Okay, I know what you're thinking. TWO POSTS in ONE DAY? Suzanne, you went a month without posting a word, and now this? What is going on? Well, I am not really sure myself. I think I just finally truly settled into a routine, and plus I am not traveling again for a while. (Thank goodness, four weekends in a row is too intense for me.) And also I am trying to catch up with this blog, because I want to share all of my many adventures with everybody. So this post is all about my classes! Some are great! Some are...not so much with the greatness.
SPA400 Writing Seminar MWF 10:45-12:15
Professor: Ariadna Saiz aka Ari
This is one of my two favorite classes. Ari is hilarious. She is really superstitious and likes to psycho-analyze things, even our names, but she is so funny and so nice. Her favorite phrases are as follows: "Tenemos que matar los gollums!" This phrase refers to Lord of the Rings. You know how gollum has two personalities? Well she says our brains do, too. One side is Spanish and one side is English, and we have to get rid of the English-thinking when we speak Spanish. The other is "Este es el typical mistake del nivel avanzado." She says this all the times when we make one of those really common errors that even native speakers say all the time. It's funny; I will imitate it for you when I see you. I also really enjoy the class itself. It's not a lot of work, and we actually talk about grammar. I know this seems like a strange thing to enjoy, but I haven't actually had a grammar lesson in Spanish for about three years, so some of it got a little rusty. I am now much more clear on certain issues and have corrected many of my "typical mistakes." Ari also came with us on our study trip and made it much more entertaining. :-D
CAT101 Intro to Catalan MW 3:45-5:15
Professor: Pep Ingles (we call him Pep)
This is my other favorite class. I know. Why in the world am I taking Catalan? It's completely useless! Well this was meant to be my fun class, and that is exactly what it is turning out to be. The professor is hilarious; he seriously makes my day, even when he's making fun of me (or someone else). It's actually also surprisingly easy to pick up Catalan. I can pretty much write and read fluently now. Speaking is another story..... Also, it is an easier language than Spanish. There are way fewer exceptions, and I could teach anybody the past tense in about thirty seconds (I won't try though, don't worry). It's not too much work, but it's decently challenging. Great class!
MG3XX Social Challenges for Business in the 21st century.
Professor: Antonio Marquez
This is one of my favorite business subjects in the world. Trex and Raysa got me interested, and I love it now. But this man is KILLING MY PASSION! This is hands down the worst class I am taking this semester, and may even be the worst class I have taken in my life. First of all, it is important for everybody to realize that this class is in Spanish. Okay, that's fine. No problem. That means that the professor has to correct our Spanish. Also not a problem. But he does it in a way that is so rude, degrading, and embarrassing I can't stand it. I have NEVER been embarrassed about a mistake in my Spanish grammar before, and I've been corrected probably hundreds of times, but he is so condescending. Sometimes he literally laughs. His new strategy is to set up the projector and type all of our mistakes on the computer while we are talking. He says it's "to be less disruptive." But moving on from that issue, he himself is the most boring man alive. He talks in the dullest, most monotone voice ever. Also, he is so liberal that even I roll my eyes sometimes. Yeah, he's that liberal. And if you don't agree 100% he will literally start arguing with you in the middle of class. And will interrupt you. And cut you off if you actually have a good point. Argh! Our class by the end of the second week had dropped to a measly five people because everybody else ran away, but I figured my love for the subject would get me through it. (I think I was wrong.) We just had our midterm on Monday. Right before it, the rest of my class was talking about literally boycotting the class because they didn't think he could fail us all. I disagreed, and fortunately talked some sense into them all. At least the midterm seemed easy, but we'll see when I get my grade. I'll keep you posted on this one. Sorry for the rant.
