MAJOR CATCH-UP!

Hey folks! Sorry, it has definitely been awhile since I have gotten caught up. Life has been real good, lately. Last week was my last week of crazy fun, since I started the rest of my classes yesterday. It's still hard to believe I have only been here about 2 weeks. It really feels much longer than that! Wow, where to begin? This is probably going to be a very long post, just fyi. Since it takes forever to upload pictures on here, I'm just going to put a few on each post and include the link to my latest facebook album. It's just easier that way...Alright here we go!

Last time I was on here, I was starting Spanish class (this was last week). We had just Spanish classes for that week to get us back in the mode of speaking Spanish, even though it is easily a part of my daily routine now. I got a chance to explore the famous Gaudi Cathedral. It was breathtaking. The building itself is magnificent. There is so much intricate detail in every corner of the cathedral. What was odd to us was how people got to come in and take picture, while a mass was being held. I mean, I understand that it is a very famous building, but still. I could not imagine being in mass and having people taking pictures all around. At least they had an area roped off for the people that were actually attending the service. It was such a good feeling inside. I got a real good vibe and definitely felt a presence inside. Something I won't forget. I am definitely going to attend at least one service there before I leave.

For our Spanish class, we had to do a scavenger hunt across the city of Barcelona. Luckily, everyone in my group was really willing and excited to do it. Unfortunately, we lost, but we still had a lot of fun doing it. I have gotten to know a lot of the people in my class and some have been added to our "infamous crew." haha

That night, a couple of us stumbled across this bar called, "Espit Chupitos." Basically, it is this shot bar that has 300+ different kinds of shots and they are all no more than 3 euros! These aren't just any regular shots. Each has its own cool trick or theme. One of my favorites is a Boy Scout shot. You get a shot of different flavored alcohol and then the bartender lights it on fire and you roast a marshmallow over it before you drink it. So far, my favorite is the Harry Potter shot. Similar to the other one, an orange is placed on top and then it gets lit on fire. Different spices and sugar are shaken over it to make it look like a shot suitable for any wizard. Here's what it looks like...

The next day, we took a boat ride around the Mediterranean for an hour and a half. It was amazing and I finally got to take some really legit pictures with my new camera. It was a nice, but way too short trip. We couldn't have asked for better weather out there.

The following day, a group of us went on a Gourmet Tour around the city of Barcelona. A tour guide pretty much showed us all the really good (and cheap) food places to check out while we are over here. We definitely got some real cool spots to check out now. At the very end, we got a coupon to get a glass of wine and 2 tapas at our final stop. As we were walking in, these two guys brushed right past us and starting running when they both got outside. Just then, one of the ladies who worked there started to shout, "Su bolsa, su bolsa!" These two guys had just ran off with two purses from these 2 girls who were apparently in our same program. Throughout the past 2 weeks, I keep hearing about different people getting mugged and losing their credit cards, cash, passports, etc. It was a real trip to actually see it happen right in front of us. A bunch of us guys definitely would've stopped these guys had we known they were robbing these 2 girls. I guess that's just how slick they are. Today, I actually heard a pretty scary statistic from my Spanish teacher. "50% of all students abroad will encounter someone trying to mug them or somebody else around them." As cool as Barcelona is, you really have to keep an eye out for your backpack/bag. Everytime we go out to eat, we put our bags in between our legs on the floor. The 2 girls who were robbed had their purses on the back of their chairs. While that is extremely common back home, that is a HUGE mistake over here. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn't happen to me or any of my friends. I have already heard of about 10 people who lost their wallets or purses and it has only been two weeks! It's a crazy world out there...

That night, my study abroad program, IES, held a Welcoming Ceremony for the students, their host families, RAs, teachers, staff, and others. It was a real classy event. I LOVE dressing up, so it was fun to put those nice clothes to use, finally! Here is a picture of me and my host family
(Bernard - dad, Adela - mom, Anna -sister, and Josh - my roommate). After that we wandered down towards the beach looking for a bar and came across this real local bar. I love meeting people from my program, but it I will almost always prefer hitting up a bar with the locals to get the real Barcelona feeling. It was a verrrrrry good night and a long one. Here is one of the best mirror pictures I have ever seen. This is a small portion of our crew. We also met a guy named George, who was from Greece. We talked for almost an hour about life and it was just one of those really good talks. I mean, the drinks we had at this point definitely helped the keep the conversation going, but he was a real legit guy, anyways. He told us if we ever wanted to visit Greece, he would show us around and host us. THIS is definitely a reason why I love the local bars. You would never find someone like him at a party with all the study abroad kids.

THAT leads me to our trip we went on this last weekend. This has been sort of long, so I'm gonna make a new blog about the weekend. Peaceeeeeeeeeeeeeee

P.S. Go to my previous blog if you want the first two albums of my trip. They are posted over there...