D+??.....Oh my God.......I PASSED!!!

I got a D+!! I´m going to graduate!!!!

haha! Just kidding - but i did pass my test. whoo-hoo!

also i dont like this airport kiosk computer so more updtes later.

*Ok fixing!

So, I passed my test with the equivalent of a C+. But hey, they say the world is run by C students, so I guess my next venture is world domination ;) hee-hee

Un Grande Examen

Holy..... That test SUCKED! 3hrs of written and 20 minutes of oral. We had to pick a picture and then the professor asked us questions about it in Spanish, and we had to answer in Spanish. Ugh.

Had lunch with Susann, who has finished classes but is now living in BCN with her boyfriend.

Tried to go to the beach, but the weather turned ugly. Went home instead. Later I walked around my neighborhood. Not much going on. Found the second salsa club near my place, Aqua de Luna. Soooo small!!!

Ended up going to Plaça Catalunya to meet Marcela, Brazilian girl from my class. We went to Ovella Negra for some sangria and were accosted by an arrogant American guy.
Oy.

Fun night out tho. And no books required for class tomorrow. YAY!!!

The ringing in my ear

Woke up this morning and my right ear was completely deaf save for the horrible ringing which lasted the entire day. Also had a monster of a headache. I only had one drink last night, so I know its not a hangover (I know that´s what you´re all thinking! :p).

More review in class. Went home and slept for most of the day hoping that would help my ear. Woke up feeling a little bit more normal and studied the rest of the evening.

I hope I pass :/

Tengo que estudiar :(

I don´t think I´ve talked much about my class. It consists of 2 hrs with a teacher named Maria. She really doesn´t like Americans and is none too subtle in expressing her opinion. The next 2 hrs we review grammar with Albert. He has funny eyes that always point in different directions but he is super cool and doesn´t mind speaking in English if its necessary for an explanation. Maria abhors English, mainly because she doesn´t know how to speak it. Hence the dislike of Americans. Or so goes my theory.

Classes start at 9:30 and end at 1:30, and tenemos una pausa every hour. This is when the entire school rushes into the common room to lay claim to one of the 5 computers (out of 15) which actually connect to the Internet. It doesn´t help that the computers are ancient and take 2 minutes to load one page. Makes it difficult to check email between breaks.

If you´re a smoker, you go to the terrace. Or you wander around looking for friends from other classes and discuss plans for the afternoon and evening.

Today, we reviewed all the chapters we´ve learned so far. I really don´t like tests :p

I studied for most of the afternoon/evening and then met up with a friend for a quick sangria around 10pm. Everyone needs a study break ;)

y Más Sitges

Thought I´d check out the local museos today since almost everything else is closed on Sunday. Unfortunately, its the general election for Spain. Every museum entryway was converted into a voting place. Dammit.

Shopped around, had breakfast, met up with Tim for lunch. Vegged a little in the sun and then caught the 7pm train back to Barça.

I definitely enjoyed sleeping in a comfortable bed for the weekend. And despite how romantic it sounds, I really didn´t miss showering by candlelight. That damn apartment.

Sitges

30 short minutes by train heading south from Barcelona and I´m in Sitges, the perfect beach weekend getaway spot. Purchasing of the ticket and locating the correct track took longer than the ride itself!

I asked an attendant if I had the right track and she said yes, but then flagged down a group of guys who were also going to Sitges and asked them to make sure I got on the right train. I think she thought I didn´t understand any Spanish. But when the train came, the guy she spoke to waved to be sure I knew that was the right train. Some people are so nice here. Then there are those who run you down instead of walking around you. Oh well.

On to Sitges.... My lovely hotel San Sebastian Playa which is literally across the street from the beach. Good pick Tim!

Wandered around taking pictures of the buildings. So beautiful! And the Med Sea was such an amazing shade of blue-green. There is a famous church that sits on top of the little hill which overlooks what could be called the ´downtown´of Sitges. It consists of a myriad of winding little alleys and streets.

El Greico and the test

Found out today in class that we have a TEST next Wednesday. WTF??? I didn´t think this was a real school. Apparently they have to test us since we reached the end of our book. The outcome will decide whether we move up a level or stay at the same level. Great, and I thought I´d have soooo much time next week to see more of the city. Boo :p

Tonight is Rosa´s last night :( Went out for Greek food at Dionisos on Avda. Marqués de l' Argentera, 27. The best Greek food I´ve had outside of Greece. Altho... we only had tapas - some cheese, hummus, potatoe things that were out of this world, and tyropitas. At one point, they started playing Greek music inside and the waiters started dancing. Then someone started throwing dishes and all you could here was music, clapping and dishes breaking. Crazy!!