IB450 Global Marketing: A European Approach
Professor: Ana Penn
So I don't like this class. I don't hate it anywhere near as much as the previously listed. But I don't like it just the same. The professor is a very nice woman who owns an internet company. Who apparently doesn't know how to use the internet. Or a computer. Or her brain. All we do in class is summarize what we already read, or read powerpoint slides out loud. Every comment anybody ever makes receives the same response. "Exactly." Even if the answer is COMPLETELY wrong. No seriously, one time I was literally staring at the answer to a question on my computer, and somebody gave a definition of a marketing term that was way off, and she agreed with him. Basically, she doesn't know the first thing about marketing. We haven't learned any marketing concepts or terms, and just discuss random cases which we can't fully discuss because half of the class has never taken marketing before and doesn't have the background knowledge to understand. She also can't hold the attention of the class. I actually feel really bad for her, because if she pauses for even a few seconds, the entire class starts talking. It's really rude. We just had our midterm in this class, and it was pretty much a joke. One essay, completely open note, book, etc. I'm not sure how she will be grading them. We'll see. Beyond all of that, though, some of our cases are actually really interesting (even though I'm one of about four people who actually read them on a daily basis). I particularly enjoyed the case about Magnum ice cream. I have never laughed out loud reading a marketing text before, but there you have it.
IB343 Business Ethics in an Intercultural Framework
Professor: Ana Penn
Since this class has the same professor, most of my comments apply to this class as well. One difference is that we watch more movies in the class, though. We've watched two full movies so far and many other clips. Except she can never get them to work, so we waste about half an hour each class trying to load the online videos. I actually like the marketing class better than this one, though, just because of the material. There is never a "right" answer to any of the questions she asks, and even though I accept that most problems have more than one solution, I never like questions that have no wrong answer. The question is always "what would you do?" Obviously you can't be "wrong." It's also interesting to see who admits that they would do something not ethical in a business situation. This class also makes me worried, because we're presented with a nonstop barrage of examples of evil businesses and evil people within them, and this is the world I want to be a part of someday (maybe). Yikes.
And that's it. The end of my class schedule. This was a really long post... The next time(s) I write you will all get to learn about Sevilla, Cordoba, Belgium, and differences between Spain and America. Good night!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Madrid
So many of you have probably already seen my photos from Madrid. I know it was a while back (sorry!) but I am going to blog about it anyway haha.
So Madrid and Barcelona are very interesting cities. Neither of them are really "Spanish" per se. They are cosmopolitan, huge, and always have a huge influx of tourists as well as immigrants. Comparing Barcelona or Madrid to the rest of Spain would be kind of like comparing New York to a small town in the middle of the country. They're just not the same thing.
At any rate, we arrived in Madrid fairly late at night, so we went straight to our hotel, dropped our stuff, and headed out to check out the night life. After a walk and a taxi drive to nowhere in particular, we wound up going into what seemed like a not-too-promising place, but turned out to be a huge pirate bar!! So we had a couple drinks, danced, and left. Unfortunately, due to various circumstances, I would up somehow not eating for 24 hours!! Literally. It was horrible. Pans saved my life. (This is a fast-food like place that can be found all across Spain.)
The next day we actually did all of the tourist stuff. We took a bus tour that went all through the city and let us stop for souvenirs along the way. We circled back to the palacio real (royal palace) to take some pictures, and we went to the Prado. Luckily, since it was after five by this point in time, we actually got in for free! I really enjoyed all of the Velazquez collection, even though I've seen "las meninas" in photographs about a million times, but his other works are amazing! Francisco de Goya held a large section of the museum as well, but I'm not a fan of most of his paintings. I like a few of his pieces, but most of his work is painting nobility, which just comes off to me as very pretentious. (Yeah, yeah, I know, everybody's a critic).
We tried to make it out to the famous seven-story nightclub, but we were too tired, so we headed to bed. We had an early flight. So now I have to do a few mandatory comparisons.
Public transportation: About the same to be honest. There is a very funny picture of the statue of liberty reaching out for the Madrid metro system in my facebook photos. But overall, compared with Barcelona it's about the same. (I don't really like the NY subway though, and DC is my favorite!)
Prices: Madrid is actually a lot cheaper than Barcelona in certain areas. Taxi rides were literally halved. Food was slightly cheaper. So were drinks. Shopping, however, was more expensive. But maybe that's because I've wandered the back alleys near las Ramblas, where they always have stores that sell everything in them for five euros, or shoe stores where even boots only cost twenty.
People: I personally have found that people have been friendlier to me in Barcelona than they were in Madrid. It could be different for other people, though, just my experience.
