Living abroad has gone by so quickly, it is hard to believe that I will be leaving in only two weeks now. These first two weeks have been filled with the most fun imaginable, and I still feel like I need more time to explore Barcelona.
So far, we have gone on daily excursions exploring the city with the rest of the CIEE members, going to language classes, and then getting some hours to explore outside on our own before we have to return for the curfew.
One of the most memorable places we visited was definitely La Sagrada Familia for its almost Disney castle appearance with well thought out details. The beautiful colored glass on the inside and the carved figures on the walls are definitely some features that you have to see in real life in order to fully relish them.
I also very much enjoyed going to the port with my friends one day because it reminded me a lot of New York. Although we already went on a CIEE excursion there, they taught us about the history of the port and its commercialism, and we needed more time to simply enjoy it. Something definitely not found in New York are the hamster ball rides offered. They blow up balls that you could go inside of and splash around in water for around five minutes. As childish as it seems, those hamster balls were one of the most fun rides I have been in.
Although I feel homesick sometimes, it has not fully hit me yet, and I doubt it really ever will, because Barcelona is kind of similar to New York. Many of the people I see every day on the metro and in the city are either tourists or immigrants, and instead of pizzerias every two blocks, Barcelona has gelato. Everywhere. I. Look. Not that I am complaining. Sometimes I can look at streets and think that they look like I just wandered into some new neighborhood in Manhattan. Other times, however, the streets look unmistakably Barcelonian, and that is when you can fully appreciate the wonderful architecture.
Although we take language classes for three hours each week day, I feel that most of my language improvement comes from living in a host family and going around the city. As my host grandma does not speak English, I had trouble getting the point across multiple times. For instance, yesterday I was trying to translate jam. I described it. I pointed out its use. I showed similar foods. In the end I had to take out my phone and show a picture. Another time, though, I went to a movie theater here to see Annabelle. The lady at the front of the movie theater reminded us more than once that there would be no English. We really enjoyed the movie and I am proud to say that I could understand everything other than two scenes.
Although Barcelona has a lot of touristy foods not so different from the American classic--burgers and fries, we did get to try some paella (delicious) and some new home-cooked meals. Truthfully, though, when my host family made us pea soup, something that I eat at home in New York all of the time, I devoured it in three seconds.
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