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/