Which do I prefer? Barcelona. I'm glad I didn't study in Madrid. Honestly, it didn't seem like there was actually that much to do. There were only two other things that I found worth seeing that I didn't have the time for (a second art museum and a park), whereas in Barcelona there are still things that I want to do. Just wait for the entry about my trip to Sevilla, though. Sevilla is awesome. But that is a story for another day. I hope everybody reading this is well. And I miss you all!
So Madrid and Barcelona are very interesting cities. Neither of them are really "Spanish" per se. They are cosmopolitan, huge, and always have a huge influx of tourists as well as immigrants. Comparing Barcelona or Madrid to the rest of Spain would be kind of like comparing New York to a small town in the middle of the country. They're just not the same thing.
At any rate, we arrived in Madrid fairly late at night, so we went straight to our hotel, dropped our stuff, and headed out to check out the night life. After a walk and a taxi drive to nowhere in particular, we wound up going into what seemed like a not-too-promising place, but turned out to be a huge pirate bar!! So we had a couple drinks, danced, and left. Unfortunately, due to various circumstances, I would up somehow not eating for 24 hours!! Literally. It was horrible. Pans saved my life. (This is a fast-food like place that can be found all across Spain.)
The next day we actually did all of the tourist stuff. We took a bus tour that went all through the city and let us stop for souvenirs along the way. We circled back to the palacio real (royal palace) to take some pictures, and we went to the Prado. Luckily, since it was after five by this point in time, we actually got in for free! I really enjoyed all of the Velazquez collection, even though I've seen "las meninas" in photographs about a million times, but his other works are amazing! Francisco de Goya held a large section of the museum as well, but I'm not a fan of most of his paintings. I like a few of his pieces, but most of his work is painting nobility, which just comes off to me as very pretentious. (Yeah, yeah, I know, everybody's a critic).
We tried to make it out to the famous seven-story nightclub, but we were too tired, so we headed to bed. We had an early flight. So now I have to do a few mandatory comparisons.
Public transportation: About the same to be honest. There is a very funny picture of the statue of liberty reaching out for the Madrid metro system in my facebook photos. But overall, compared with Barcelona it's about the same. (I don't really like the NY subway though, and DC is my favorite!)
Prices: Madrid is actually a lot cheaper than Barcelona in certain areas. Taxi rides were literally halved. Food was slightly cheaper. So were drinks. Shopping, however, was more expensive. But maybe that's because I've wandered the back alleys near las Ramblas, where they always have stores that sell everything in them for five euros, or shoe stores where even boots only cost twenty.
People: I personally have found that people have been friendlier to me in Barcelona than they were in Madrid. It could be different for other people, though, just my experience.
Which do I prefer? Barcelona. I'm glad I didn't study in Madrid. Honestly, it didn't seem like there was actually that much to do. There were only two other things that I found worth seeing that I didn't have the time for (a second art museum and a park), whereas in Barcelona there are still things that I want to do. Just wait for the entry about my trip to Sevilla, though. Sevilla is awesome. But that is a story for another day. I hope everybody reading this is well. And I miss you all!
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Besalu, Vic, and Navarra
I have now taken two mandatory field trips with my program. The first one was during orientation week, to Besalu and Vic, two very small towns near Barcelona. The second was was to Basque country, to Navarra. This was a three day trip during study week, and we stayed in Pamplona. We got to see lots of other towns, though, like Olite and Estella. So you're probably thinking, "I've never heard of most of these places." That's okay, neither had anybody else.
The Orientation trip, to be honest, was probably a bad idea in theory. We had to wake up at six in the morning on a Saturday. It was our first week here. Most of my dorm-mates were either still drunk or hungover. And it was around forty degrees with freezing rain the whole time. Not a good start to a field trip that involves 500 students.
Despite all this, I still had some fun. Lunch was good! But I particularly enjoyed one story about the town that I find very interesting. A long, long time ago, I don't remember when, the town was split into two sides. There was literally a line through the city on the stone pavement. Each side had its own "police force." So, if a person from side A sneaked over to side B, stole somebody's purse, or whatever, and then quickly ran back to side A, neither side could do anything about it. I just thought that was amusing.
