¡Díos mio!

Sooo much has happened since Monday I don´t know where to begin... Although I did talk to Mom last night so I´m sure half the world knows of my adventures by now. :) But here goes...

1. I´m in my homestay! I live in an apartment in a nice part of town about a 20 minute metro ride from the Plaça de Catalunya (the center of the city). My señora´s name is Beatriz, but she goes by Béti. She has a two-year-old grandson who is staying with her while I am here, and also... a dog! Those of you who know me know how ridiculously happy that makes me (But don´t worry, no one can EVER replace Lacey)! The dog is some kind of small mutt, but is cute and is named Nala, like "El Rey León" (The Lion King). Béti is very hospitable and doesn´t speak English.

  But she corrects me all the time when I say something incorrect in Spanish. My room is small, but perfect for me and I´m only about a 15 minute walk from some other people on my program and the residencia where some people are living. ¡Me gusta mucho!

2. EVERYTHING is in Spanish. I didn´t realize how intense my program is, but I think I like it. We started our intensive Spanish class today and we have that for 2 1/2 weeks and then we start actual classes at the university. All of my classes are in Spanish, and almost no one speaks English, except the people on my program. And we try to speak to each other in Spanish also so we can practice. There are a few native speakers on the program, so they help a lot too. But hopefully it will help so that I am at least almost fluent by the time I return to the U.

S.

3. I´m a big girl now! I´ve never lived in a really big city with public transportation, a main square, etc. But I was so proud of myself because I have to walk from my homestay to the metro station, take the metro the center of the city, and walk from the there to the university each morning. And I do it all by myself! It´s so scary at first, but I´m getting used to it already.

4. I haven´t seen all the main sights yet, but we went on tours and saw most of the important historical and architectural sites like Gaudí´s Casa Amatller and Casa Batlló and the Barcelona Cathedral. My favorite is Casa Batlló- look it up online- it´s fantastic. I have yet to see the Picasso Museum, Montjuïc, La Sagrada Familia and more. I´ll upload pictures when I get a chance, but I  don´t know when that will be yet.

5. The food is awesome. And that, for me, is essential. :) The wine is pretty fabulous too. But I´ve been very adventurous with my eating habits. Yes, I´m still a vegetarian but I´ve been eating much more fish and seafood than ever before. Most of it is very chewy (and some are served with all parts still intact), but it´s good! Most restaurants have a "Menú del Día" which includes two courses, a dessert and wine for around 10 euros. It´s a pretty good deal. Tonight we´re going out so I´m excited to explore the nightlife and I´ll be sure to update on that later!

Thanks for reading... ¡Hasta luego!