Starbucks en Espana? Si, por favor!

So here I am, sipping my Starbucks and sitting in my apartment. I am also drinking some good ol' agua. Those who know me well know that I can never just have one drink at once. :) I actually scored this Starbucks for free. I have been looking everywhere for a travel mug. Well, here en Espana, they don't drink coffee on-the-go, so travel mugs are difficult to come across. Luckily, Starbucks saves the day. Although 9,50euro is a hefty amount to spend on a mug, I decided it would be worth it. It does say "espana" on the side, afterall. I will just take it home! When it gets home, however, I must put a sign on it saying "DO NOT PUT IN DISHWASHER." My parents are infamous for ruining our travel mugs from the dishwasher. So back to the no on-the-go topic. Spaniards don't eat or drink while walking or in class or anything. They sit down and eat and drink and just chill. It's such a...stress reliever. You know? I mean, honestly, not everyone actually "siestas" from 2-5, but they at least chill out. It's a great concept. Why can't Americans learn to just...chill? Honestly. We would be SO much less stressed if we took a 3 hour siesta each day. A lot of stores honor the siesta, 2-5pm is a great time to go back to the apartment, take a nap, watch tv, etc.

Anywho. Yesterday was my first day of class. I was originally signed up for 5 classes, 15 credit hours, but that is obviously way too much. Here, our classes are an hour and a half, twice a week. Five of those are just TOO much. So. I dropped Media & Politics in Western Europe: Spain. It doesn't sound all that interesting anyway. My first class yesterday was International Journalism. My roommate Monica is in it, so we had no trouble finding our way. We then had lunch and took a self-led tour of the gym (I'll get back to that in a sec.).  Then I had my second class of the day, Spanish Civilization and Culture. I really like my professors for those classes...actually, all my professors seem really awesome. Today I had Sport & Culture in Contemporary Spain and Beginning Spanish II.  I really wanted to take as many Spain-esque classes while I was here. I want to learn all about the country I am temporarily living in! My professors are all really young and three of the four are Spanish. I am taking Beginning Spanish II because, although I scored Intermediate on the exam, I didn't want to get ahead of myself. I wanted to review, learn, and try to comprehend everything. Spanish is SO much harder to speak when you are put on the spot. So. That's that.

All last semester I was pretty confident in my Spanish-speaking abilities. I am actually having a tough time using it. It's difficult to think in Spanish. Ya know? A lot of times I have to pause, think, speak. My roommates get frustrated with me because I respond in English, a lot of times, but not because I expect people to understand...it's more like me trying to translate it, in my head. So, I am really working on being able to comprehend and answer in Spanish.

Back to the gym thing. At home, I generally just walk on the treadmill. As we do SO much walking here, I didn't think I would even WANT to join a gym. However, this really nice gym (about 2 blocks from our school) offers a special for CEA students. Not only is it 195e for the entire time we're here, but all the classes are free. Since I am getting my regular exercise in (stairs/walking/etc), I am more interested in the classes: Step, spinning, yoga, pilates, dance, etc. Monica and I both have the same breaks between classes each day, so we might just take a fitness class every day. The more I think about it, the more fun it sounds. We'll see.

So. That's the latest scoop. I am really proud of myself for getting to and from class today, on my own! Again, those who know me well know that I am the most directionally-challenged person alive. Ask my dad. I get lost EVERYWHERE I go, so the fact that I walked 2 miles to school and back without getting lost is pretty great, in my book. I really miss my parents, but luckily I taught them how to use iChat to video chat. It's really funny because they both look down while they are talking to me, like I am on the keyboard or something. Haha. It helps me not miss them as much.

Oh. So originally I wanted to tour all of Europe while I was here. We have already booked London and Paris, but the more I think about it, the more I want to see SPAIN. I mean, I am living here. So I want to just see all of Spain that I can because I don't want to go home regretting not spending enough time in my (temporary) country. So, when Jayme comes, I might suggest we just tour all of Spain? We'll see. Adios, amigos! Muchas gracias por lectura mi blog!

The view from my room:)

Some of Barcelona.

Coca-Cola light. My weakness.

The BEST ice cream bar I've ever tasted. No joke.

My first time using the metro!

A scooter that was basically made for me.

Monica y yo con Barcelona!

Cafe con leche. Seriously, it's amazing.