The Study Week trip to Navarra also had its interesting points. I enjoyed seeing the old castles, which had amazing views. We got to see the Camino de Santiago, and where Hemingway stayed while he was in Pamplona. We also got to meet a retired bull-fighter, and he gave us a demonstration of how to lead the bull around. (No bulls were harmed during the demonstration. Actually, no bulls were even involved during the demonstration.) I also really enjoyed the snow. Yep, snow. They took us to the coldest part of Spain.
I did not, however, enjoy the schedule they gave us. It was very packed, with very little free time. It left us so exhausted by dinner that we barely had any energy left to go out, especially knowing that we were getting up at 7:30am the next day. And it gave us 40 minutes for lunch. Now, this might not seem like something to complain about. But have you ever tried having lunch in SPAIN in 40 minutes. You could maybe do it at a McDonald's. Maybe. But really, this is literally IMPOSSIBLE. It is just not done. My group wound up speeding things along by getting our courses and dessert served at the same time. We ran out of there back to the bus, leaving money on the table without even getting the check. (Don't worry; we knew how much it cost). Another group of people didn't even go into a restaurant. They wound up buying loaves of bread and cheese from a market and eating them on the bus. One pair of students was not so lucky. They got left. In a little town. In the middle of nowhere. Really IES?
At any rate, I am extremely glad to be back in Barcelona. I have really enjoyed most of my travels so far, but IES just wears me out when the trip is mandatory. I did take one other field trip with IES, but this one was voluntary, and it was probably the best weekend I have had so far during my semester abroad. Moral of the story: mandatory field trips with 500 students are a bad idea. Period. :-)
The Orientation trip, to be honest, was probably a bad idea in theory. We had to wake up at six in the morning on a Saturday. It was our first week here. Most of my dorm-mates were either still drunk or hungover. And it was around forty degrees with freezing rain the whole time. Not a good start to a field trip that involves 500 students.
Despite all this, I still had some fun. Lunch was good! But I particularly enjoyed one story about the town that I find very interesting. A long, long time ago, I don't remember when, the town was split into two sides. There was literally a line through the city on the stone pavement. Each side had its own "police force." So, if a person from side A sneaked over to side B, stole somebody's purse, or whatever, and then quickly ran back to side A, neither side could do anything about it. I just thought that was amusing.
The Study Week trip to Navarra also had its interesting points. I enjoyed seeing the old castles, which had amazing views. We got to see the Camino de Santiago, and where Hemingway stayed while he was in Pamplona. We also got to meet a retired bull-fighter, and he gave us a demonstration of how to lead the bull around. (No bulls were harmed during the demonstration. Actually, no bulls were even involved during the demonstration.) I also really enjoyed the snow. Yep, snow. They took us to the coldest part of Spain.
I did not, however, enjoy the schedule they gave us. It was very packed, with very little free time. It left us so exhausted by dinner that we barely had any energy left to go out, especially knowing that we were getting up at 7:30am the next day. And it gave us 40 minutes for lunch. Now, this might not seem like something to complain about. But have you ever tried having lunch in SPAIN in 40 minutes. You could maybe do it at a McDonald's. Maybe. But really, this is literally IMPOSSIBLE. It is just not done. My group wound up speeding things along by getting our courses and dessert served at the same time. We ran out of there back to the bus, leaving money on the table without even getting the check. (Don't worry; we knew how much it cost). Another group of people didn't even go into a restaurant. They wound up buying loaves of bread and cheese from a market and eating them on the bus. One pair of students was not so lucky. They got left. In a little town. In the middle of nowhere. Really IES?
At any rate, I am extremely glad to be back in Barcelona. I have really enjoyed most of my travels so far, but IES just wears me out when the trip is mandatory. I did take one other field trip with IES, but this one was voluntary, and it was probably the best weekend I have had so far during my semester abroad. Moral of the story: mandatory field trips with 500 students are a bad idea. Period. :-)
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Highs and Lows
So during all of our study abroad meeting at school, they told us about the five stages. Basically, it means that when you study in a foreign country you will start in a good mood, crash, and then accept. Well, as far as I'm concerned, that describes the first hour of studying abroad. I think I've been through the five stages at least five times. But I think what makes me upset might be surprising, so read on.
