irconvalentia

[irconvalentia]

On Rocky Roads (Dublin & Rome)

This post is about traveling! A few weeks ago, Ana and I had a very smooth and successful trip to Dublin. While it is an expensive city to begin with, I think we definitely overpaid for the flights and airbnb, but it was all so perfect and easy and pleasant that I think that’s okay for a first independent trip for two people who are still figuring out all the logistics of international travel. 

Dublin was beautiful and so so green. It was the perfect mix of old and new. I loved the river and the bridges, the old cobblestone streets, and the plethora of pubs. We did the Guinness Storehouse (guinness is really as different as they say here, unbelievably smooth, very drinkable for someone who doesnt even like beer), St Stephen’s Green, Trinity College, and ran around Grafton Street and the Temple Bar area for hours looking at the shops, watching performers, eating fish and chips (amazing) and getting a feel for the city itself. I think we were able to do a lot in two days for making no real plan in advance, and our Airbnb host was the sweetest old irish lady named Grainne (Grawn-yah). 

The second night, we met a friend of Ana’s at a pub in the Temple Bar area, and watched live acoustic music for hours while I drank cider beer and sang along. He played all our favorites without request, and imagine my surprise when I had to stop dead mid-sentence to shout along to Country Roads. His rendition of Teenage Dirtbag stayed stuck in our heads for days. Such a fun experience there. 

*****

Traveling to Rome was  rockier experience for sure, but Karen and I figured out how to adjust and make the most of it very quickly. We were scheduled to fly from Barcelona to Rome at 7:00 am on friday, landing at 9:00. We got to the airport and through security very smoothly, boarded the flight and started dozing before takeoff. As i woke up just enough to realize we were taxi-ing down the runway about to go, we felt a quick jolt and the plane veered sharply to the left. We waited, concerned, for a long time before the flight attendants told us there was a problem with one of the wheels and the flight would be cancelled. The next hour came with confusion and concern until we eventually realized we were low on the priority list and would not get another flight out until late that night, robbing us of an entire day--half our whole trip--and requiring us to pay for a taxi into the city (the busses stop running at 11) and a late fee at the airbnb, because our old italian host would have to cross town to let us in at 1am. 

Karen and I took the day stuck in Barcelona to cross more things off our list there -- a trip to the Bunkers, churros, and a hefty nap that we needed after being up from 4-12.We went back to the airport in good spirits after reading about many other people who were able to see Rome in a single day, excited and up for the challenge. We used a free dinner voucher that Vueling had given us, and finally boarded and flew into Rome. 

The next day, we made a loose itinerary and got started early. We went to the Roman Forum, Climbed the Palatine Hill, and ran around inside the Coloseum. Next, we took the metro to the outside of Vatican City and stopped for lunch. I had the most amazing pasta--fettuccine with cream sauce and porcini mushrooms, and Karen had 5 cheese gnocchi (also delicious). This was a bucket list item checked. 

Next, we bought a guided tour to skip the line into the Vatican, and saw the Museums, the Sistine Chapel, and inside St. Peter’s Basilica. Our tour guide was a woman named Chiara, from a small town close to Rome, and she was excellent. She knew and greeted all the guards in the museums and gave us a lot of good information. 

*

“So if I asked you about art, you’d probably give me the skinny on every art book ever written. Michelangelo, you know a lot about him. Life’s work, political aspirations, him and the pope, sexual orientations, the whole works, right? But I’ll bet you can’t tell me what it smells like in the Sistine Chapel. You’ve never actually stood there and looked up at that beautiful ceiling; seen that.“ 

For some reason, this quote really stuck in my head as soon as we decided to go to Rome. This was something I really wanted to see. Inside the Sistine Chapel, you have to follow a strict code, there is no talking, and you are not allowed to tae pictures. This made me really appreciate and feel the experience of being in there. The works on the ceiling were incredible enough, but just the presence of being in there was something very hard to describe. To me, it smelled like old library books and fresh air. 

*

Another note on Rome, the only way I know to describe it is huge. Everything we saw was built on such a massive scale I couldnt believe it. The Basilica, The Colosseum, the Vatican itself, i couldn’t believe the massive amounts of human labor had to go into building it, the tons of stone, the time spent on detail. It was really something like I have never seen before. Very awe-inspiring, which I suppose is what religious buildings are meant to invoke as places of greater belief. 

