Busy ... and Laid Back

Life has been busy ...but not stressful :) so we will see how much of it that I can remember ...

Really super fun adventures that I have been on:

1. The Night Bus  - so we were out late one night and the metro had alread

y closed, and we did not want to pay for a cab, so we took the night bus. We obviously didn't understand how the bus worked because Hannah jumped out when she was not supposed to, and the bus driver drove off with me still in the bus. Needless to say, I yelled "mi amiga!!!!" (my friend!!!!!) and he yelled spanish at me, so I yelled english at him until he let me off. 

2. Girona and Figueres - It rained the whole day, but it was neat because we were able to see where the old "Roman road" was, and even though there is a new road on top of it, it was very interesting to see. We also got to see an old cathedral and bath house. In Figueres, we went to the Dalí museum which was AWESOME!!! The art was weird in a very good way. I can't even imagine what went through that man's crazy little mind, but it was super interesting.

:::Where the the road to Rome used to be:::

:::The real painting - smaller than you would think:::

3. Andorra - I didn't even know that this country existed before I arrived here. It is a tiny country in the Pyrenees that is very cold right now and very beautiful!!! Vanessa, Hannah and I got on a bus for three hours, arrived in Andorra, found a hotel and went and walked up into the mountains. Hannah also found 20 Euros floating in the street, so she bought tapas for us. The next day we took a bus to La Massana, where there is a place to ski. It was snowing, and the mountains were BEAUTIFUL!!!! We also spent a few hours in a café. Overall it was just a nice, relaxed weekend. I really enjoyed the break.  

::: Just playing in the snow !!! :::

::: Oh so beautiful !!! :::

4. Secret Library - Everyday for the past couple of weeks when I walked out of my first class, I saw a library but couldn't figure out how to get to it. Hannah and I decided we would make it an adventure, and we looked everywhere for it, only to figure out that it is connected by a hallway to the library that we go to everyday to use the internet.

So as far as academics go, I have had a really stressful week. I went to my first week of classes and two of them were so difficult that I knew I would not pass them, but I had a hard time getting my classes changed. Finally, with enough pushing, I got them changed. Also, I have now completed my first two oral presentations in Spanish, and I was the first to volunteer, even though I didn't know I was volunteering... miscommunication in Spanish. Now all of my classes are really easy, and I enjoy them because they are so laid back. My language class has 7 people, and our teacher has become quite sassy - she now makes fun of us and calls us out when we say stupid things. I have a crazy professor for art, and every third day we don't have class, and we go walk around a museum instead. I also have a movie class where every other day we watch a movie. My favorite is probably my communications class. The professor is hilarious and sarcastic.

Other really exciting news in my life here:

 - Hannah and I made another amazing discovery! There is a cafe less than a block from our house that has WiFi (pronounced Wee-Fee...which I always say wrong).  We are also going to make a Java Rating Chart which will contain all of the cafes that we have been to and how good each one is depending on location, service, quality of cafe con leche, ambiance, etc. (This one rates a full 4 to 5 cups in all aspects except decor!)

- I met with my intercambio the other day for the first time. Her name is Montse, and she has always lived in Barcelona. We were paired up by the school because she is trying to learn English, and I am trying to learn Spanish. We went to a café, and we walked around the city, and she showed me the best places to shop. She is studying law, and she is going to move to Africa, after she finishes this year of school, for an internship with Unicef. 

- I finally went to a fútbol game (aka Soccer). The games here are CRAZY!!! The fans are wild, but it was so much fun to watch. I have never seen creative footwork like all of the players had, not to mention that the fans do the wave, and everyone does it. I will definitely be going back.

::: The biggest soccer field I have ever seen :::

-Someone asked me for directions in Spanish, and I was actually able to respond with the right directions in Spanish.