High: I first got to the Barcelona airport, and none of my luggage was lost. (I have recently found out I am very lucky, many others had serious issues.) Oh my god. I'm in Barcelona. HOW COOL IS THIS?? I find where I need to go, check in, and I'm in a taxi on my way to my "colegio mayor," which basically means residence hall. Barcelona, here I come!
Low: I get out of the taxi and...I'm lost. They only told us the address, but what they failed to mention was that this particular address has about eight buildings. Right... I go into one of them, approach a receptionist, and try to communicate where I need to go. Now I am not horrible at Spanish, but when I tried to talk... Where did my Spanish go? Fortunately I managed, and I made it to my residence hall. Great. So I meet my RA, Xisca, and she is very nice and gets me situated with my...Spanish roommates?? My roommates aren't American?? Now this is not a bad thing in and of itself, but it wasn't what I was expecting at all. But, hey, I'm here to surround myself with a new culture, and what better way to do it? Okay. So then we get the dormitory rules. Some basic stuff: no alcohol in the dorms, no visitors after 11:00pm, no youtube...wait, what? No online videos or downloading anything at all. And they know. They have records. Big brother is watching you. There are even cameras outside of the gates to our building. Okay...I can deal with this.
High: The very first night, only a few other American students were there. So three others and I decide to go out and get something to eat and drink. We have great conversation, good food, and I think I really like them all. The next day, more IES students arrive and we all decide to walk to where our classrooms are located, just to make sure we could do it without getting lost. The other students seem really nice, too, and I think all is going well. I still love the city. What could be better than this?
Low: Americans are OBNOXIOUS. I know I'm supposed to save the America-bashing for when I get back, but I honestly completely understand why the rest of the world hates us. Basically, right now I love the city, I love the local students (they are sooooo nice), and I am sure I will love my classes, but the other IES students in my dormitory are nuts. Loud, crazy, unappreciative, etc. Let's see...we went out to lunch all together. One girl ordered some fried fish. What they gave her was apparently not what she had been expecting. Basically, it was a bunch of little fish dipped in batter and fried. You could still see the eyeballs. Okay, a little odd, but it's still fried fish. She tried it to be brave, and she even liked it. She then proceeded to cover it with a napkin because she couldn't stand the sight of it. That's so rude here it's not even funny. (By the way I tried one of her fish, and it was really good.) Other than that, though, all of my fellow dorm members just want to go out and get trashed. Every night. Even when we have to get up at 6:00am. Yeah.... Yay America!
High: Honestly, I don't want anybody to think I'm not having a good time. I'm having a great time; it's just disturbing to observe certain behaviors. Most of the people I've met really are good people. I love the food and the locals, and the city is so pretty to just walk in. I am so excited for the rest of the semester.
Next post(s): My field trip to Besalu y Vic, two old Catalan cities near Barcelona, and some perspective on the differences between Americans and Spaniards.
High: I first got to the Barcelona airport, and none of my luggage was lost. (I have recently found out I am very lucky, many others had serious issues.) Oh my god. I'm in Barcelona. HOW COOL IS THIS?? I find where I need to go, check in, and I'm in a taxi on my way to my "colegio mayor," which basically means residence hall. Barcelona, here I come!
Low: I get out of the taxi and...I'm lost. They only told us the address, but what they failed to mention was that this particular address has about eight buildings. Right... I go into one of them, approach a receptionist, and try to communicate where I need to go. Now I am not horrible at Spanish, but when I tried to talk... Where did my Spanish go? Fortunately I managed, and I made it to my residence hall. Great. So I meet my RA, Xisca, and she is very nice and gets me situated with my...Spanish roommates?? My roommates aren't American?? Now this is not a bad thing in and of itself, but it wasn't what I was expecting at all. But, hey, I'm here to surround myself with a new culture, and what better way to do it? Okay. So then we get the dormitory rules. Some basic stuff: no alcohol in the dorms, no visitors after 11:00pm, no youtube...wait, what? No online videos or downloading anything at all. And they know. They have records. Big brother is watching you. There are even cameras outside of the gates to our building. Okay...I can deal with this.
High: The very first night, only a few other American students were there. So three others and I decide to go out and get something to eat and drink. We have great conversation, good food, and I think I really like them all. The next day, more IES students arrive and we all decide to walk to where our classrooms are located, just to make sure we could do it without getting lost. The other students seem really nice, too, and I think all is going well. I still love the city. What could be better than this?
