more adventures, less time!

Ok, so I thought I would have more time to blog.  I guessed wrong.  Time flies and it's already my twelfth day here.  I wanted to blog every night, but I find myself exhausted from the day or just too busy with stuff.  My time here is short and even though it's not even July yet, I don't feel like I have much time to do everything I want to do!  At the same time, I feel like I've been here for a while too.  I've made friends from my program and am meeting new people almost everyday - people from all over the world!  It's crazy and really interesting to think about.  I admit it's always comfortable finding people who can speak English here.. it's almost a relief, after all the Spanish I (attempt to) speak every day at work, school, and home.  Anyway, more about that later.  Here are some updates!  (I manage to keep track of everything I do everyday through photography and receipts)

Day 6:

Roamed around Barrio Gótico more.  It's one of my favorite barrios here because you can literally just get lost in the narrow streets.  I love how it utilizes old buildings to create new/modern shops and restaurants.  So lovely.  That night I also met up with other interns and had dinner with the coordinators. I had this huge pork leg of which I only ate half.  Afterwards, a group of us went to Arc de Triumf and wandered until we found this random secluded party place that the university organized.  'Twas not crackin'.  I missed Bay Area music so badly that night.

Day 7:

June 22 is an epic night here in Barcelona.  It's the Eve of El Día de San Juan, which used to be a religious holiday, but nowadays is just considered the summer solstice celebration.  Fireworks and firecrackers sound all through the evening (and into the morning and afternoon the next day).  I heard some dogs have heart attacks that night because they can't take the noise and chaos of everything :(.. so sad.  People party throughout the city, especially on the beach where there are tons of bars/mini clubs along the strip to try out.  It was definitely a fun night.  I spent hours at the Nat(h)alies' apartment drinking cheap wine/beer and eating cheap cheese, salami, and toast.  At midnight we headed to the beach and just hung out until sunrise.  We followed large groups of people in the morning and ended up eating churros at six in the morning.  They're nothing like regular Mexican churros, but still pretty yummy.  Knocked out at seven in the morning.  Grateful I was not one of the unfortunate hit by the high-speed rail that night. :/

Day 8:

RESTED WELL.  No work.  Everything was closed.  No one did anything that day.  Barcelona was quiet for once.  Took the time to go sketching around the neighborhood.  Andreu told me that there was nothing good to draw around Lesseps, but he was so wrong.  I love people watching and observing details that the normal Spaniard might not notice at all.  What would I do without my sketchbook?

Day 9:

Worked and went to the beach at Barceloneta for a little while.  Can't wait to visit other beaches outside of BCN though.. I hate annoying vendors.  Especially the donut man.  Went to watch a Spanish futbol game at a bar, then wandered around El Borne.  Met new people from the internship program.  I like this area too.. definitely going back!  Went home and played a game similar to Taboo with Andreu and his two friends.  It was funny trying to switch from Spanish to English vocabulary.

Day 10:

Day trip to Montserrat!  Amazing place.  If you ever go, make sure you know exactly when the train comes though.  A couple of us missed it by a minute, and had to wait another hour for the next one.  Nevertheless, the trip was way worth it.  Beautiful monastery, crazy views, and a good hike.  It was quite clear how out of shape I was.  After a long day, I still managed to have energy to go out with Andreu and his friends to eat a late dinner and visit a bar at Marina metro stop.  It was a huge tavern!  So many young people.  Had sangria, played games, and foosball (they call it futbolín, I think).  At 3:30, Andreu's friend still wanted to go to a discoteca but I called it a day.  But I still slept at five.

Day 11:

Relaxed all day.  Hung out with the Nats again at their apartment.  Funny laundry incident.  Decided to venture to the Parc del Laberint d'Horta; a park that was actually somewhat near my apartment.  It was much more beautiful than imagined at all!  I want to come back to take better photos and, of course, sketch!  Wish I had my watercolors..

Day 12 (today):

First day of school.  I was there from 8:30am till 6:30pm; SO TIRING.  It was one of the weirdest experience I've had here, as I've never been enrolled at an international school before.  It was also kind of weird and unprofessional, but at least the building looked legit.  This place seems kind of unorganized.. but I went along with whatever.  I was kind of nervous for the level placement testing, so I did kind of poorly.  People here are either 1) really good at Spanish or 2) way too enthusiastic about learning languages.  I mean, I am excited to learn, but my main purpose here in Spain is to gain experience at my internship and to have fun.  Some students just intimidate me.  And of course, I was first placed in a class with two other Japanese girls.  Coincidence?  Maybe.  Although, their Spanish was quite good.  But I got switched to another class due to conflicts, and ended up being in a class with a friend, so that was lucky.  Class was from 1:30pm-6:30pm.  It will continue until Friday (though I will be missing Friday for a trip to Girona with my intern abroad group!), so this will be a long week.  Overall, people were really nice.  I was somewhat discouraged, due to multiple reasons which I want to explain but will most likely need to save it for another entry.  Let's just say I've realized and been reminded of so many things since I've gotten here.  It was a tiring day, but i think this week of work and intensive  class will be a good reminder for me.