After the Vatican, we got some gelato, and went back to the airbnb for a quick nap to gear up for the last half of our day. We woke up refreshed and got dinner --ravioli for me, lasagna for Karen, and the most incredible bruscetta and sweet wine I’ve ever had. I have been trying to force myself to like tomatoes for years, but these were a whole new level of flavor I fear I’ll never encounter again. After dinner, we went to the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish steps, then wandered around the city streets and found more Gelato. We ended our night with second dinner- Margerita Pizza and fancy cocktails at a place called “Bramble” with a very kind, very stereotypical old italian host. We made our way back and got a few hours sleep before waking up to catch a 7am flight back into barcelona. 

Both these trips were absolutely incredible, and both taught me a lot of travel and about the city’s I had only read about before. I’m so excited for my next two trips, Krakow and London, and for everything I will see and do there. I wish I could keep traveling forever. 

[irconvalentia]

On Wanderlust!

Today is Halloween, which is my official halfway point on this wonderful adventure. Events of the past week have included a return to the bunkers, a trip up to the Castle of Mont Juic, making my first American friend, and discovering the most beautiful, cheapest tapas bar in all the land (shout out 100 Montaditos and Desperados Tequila-Beer)

As I’m at the halfway point, I’m realizing how fast everything is moving and how little time i have left here, relatively speaking. While before I had only been in one country, I have now been to Spain and Ireland, and by the end of November I will have been to two more, as I will venture out to visit Karen in Poland in a few weeks and we are traveling together to Italy this weekend. 

Ana and I are planning on planning (ha) another trip this afternoon, maybe two. We have talked about going to Portugal and to Berlin together, so hopefully flights will work out. I also have like 6 more countries I want to go to, but those may have to wait. I would love to go with my mom’s family to Slovakia, and then maybe around to the other eastern-European cities like Budapest, Vienna, Prague, and Bratislava.

I really am so excited and feel so lucky to have had enough time and money to be able to make the most of my time here and see different parts of Europe. I really never imagined that I would get such an opportunity while I was so young, and I hope this is just the maiden voyage of a very long career of traveling and seeing new parts of the world. 

I’m also starting to feel more comfortable in my skin here I think. And living in this huge city has made me hopeful about my ability to adapt to a big American city like DC or NY when I venture off to either work or go to grad school. The idea of a gap year sounds more and more appealing as I realize how little I know about myself and what I want to do. I learn new little pieces of both of those every day, but I don’t think come May i’ll be certain enough to make a big move like choosing a masters program. 

I’m also so incredibly happy I get to come home to be with my family for Christmas. While its been a great experience of personal growth and forging new self-reliance and independence, I don’t know how I’d fair with being this far away for any longer than I am going to be now. And to see my friends for New Years and welcome a new semester and a new future in 2018 is going to be not only a beautiful metaphor, but I anticipate one of the happiest reunions I will ever experience. 

Being long distance from all the people I care about has really proven to me who cares to put in the effort and work with the time-change and who does not. Me and Maddie are only an hour apart now, which has been so amazing and I’m so thankful for that, and also so sad that she won’t be back in the US when I get there. My mom and dad have been so supportive and loving from an ocean away, and always answer my morning messages even at 3 or 6 am. 

Corey is the one who i expected to be better, but that has completely fallen apart. I think it is probably for the best though, as I dont know if it ever wouldve worked with the distance and I think we are just very different people and at the end of the day, not the right fit, although i miss him and still care about him very much. Tito, Natalie, Frank, Ashley, and James have all also been super sweet and good about staying in touch, and the little check-ins from them make all the difference on days when i feel very alone. 

This blog took a very unorganized turn, so with that I leave three things

1. I want to go everywhere

2. I am so lucky to have the people I care about in my life

3. I am so lucky to have had this opportunity

[irconvalentia]

On Being Out of My Element

This week has been hard. The same way that every week has been really, but the fact that my Spanish level is so low is really starting to get to me in a way it hadn’t before I was fully into the rhythm of classes. 

I don’t really know what I thought it would be like before I got there. I guess there would be Spanish classes low enough at my level that I could handle, but that is not the case. I am in “Intermediate” Spanish- the lowest level offered here, with students from around Europe who have been taking intensive Spanish for the past few years, most who study languages as their major. 

This really makes me realize how much I had taken for granted always being at the highest level in my classes, both in comprehension and performance. Here i always feel anxious to go to class, and embarrassed when I don’t understand what the teacher says, what the assignment is, or how to communicate what I want to say. And this isn’t sometimes, this is every day I go to class. The intermediate spanish and the english>spanish translation sessions are the worst, but even in the Spanish>English translation section and the Structure of Languages class I feel out of water, like I shouldn’t be there at all. 

