Three Week Update

Girona was beautiful! It reminded me a little of the small towns we visited in Italy (however, it doesn't compare!).
We kind of straggled along, Rachel had to use European crutches, which are nothing like American ones! Thankfully, she went in to the doctor again and they took her cast off. Long story short, they messed up the first time, she went in for an MRI today, and will get the results on Tuesday.
However, the cast and crutches did not come off until Monday. Sunday, we had an adventure. I picked Rachel up in the morning and we went to watch some locals play soccer at a nearby park. It was such a nice day. It had been only one day with the crutches and Rachel had blisters on her hand...disgusting! And painful! So we got to thinking, maybe we could just borrow a wheelchair from the hospital? Our friend Arik helped carry Rachel down at least ten blocks to the nearest hospital. After a broken conversation with the receptionist and a kind patient who spoke little English, we decided borrowing the wheelchair was not going to work.

It was interesting to see how people in Europe reacted to the inauguration of Obama the other day. What an exciting day in history. We were able to watch Obama's speech online at a friend's apartment.

It has been three weeks since I have arrived! The time is flying by! My internet connection has been horrible at home so I have not been able to blog as much as I would like. It has been a busy week. I tried a spinning class at the gym, where I got schooled by two older men. On Thursday, I had a group presentation and my professor said we “set the bar very high”…no big deal. We are finally settling in and the rest of our classes start tomorrow. It stinks that we will not have as much free time, but I’m very excited about two of my new classes - “Past and Present: History of Barcelona” and “Spain and Catalonia through the Arts”. On some days we will get to visit museums and other historical sites rather than sit in the classroom.
We were supposed to take a hike yesterday to Calcotada, but if you haven’t heard there have been some serious winds here in Barcelona. Four young boys were killed in the collapse of a sports building and other people were seriously injured. The roof of the restaurant we were planning to eat at was completely blown off, and tree were down everywhere. The trip was cancelled. Instead, the three of us girls spent the day chatting in Jody’s “room”, some might call it a closet. Last night we were to an Irish pub to watch the Barcelona futbol game, and from there we went to a club two blocks from my apartment. It’s nice when you don’t have to take a taxi home at night, it gets expensive.
Today Rachel, Erin and I attempted to go to Park Laberit, it’s a park with huge shrubs organized in mazes. Unfortunately, because of the weather yesterday a lot of parks were closed.

10 things I miss from home…

1. Microwave popcorn (Butter and Kettle). However, Rachel and I did get delicious, movie theater popcorn the other day. We were craving popcorn so bad that we decided to just go into the theater, buy popcorn, and leave. From there we rode the bus, leaving a trail of popcorn everywhere. We’re pretty sure it is illegal to eat on buses. Oops!
2. Foods without excessive amounts of oil and salt.
3. Wheat bread! All we eat is white. And skim milk. One side note, they do not refrigerate so many things…including milk and eggs. I am a little confused on this concept, because it doesn’t go bad? It doesn’t taste the best, but it is fine to drink.
4. Internet access at all times.
5. A bed that isn’t slatted, which I have probably fallen out of at least five times since I’ve been here. Ouch!
6. A dryer for my clothes…they’re always crunchy and wrinkly now.
7. Having the option of driving my car wherever, whenever. I’m scared I’m going to forget how to drive while I’m here!
8. Watching my favorite movies and TV programs. I’m having Dwight and McDreamy withdrawals.
9. My puppy Louie!
10. Cooking. We’re technically not allowed to use the stove or oven, but Erin has a friend with an apartment so we’re going to try to cook a few meals there. My favorite thing that Eli makes is tostada. It is basically an egg omelet with potatoes and onions inside, very popular in Spain. She also makes really good salads, with a variety of vegetables, fruits, and tuna!

The one thing I for sure don’t miss…the cold! I know this is kind of a long list, but I am truly having an amazing time here. I love Europe and I love Barcelona. Rachel and I have even discussed moving back here after college…but don’t worry Mom, it’s just talk.
My girls from Minnesota have arrived in Europe just recently and we are thinking about trying to meet up. It’s great to have friends from home here and I hope we can plan something together. Kristen is in Granada, Spain (south of me), Sara is in Montpellier, France (about four hours by train north of me), and Tara is in Milan, Italy.
“Fab Four”, “Froolafals”, “Friends Group”, aka: Rachel, Erin, Jody, and I are leaving for Geneva, Switzerland this Friday morning and staying until Sunday. We are so excited to take our first trip together and stay in a hostel. My first hostel experience! It’s going to be a challenge packing for this as well, we plan on only bringing backpacks.

I just found a great bar/cafe with free wi fi and it's open on Sundays (not many things are open on Sundays). It's only about two blocks from my homestay, so hopefully this will be good. Off to do a little homework before dinner and bed. Love hearing from you all! And miss you of course!