Wow.  How did I end up writing so much again?  I meant to be brief, but I couldn't help it.  I want to record and share everything I do!  So that's that.  I will try to blog more frequently so I don't end up with thesis-long entries and bore you.

Click for more pics!!

Also, people have been asking to see more pics of the cat.  Here's Chii!  She's starting to become more likeable to me.  I like cats a little bit more now.

day by day

It's been four days and already I have lost the time and effort to update this travel blog (so no, Mina, I will NOT be creating a video blog!). Although I do have down time throughout the days, I usually spend it eating a late lunch or dinner, watching television with Spanish subs or dubs, or catching up with friends via AIM or Skype. And by the end of the day, I'm always too exhausted to reflect upon anything (siestas in the afternoon as well!). Perhaps it is due to jetlag still; I hope to overcome it within the next week though! There's still so much to be done!

Day two:
Andreu took me around different barrios to get me situated.  It was a good reminder; I'm surprised I was still able to recognize Gaudi's Casa Mila y Casa Batlló from my last trip.  We went inside Casa Mila's free art exhibit for a while and continued walking to other areas of the city.  Amazing how two years of studying architecture has really opened my eyes up to real world applications all around me.  Later at night, I met up with Birdy at Plaza Catalunya and ate tapas in the barrio gótico.  Afterwards, we decided to wander to Barceloneta area to meet up her hostel friends at a super touristy discoteca.  It was fun meeting fellow foreign students, and realizing what a small world it is when you meet a guy who graduated from Berkeley and this Canadian chick who talks just like Elaine Chow.  Getting lost was also kinda sorta fun, but it's no good with tired feet.


Day three: 
Spent the morning and afternoon just relaxing and reading.  At four, I met up with my intern group at a café near Fontana.  More tapas, talking, and meeting new people.  Everyone is pretty nice, although I miss my west coast Asian folk quite a lot.  All of the other students pretty much arrived that morning/afternoon, so I felt lucky that I wasn't dying from exhaustion like everyone else.  They also weren't very prepared..no adapters, phones, etc.  So off we went to spend an hour or so at the Orange mobile shop, while I just waited around.  After that, I went home and felt a small sensation of independence as I found my way home alone.  Toni made a delicious paella (every meal is amazing!) for dinner (of course, at around ten at night) and the cava put me to sleep almost immediately.


Day four:
Woke up early again and went on a hike with Montse, Toni, Lucía, y Filip at Carretera de las Aigües.  Amazing views on a beautiful day!  I noticed tons of bikers and runners.  Most Spanish women are so fit.  I wish I could compare.  Later, I met Birdy at Lesseps station and we hauled ourselves to Parc Guell.   I was able to appreciate this place even more this time, since I wrote a twelve-page architecture history paper on the site last year.  It was super crowded though, which I hated because the people ruined most of my pictures.  Nevertheless, we settled in a more quiet area with a musician playing lovely songs while we sketched like the artistic foreign students that we are.  It's always funny to see people observe me, as if I'm doing something amazing or something.  By 8:30, we were in Plaza Espanya to meet up with interns and coordinators to watch the Fuente Mágico del Montjuic.  I swear that fountain can make me cry if I sit there long enough.  I'm glad I got to take more better pictures of the area this time around.  The plaza was also hosting a Harley Davidson bike show...random.  Afterwards, Birdy and I went to Las Ramblas to spend her last moments in Barcelona.  We hoped to find her souvenirs to leave with, but instead we ended up eating McDonald's fries and ice cream.  I will never get sick of McDonald's fries.  Ever.  A note to fellow tourists: SKIP LA RAMBLA BY NIGHT.  Be careful by day, too.  That place is sketchhhh.

