Pisos, Amigos, y más!

Friday the 2^nd I woke up with a terrible stomachache, which NEVER happens to me. I went to breakfast and walked to the metro for class, but just couldn’t do it. I was clammy and my stomach felt like there were knives in it. So I e-mailed the directors to tell them I needed to stay home and rest, and they had no problem with this. I slept for most of the day and rested. By dinnertime the pains weren’t as strong, but they were still there. I decided to go to out to the neighborhood festival anyway. It was okay, similar to the festival in Gràcia last weekend, but not as big. I think my stomach was finally reacting to the food here. Glad that’s over!

Saturday I met my Catalan teacher from UofI’s younger sister, Íngrid and her friend Rachael for lunch with three of my UofI friends for lunch. It was such a great time! We walked down La Rambla, and had lunch at a restaurant in Plaça Reial with traditional Catalan food. We tried patatas braves, a salad, paella, and crema catalana. They were all sooo good! It was pretty inexpensive for such delicious food. Check out my Facebook because I posted pictures of the meal there. After lunch, we went to a bookstore then returned to the dorms. I stayed in Saturday night because someone close to my family passed away the night before, so I wanted to be able to contact them that night. Others from my group went back to the festival, though.

Sunday was dedicated to homework. Nothing exciting about that! Our teachers here want our assignment turned in on white printer paper though, instead of the lined paper we brought over, and we have to hand write everything until the printers open up in the University. So it’s kind of annoying, but not a big deal at all. Some of us sit in the lounge of the dorms and do our homework together which is really nice.

            The following week was pretty uneventful. School mode was in full blast: class from 9-2pm Mon-Thurs. with homework all week. My favorite class by far is Catalan, the local language spoken throughout Barcelona and Catalonia. Unfortunately, we didn’t learn anything new in this three-week intensive course than I did in my semester class at UofI, but it was still a nice refresher. My roommates in my apartment speak Catalan and Spanish, so I’m counting on them to help me practice! I did buy my plane tickets to visit my cousin Jenny and her family in Oxford for 10 days at Christmas time! I’m so excited to be in England for Christmas! And still with family while I’m abroad :) 

This past weekend was fun, except for Friday. Thursday after dinner some friends and I went to the Fountains of Montjüic, a public fountain display with music and lights. It was incredible! After the fountains we went to an old bull-fighting arena, which is now a public viewing spot of the city that is free also!  The view there was awesome. It was the first time we’d gotten to see that perspective of the city since we flew into Bcn. And at night, it was amazing with the mountains and the sea, and all the unique monuments! I will definitely go back sometime soon for pictures. Friday some friends and I went to the beach, and while I was swimming someone stole my camera, metro pass, and some cash out of my purse, along with my friend’s iPod. Theft is such a huge problem in Bcn, and we took turns watching each other’s things, but I learned my lesson and I will be much more careful in the future. Aside from that unfortunate event, we had a good weekend. Friday was pretty mellow after the beach, and Saturday I did homework all day. We went to a gay bar later that night called Snack 55, which had huge drinks for 4-6 euro! Needless to say, I only had one. Sunday, we did as the Spaniards do and slept until late afternoon. Practically everything here is closed on Sundays: malls, banks, restaurants, etc.

Last week was our last week of the Intensive Language Program, and also our last week in the dorms. We had normal classes from 830-130pm Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, with a fieldtrip to the Museum of Catalonia on Wednesday. That was neat, but pretty short. Our culture teacher led us from the University to the museum and we got to see older buildings along the way, and his commentary was great. Thursday we went to a popular tourist destination, Chupitos (Shots) and tried the Boy Scout shot like my friend recommended and it was delicious! They light the counter on fire and you roast a marshmallow, then dunk it in your shot, eat the marshmallow, and then finish the shot. It was fun! After that we went to a couple other nearby places and headed back to the dorms.  Saturday I had my advising appointment at the uni, and I paid my first months rent and dropped off some bags.  Then we had our last meal in the dorms, and went to the fountains again. Saturday we moved out at 11am so I spent most of that day unpacking and helping a friend move into her apartment. There was a last minute mix up, so I am actually living in a smaller room, but it has a sliding glass door to one of the porches with a wrap around balcony. Upgrade! I will post pictures ASAP of it! Saturday I also met up with a friend from high school who is traveling around Europe until she starts graduate school in England in October. So she came over, we got lunch, lounged, then another friend came over and we all made dinner. We spent the rest of that night hanging around by the beach. Sunday (Today) my friend left early, I slept in, then went a met some friends for a festival here. 9/11 is also an important day here in Catalonia, as in the 1700s Catalonia was defeated by Castilla. In an ironic way, they are celebrating not having their independence, which is what they want more than anything here. But from what I hear, the truth is the rest of Spain needs Barcelona to stay afloat. So there was a parade with many different groups and little shops out to walk past as well as a band. Now I am getting ready to begin my semester at the UB tomorrow with four Spanish classes and one Catalan class (the local language here). I’m very excited to be in my apartment, or piso in Spanish 

Into the Abyss: First Impressions of Barcelona

Well guys, I made it to Barcelona safely! It’s my sixth day here, and I am absolutely, without a doubt loving it. My first impression of the city is that it's huge! It's very complex though, so I have a lot of learning and exploring to do until I feel I really understand it. It's a very cosmopolitan city with residents from all over the world. You have the beach, the mountains, and a bustling city all in one place! (Not to mention the welcoming climate). Note: I’ve never written a blog before, so the first couple entries may be a little dry, but hopefully the things I’ve been doing will make up for it! I also want to thank EVERYONE for the advice and support. I can’t begin to express how grateful I am for having such caring, understanding, and supportive people in my life, and for the opportunity to have this experience. I am truly lucky, and if anyone reading this is contemplating a study abroad program or vacation outside of the U.S. DO IT!! I miss you all, but will do my best to keep in touch through my blog, pictures (we all know how much I love to take those!), and other methods of communication. I have Skype, Gmail, and of course Facebook messaging and chatting. If you want any of these, please message me on Facebook or e-mail me, and I will send any and/or all of them to you! You can also request to follow me on Twitter @MarieBodda. 