I really wish WVU would’ve explained the lack of language requirement for this program. Had I known how hard it was going to be to get into any english-taught courses, I wouldn’t picked a different program or found another way around it to avoid the situation i’m in right now. Not only do I not understand any of what I’m supposed to be learning, but if I did it wouldn’t be relevant to anything I’m planning for the future, or even for my degree on paper.

I really enjoyed learning spanish at different times in my educational career. genuinely, i think its a super interesting language thats useful and compelling, but since i’m drowning in a class so far above my level, i’ve lost all will to learn and all hope of improvement. And it feels bad, because all my other friends abroad are really improving their language skills in big ways, but they’re also there for entire years. Three months in difficult classes is not long enough to improve significantly regardless, and i know i wont have the resources or time to continue practicing or learning when i return home, so really i cant seem to find a point to worrying so much about this. 

However, I have spent my whole life dwelling on academic success, reaching for it, meeting requirements, performing and producing what was expected of me, and making teachers generally happy with what i knew and what i learned. It makes me sad to be so frustrated with the classes here, and I feel like i came in massively underprepared. If OIP had told me that i needed a certain level to stay afloat in these classes, i would’ve studied every week of the summer to prepare myself, but they told me nothing, and i did nothing, and now i’m going to struggle for the next 7 weeks and deal with the self-loathing that accompanies the poor academic performance of perfectionists. 

That said, in every other realm of this experience, i feel like i’ve learned a lot. 

[irconvalentia]

On the Homefront: #MeToo

I originally wrote this post for Facebook, but all things considered, this seems a more appropriate space to post it unedited and unhindered. 

When i was no older than twelve, I was walking around my neighborhood with my friend in the summer. A man that had to be at least in his forties pulled up next to us in a car and said "you girls could stop traffic" and several other suggestive things until we walked in the other direction. 

I remember thinking it was our fault, that our shorts had to be too short, or our v-necks too low, to have provoked the unwanted attention. I remember being scared that we would be followed, and ashamed to tell anyone because I thought we had done something wrong. We didn't go out walking there for the rest of the summer. 

This was only my first encounter with inappropriate and unwanted attention from a man. While it breaks my heart to read all the terrible experiences of women who have experienced so much worse than I have, it gives me hope to see the courage and strength of those coming forward to shed light on these terrible things that are systemic and omnipresent in our society. 

At school in Morgantown, and in every city i’ve ever walked at night, I have experienced the jeering, yelling, cat-calling, and whistling more times walking alone than i can count. I have had cars stopped at cross walks wave me on to walk past just to honk at me and make me jump when i reach the front of their car. I have been dancing with men in the club who have wrapped their arm around me neck from behind to try to pull me backwards into them. I have had men force their numbers or snapchat names into my phone. And none of this was surprising when it happened, just disappointing. 

In America, I always carry pepper spray walking home. Not just in my purse. Not in my pocket. But with my hand on the button. Any man i see is automatically assumed a threat. 

Here, my roommate was so surprised to learn that I had brought pepper spray with me, because he didn’t even think it was legal here, and it is not a common thing to have. Most people here seem to mind their business. No one has ever said anything inappropriate  to me while i was walking alone, day or night. People here mind their business and expect you to do the same. Men on the street don’t treat you like an object to be yelled at, interrupted, or impeded. 

I have never felt unsafe here. At home, it is assumed that i will feel unsafe any time I chose to leave the house alone at night. I am reading stories of hundreds of people who have experienced the same guilt, fear, and doubt about sexual assault and abuse. I knew that there were not uncommon things. I knew that every woman has experienced some degree of sexual harassment. But to see it all come out like this; I just hope it will be enough to finally enact some power-shift of change. 

[irconvalentia]

On Politics

My first thought upon delving into Catalonia/Spain politics and learning about the complex political and social histories that accompany them was about how refreshing it was to think critically about a different set of players after 8 months of american bafflement and frustration. 

Though I have spent many hours talking with news international friends about Trump and the American political system, I love hearing different perspectives on the current state of local politics here, because I learn something new each time.

Basically in summary, from my understanding: Catalonia is a region with a very distinct regional culture, language, and identity. It is populated with people who are very proud of their heritage, who share a very powerful camaraderie, and who at the very baseline, want to be heard by the Spanish government. 

For reasons more complicated than what I could summarize here, Catalonia wants to become an autonomous nation. Through the past decade, tensions have been rising and the people of Catalonia seem to feel increasingly stifled and oppressed by the government of Spain. As one of the more prosperous regions in the country, Catalonia is an asset that Spain is not keen to let go of, and at the root of the problem is money. Catalonia pays more money to Spain’s government than they receive back in benefits. As the Spanish government is in debt, they cannot afford to lose this money. But to say this would be to far understate the complexity of the issue, the histories that make people care about it so much, and reasons why it is so significant today. 