Tomorrow... I´m gettin´out of Dodge. To Sitges I go!

Palau de la Música

Went to the Palau de la Música with Tim to see a concert from the Guitar Festival which is a series of concerts featuring string instruments.

This night it was Teresa Salgueiro and & Lusitania Ensemble. She´s from Portugal and is one of Portugal´s most acclaimed singers. She has an amazing voice which was complimented by the violins, cello and percussion in the Ensemble. They had 2 encores! My favorite song (which they sung again during one of the encores) was called Amanha. Fabulous. I must by their CDs when I get back. Really interesting mix of sounds, rythms, and beats.

Not only was the music fantastic, but the venue was breathtaking. The pics below don´t do it justice. There are figures on the backdrop of the stage whose lower halves are painted on the wall and their torsos are sculptures coming out of the wall. When the lights are dimmed to blue or red, the figures almost look like they´re dancing out of the wall. Increíble!

Y más ir de compras

Rosa and I walked to the mall near her house. Sooo many stores!!! And much cheaper than those found closer to the touristy area of Las Ramblas.

Later that night, I went over to Tim´s house for some wine, cheese and olives. I am completely jealous of his apartment. So much nicer than mine!!

Afterwards, we went over to Shoko, a very touristy restaurant/club in the Port Olympic area. Met up with Rosa and her flatmate, Brooke who is from Australia. That girl can drink!



The place was not that crowded when we arrived at 12am and I thought the place was a dud. But by the time I left, around 2:30, it was PACKED! Cool things about Shoko - it sits right on the beach, so you can sit on the outdoor patio in back and look onto the beach and water. They have asian umbrellas hanging on the wall that light up. Kinda cool. Also, there´s a fat guy in the corner handing out free cotton candy. I know... cotton candy at a dance club??? Those silly Spaniards ;)



Managed to step on a piece of broken glass on the dance floor, though I didn´t realize it until I got home and saw blood all over my foot. Great - I hope I don´t catch something :p

Highlight of the evening - in the cab ride home (a good 15 minutes), I spoke in Spanish with the cab drive the entire way. And he actually understood me! It was great!!!! :-D

Montjuïc

Classes are definitely starting to get more complicated. But I´m surprised (and happy) with how much more I´m understanding this week as opposed to last week. This is especially good because I missed Monday ;) Teacher wasn´t too happy about that. Oh well.

Without Heike here, my adventures around the city have definitely decreased. But Rosa and I did manage to make it over to the Palau Nacional & Museo Nacional d´Arte de Catalunya - the same one Heike and I couldn´t go to because its closed on Mondays.

Its in an area called Montjuïc, Jewish Mountain, named after an important Jewish cemetary that existed there in the Middle Ages. Very beautiful art, but its so huge that it takes 2 days to see everything. We just scratched the surface today, but I´ll come back next week for more time.


That night, I met up with my Brazilian friend Marina at the L´Ovella Negra just off Las Ramblas. Divey little bar that looked very old. Really good sangria!

Catch up!

So I haven´t posted in awhile because I can´t access Blogger from the school computer and frankly I haven´t had time after school. I´ve been dragged all around Barcelona by my German friend, Heike. That girl is a nonstop walker!

I´ll add the updates in individual posts so it feels less like reading a novel ;) Also I just discovered how to edit the dates of my posts, so everything will be in order below!

I now am using a Spain cellphone and not checking my regular. So if anyone is trying to call or text, please use this number: 34-69-323-7299. And please PLEASE send me email. I feel like I´m in a vacuum over here guys =p

Ok, see below for updates....

Hace llover - again!

Its really difficult to feel motivated to walk 25 minutes to school when its pouring rain. This is the second Monday in a row that its rained. But this morning, it was a downpour accompanied by lots of loud thunder. Hmm.... school? Or movie theater? Voy al cine para ver Spiderman3 (pronounced in Spain as ´Speederman´ haha!)

Recharged credits on my cellphone. That was a relief. I tried to recharge on Saturday but there was some problem with the system so I had to wait until Monday because EVERYTHING is closed on Sundays. That was definitely the first time I felt helpless here :p

El fin de semana :)

My favorite time of the week!

Saturday was very lazy - laundry, gym, and met up with a friend for late night bottle of wine and cheese platter.

Sunday - made ´breakfast´ of pesto pasta and soaked up the sun on my terrace. Quite nice.

