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.