (in English… oops) and eating some pizza. After we finished the meal, we one of us was without a backpack. This kid’s backpack had some money, keys to his host’s house, and his laptop in it. It was a terrible start to the program, and a good lesson for all of us. He had put his backpack under his chai while he ate, which is apparently not safe enough in Barcelona. I still have no idea how none of us noticed a person slip behind his chair in this deserted restaurant and snag his bag! Now I am constantly paranoid and keep my bag in my lap at all times while sitting on the metro or at restaurants. I have heard other horror stories of people getting their bags sliced open and even necklaces ripped off their necks by passersby on bicycle--not to freak you out or anything! The culture just takes some getting used to, as at Dartmouth I could probably leave my laptop unattended at the library for an entire day and it would still be there when I returned.

Universitat

I am taking four classes at The University of Barcelona(UB): Spanish Language/Grammar, Spanish History/Culture, Spanish Literature, and Spanish Conversation. The University is spread out throughout Barcelona, but I take classes at this one very central gorgeous location. Some of my classes are in the historic building made of stone with amazing open-air walkways and atriums complete with orange trees and shrubbery (One has a coy pond, ¡Qué guay!). My favorite teacher (other that the Dartmouth professor who teaches literature, of course) is my Grammar teacher named Joan (pronounced Yu-an). He’s this hilarious guy from Mallorca who always attempts to work on his English a little during class; his accent is priceless. Like all the professors, he has real trouble with some of our names, particularly “Hayley,” “Jayant,” and even mine. When all else fails, he calls us either Miguel or María. Perfecto. If anyone is a Pretty Little Liars fan like me, imagine a Spanish version of Ezra Fitz (!).

Easter and “La Mona de Pascua”

In Spain, people not only celebrate Easter, they celebrate the whole Holy Week previous to Easter as well as the Monday after. It’s kind of like their spring break. My adorable host family (2 grandparents) took me to lunch with their two sons and families and their one cute seven-year-old grandson for Easter Monday. The Monday after Easter is a national holiday, and I got the impression that it was part Easter and part Godparents’ Day. The Catalan tradition is that the godparents give their godchildren a cake made of chocolate called “La Mona.” After eating a gigantic delicious multi-course meal similar to that of Thanksgiving, the godparents brought out La Mona decorated with chocolate Easter eggs, feathers, little pompom chickies, and a chocolate hen. It was quite the concoction as the godmother made the cake with three layers of chocolate-one white, one milk, and one dark. As opposed to the U.S. where dinner is the largest meal of the day, in Spain, lunch is the largest meal of the day with multiple courses and dessert. My host family always offers me more and more food and drink(wine…coffee…things I don’t normally drink in the U.S. of course). I always have to politely keep telling them that I’m full so they stop giving me more food! Somehow the Spaniards eat all this food while maintaining a pretty normal body shape. Guess it’s all the walking through the city.

Fuente de Monjuic

The Monjuic Fountain in Plaça Espanya is definitely the coolest fountain I’ve ever seen. It lines multiple (at least five) city blocks. The fountain starts at the top of a hill at an old palace where the King and Queen of Spain used to live, and follows flights of stairs down the hill and continues on the median of the street. On the weekends at night, there is a fountain show accompanied by music and colored lights that illuminate the sprays of water that change shape to the music. It’s an awesome and somewhat romantic atmosphere (isn’t all of Europe). Even better, the palace has multiple spotlights shining into the night sky all around the dome of the castle. It is a scene unlike any other.

Roma to Barcelona

Before my program in Barcelona, my mom and I travelled to Rome for a few days for some sight-seeing and great food. I had always wanted to travel to Italy! Thanks mom! Rome was amazing, and I loved seeing all the historic sights like the Pantheon, the Colosseum, the Vatican, and the Trevi Fountain. It amazes me that the Romans were able to build such monumental, gigantic structures so long ago, not to mention all the sculptures and paintings that have been preserved.

However, after eating all the pasta, pizza, and bread I could imagine, I was ready to move on to a different cuisine. Our first night in Barcelona, my mom and I went to this awesome restaurant called Bar Lobo and both ordered good old American cheeseburgers for dinner. !Qué deliciosa! I was also happy to see that people in Barcelona are on average taller than the people I saw in Rome:)

The next day I met my host family I will be staying with for the spring. My mom and I met my host Ana Alonso over lunch, my first paella. I found out that Ana and her husband have been hosting Dartmouth students for the past 15 years! Ana doesn't know English very well, and my mom doesn't know Spanish, so it was quite the experience my first day in Spain speaking Spanish to Ana and then translating for my mom! Ana showed us around the city-we saw La Rambla, Barceloneta (pretty beaches! with beach volleyball. yess), and the University of Barcelona where I will be taking classes. Barcelona is so beautiful, and the weather here is much warmer than at Dartmouth at this time (it's already 70! sorry Hanover). I can't wait to explore the city. ¡Hasta pronto!