This is my first time blogging (or doing anything of the like, for that matter) so I'm not exactly sure how things are going to turn out. In any case, I figure this will be a hell of a lot easier than telling 50 different people the same story over and over again.
Since everybody seems to have the same initial questions, I'll go ahead and answer those first.
¿How are you liking Barcelona? (yeah, I put upside-down question marks before questions. ¿You wanna fight about it?)
So far it's pretty ridiculous. I've only recently begun grasping the notion that I'll be here for the next four months. Every day I feel a little less like I'm on vacation. I can honestly say that these have probably been the longest 9 days of my life. Not in the "God I'm so bored" sense, but in the "Holycrapthereswaytoomuchtodoaroundhere" sense. Days have been freakishly long as there's many places/things/people to see and much exploring (intentional and unintentional) to be done.
¿How are the kids from your program/roommates?
Thank God, I've yet to have a negative experience with any of the kids from the program. Granted, you all know that I'm ridiculously shy when it comes to strangers, so I can hardly say I've spoken/interacted with enough people to really gauge this, but everyone seems to be very friendly and sociable. Of the 40 or so kids in my program, about 30 are either from California, or go to school there, so it's a bit of a culture shock for me.
My roommates are awesome. Enough said. I live with two girls (Sarah -from LA, goes to Berkley; Lauren -from Orange County, goes to UC Irvine), and one guy (Alex -from Orange County, goes to UC Irvine).
¿How´s your apartment?
My apartment is pretty sweet. It's spacious, fully furnished, and doesn't have any rats or roaches as far as I know, which is all that really matters. The only complaint I have is that my mattress is absurdly soft and its center is caved in. Basically if I'm sleeping on the edge, it's inevitable that I'll be rolling down to the middle within a matter of seconds. Serves me right for being the bastard that stole the big room.
¿How's the weather?
It's a lot colder than I had initially expected, although it's still not too bad. The temperature probably ranges from 40 to 55 degrees. A Jacket and scarf are plenty to keep warm at night.
¿How's the food?
Other than the occasional dog crap strewn sidewalks and the retarded dollar-euro conversion rate, this is my only gripe about Barcelona. This is not to say that the food is bad, but that seemingly everything has some traces of pork in it. Basically, I've been living off of croissants, bananas, and fried potato chunks (Patatas Bravas) for the past 9 days. As soon as I'm able to translate menus better, I'm sure this will become less of an issue.
¿Have you met any locals?
Kind of. My roommate Alex played club soccer with a Spaniard, Marc, who completed his masters in the States at UC Irvine. We hang out with him quite a bit, which is cool because (a) he's a born and bred Barcelonian, and (b) he's a great resource to have when it comes to adjusting to life here, and for any questions we may have.
Unfortunately, it's not that easy to befriend other locals, namely because we don't interact with them that often (other than at shops, etc.). Since all of our classes are with solely international students (100+ Americans, a dozen or so Germans, a few other Europeans, and a handful of Chinese), there's pretty much no possibility of meeting locals through school, which is a bit of a bummer.
Anyway, if you guys have more questions or ideas for stuff for me to write about, let me know...
Oh, and if you want to see some of the pictures I've taken so far, check my facebook.
(My room)
5 comments:
Good to hear from you, and that you got to catch a match. Did you get around to buying a jersey? If so, which one did you end up getting?
Anyway, I'll talk to you later.
Ozzie, you could have at least made your bed!
I don't believe in making beds. Unless one is at someone else's house there is absolutely no logical reason to do so. The sole purpose of a bed is for sleeping and maybe sitting; linens are meant to be ruffled, and thus there is no advantage gained by making them appear prim and proper. A cluttered desk or floor acts as an impediment, while a messy bed cannot possibly cause a hindrance.
In case you didn't realize or already know, I feel very strongly about this. Making beds is for the weak. I have no time for such tomfoolery.
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