So I want to catch everyone up on these last six days, a.k.a my first six days in Barcelona! Everything went perfectly at O’Hare, on the planes, and at El Prat, the airport here in Barcelona. The only complaint I had was that I didn’t sleep at all, but it ended up working out for the best I think because I’ve adjusted very well to my new sleeping schedule here. Our program directors based here in Bcn met all 15 of us at the airport with a nice coach-style bus, which took us to our dorms. We are staying in these dorms at Col.legio Sant Jordi for three weeks while we have out intensive language classes, and then I will be moving into my apartment. So Saturday we arrived at the dorms and unpacked, then had a quick group meeting about the regulations of the dorms with all the Illinois and California students. There are about 15 Illinois students all from Champaign, and about 40-50 California students from all different UC schools. After that we had our first dinner in the dorms- a typical make your own salad station started off the meal, followed by spaghetti noodles with a red sauce, and a side of spinach. Then there was the American portion of the meal, which we quickly learned would accompany all the dorm meals. The first dinner had chicken wings and French fries. There is a section of assorted fruits and some yogurt or pudding, followed by a personal French baguette. It was the first thing I’d eaten since the plane so I was starving, but I enjoyed it. After dinner we got some bottles of wine for LESS THAN TWO EUROS, and sat in the park across from the dorm. We decided to go to a music festival in the Gràcia neighborhood of Bcn. (I posted pictures of this on Facebook already). It was super fun! The band on the main stage was playing songs like “The Final Countdown” and “Boulevard of Broken Dreams.” We also successfully navigated the Metro, which was a big concern of mine. Overall the first night was great!

Sunday was basically dedicated to catching up on sleep. I napped most of the day except for meals and for a meeting we had about everything and anything we would need to know this year. The directors here and very helpful, that’s for sure.

Monday and Tuesday we had field trips throughout the city. Monday we toured the works of one of Barcelona’s most famous architects, Antoní Gaudí. Some places we saw that you can Google if you are unfamiliar with Barcelona are La Pedrera, Casa Batlló, La Sagrada Família, and Parc Güell. It was a rushed tour, but I was so excited to see these places I have been learning about and researching for months in person! Unfortunately, this was the day after I uploaded pictures, and I forgot to put my memory card back in my camera. Soo I don’t have any pictures from this day, but when my friends post some I will share them! After the tour we went to the beach with some California students where I swam in the Mediterranean Sea for the first time and it was fabulous! After the beach we returned to the dorms for dinner and to shower, then headed to an Irish pub two blocks away to watch the FC Barcelona game. I tried my first Guiness beer, and it was very tasty! After Barça won, I came back to the dorm to sleep!

Tuesday we toured the Gothic neighborhood of Barcelona. It’s one of the oldest parts of the city. We first toured the Museum of the History of Barcelona, then we visited La Rambla, one of the most popular streets in the city, and La Boqueria, the largest market in Europe. We toured around this area for a couple of hours, then I purchased my local, prepaid cell phone. After the phone store I accompanied my friend Ashley on a showing of an apartment. You see, during the three weeks of Intensive Language Program classes all the UofI and UC students have to find their own apartments for the year on a website similar to Craig’s List in the US. I, fortunately, do not have to do this because my Catalan teacher found me a roommate through her younger sister. So I haven’t had to worry about the apartment ordeal, but I was still curious to see what the process was like. Because of the showing, we missed dinner in the dining hall, so Ashley and I got tapas! My first meal in a restaurant in Barcelona! I loved it. She and I shared a total of four tapas, and they were all excellent. I can’t wait to explore the cuisine further.

Wednesday we had our first day of Intensive Language classes at the University of Barcelona, or “la UB.” We are taking a total of four classes: Catalan, Grammer & Composition, Culture, and Conversation. They all seem very interesting, and the class size is about ten students, so I think they will all be extremely helpful. After class I returned to the dorms for my first siesta! Then started my blog, ate dinner, and did some homework. It was finally a relaxing day, and I feel like I am finally getting into a routine, even though there is so much to do here!                                    

Today, I had the ILP classes again. The most exciting part of the day was definitely seeing my apartment and meeting my roommate, Júlia! There is another girl, Mercè, but she wasn't there at that time. So we met at a close metro stop and she led me to the apartment. The neighborhood is very nice- just a ten minute metro ride from the university, or a short bicycle ride if I decide to brave the traffic here in Barcelona. It’s a quieter neighborhood, but it seemed like there was a lot of bars and small shops to eat at. The apartment is great! We have two balconies, and one wraps around the corner of the building! I get a beautiful street view from my bedroom window, a double bed, and lots of storage. After seeing the apartment, Júlia, her mom, and I went to a little cafe nearby for a refresco because it was so hot out! We talked there for nearly two hours! They were tremendously welcoming and I can’t wait to move in! I will post pictures of the when I move in and my room isn’t so empty.

So now you are all caught up on my adventures so far in Barcelona! Hasta luego :)