Holes to Heaven: Random International Update (9.9.13)

I have since Saturday morning 1) caught up on sleep and 2) finished buying the things I need in my apartment, but need, as we all know, is a strong word. I have hence deemed a blog update necessary, as the outside familiar pressures to write one seem to have reached a critical mass of some sorts. I have even scrambled together, as best I can, some photographs to document some of what I have done, where I have been, and where I will be. I will avoid "horse captions" at all costs.

Off we go. Like I mentioned, I arrived Saturday morning. I was first of the BC group; excitement, cheering, woohoo. I was quite tired due to the stereotypical crying baby and the not-so-stereotypical young girl who buckled and unbuckled her seat belt non-stop for three hours. Click. Slightly different click. Click. Slightly different click. Click. Slightly different click. For three hours. You catch my drift. Anywhoozle, I collected my conveniently together checked bags at the baggage claim with no troubles and left the terminal to meet our lovely coordinator, Teresa. I had Skyped her this summer (5:30 AM PST) however her video was broken and/or my WiFi was terrible so I only knew her by her choppy static Skype voice and her emails in Spanish. We emailed a lot in Spanish last summer. Picking classes in Spain is not a simple, formulaic formality. No. It is an art. An art I have not mastered. I am currently registered for 5 classes; two economics/business classes (perhaps in English... who knows!), two Spanish literature classes (God forbid in Catalan), and an intensive Spanish grammar class, which I will be beginning tomorrow (Tuesday) morning at 9:30 AM (assuming things start on time here, which, they don't). But I digress. Teresa I met after baggage claim, and I enjoyed a private,chauffeured ride to Melon District apartments (I arrived two hours before everyone else, I'm special read: high maintenance, it would seem).

I napped. From 9:30 to 12:30. It was lovely. The big white bed had pillows and blankets and I napped.

I bought towels. I felt a shower was a good idea. I adventured to Glòries, the local big mall that, I was told by the receptionist as she walked outside and pointed, was "just beyond the big tower over there". So, off I went with the 65€ dad gave me to buy towels, which I did.

That night, 9 of the 10 Boston College students had our first orientation, we met each other, it was all very nice. One student was delayed in Heathrow for a day. How unfortunate that must have been. We ended up meeting three other BC students from another university in Barcelona for dinner, which we had at a nice place by the water (there was a big dock with sail boats outside). I ate some muscles; I am still unsure how I feel about this.

Sunday was Sunday. Everything is closed, people do even less than what they normally do. I woke up at 2:00 PM after 14 hours of sleep and went for a run along the beach. It is gorgeous. I'll take a camera next time I go for a walk down there. Truly stunning. AND may I just mention that it rained for the first two days? We were all told quite sternly that "It never rains in Barcelona" by many people who live here. It was almost as though they were embarrassed by the poor weather. Like they were somehow personally responsible for the good weather and our derived enjoyment from it in their city. Not much else to say about Sunday. We wandered around the cool gothic area of Barcelona (El Born).

Today, Monday. We are almost caught up. A few of us BC kids met for breakfast around 9:00 AM before going over to Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF from now on) to take our Spanish language placement test. Somehow I am in the "native speaker" class. Which a horrendous mistake. My grammar is quite rusty. And the test was written. I think it must be my level relative to the other BC students. Not sure. Anyways, that class is tomorrow, which I think I mentioned earlier. After the test, we had another meeting with Teresa about school and classes at UPF. But she was 45 minutes late, so Bradon, Peter, and I walked around the Plac de la Ciutadella, a big park and zoo right beside the school.

So, we have these hotel-like cards to swipe into the building. But also these cards turn our rooms on and off. The lights won't turn on until the card is in its slot by the door.

A lovely bathroom. It is so white. I hope I can keep it that way. The small brown shag carpet was one of those things you buy, which afterwards makes you think "Yes. I sure did a good job buying that particular thing."

Mi casa. That's my laundry bag in the corner. Fun story: the Ronaldinho jersey was lost for a year and half with Pat's friend up in Maine. He tracked it down, we are happily reunited in Barcelona.

For the record: the bed is much bigger than I was expecting, the room a little smaller.

One of my lovely ladies. Those handles under Clint Dempsey are my closet doors.

Ah, the other lovely lady. Rita. We have a TV. I shan't be using that too often.

Can anyone say rooftop pool? If I'm bored I go up here and meet random people. It's like an OnDemand new people finder app.

The view from my lounge/kitchen room is quite nice. That is the Sagrada Familia over yonder with the cranes. I have not been there yet. But I will.

Stopped by the local semi-pro club today. They took my name and contact information and position and experience playing and should get back to me soon. However, I'll probably end up bothering them every day in person until I get to go to a practice.

Parc de la Ciutadella

Building on right: before restoration. Building on left: after restoration. The university is expanding, but the owners of the building on the right are being stubborn. Le sigh.