Legally, Catalonia cannot succeed without consent from its parent state because Spain’s constitution describes it as an united, indivisible state. 

However, Catalonia’s referendum vote for independence insinuates otherwise. This bold political strategy of disobedience and the fervor with which it is discussed and executed in the region seems to be the reason why Spain has responded with such stifling force. While technically they have the legal paperwork on their side, Catalonian separatists seem to operate on a pretty loose-cannon ideology, so now one knows what a declaration of independence from them would actually look like, if it can happen, and what aspects of life here would be affected. 

On Logistics:

With banks and other companies pulling out of Catalonia, and members of the EU condemning the separation, it is hard to imagine that Catalonia would be better off as its own independent state. While it is one of the wealthiest and most prosperous regions of Spain, with Barcelona as its central hub, I don’t know that independence would bring the freedom and autonomy that Catalans want without bringing some severe political side effects that could dampen their potential for growth and prosperity. 

Since this would obviously be a very lengthy political process, I would not think i would see all the effects of how an actual declaration of independence here. And one way or another, I do not see the government of Spain allowing it to happen. 

On the Core: Votarem

From my observations over the past month, from the day I got here on Diada, to today, when in an hour the president of Catalonia is supposed to make a statement on moving forward with independence, for me observing at a personal level, it has never seemed to be about independence itself. 

The people of Catalonia have been downtrodden for the past century, and since Franco’s dictatorship only ended in the 70s, not even 40 years ago, many Catalans alive today remember very well what it was like to live in a country where your language, flag, anthem, and culture was banned. 

For this reason, Catalonia wanted to organize to be heard. They wanted to vote, officially, and to decide for themselves what their future would hold. They want dialogue with Spain, which does not seem to be happening at all, but more than anything else they wanted to participate in a democracy about their own future.

To me, it seemed many Catalans wanted the right to vote for independence, symbolic or otherwise, more than they wanted to actually separate from Spain. When Spain responded to this peaceful, organized, democratic event with military-style police, injuring over 800 people, I believe that gave many symbolic voters a heightened passion to call for an actual separation from the oppression and violence demonstrated that day. to me, the call from Rajoy to incite violence in the face of peace, while on message with his notion of keeping Spain in tact, did nothing but harm innocents and give Catalonia a further cause to want out. 

In my opinion, if he had let the vote go uninterrupted, then denied the independence on a constitutional basis and escalated negotiations based on whatever Puigdemont did after the vote, senseless violence could have been spared, passions would not have risen against Spain, and the whole thing may have quietly faded.

The key problem here seems to be that there is no communication happening between Rajoy and Puigdemont, leaving both on different pages, at odds, with entire populations protesting and yelling to be heard, at politicians who (on one end or another) cannot sit and negotiate. 

[irconvalentia]

Weeks 1 & 2: Rollercoaster Summary

I have officially been here for almost three weeks now, and found it hard to blog about individual days for several reasons. First, because many of them ended up blending together because time works strangely here in Barcelona, and two, I found my feelings about everything happening changing over the hours, so in a few words, I really didn’t know what to write. 

I suppose the most noteworthy things about these few weeks is that I started going to meet-up events to try to meet some people and make friends. I went to meetings in the park, on the beach, and at the cultural events of La Merce, and met people from all over the world, but found i am more the type thats going to try to have some real sort of conversation than one that will make their way around every group. 

I have met people from the UK, italy, germany, bulgaria, poland, australia, and a slew of several other random countries, but funny and surprisingly enough--no other americans (or even a stray canadian!) have yet to cross my path. In a way I think this is good because i have nothing from home to latch on to, which forces me to branch out more and really know people from from other places, and in practice the english and australians are close enough culturally, but i have never really been the only one of anything, so fro that reason, i do feel kind of like an island here, with no one to really parallel experiences with. 

So, there have been more people in the day to day, but i feel like my initial run-around attempts to see everything have kind of trailed off a bit. I went to the bunkers at Mount Carmel and Mont Juic with a friend from England, where we shared both a bottle of Sangria and a few genuine hours of conversation along with the best high views of the city. I had my first tapas experience with Pietro from Italy and Nuria from UPF’s buddy program -- amazing conceptually and definitely more to come on this front. While not a lot of food and definitely not the most efficient way to dine, i love the variety of choice that comes with tapas, and it feels like its really focused on flavors and novelty which is a really fun switchup from all the other options. 