Met up with my friends Rosa and Tim later for dinner. Found a great Italian restaurant in the El Born neighborhood called ´Ristorante Gravin.´ Fantastic risotto with gorganzola and asparagus. Yum!!

Mare Magnum y Salsa!

Tonight is Heike´s last night, so Rosa, Marina and I took her out for a nice evening.

We started with tapas and wine at the Mare Magnum. Overpriced and poor quality. Not recommended.

Afterwards, we found our way to a salsa club called Antilla on Aragó 41. WAY too crowded but still fun to watch them dance. Every person in that club knew what they were doing. Intimidating!!

Walking tour of Barri Gótic

Marina, Heiki and I are off on another walking tour of the city. This time, to the neighborhood of Barri Gótic (Gothic Quarter). This is an area of Barcelona that contains well preserved Gothic buildings, medieval squares and many many alleys which snake their way throughout the Barri Gótic.



We also managed to find ancient Roman columns which have been preserved in the heart of the Barri Gótic since the 14th century. Preservation and restoration of the columns was carried out by Richard´s relative, Lluís Doménech Monataner ;)

That night, we went to La Fenice on Av.Diagonál where on Thursdays its 5 Euro entry for all you can eat tapas and 1 drink. All drinks after are only 3 Euros. Met lots of Brazilians, Italians and Spaniards and spoke only Spanish for a majority of the evening. See, it IS possible to have fun while studying!

At one point all the lights blew out at the bar. Glad to see I´m not the only one with that problem! The light in my bathroom frequently goes out. Usually at inopportune moments like when I´m in the middle of a shower. Greeaattt....Gotta love the bad wiring in these old buildings.

Finally found the right person to ask about the painter. The look on his face told me this definitely is not the norm. Great. Just my luck to have the crazy painter crashing on my couch. Luckily, he seemed to be gone by the time I came home today.

Vamos de comprar.... shopping!

No great update for today. Met up with Heike and a Brazilian girl, Marina, for shopping in Grácia which is a quaint neighborhood just above the touristy Las Ramblas. The shops are much more reasonable and have a better selection.

As for the Grácia area, it was actually its own city until it was incorporated (with protest) into Barcelona in 1898. The neighborhood attracts many artists and you can find tons of boutiques throughout its winding streets. Hmmm.... I should write for a travel magazine!

Back to Patagonia for drinks later that night.

I know... a productive day ;)

Tibidabo, Pedralbes y the unexpected visitor

After a lovely menú del día, Heiki, Rudolfo and I trekked our way to the highest point in Barcelona - Tibidabo. In Latin, it means ´this to you I give´ as spoken by the Devil when tempting Christ.

At the top there is a gorgeous cathedral which actually houses 3 churches as well as a very rare black Virgin Mary.


Also, there is a small amusement park which has amazing views.



After Tibidabo, we made our way across the city to the neighborhood of Pedralbes to see the Monestir de Pedralbes (monastery) which was built in the 14th century.


We ended the day with a walk through a lovely park which houses the Palau (palace) Reial de Pedralbes. There is supposed to be a fountain designed by Gaudí but we couldn´t find it :p

Later that night I´m working on homework when suddenly the doorbell rings. What the heck?? I go to answer the door but the door opens and in walks a man. Uhh....ok. Hola - who the hell are you?? Turns out he´s the painter hired by the school to paint one of the rooms in the apartment. Ok fine. But then through my limited Spanish and his broken English, I realize he´s going to spend the night. Hmmm... But he promises he won´t bug me, but then proceeds to sit down on the couch right next to me and talk my ear off for the next 40 minutes. Then he starts saying how pretty he thinks I am. Uh, yeah, time to go. Told him I needed to go to bed and then locked myself in my room. Note to self - ask the school if its customary for painters to spend the night.

The day of rain and shopping

Monday it rained for the first time. A good, solid downpour. Half our class didn´t show up. The rest looked like drowned rats by the time they got there.

Heike and I decided it would be a good day for the museo, though by the time class was over the sun was shining again. We hiked about 500 stairs (sheesh!!) to get to the Museo d´Arte Catalunya only to discover its closed on Mondays. So we went shopping instead. haha!! Found great deals on C. de Sants and C. d´Angels.

Also discovered a GREAT little tapas restaurant called Bar Lobo. Right off Las Ramblas, you wouldn´t know it unless you knew it. And what do you know? Our favorite little lounge bar, Patagonia was just across the way. And all just a short distance from the Liceu metro. Perfect!!

