I want to live here

Today caught me by surprise. I went out last night so I expected today to be a lazy day with a bunch of water and naps. I was too out of it to set an alarm for class this morning, however, somehow my body woke itself up at 8:47 this morning and my Geopolitics class starts at 9. Perhaps it was because it is my favorite class as well as the Professor is by far one of the most interesting people I have met here; a great guy that I hope to stay in touch with when I go home. Anyways, I jumped on my bike and sprinted across town and got there at with 29 seconds to spare. A few girls presented their project on the geopolitical state of Africa which was very intriguing, especially after realizing I knew a lot less about Africa than I thought. You're probably wondering what was so special about today aren't you? Ok I'll tell you. So after class I have the most beautiful bike ride home; the weather was absolutely perfect, it put me in the best mood. When I arrive home my host mom asks if I want to go paddle boarding with her out on the sea (Mediterranean). OF COURSE I WANT TO GO STAND-UP-PADDLE-BOARDING ON THE FREAKING MEDITERRANEAN SEA!!! So we go down to the beach in our little bike/scooter/skateboard gang (Kevin rides his skateboard and Andrea and Sergio ride their scooters). Kevin, my roommate, holds on to the back of my bike while I pull him along the boardwalk. It was something straight out of a movie. His last final exam was today so it was bittersweet. I'm going to miss the kid so much. I promised him I would do a road trip out to Minnesota to go spend a few days with him at his lake house; sounds like paradise to me. We suit up in our wet-suits, run across the sand, jump on our boards and paddle out (also something you would see in a movie). It was breath taking being carried away by the mediterranean current and looking at my city from a totally new perspective. I came home and FaceTime'd Morgan, my Mom, and my Dad because I was in the best mood and just really wanted to be contagious.

I just got back from the best afternoon walk I've ever had. Casey, my other roommate, and I walked over to Parque de la Ciudadela and sat on some steps sipping on some Ice Tea and munching on the Spanish version of sour cream and onion chips. We watched a bunch of locals playing round-robin style table tennis games. Outdoor table tennis is a really big thing here. Everyone brings their own paddle and balls in these fancy cases, cracks open a beer and just plays table tennis for a while as if life wasn't already perfect enough here...We relocated after a while to another bench where we watched a guy tap dance on a stage inside a gazebo as his friend made various beats on a tap drum to match the sound of the tap shoes. How cool is that?? I never want to leave the most unique city on the planet. We relocated one last time to a bench next to the Arc de Triomf and watched a couple of guys on their roller blades skate through little cones spaced out a few inches apart. These guys were so talented, but for them it was just a hobby to do after school or after work. All of the things that amazed me today about this city were completely normal things for everyone else. It just put everything into perspective for me. As I told my mom earlier, I wish there was some way I could repay her and my dad and my Grandparents for letting me experience all of this, but it is a priceless experience that I will never be able to thank everyone enough who made all of this possible.



....Ok I have to go eat now, dinner is on the table now. I'm trying black rice for the first time. It's a typical Spanish dish where the ink from the squid in the dish makes the rice black.


Peace and Love my friends,
B

Is it too late now to say blogger?

Morgan flew out yesterday morning and on the way to the airport she looked at me and said "This has been the craziest week of my life!" Half-braggingly I told her that was just a normal week for me. However, I stared out of the window on the bus ride home from the airport taking it all in. This city, this country, this side of the world that I have fell in love with won't be home for much longer. I realized I could barely remember everything Morgan and I did since she arrived just last week. If I can't remember everything in this past week, how am I going to be able to tell everyone about all of my experiences over the past few months!? I was more than confident that I didn't need to keep a journal or a blog of my experiences because I knew they would be special enough that I could remember them without writing them down. I underestimated the amount of amazing experiences I could capture in just a short period of time, and now I find myself scrambling in my own thoughts trying to piece together what is turning out to be the most important time of my life.

I know I am late, but this is my attempt to throw everything that is currently in my head onto a blog. With the help of my friends here, my pictures, and my blurred memories I will attempt to write a story of my time abroad. I hope my loved ones back home and any of my friends who care enough to read this can kind of get a sense of what I have been up to this entire time. To my family, I apologize for not starting this earlier, but perhaps the suspense will make it that much better.

Enjoy!

P.S. - If my english was gotten worse it is from all of the Spanish/Catalan I have been speaking.







Throwback to London:
On January 10th I crossed the Atlantic for the first time in my life. The feeling of freeing myself from the only world I knew was the moment I have been waiting for all my life. It took a lot of help as well as sacrifice from my friends and family to make getting on that plane and leaving for four months possible, and for that I will forever be grateful for the ones who so graciously pushed me out into the world to explore.
Meeting London first was definitely a good decision. To me London was like the briefing room at the LazerTag place we used to go as kids. It was a new thrilling experience behind those doors, so luckily we got to wait in a room and form teams with our friends as an instructor showed us the map and told us all of the rules. London was a time to dip my toes in a fairly different culture while forming some close friendships that would go on to last my entire semester abroad. It was nice that there was no language barrier in my first country abroad, it allowed me to just soak up all of the interesting culture differences. That being said, the part that stuck with me the most is how small the world seemed right away. Even though I had just flown across the ocean, behind the accents and the minor differences in our lifestyles, we were quite similar on the inside. I would go on to find this trend in every new place I explored. Perhaps it took a little longer in different countries to realize this, but nonetheless, it always held true. Wouldn't want to spoil anything, so I will talk about that more at a later time.

Anyways, back to London. We stayed in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea which lived up to the hype of being very classy. For the most part we saw all of the touristy stuff, however my favorite part of London was getting lost on the Tube for hours. Whereas the above ground "Hop-On-Hop-Off" tour bus showed us the touristy side of London, the Underground opened my eyes to the complete opposite side of the city. Finally, just opening up and bonding with the group of friends I was with was what I think studying Abroad is all about; the most rewarding thing from this entire trip is the people I have met along the way. I take pictures of the objects that can easily fade or become blurry in my mind, but the friendships I form along the way will never, ever fade.

Although my time in London was short, and a bit rushed, I am sure I will be back. It is such a fast-paced lifestyle which I thrive in, but it also served as my gateway to the rest of Europe. A part of my heart stayed in London, only because she opened my eyes to the rest of the world.

-B