Spanish Showers and Other Stories

Hola todos!

Well, the hot water we had in our apartment lasted for approximately five minutes, and now it's back to being freezing again. We have discovered that showering here is done in some very distinct steps:

1) Wet hair, turn off shower
2) Shampoo
3) Rinse hair, turn off shower
4) Condition (if you're feeling adventurous)
5) Rinse hair, turn off shower
6) Lather body
7) Rinse, turn off shower

Done. I haven't even attempted shaving my legs yet, that's going to be an experience.

Having the handheld shower-head is quite an experience, as well. It is not one of those handheld ones that you can attach to the wall and shower normally, oh no. The attachment is about shoulder height. But at least the shower is draining properly now, and I'm getting used to the technique.

In other news, today was my first day of classes. I had two: Spanish Advanced B (the highest level I could test into, wooo!) and Creative Writing: Travel and Essay. There are only two people in my Spanish class, which I think is going to be really nice. I'm basically guaranteed to learn and participate. My professor's name is Carmen and she is the same woman I took the placement test with. She said she was very impressed with my Spanish, which made me feel great!

I am in love with my Writing class already. My professor for this one is Colombian, and has been living in Barcelona for 6 years getting his PhD in Humanities. His name is Camilo. He explained travel writing using the Odyssey as an example (Deb, my Myth/Shakespeare professor back home, would LOVE him!). We also talked about the difference between travelers and tourists, which was really interesting. I was grateful for the Anthropology class I just took at RWU because I mentioned egocentrism and cultural bias and he ate it up!

Funny Side Note: During that class, there was a guy cleaning the windows of the classroom. Initially, he was singing, and Camilo had to tell him to be quiet because we were having class. Then, about 45 minutes later, he BROKE a window. He proceeded to yell to us, in Spanish, that we shouldn't worry, it would not be the only window he would break. He then laughed hysterically. Five minutes later, he was patching the hole up with masking tape. WHAT?!

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This past weekend was a lot of fun. We went out for tapas and drinks Friday night, then were planning to go to a club or something after. It started to pour, though, so a bunch of us came back to my apartment and hung out, which was nice. Saturday morning we ventured down to the water to go to the aquarium, which was really fun. Saturday night we went out for tapas again (delicious!) and then went to an Irish pub smack dab in the middle of Barcelona!

My Spanish is improving already, as well. I'm getting more and more comfortable speaking it. Today in the grocery/convenience store, I had a conversation with the cashier about olive oil, of all things. She asked where I was from and commented that my Spanish was very good! It's definitely nice to hear things like that from locals!


Keep reading, and I'll keep posting! Don't forget to check out the millions of pictures I've taken on Facebook (I've tried to post them on here, too, but it hasn't been working).

Hasta luego!

Embarrassing "American" Moments

Thought I'd share a few of the embarrassing moments I've had thus far on the trip:

Hotel Night 2: We were out at a restaurant for dinner and we were drinking Sangria. I was holding my glass perfectly normally. I do not even know how it happened, but the glass fell straight out of my hand down onto my plate, and the bottom part of the glass broke clean off. The waiter came rushing over and I was saying "lo siento" (I'm sorry) over and over again because I didn't know what to do. The staff there were perfectly nice about the whole thing, helped me clean up the mess, and then brought me a full new glass, free of charge. We laughed it off, but I was so embarrassed!

Apartment Night 1: Caroline and I had been having issues all night with the door to get into our apartment building. The first time, we had to call Paula to let us in. The second time, I finally got it open after trying for 10 minutes. Well, we went to the Italian restaurant next to our apartment to grab some food, and when we came back, we were again having issues with the door. This time, however, there were two guys sitting outside the restaurant smoking, and they were laughing hysterically at us. After 5 minutes, one of them came over and asked, in English, if we needed help. He got the door open in about 2 seconds. Turns out he is also studying abroad and is from Iowa, and lives in the apartment above the Italian restaurant. We're probably going to see him all the time. What an embarrassing first encounter. (Note: We have since learned the trick to opening the door, so all is well!)

