Excitement

Quick, short, happy post :)... Off to Rome next weekend with my two favorite girls on my trip! YAY! How veryvery exciting!

"Comfort Zone"

I have never been fond of change. I am not sure if it is a result of moving a lot as a child, or a fear of letting go of the past, or simply anxiety about the unknown, however, for as long as I can remember I have done everything in my power not to let anything change. Changing from middle school to high school was a rough time...changing from one parent's house to the other was so very sad... and growing up was often pretty difficult, but due to the fact that change is absolutely inevitable, I have learned that all I can do is learn to embrace it. In order to test myself, grow stronger, and increase my confidence when faced with change, I set out to Spain. Of all changes I have endured, this has been the largest, nevertheless, I can feel myself growing already.

Since I got here, everything about my day to day life that I have grown to know and love in Nashville has been temporarily taken away, and I am having to adapt to an entirely new way of life.
Walking down the street, people run into you, roll their eyes at you, and an "excuse me," or "I'm sorry" is absolutely unheard of... I often say it and get looks that make me feel foolish.
My shower neither drains well, nor has a rod for the shower head, therefore when I shower I have to hold the shower head to get myself wet, turn off the water and hang the shower head back up so the water can drain, wash my hair, turn the shower head back on and rinse my hair, turn the shower back off, etc... it is absolutely awful.
My kitchen neither has a stove or an oven.
I don't visit starbucks daily.
I don't have Bco, or much less salads at all...
I don't have my sweet pups.
I am NEVER alone... :(
and the list goes on forever...
The wild thing though, is that I am handling it surprisingly well... Don't get me wrong, its rough at times, but my ability to experience and enjoy these changes for a couple of months is amazing me.

So the past few days have been pretty full. I officially know my way around the heart of the city. I have found a tiny tiny local gym that is a block from my apartment, and though it is nothing like my beloved YMCA, it is better than nothing.  Not going to lie, I am a little bit dissatisfied with their selection of cardio machines, but I'll make it work. I went last night and was one of two females there, the other one was an older Spanish woman. The rest of the gym was filled with men of all kinds. Some were clearly spanish, some looked like Americans who were in the same position as me, some were pretty into themselves and a little shady, and then one was a WAY overworked body builder who looked in the mirror every chance he got. I didn't need my book or my head phones, because these men proved to be plenty entertaining! I apparently offered them some entertainment as well... they acted like they had never seen a blonde American in their lives and though they believed I didn't speak Spanish, I understood every word they were saying about me...

I have also gone to see Gaudi's home, park, La Sagrada Familia, and some other masterpieces by him, but forgot my camera that day :( I will be going back!!!

I found my new addictions!!! Spanish coffee is wonderful (I haven't been to starbucks in days)... and I found a nice little cafe called Nostrum, which sells all home made pastas, chicken, soups, etc...

Today we went to the aquarium on the water, which was very fun, and I made another friend...

All in all, things are pretty great here. I am pretty sure that I am going to get even more out of this than I ever imagined possible. Although I am a tiny bit homesick today, I knew I would be at times, and I am making my own little family abroad as well... I am hopeful that some of these people will be good friends for the rest of my life.

I would give anything to have the ability to gather all "my people" at home, and bring them here to see what I am seeing, live how I am living, do what I am doing. The way that people love here is absolutely amazing. I have said it before and most likely will say it again, but one of the biggest differences between life here and life there is the appreciation of time. Time is not wasted, or taken advantage of, or rushed... every second is appreciated and made wonderful. I wish I could bring that concept back to the US when I go... because I know once I get used to slowing down, its going to be extremely hard to speed up again...

Not to mention, I am getting the opportunity to become familiar with one of the most beautiful cities in Europe.

Lately

It's been a while... but things have been absolutely crazy, hectic, scary, emotional, fun, and so much more. I feel like I finally know what it means for your life to feel like a roller coaster... as soon as I think everything is going well, and that this semester is going to be great, I am hit head first with a huge dose of culture shock... and after wallowing in the emotions of that for a minute, I go back to loving this place more than I could have imagined. I guess that is just part of the experience...

So after living in that magnificent hotel that I was in the first night, I moved into the hotel in which I met my classmates and that I stayed in for two nights, that was a huge change. I went from being in this wonderful palace, to what resembled a hostel, the difference about knocked the breath out of me - but that is probably a good thing as well... My room mate was the SWEETEST girl named Dara, who goes to school at GW in DC, and grew up in the Bronx. I can already tell we are going to be great friends...
 

After two exhausting days packed full of orientation, I decided that I would step out and go out with some girls and guys in my group... it was definitely different. It was a Tuesday night, and those are one of the few lower key nights here, however, there was still a ton of excitement. The night began with the traditional Catalan dinner of Tapas and wine, followed by some sangria, then going to find a disco. The problem, however, is that every building looks the exact same therefore we got completely lost and ended up in a local bar in the famous Ramblas. This would have been ideal, had the average age at the bar not been about 45. I had been told previously by sweet Rodes that the locals love to talk to Americans about politics, due to the fact that I know as much, if not less about American politics than they do in Spain, my plan was to avoid this topic. Nonetheless, within about ten minutes I was cornered by a man with whom I ended up spending the rest of the night drinking Long Island iced teas and getting lectured about the politics of America.What a wonderful first local to become friends with... :) Sorry dad...

