5 days

Well day five in Barcelona has ended and let me tell you....it's been a rollercoaster. But of\verall, despite the minor freak-outs, culture shock has been a surprisingly better than anticipated.

Thus far I’ve had two days of orientation with IES which is located in the dead center of Barcelona in the Place de Cataluña. I can say I am honestly looking forward to going there every day. It is a nice 20 minute walk from my place to the centre, crossing along the Avinguda Diagional then down the Passeig Gracia which is home to one of Gaudi's Modernisme apartment structures along with every high end designer in the World. At orientation, the basic safety and health talks, along with a guide to not looking like an American have been on our agenda along with today's scavenger hunt which took us down to the Olympic Port...which I will be visiting as soon as it is warmer. Tomorrow will be my first official class: Spanish. I know my class well so far (all 9 people) and think it's going to be very different from the awful Spanish class I had last semester.

So far, I've learned so many new things about the culture here, EVERYONE rides a Moped. The movies are real in that sense. I'd say the car to bike ratio is about 1 to 20. Women, men, and men sharing a bike with men...I’ve seen it all on the bikes and I have to say I really love it. The buzzing of the streets has yet to be obnoxious and right now remains very new and fun to me. While the streets are similar to the US in the sense they drive on the right...I have found that people here are very casual about red lights and often will drive through a red light and up to the crossing pedestrians waiting to continue. Another odd thing is the concept of dressing. Spaniards don't look at the weather, they look at a calendar. January is cold so people wear their nice trendy peat coats and puffy jackets...even though it is 60 degrees here. If nothing else you can tell the Americans from the natives from how little clothing we have on, or how much we are sweating in our big jackets.

THIS CITY IS NOT CHEAP!!!! Over the course of these 5 days I have had to buy a new Spanish phone... if you want my new digits...toiletries which are half the size of US products and twice as much, and other random needs for moving to another country for 4 months. The food is not too bad, and its better it costs more so I eat less. Speaking of food...in general my meals have been allot like the US. Probably, a bit more random in the ingredients but that could just be my Senora and not all of Spain. But one thing all of us students find weird is the milk...they all insist on serving it warm in a bowl, and mine has had coffee in it each day, thus gaining the name from me Coffee Soup.

While living here is expensive, so much to do is free. Admiring the old architecture, smelling crepes, walking inside the grand courtyard of Universitat de Barcelona (which looks like the Mediterranean Hogwarts inside), enjoying street performers out on the main calles, and just in general feeling the city around me. This weekend I hope to venture into all the touristy places so I can start moving on to get to know the city on a more personal level. On my walks to and from school each day I am challenging myself to walk a different way each day so I can see more and more in the 7x9 block radius.

So every wants to know about the nightlife. YES, 6 am is normal to be coming home, and YES siestas do exist. However...it’s clear who the Americans are at the bars because they come in drunk at 12, while the locals who just finished dinner then come in looking to have a cocktail or two and relax with friends. Most places here are free to enter and the 18+ thing is working out great for this 20year old as well. My favorite spot thus far is cozy little sangria place called L'Ovela Negra means the Black Sheep in Catalan and is a watering hole for American students looking for real and delicious Sangria. The concept of a stock market bar is also big here...one named Dow Jones is the largest but last night we found a place with the similar idea of drink prices changing based on how much is being sold. Who would have thought Spain could make concepts I learned in econ fun!!! However, in speaking to my closer friends here we agree that after this week we need to branch out from the clubs being promoted by Americans nicknamed KaKe and Michael Jordan and find some of the local watering holes.

All in all I feel like I’m catching onto the feel of the city. The leisurely slow way of life and siestas is killing my DC pace but I can't see it being too hard to begin to unwind into the rhythm of Barcelona. People are friendly and while some men come off too friendly by yelling Guapa at any American with legs, when we try hard to speak Spanish to general population they appreciate our efforts. A little phone scare occurred last night and while the population is friendly it is safe to say I do not trust anyone yet and think all of us have developed a slight paranoia of the population in regards to our personal space and things. But that with time will change, once I look and sound more like a person who understands this city I can feel more secure talking to a person on the street corner who says hola not assuming his friend is about to cut my bag off, or refuse to give my credit card to a restaurant because I am afraid they will steal it. It’s easy to find reasons to panic as I become painfully aware this is so far out of everything I have ever known, but the more I try I see that these panics and at-first unusual situations are going to make me a stronger, more understanding, and well-rounded person when these 4 months end.

Ill post pictures soon!

Besos