I apologize for my lack of blog posts, we have just been so busy lately! This will be a big one so feel free to scroll! We are finally in the full swing of things. Our classes are all in session and homework and tests are lingering over our heads like school back home. I heard that the program we signed up for was pretty hard compared to the other study abroad programs but part of me was hoping that they were being dramatic. Needless to say, they weren't..
I feel like I have done so much since I last posted! We went on a study journey to Tarragona a couple weeks back. It is a city about an hour and a half outside Barcelona in Catalunya. It is know for their Roman ruins, beach and castels. Castel building is a sport from Catalunya where people build human towers in the streets. We were forced to give it a try and I must say I am not a fan of people invading my personal bubble that much. However, it was a lot of fun getting to know some more people in our program and taking in the scenery. The last day we stopped at a traditional Spanish restaurant where we were given bibs, served a delicious meal and forced to drink wine from this strange genie bottle looking shooter.
Following our study journey was my birthday week! I finally turned 21 and got celebrate in Barcelona with some great friends. My wonderful friend/roomie Niki made my birthday extra special by decorating my room with balloons and streamers like we do on the sorority floor. On my birthday eve we went to a bar called Pipermints and my friends and I got a humongous glass of sangria with giant straws to share. The next day we went to a Mexican dinner to celebrate mine and my friend Becca's birthday as well. It was awesome and I was so full! That night we went to a club and had a ball. I am so grateful for everyone that made my day special home and abroad!
After an exciting birthday week we were back to being students and tourists! We have seen a lot of great things recently. Last week we went to an FCB game... for five minutes. It was down pouring and we were not dressed properly so obviously we went in to get some pictures and decided to go to another one later in the season.
This weekend our two friends came to visit! It was a lot of fun and great to see them and hear about their study abroad experiences in Italy. On Sunday a few of my friends and I went to Catholic mass here. Although we had a hard time understanding everything it was pretty similar to church back home and we felt good that we went. After that we went and saw Mt. Tibidabo which is a mountain close to my home stay. Although you can climb it, that would take three hours so we opted to take the tramcar up. When we got to the top we were breath-taken by the view. You could see every corner of Barcelona. Also on top was a beautiful cathedral, restaurants, and amusement park. It is definitely somewhere I'd like to go again! Maybe I will hike it next time.
To conclude, I have to share my cooking class experience with you! It was such a great time and great food as well! It was held in a man's home with about 11 other kids in my program. The house was beautiful, and the kitchen was something out of a magazine. We were given cervezas, aprons and put to work right away. Alex and I got the hardest jobs by far. We had to mince and chop the fish, cook the meatballs, and take the skin off of the cooked vegetables. It was really fun though and when we finally sat down we couldn't wait to enjoy the food. For the first course we had a piece of toast with tomato paste, olive oil, eggplant, peppers and goat cheese. Then the main dish was surf and turf meatballs in a stew with a fish and vegetable tomato broth. We also had sweet potato mashed potatoes. For dessert we had Catalan cream which was a cinnamon, orange flavored pudding. Everything was so delicious, we made a few friends and we had many laughs along the way! Who knows maybe I will stick with it?
Sorry for the length, I promise to post more frequently! Thanks for following and stay tuned! I am going to Prague this weekend. Feeling more and more blessed for this opportunity every time I post! Have a great day!