So today has been the best day yet, because I got to move into my sweet little apartment. I am not going to lie, my expectations were EXTREMELY low. I was expecting to live in little itty bitty hole in the wall, share a bedroom, and a bathroom with four girls...I was pleasantly surprised. I am sharing a wonderful apartment with three other girls. One from my program, Nikky from Connecticut; one from Argentina name Paula who is 25 and getting her masters in English; and one from Barcelona, who is studying in the local college and rarely says a word. They're great.
The apartment itself is great as well. I have my own bedroom, which has its own private balcony, and share my bathroom with the girl from my program. I have already completed putting pictures on the wall of everyone at home that I love and miss so much. I plan on making my room as much of my home as I can... We also have a sitting room, and a kitchen, which is about the size of my shower, but doesn't matter much. There is also no heat, and seeing as its 45 degrees outside at night, my rooms going to be pretty chilly... but I will be fine.

Finally, to end the day, we went and walked around to look at some of the beautiful monuments throughout Spain, then treated ourselves with Catalunya's favorite winter tradition: churros with chocolate... it was first unlike anything I've ever seen, and then unlike anything I have ever tasted.
                                           
                                           Gaudi

                                           Gothic Square

                                          Churros

                                          Me and my churros with chocolate :)

I love and miss you all so much... xoxooxox

  

The beginning...

Of course I had to start my adventure with not only a little drama, but also a little extra fear for my papa... We arrived at the airport about an hour before my plan took off, perfect timing, until we realized that I had forgotten my carry on at home with ALL of my stuff in it. So we call Tommy, who is at Whole Fods, tell him to leave immediately and BOOK IT home to get my bag and then to the airport. After frantically pacing for the longest 45 minutes of my life, I get my back from Tommy, give Rodes and very quick goodbye hug, SPRINT through the airport and security, and make it to my gate right after they closed the doors...I missed my flight. Luckily, there was another flight that had room for me, I made my connection to Barcelona just in time, and made it safely to my hotel, Casa Fuster.

After a little nap, I decided to go wandering...explore a little bit. As I was walking, with absolutely no idea where I was headed, the first thing I noticed was the architecture, one of the things Barcelona is most famous for. It was as if each building, whether the Mcdonalds, an apartment building, or a hotel like mine, is so carefully planned, thought-out and designed. The intricacy of each and every structure of the city is nothing like I have ever seen before; it is absolutely mind blowing.

As I continued walking, I continued to observe. I was trying to take it all in, but there was so much to see, so much that was so foreign to me, that it was impossible to digest it all. I did, however, come upon a conclusion that will make things a little bit more interesting while I am here: the people aren't that warm. They aren't rude, but I believe the look at me, see an American tourist, and would rather keep their distance. I smiled at the people I passed on the sidewalk only to receive a turn of the head 75% of the time... I am definitely not in my Nashville bubble.

Towards the end of my walk, after getting a little bit lost for a little while, I finally found home...Starbucks.

It was so wonderful to see something familiar...everything about it was the same as it is at home. As i approached the barista, I even tried to order in Spanish and he just giggle, because at starbucks they order the coffee in English... so I once again just looked like a clueless American...

I have a great feeling about this. I miss home, and the combination of the anticipation of the unknown, and all the sad goodbyes last week nearly killed me... but I have a sense that once I get my sea legs, I am going to be at my prime. I miss you all, I love you all, but this independence and adventure is exactly what I needed for a little while.

xoxoxo

The First Goodbye...

It's the absolute hardest, except for the last... because thats when its really real that I am about to leave. Saying bye to the person I spend more time with than probably any one else in this world was one of the hardest things I have ever done. I know she will be here when I get home, however, the thought of not seeing her sweet self, or having the comfort of her presence for nearly 5 months is absolutely terrifying.

I love you more than you know, sweet stepmother....and i miss you already. 

10 days...

I officially have ten days left in America; I am beginning to get very nervous. As of today, the only thing I can think about is Spain. The things I have to do before I go, the things I want to do while I'm there, the wonderful things I will experience, and the awful possibilities of what could inevitably go wrong. Throughout the anxiety, fear, and excitement, there is one thing that I have learned is going to keep me sane: having faith. I have faith in the fact that these next four months are going to bring nothing but growth and goodness, nevertheless, it will be a challenge at first.

One of my wisest friends gave me a wise piece of advice as we were saying goodbye. She told me to "find my starbucks, my bread and company, my YMCA, my running route, my favorite little book store, ect... She said to find a teacher who reminds me of my dad, find a friend who resembles Tavarres, one who resembles Callie, as well as all the other people I am missing." By doing this, she promised me that I will feel a little more a home, a little safer, and not put a damper on my experience by being homesick. I cannot wait to find all these people and places.

Furthermore, I cannot wait to discover this whole new world that I have never seen before, one that is foreign to not only me, but my friends and family as well. From the architecture, to the shopping, and the lattes, to the candy, I cannot wait to discover what it is that brings happiness and life to the city of Barcelona. I cannot wait for the opportunity to go with a clean slate, be whoever I want to be, and fill my days with whatever makes me happy. I am ready for an adventure.