The Final Descent

Hola guapos,

I apologize for the sparse posting. What everyone told me really was true. You do become very comfortable here right around six weeks in. What a shame because I will be leaving on Saturday. Can you believe it? I am having mixed emotions. I cannot wait to eat American food, see my family and NEVER take the metro again. But I will also miss the smell of fresh bread at the panadería as I walk to school, the laughter filling our humble homestay or the savory taste of goat cheese tapas in my mouth.

So many of my friends warned me that just as you start packing up to leave you realize that you are finally comfortable in the last place that you ever thought you would fit in. You feel confident conversing with strangers, you hardly look up as you switch trains on the metro and you realized less people are giving you the dirty "I know you are a tourist" look. The other day on the metro two girls asked me for directions and were surprised to find out that I spoke English. All I could do was laugh. These girls were me a mere 4 weeks ago. Confused, unsure and homesick. It really is amazing how much one can grow in such a short time. I needed to make some changes, escape some things and grow up. I believe I have accomplished these things, at least in some way, without even realizing I was changing.

This past week I have been busy doing more everyday, normal life type things instead of sightseeing. I think my feet and I have been to just about every tourist spot in the city, (still waiting to go see La Sagrada Familia with mom). Well I lied. On Monday after class I did go see Camp Nou with some friends. Camp Nou might as well be just another chuch worshiped at by the people of Barcelona. Camp Nou is the name of the stadium that the soccer (excuse me fùtbol) club FC Barcelona plays at. I still cannot get over how big it is. Not only did I want to see it, I was also hoping to find a soccer playing husband. Mission not accomplished. No, but seriously it was amazing and I relish at the chance to actually see a game being played there. Imaging sitting among the passionate, drink-fueled Barça fans. This is seriously a religion to these people. Amazing.

One thing that really helped me soldify my role as native and not tourist was the exploraton of my own barrio or neighborhood. I live in Barrio Gracía. Also known as the "hipster are" of town. I love it. Just about a three to five minute walk down the street next to me called Carrer de Verdí are multiple squares filled with bars, restaurants, festivals and locals. Vanessa (my roommate and friend) and I found a great little bar that we frequent pretty often. They serve American nachos and $2 beers. You can't beat it! I love observing the groups of people. Everyone here is about having a good time, enjoying life and spending time with loved ones. There is such a relaxed and appreciative vibe that really puts you in a good mood. I have also been spending a lot of time out on our balcony in the evenings, enjoying the sunset and the cool air. We have actually had some cloudy days here lately and the temperature has dropped a good ten degrees.

As we enter in to our last week, we are experiencing a lot of things for the last time. This was the last weekend we go to spend in Barcelona and the last weekend we will get to be with everyone in our program. So we had to live it up. Friday was spent at the beach. There was not one cloud in the sky and the cool, salty embrace of the Mediterranean could not have felt better. That night the group stumbled upon a street festival and we spent the night drinking pitchers of sangria and sharing memories from the trip.

The events of Saturday might be some of the most ironic things that ever happened to me, really laughable stuff. Everyone had been begging someone to plan a booze cruise fro everyone to go on. We had heard great things about how fun they were, endless drinks and dancing while you cruise the smooth waters of the Mediterranean and take in the exceptional views of the Barcelone coastline. Surprise, I was the one to take it upon myself to plan it. If you know me at all, you know that I am the most planned, OCD person. It really is annoying. So of course I offered to set up the whole thing. After weeks of planning I finally had it all settled. There would be 20 of us taking a two hour cruise complete with beautiful weather, beer, sangria and memories to last a lifetime. WRONG. I was in for some of the most painful hours of my life. Upon arrival we realized the cruise was actually a huge yacht like vechicle and that there would be 140 people total. We were even more excited. This was going to be more fun than we even realized! What we had failed to notice was that it had rained earlier in the day and the waves were extremely choppy. After just enough time for everyone to be finishing their first drinks about 75% of the boat succumbed to the misery that is getting sea sick. Some threw up, while others like myself never left my seat and clutched on to the side taking deep breath after deep breathf or two hours straight. I had never been one to get seasick and I could hardly believe how ironic this was. I was the one to plan the whole thing and yet here I was willing two hours to pass as quickly as possible. At least five people from our group had a wonderful time so that made things a little better, but I pretty much kissed the ground when we were back on dry land. We capped off the night with a reunion on the beach and all hung out late into the evening. All in all it was a solid last weekend.

Sunday was one of my favorite days here in Barcelona. We celebrated our host sister Berta's birthday. The family told us to be ready at six, but we didn't really know what else to expect. What we got was a pleasant surprise. About 15 members of their extended family greeted us with kisses on the cheeks. We felt so welcomed into their family! They danced, laughed and told us stories in a mix of English and Spanish. They even invited us into the family selfie! We were so happy to celebrate Berta. She is the eldest child in the Santos family and has always made us feel at home.

This week I have a lot of school work to get done. My documentary for my film class is due Wednesday as well as my final essay for my politics class. I am getting so restless knowing that my mom will be here Thursday morning! I am so excited. Whenever people ask me my travel plans after the program I always excitedly gush about my mom and our trip to Italy. I am even smiling as I type this now. I will miss my Barcelona life but am also excited to get back home and start life with all of the lesson I have learned and memories I have made.

Hasta luego,

Codes

The group before the boat ride of death

Camp Nou

Our host parents Diego and Paqui