Vamos a Girona

Sunday Rosa and I took the train north to Girona. Beautiful, medieval town in the countryside. Of course my allergies let me know about it :p

They have a flower festival there every year with amazing displays that are placed throughout the city. So you basically are taken on a giant walking tour of Girona as you check out daisies grouped to look like butterflies, or orchids suspended from the air by balloons. Really amazing.

Saturday I finally did laundry for the first time with no dire side effects. Good to know. And I attempted to cook my first meal here. The kitchen is rather scary - very little by way of pot or pan, no spices whatsoever, and the knobs of the stove were all sticky. Yick!

Went out with Heike and her friend Petra from Mallorca. After walking around from 10:30pm to 1am in search of the perfect bar, we finally found it. Patagonia - a very hip lounge bar on Las Ramblas, but not touristy at all. Its one of those places you have to know it otherwise you wouldn´t find it. We just saw some stairs at the back of a gelato shop and decided to check it out. Hands down my favorite classy bar so far.

Las cucarachas se entren, pero no pueden salir

Last night I saw my first cockroach in the metro station. Holy Lord it was huge!! ICK!!!!!!

I continue to enjoy the Barcelona lifestyle :) The weather couldn´t be better!Yesterday after class I went to Barcelonetta, a little beach near the downtown area. We stayed until 7pm and then found a nice place for a glass of wine and some tapas.

Y más Gaudí

The first week of school hasnt ended yet, and already I´m cutting class ;) Rosa and I have decided that we don´t really need la clase de cultura. So we didn´t go today. Probably won´t go tomorrow either. Mañana vamos a la playa!

Today we had menu del día for lunch. Bistec con patatas fritas. I´ve eaten alot of steak and french fries for lunch. But its good stuff. We had lunch with Rudolfo and Heika, the Germans in our class. And of course Tim from NY. I discovered that Heika lives 2 blocks from me, so I didn´t have to ride the metro home alone today. Tomorrow morning, we´re going to meet before class for breakfast. Mañana, desayunos antes de clase. Good times!

After lunch, we journeyed to the Parc Güell. Amazing!! 2 small houses there that looked like gingerbread houses. Lots of swirling mosaic designs and curved walls. Amazing architecture and fabulous sunning spots.






Enjoy the pics! Hasta luego amigos!

Gaudí y más!

So far I´ve met a girl from Switzerland who speaks Italian, a guy who is a Caribinieri back in Italy and an advertising market researcher from New York. Everyone in my class is very nice. There are lots of other languages represented in the class, about 2 people from each Italian, German, English and Portuguese. So its funny when say one of the Germans doesn´t understand what´s happening and then the conversation suddenly digresses to rapid fire German. Or the Brazilian girls start debating a point and move from Spanish to Portuguese. At least class is entertaining!

Yesterday I saw Las Ramblas. Fantastic outdoor market with every kind of fruit, vegetable, meat and candy that you can imagine.






Today we went to the Sagrada de la Família, which is the church designed by Gaudí. Construction won´t be complete until 2025 because they´re using the old method such as cutting, shaping etc by hand all the stones they put in place. Amazing!






I´m definitely enjoying sunny Barcelona. Wish you all were here!

Hola! Let the adventure begin!!

First day of school. ummm interesting. didnt realize my spanish was so bad. I can only speak in the present tense and even then its limited to remedial statements. Boo. The teacher came by to give me the verbal test and i could tell she was thinking "this chick doesnçt know anything" oh well

Airport pickup last night was fine, but the guy didnt speak any english. That was a quiet ride to the apartment. So far I am alone there, but there are 3 other rooms in the apartment itself. We shall see if anyone else shows up. The bedroom is beyond small, I bump into myself when I try to turn around in there. No sheets for the bed, mattress is dirty, pillow is dirty, no towels for the bathroom. Hmm...maybe this is why it was so cheap. Definitely makes me appreciate my house.

Guten Tag!

Let me just say that flyinng first class international is worth every penny. My dinner (I actually got dinner!) had 4 courses, the first of which was crab with a mango dipping sauce. Phenomenal!! My one seat took up what would have been 3 rows in economy. The chair itself had a whole bonanza of buttons to control it every which way - even to fully reclined bed :)

Germany is as beautiful as I remember it being 16 years ago. Winding rivers with little clusters of red tile roofed homes and lots and lots of forest.

Only here for the night tho.... tomorrow its on to Geneva!

F*ck this game! Its 4 in the morning grandma - YOU WIN!

Ok,so its only quarter to 3, but still... I can feel the trip anxiety coming on. Ick.

I'm suddenly having serious doubts as to whether or not my new suitcase truly is capable of containing everything I'll need for 2 months abroad.

*sigh* Time to downsize.

.... are we there yet???