Short and Sweet

Time is running down, and though I am thrilled, I am also beginning to realize just how wonderful this place is. While I was away in London, something happened here, and it has gone from an average city, to one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. The weather is perfect. There is no humidity like in Nashshville, and its not hot and sweaty either, instead its about 75 degrees everyday, and I can't remember the last time I saw a cloud in the sky. The people on the street seem to have gone through a metamorphosis as well. Though they still wear scarves, and there is an occasional winter coat seen on the street, they are happier, and the slightest bit more friendly (still nothing compared to the Southern sweetness that I'm used to, but its improvement). The restaurants have all put tables and chairs outside, the flower shops have added the most beautiful displays on the streets (I treated myself to one this afternoon), and all the parks are full of children with sun kissed cheeks and full of giggles and happiness. Not to worry, Nashville remains and will remain my favorite place in the world, however, this (and London) are a close tie for second.

As a result of this change in not only the climate, but the entire city as well, I made the decision not to go on the day trip offered by my program on Friday, but to have a beautiful day by myself instead. My friends were a bit confused as to why I would rather spend the day alone, than with all of them, however, I am used to this confusion, and really wasn't too worried about it. The thought of my first day alone in weeks was actually what was getting me through the long week of school work and being angry about the fact that one of my classmates went into my bag while I was on a field trip, and took 175 euros out of my wallet. Though angry, it is a part of life, therefore, I continued on with the week.

Friday morning, when my room mate woke up to go catch the bus, I instead got dressed and started my day with the gym - to make me feel a little better in a bathing suit for the first time in months. After the gym, I raced home to change, packed a bag, and headed to the lay on the Barcelona beach for the first time. It was nothing like what I expected. It was like an entire different city within the city of Barcelona.

I walked up to the beach with nothing in mind, but the Destin beaches that I am used to; I didn't know any different. The first thing I noticed, however, is that the sand was hard (the beaches are man made from the last Olympics in Barcelona), and that there was very little room for me to lay out. So I found a little bubble of space to call my own, lay my towel down, used my bag as a pillow (this is a prime spot for pick pockets), put my head phones in and closed my eyes... After a few minutes of relaxing and loving the feeling of the sun on my pale skin, I opened my eyes, only to find that the woman laying next to me was completely nude except for a tiny, black, lace thong. I was horrified. So I sat up, and truly looked around for the first time, and noticed that about 25% of the women were nude as well. Not only were they laying out nude, but they were playing football, playing in the water, and taking pictures nude as well. A bit different from the South of the US.

It was at this moment that I decided to people watch, as well as take pictures (whoops). I sat up, and infront of me was an elderly couple laying out in rather strange attire. As I continued to look around, I continued to notice. There were men walking around selling "cold beers, fanta, cold water," and women walking around offering to making yummy mojitos for whoever asked. As I was about to shut my eyes and try and take it all in and digest what all I was seeing, I felt a small warm hand on my back, and then someone asking "quiero un masaje, guapa?" (would you like a massage, beautiful?) By the sound of the voice I knew it was not a man, however, I was not expecting that this hand belonged one of the MANY small Asian women who wander the beaches offering $5 massages to whoever may want one.

The beach was full of so much more life than I have ever seen at a beach, and though it may not have been preferable, it was extremely entertaining. So entertaining that I actually lost track of time, and ended up frying most of the skin from my body... to a point that I haven't done since I was on Spring Break in 4th grade.

I didn't realize how burnt I was until I was walking toward the metro on my way home that afternoon. Several elderly women on the metro gave were giving me "shame-on-you" glances, while several teenage boys looked at my bright red arms and legs and began to chuckle... Though my face was the only part of my body that didn't get burnt (I have learned to put adequate protection on at least that much), I am pretty sure it was bright red out of both humiliation at the sight of myself, as well as anger at myself for being so irresponsible.

Consequently, the rest of the night Friday was spent lathering myself with lotion, wearing my pajamas to avoid any rubbing on my skin, and laying on the couch with some girls to distract myself from feeling the burn... and then Saturday was spent in long sleeves at Museums, while all my friends were enjoying there time together at the beach... Hopefully I learned my lesson. Though I would have preferred to have been at the beach, one of the three museums I visited for my history class was actually extremely interesting. It was the History Museum of the City of Barcelona. I was expecting to see a bunch of artifacts, bones, weapons, tools, etc... found within the city, however, it was an excavated portion of the Roman city that was Barcelona, before Spain took control of the Iberian Peninsula, it was SO cool. I am far from a history buff, however, having the chance to go beneath the city that exists today, and walk around in the city that existed thousands of years ago was actually very neat.

By Saturday night I was feeling a bit more lively, though not ready to go out yet, therefore my dear friend Maggie and myself went to a sweet little restaurant that just opened across from her apartment. Little did we know, the man who owns the place just moved back from Maggie's home town, therefore gave us free Champagne, and then invited us to the "lounge" after dinner for free desserts. It is nice to be American girls sometimes.

Sunday, as per usual, was a day full of nothing but laying around, doing homework, getting coffee, and eating. The best part about Sunday, however, is that it was the start to the week that my sweet dad and step mom come to visit me. Words can not describe how excited I am about not only seeing a familiar face, but also seeing two of my most favorite faces in the world.