Low: Americans are OBNOXIOUS. I know I'm supposed to save the America-bashing for when I get back, but I honestly completely understand why the rest of the world hates us. Basically, right now I love the city, I love the local students (they are sooooo nice), and I am sure I will love my classes, but the other IES students in my dormitory are nuts. Loud, crazy, unappreciative, etc. Let's see...we went out to lunch all together. One girl ordered some fried fish. What they gave her was apparently not what she had been expecting. Basically, it was a bunch of little fish dipped in batter and fried. You could still see the eyeballs. Okay, a little odd, but it's still fried fish. She tried it to be brave, and she even liked it. She then proceeded to cover it with a napkin because she couldn't stand the sight of it. That's so rude here it's not even funny. (By the way I tried one of her fish, and it was really good.) Other than that, though, all of my fellow dorm members just want to go out and get trashed. Every night. Even when we have to get up at 6:00am. Yeah.... Yay America!
High: Honestly, I don't want anybody to think I'm not having a good time. I'm having a great time; it's just disturbing to observe certain behaviors. Most of the people I've met really are good people. I love the food and the locals, and the city is so pretty to just walk in. I am so excited for the rest of the semester.
Next post(s): My field trip to Besalu y Vic, two old Catalan cities near Barcelona, and some perspective on the differences between Americans and Spaniards.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
A Tale of Three Cities (Airport Adventures)
So even though I have more to write about than the airports, I'm splitting it into separate entries because they are separate stories. I like continuity. Before I talk about the airports, though, I'd like to share an interesting observation. Before I actually logged into blogspot, all of the buttons were in Spanish. I don't know why, but I didn't really expect that to happen, mostly because I thought Spain had its own separate set of websites. On the bright side, I just learned how to say "log in." Right, on to airports.
First of all, for anybody who would be worried, a seven-hour flight to Europe is not bad at all. I was wishing for more flight time to be honest; it wasn't quite long enough for me because I was napping and would have loved to stay asleep. So when we flew over London, where I made my connection flight, it was still really dark out. This was really exciting to me. I love flying over cities at night; flying over Washington DC is so cool-looking. London? Not so much. Maybe it was too cloudy, but I couldn't see anything at all until we were really close to the ground and when we were close enough well, to be honest, London kind of looked like a dimly lit Christmas tree. There were buildings, but none of them were lit up very much. There were cars on the streets, and there were streetlights. These were pretty uniform, though, and not very bright. I did observe that the cars were, indeed, driving on the other side of the road. (I already knew this; it's just fun to see for yourself.)
London airport is, I have to say, not particularly different from any other airport that I have been to. The layout of the airport is a little different; it takes forever to get from one place to another; I had to take two separate "buses" to get from where I came in to where I needed to be. Also, you don't learn you departure gate until 30-40 minutes before your flight is scheduled to take off. For my flight it was more like 20-25 minutes beforehand. So there are lots of group waiting areas in each terminal. The only other differences are that most people speak in a British accent, which I love, and all the prices are listed in pounds. Which doesn't really matter, because in the airport they accept any currency "of value." They were quite happy to take dollars, euros, or a credit card.
I had a five-hour layover, so I found a cafe, ordered breakfast (it was 8:00am for London), and a raspberry orange juice, which was quite good. Then I walked around all the shops, which were just your run-of-the-mill airport shops. Of course, since I was in an international airport, there were lots of tax-free shops that sold really cheap alcohol, perfume, etc. Then I got tired and waited until my next flight, which was to Barcelona.
Barcelona airport was still not that noticeably different from other airports; I guess an airport is an airport, at least in terms of the Western world, but there are a couple things that stick out in my mind. El Prat, the name of the airport, is not small by any means. But it is all connected. What a nice relief. Of course the most obvious change is that the signs were in three different languages, Catalan, Spanish, and English. It was also a very cool-looking airport; there were statues and the like. (See photo) I had to wait to check in, so I went to a lunch cafe and got a bite to eat. The food was a little bit different, but they had plenty of stuff that was very "American." But like I said, no huge difference.