Day five:
Woke up to get ready for my first day of work and realized I had been pick-pocketed last night on the metro home.  I'm not sure if that was the case (maybe I was stupid and dropped my wallet or it's somewhere in this room and I'm too blind to see it).  Panic for thirty minutes.  Calling mom made things better.  But the whole morning and afternoon, all I wanted to do was fly home to Alameda and just hug someone I knew.
First day of work was exciting, then nerve-racking and intimidating.  I'm working at an interior design studio called Estudio Minim located downtown.  They have a store as well as offices above.  Everyone I met was pretty nice, but I still just felt like the insignificant Chinese-American student with poor Spanish skill.  I felt like I was just intruding on the office, since I'm still a student and I have never studied interior design before.  However, the people I worked with today were very easy to talk to and they tried to make me feel as comfortable as possible.  It was just too weird and a little awkward.  I hope tomorrow is better.  Right now, they have me working on a piso (apartment) in Andorra (just by the border of France) that needs remodeling for an extra room for their two children.  I have a feeling they're going to move me around tomorrow, since they have other projects going on as well.  I feel inadequate, since my creative juices haven't been flowing recently, my technical drawing skills are not as professional, and I also don't really know 3ds max (should've listened to Kory..).  I hope people are nice enough to teach me everything.
After work I headed home to eat, then went out again to the police department with Andreu to file a report for my missing wallet.  I came out with a three-page document, but I'm still doubtful anything will happen.  Andreu and I ended up walking for a good thirty minutes all the way home, discussing random topics.  I wish I was just as good in Spanish as he is in English.  It makes me sad that everyone outside of the US can speak so many languages, and Americans are stubborn and only stick with English.  All the more reason to learn more, I guess.
Tonight we also watched the Spain vs. Honduras world cup game.  It was funny to hear neighbors scream and shout, while our group followed a few seconds later due to the television signal.  Meh, Spain plays quite well, but soccer in general annoys me.  It takes forever to witness a goal.  I'd rather keep up with baloncesto.

Anyway, I think this blog makes up for the past few days that I missed.  I'm about to knock out as usual.

I'm too lazy to add pictures to this blog.  Just check them out here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sillymp/sets/72157624170127525/

Arrival, Settling, Cats

I'm safe!

The flights went surprisingly smoothly.  Although... I completely forgot I wasn't flying Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong, which always has individual screens on each seat.  American Airlines was definitely a step down, as they only had screens in the isles and only played one movie: Tooth Fairy.  Yeah, didn't watch that.  Basically I just slept and read the entire time.  It went by pretty quickly..and suddenly, I'm here in Barcelona!

Staying with Toni and Montse is truly a gift, and I can't thank them enough for their endless hospitality.  The room I'm staying in is way better than I ever expected.  It's a cute loft/attic room - very quaint!  Their cat, Chii, and her feline friend from next door are a wonderful addition to the home.  Everything in this apartment is just cute.  The shower must be three times smaller than the standard American standing shower (I'll test it out later tonight).  Overall, I really like this place.

Today consisted of unpacking, settling, charging up my cell phone (thanks Nicole!), getting a 10-use metro ticket, making a stop at a store with Andreu, and eating a late lunch with him and Montse.  Now I'm just in my room, feeling the food coma and jetlag catching up to me, and I'm wondering if I should take a nap.  Tomorrow I hope to meet up with Bernadette and explore the city together.

This is kind of surreal.  I feel like I'll be back at home in a few days and I won't have to force myself to speak Spanish anymore.  But I must accept it sooner or later!  After all, this will be my home for the next six weeks.

Can't wait to start the internship on Monday!

A.M. Anxiety

It's 3:05AM and I'm pretty much ready to go.  I can't believe I managed to stuff my life into one large and small suitcase and a backpack.  Physically, I think I'm ready.  Mentally?  Not quite sure.

Months ago, it didn't feel like I was really going to leave.  It was just something I liked to say to people when they annoyingly questioned me of what my summer plans consisted.  After finals, I was able to breathe again and decided to pick up some travel guides (thanks Mom and Chris) to start researching for my "upcoming" trip.  I had a month, but I still didn't feel like it was ever going to come.  So I lounged around the house and acted like the whole thing would come together by itself.  Two weeks ago, I started to think, "Wow.  Okay, maybe I really should start reading.." and had mini panic attacks thinking about what was in store for me so soon.  One week ago, I was in denial.  I kind of put aside the researching, focusing on having fun with friends at Berkeley and Alameda.  The week flew by.  Two days ago, I finally started actually packing my bags.  Yesterday, I said goodbye to my friends, but it happened all so fast that I still felt like it was just another fun gathering with everyone.  Tonight, I had my last home-cooked Chinese meal (I'm still wondering how I'm going to survive without it..), my last hot shower until I'm in Barcelona, and my last goodbye to a couple of my favorite people.  And now I have one hour until I have to get up, finalize everything, and jet.

It still hasn't hit me yet, and I'm sure it won't until I actually arrive and see my Spanish "parents" waiting for me at the airport exit.  I don't feel completely ready, but I'm trying to just go with the flow.  I can't think too much this summer.  I must just trust myself to do.

Anyway, I guess I'll just continue watching my episodes of Modern Family to keep me up until I have to leave.  I hope to keep this blog updated for everyone to see what I'm up to ('cause everyone cares what I'm up to..) and hopefully I won't be too lazy to upload pictures along the way too!

Adios for now, my fellow Americans!