Bienvenido a Barcelona!

(written at 11:30pm Spain time on 1/26/11, but due to bad internet connection, not posted until now)

Hola familia y amigos! I am now nearing the end of my third full day in Barcelona. It is so beautiful here, and despite the lack of sleep and occasional moments of homesickness and culture shock, I am loving the city thus far.

Everything here is so interesting and beautiful! You walk around and cannot help gaping at everything. My favorite building thus far is a Gaudi one.The architecture is based on a story about San Jordi (Saint George), who slayed a dragon and saved a kingdom. I heard the story in Spanish today and understood it completely, which is a good sign!

My Spanish skills have definitely been put to the test thus far. I can mostly understand people when they talk to me (unless they talk in Catalan, which is a totally different story) but my speaking skills are not quite where I want them to be. I think it's mostly a confidence thing because I can form sentences perfectly in my head, but when I'm put on the spot I stammer and can't remember. That will get better with time and practice.

My apartment is great, I just moved in this morning. I have one other American roommate, her name is Caroline and she is from Nashville. We're both Creative writing majors, which is cool, and we've been getting along great. I have two other roommates: Paula from Argentina and Cristina, who is from about two hours from here! Paula is getting her Masters in English right now, which is great because she can help with my Spanish and I can help with her English. Cristina's family lives under 2 hours from here so she goes home most weekends, but during the week she is taking classes at University of Barcelona.

The apartment is beautiful. We all have our own rooms, which is really nice. My room is huge compared to what I was expecting it to look like! My favorite part is the huge windowed door that goes out to a balcony!

The kitchen is tiny, which is the only major downside. It's tough to fit two people in there at once. We have a little stove top and a microwave. The washing machine is also in the kitchen (no dryer! The Spanish are very concerned with conserving energy and most people don't have dryers. We have a clothesline outside our dining room where we can dry clothes). There are two bathrooms so I only have to share with one person, which is really convenient.

Also convenient is the location. It's about at 20 minute walk or 5 minute bus ride from the Arcadia center where I have most of my classes. We have a shop right across the street that sells bread. One one side of us is an Italian restaurant, so if I ever get a pizza craving, I'm all set! On the other side of us is a store where they sell the basic necessities (milk, snacks, toiletries, etc). There is a giant supermarket just a block away that has really good prices (I got a ton of food for only 17 euros). There is also a shop that sells fresh fruit and veggies for insanely cheap down the street. 

Our landlady is very nice, too. She works a couple blocks away. She doesn't speak any English but she gave Caroline and me a tour of the neighborhood in all Spanish and was very patient with our terrible grammar when we asked questions or made comments. (Sidenote: her phone went off at one point and she has a Jason Mraz song as her ringtone. I told her we were going to get along very well!)

Orientation has mostly consisted of information sessions and tours of the sites as well as practical tours to show us where the best places to eat and shop were near school. Today we went on a tour focused on the architecture of Barcelona followed by churros and hot chocolate (the hot chocolate here is literally melted baking chocolate. Delicious). Tomorrow we are off on a bus-top tour, weather permitting. It is supposed to rain, but we're hoping it holds off until later in the day.

There is still so much to write but I really need to get some sleep, it's going to be another long day tomorrow and I've slept maybe 10 hours in the last 3 nights combined!

Hasta luego. Espero que todo esta bien en los estados! (I'm too lazy to put in accent marks right now, forgive me!)

Nicki

Four days and counting!

My flight to Barcelona is on Sunday! I am getting more excited and more anxious by the minute. I still have a lot to do before I go, which will be my life for the next few days. I've been reading the various travel books and studying the map I got for Christmas. I have my International Student ID Card and the photos I ordered to decorate my apartment arrived today! I still need to finish packing (my packing thus far has consisted of making a pile on the bed in the guest room), deal with my bank account, go to my eye doctor appointment for my new contacts prescription, and pick up some basics at CVS.

Cannot wait for my adventure to begin on Sunday! Estoy lista!


Nicki