Friday was an interesting night for sure. We went out with some Spanish guys that showed us some local bars on las ramblas. They spoke English really well but they couldn't understand what I meant when I said "I wanted to try a churro" just because I couldn't roll my r's. Apparently that makes a huge difference. Damn tongue. Me Maddie and Kristen then went to Shoko where there were a ton of international students there. We met an Australian and two Brazilian guys and they were more forward than the Spaniards here. Needless to say we dipped out of that situation. Gross.
Saturday, me Alli Rachel and Kristen went exploring in Parc Guell. It was absolutely gorgeous. We walked up the steepest hill I've ever seen to get there but it was definitely worth it. The views were incredible. We spent a lot of time at the top of the mountain taking in the scene and observing a very fat stray cat that was chillin up there. Had to convince Alli not to steal it and bring it home with us. We then walked around more of the park and did extremely touristy things, such as take pictures of everything, solo shots, and asking random foreigners to take pictures of us. Needless to say it was a pretty touristy day. On our way back from the park, we stopped in a shop with a lot of Barca jerseys, so we were seeing if we could get a good deal. I wasn't planning on buying anything, but I was just seeing how cheap I could get a jersey for. I have never seen such pushy salespeople in my life. I was looking at a jersey and they were basically trying to take my money. After awhile I got pretty angry with them and basically said to step off and I was leaving. On our way out, they tried to tell Alli that they would sell her a jersey for 2 euro if she came over that night. Needless to say we felt we barely escaped with our lives. On our way back, we stopped at a little cafe to get lunch. Me and Kristen wanted to try the pizza, and we thought they were individual sizes. Welp. We were wrong. We both ordered Margarita pizzas and they were huge. We were both a little upset that we paid 10 euro each for them when we coulda just split one. Rookie mistake. Luckily, I got to take half of it home and I made it for lunch the next day. I then skyped about 3 people and booked the Amalfi Coast trip with Bus2alps. It was a pretty productive day.
Saturday night was a little bit of a blur. We started out at the apartment, and then went to a bar promoted by none other Michael Jordan right next to Catwalk. Free wine and 2 euro drinks. Me and Rachel talked about modern family for a good hour, and how we wanted to find our own Phil Dunphee's of the world. Talk about the perfect husband. Then, we went to Catwalk and met some British people in line. They were all really cool, and I remember that one of them kept saying that he wanted to lick our faces.... Kinda strange. We enjoyed the multiple floors of Catwalk and decided to call it a night early. Me and Rachel then took a cab home, where "Hit Me Baby One More Time" came on the radio and we high fived. I wrapped up the night listening to the Illinois hockey game online and passed out. These time differences are so weird.
Sunday we got up around noon and decided to go to the beach for the day. It wasn't super warm out, but warm enough to go sit on the beach and hang out. I ended up siesta-ing for about an hour, it was a long night before, and got a little bit of sun. We then all went back to the apartment and siesta-ed some more. I swear I do not get enough sleep in this country. At 9, we then went up to the 6th floor and had dinner with our neighbors who are also in IES. We were all super impressed with their cooking skills (and we thought we were doing well, but apparently we all suck at cooking in comparison). They made us croquetas (a spanish tapa), patatas bravas (also a spanish tapa), garlic bread, pasta, and lots of wine. They even tried to make us flan, which was a huge fail but they managed to kind of make a dish out of it? Either way it was really cool to meet other guys on the program and one of them even goes to Illinois! I'm excited to meet people that I'll be able to keep in touch with and see again after the program. After being there way after quiet hours we all came back down to the apartment and did some homework (who knew?)
Monday was quite a long day of classes. 9 AMs here are horrible and I don't understand how I did it for the first two years of college. I was blessed last semester with 12 pm starts everyday. Although, during our 30 minute break during my 3 hour Spanish class me and Leah wandered around our classroom building and found a lot of really cute clothing stores. JACKPOT. We both decided it was not in our best interest to find these shops but then we decided it was ok because all of them have huge sales until the end of January. Needless to say, we will be doing some shopping tomorrow during our break. (bad news bears).
Monday after classes got over with I siesta-ed some more, typical, and met up with Julia and Lauren (a bus2alps rep) at George Payne to try and figure out some trips for the rest of the semester. George Payne is a huge Irish bar here in Barca that is known for having American food and American sports games (two nights ago they played both playoff games, and apparently it was packed. too bad I don't give a SHIT about either team in the Superbowl this year). I ordered a burger and fries, and a beer. Still haven't gotten used to the fact that they never card here, and that I'm of legal age. So weird. After someone's failed attempt to get me to stay out, I went home and did homework the rest of the night. This is seriously the longest I've gone without going out while being in Barca. I'm not used to this at home where I go out twice a week. I need a break!
My classes today have been reallllllyyyyy cool so far. I love my international marketing class. It's nice too because I've learned a lot of this stuff already. A good refresher from last semester. However, it's supposed to deal more with global markets, which will be really cool to see. After class I came home and made myself a caprese salad and pan con tomate for lunch (so euro). I'm getting antsy for my Business of Sport in Europe class. I did readings for it last night and I didn't want to stop. It's exactly what I want to do with my life. Hopefully it could land me a job with the Penguins after all the knowledge I've gained from the class!
Speaking of jobs, I have a Skype interview with Starcom tomorrow! I'm extremely nervous and very excited for the opportunity. After seeing their recruiting presentation on campus last semester I was sold. I'm praying I get the internship because if I don't live in Chicago this summer I might lose my mind.
Wish me luck! Hasta luego!
No comments:
Post a Comment