So here ends my reflection on the airports, which is drawn-out for no reason other than to amuse myself before I can go to lunch. Lunch in my building does not start until 1:15, which is practically when lunch closes in the US. I did know this information coming in, of course, but even when your mind is prepared, your stomach isn't. So no huge airport crisis, no lost luggage and no lost Suzanne. Next post(s) will be about my first night and day here. Some interesting stuff.
VERY IMPORTANT!!!!! I want to share my Skype name with everybody, but I'm not putting it up on a public website, so email me or facebook me and I will send you the name if you want it. I miss everybody already!
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Day of
So sometime around 8:00 last night it finally hit me. Oh my lord I'm about to leave for Spain. Yikes! (gulp) I finished my packing and everything fit!!!! It was very exciting to realize that I actually managed to fit everything into my allotted suitcases and actually even have room to spare. I get to bring home souvenirs! I've sent off my forms, made copies of my passport, checked into my flight online, and have prepared in every other way I could think of.
My mom and I have been running errands all day: bank, post office, etc. We're actually leaving for the airport in a little over an hour; bad weather is threatening to rear its ugly head, so to speak, so we're leaving extra time just in case.
So, yeah, nothing major to report. I've been getting the same lecture from all of my family members and even a few well-meaning friends, plus one Wachovia employee. Be careful, watch your belongings, don't go off with strangers, don't end up like that girl, blah blah. I'll try my best to stay out of trouble, but no promises. If anything major happens, it will at least make for a great entry in my blog. Perhaps a comparison of the two legal systems, or a review of the jails in Barcelona. Hahaha....heh. I sure hope I'm kidding.
Anyway, I must finish up some last minute business before heading out. My next entry will tell all about 1) the plane rides and 2) my first days in Spain. I'm really excited about orientation, but not so much about the scavenger hunt we're required to do. I swear, I will be in a senior home and they will still make me do f-ing scavenger hunts. Ah well. At least I'll be in Barcelona.
Hasta luego!
My mom and I have been running errands all day: bank, post office, etc. We're actually leaving for the airport in a little over an hour; bad weather is threatening to rear its ugly head, so to speak, so we're leaving extra time just in case.
So, yeah, nothing major to report. I've been getting the same lecture from all of my family members and even a few well-meaning friends, plus one Wachovia employee. Be careful, watch your belongings, don't go off with strangers, don't end up like that girl, blah blah. I'll try my best to stay out of trouble, but no promises. If anything major happens, it will at least make for a great entry in my blog. Perhaps a comparison of the two legal systems, or a review of the jails in Barcelona. Hahaha....heh. I sure hope I'm kidding.
Anyway, I must finish up some last minute business before heading out. My next entry will tell all about 1) the plane rides and 2) my first days in Spain. I'm really excited about orientation, but not so much about the scavenger hunt we're required to do. I swear, I will be in a senior home and they will still make me do f-ing scavenger hunts. Ah well. At least I'll be in Barcelona.
Hasta luego!
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Packing
So right now I'm at my dad's place, and I am leaving for my mom's early, early Saturday morning. I'm leaving from there on the sixth for Barcelona, so that doesn't leave me much time. I'm trying to piece through all of my stuff to decide what to bring (and what not to bring). I am saying goodbye to a lot of my material goods, and I'm not bringing any books at all (gasp). This is a huge shocker to those of you who know me I'm sure.
Fitting an entire semester worth of stuff into a suitcase and a couple of bags is more difficult than I originally anticipated, especially since I have to bring sheets, towels, etc. with me. A bedding set apparently costs about 100 euro in Spain, so you can see why I am choosing to bring that stuff with me. Hopefully I'll work it all out.
Am I nervous? Not yet. Am I excited? Hell yeah. Am I stressed about packing? If you don't know the answer to that, you haven't been reading the last few paragraphs.
Fitting an entire semester worth of stuff into a suitcase and a couple of bags is more difficult than I originally anticipated, especially since I have to bring sheets, towels, etc. with me. A bedding set apparently costs about 100 euro in Spain, so you can see why I am choosing to bring that stuff with me. Hopefully I'll work it all out.
Am I nervous? Not yet. Am I excited? Hell yeah. Am I stressed about packing? If you don't know the answer to that, you haven't been reading the last few paragraphs.
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