June 7th-9th
Getting into Barcelona wasn't the easiest of things for us. We didn't plan the best and didn't realize that our flight from Dublin was into Girona, Spain...which is like an hour and a half bus ride into the city. Once we got there, we had no idea where we were and the only directions we had to the hostel were from the Barcelona airport, not the bus station. So anyways, we got in a cab and he didn't really know where it was and then all of a sudden he did and started driving and we started going into the mountains. It didn't help at all that none of us spoke very good Spanish. We thought he was taking us to the middle of nowhere. It turned out that he actually did know where we were going and the hostel ended up being in the mountains in a somewhat nice hostel.
The next day we were able to figure things out better with the help of a girl on the train and made it to the hotel where our program, CIEE, was meeting. We were the first ones there so we were able to check in right away and then rest for a little bit before things got started. P.s. the hotel was unbelievably nice, which was completely unexpected.
After more people got here, we got a chance to meet each other and then we did some ice breaker type games. We also were split up into groups with our "guardian angels" which are just other college kids that live in Spain and were to show us around. With our groups we took a walk, found out where the metro stops we needed to know were, where our classes would be, where the beach is, etc.
Then we came back and I had an amazing dinner. The hotel had a really nice restaurant where we got served a bunch of different appetizer-type things called tapas. I didn't exactly know everything I was eating, but it was good. We sat with one of the guardian angel guys that told us a lot about what to do.
The next day we woke up, had an awesome breakfast at the hotel. We then checked out, had a meeting with the people in charge of the program where we found out our classes and where we're living. Luckily, I got my choice of living in a residencia and I was also lucky that all of my fraternity brothers were staying in the same place. We then took a tour with tour guides of the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona. It was extremely interesting and the architecture is unbelievable. I'll be able to explain most of my pictures when I get home, but on here would just take forever. Then we had another lunch at a very nice restaurant in one of the plazas. I decided to get more Spanish food since I might as well soak in the culture and it was a good choice. I can never remember the name of what I had but I know it was amazing.
We then walked back to the hotel, grabbed our luggage and were off to our new homes. The place that we live in is about 10 blocks from the beach and 2 blocks from the metro that we have to take everyday to go to class. We are not in the best area of town, but nonetheless I still love it. I have my own room including a small desk, tv, and bathroom. Then I share a kitchen at the end of the hall with everyone on my floor. We have our own sections in the fridge and cabinets. Then there are 4 buildings, each split into 2 sections, but on top of the buildings there are pools and areas to sit and hang out. It's really cool.
On Wednesday, we didn't do much. We had our Spanish placement tests and then we took a bus tour. However, it was rainy and hard to understand the tour guide but we got a basic gist of some of the bigger things to see and then we can go there on our own time. Then we were treated to another lunch which was good, but not as good as the ones I had already had. And finally we had free time. We were on our own so we decided to all go home and nap. We had been walking around so much, seen so much, and a lot of people were jet-lagged so ya, we slept.
The rest of my blogs really won't go by and tell you every time I eat lunch and stuff but these were probably going to be some of the best meals that I would eat and I wanted to share how things got started. More to come soon.
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