Speaking of food, I have established a pattern of pre-made separated salads and boilable filled pastas that I’m going to need to break very soon because it is getting dull - but, better than the chocolate filled muffins i ate my first two days here. (progress acknowledged)

Other notable moments events attended have included the pyromusical at Mont Juic, fireworks at the beach, the castellers and giants at Placa St Jaume, concerts at the beach (after which i walked in the mediterranean for the first time at 3 am-quite a moment, the sea was so warm and the stars and city lights were incredible, something i will not forget).

Since some days have been so full of activity, it leaves the ones that are not feeling kind of lonely and sad. Lots of people are obsessed with the club scene here, which may be fine if i give it a chance, but mostly just makes me feel out of place and uncomfortable. if the right moment comes, i may try, but for now i’ll leave it to the others. 

Classes have also been pretty messy to deal with. My first day I attended two lectures. The first, intermediate spanish, was where i discovered how low my level actually is comparatively, which was disappointing and embarrassing, but in the end, this is where i go to learn spanish, so i will keep trying here. The second was a two hour lecture in geography, history, and politics of catalonia all in spanish-- overwhelming in the sense that i could barely stay afloat, and left with a bad headache and the urge to cry. 

This class has since been dropped and i’m angry at OIP for noting that their was no language requirement for this program when our agreement is only with their faculty of Translation and Interpretation--where it is nearly impossible to find 2 classes in english, let alone a whole semester full. I have since added a random humanities course in english (the only one with open slots) and am on the wait list for several comm courses that are english taught that i am not likely to get into. I guess this is going to be a light semester when i drop my other Spanish taught class after monday. 

In sum, i am doing okay. the up and down has been hard but the good days outweigh and outnumber the bad ones, so hopefully when i get settled in to a class schedule things will get even easier, and then i can keep learning and adjusting and feeling comfortable with where i am. 

[irconvalentia]

First Solo Exploration

Today I am thankful for UPF’s Buddy program and my assigned buddy, Nuria. We’ve been in contact since about two weeks before I flew over and she is so sweet and engaging. Funny enough she says she has a passion for American culture so we had plenty to talk about, and today we met for the first time and got breakfast together (hot chocolate at a small cafe near Placa Catalunya). As I was told before but had never experienced, hot chocolate in Spain is not like our American sweet, powdery, watery potion, but instead, basically unsweetened melted chocolate, perfect for the dipping and coating of churros (or in my case, spongecakey, angelfood/ladyfinger-like pastries ; picture below) 

After she had to take off to get on with her day, I decided to take advantage of my positioning and walk around Placa Catalunya. I have a running list of general things I need to buy in the next week to become a normal person again (febreeze, tape, detergent, etc)  so I checked out FNAC (completely wrong choice for what i was looking for), and then after taking the escalator up three floors, spent no less than 10 minutes walking in circles trying to find my way back down (hidden behind the checkout counter- evil genius!) 

After that, I walked a circle around the Placa, took photos of some elegant statues and flowers, and took several pictures of tourists upon their request. 

BUT the coolest part of this morning was before breakfast when I arrived in our meeting place 20 minutes early, and found a bench on which to stop sweating and drink some water (Evian, which I thought was only for that rude lady from The Parent Trap). A few minutes in, a girl maybe a few years older than myself approached me and started speaking to me in Spanish, asking if I spoke Spanish (No hablo mucho espanol, lo siento, es solamente mi tercer dia en la ciudad), if I knew where we were (La Placa Catalunya), and if I knew if she was headed in the right direction for X metro station (yo no se sabe, lo siento). 

After this and me feeling embarrassed for the brokenness and lackluster pronunciation, I stopped understanding exactly what she was saying, but she asked me what country I come from and i told her Estados Unidos, I heard excitement between the words “Imposible - Bonita - Cara Rosa - Bronceado!” 

Thank you, kind young Spanish speaker, for thinking i was anything other than completely american, whatever vibe I gave you that said “local” i will try to keep it up. 

After La Placa, I decided to test my initial success from taking the metro from my home stop (Bac de Roda) to this area (Passeig de Gracia) and venture to Universitat Pompeu Fabra’s Campus de Ciutadella, where I needed to go to pay for a crash course I signed up for in Catalan Culture and after quite  bit of wandering and starting at directories, I did. From there, I went to check out la Vila Olimpica, and my god I have never encountered such wonderful-smelling seafood. I will definitely be returning once I get on a normal eating schedule. 

Next, because of how easy and close it looked on the metro map, and decided to check out Sagrada Familia and be all toursit-y. Since the metro stop is literally right beneath the church, walked up the stairs and popping out on to the street beside this magnificent building reminded me a lot of the Eastbound entrance to Pittsburgh through the Fort Pitt tunnels, surreal and scenic in the most overwhelming way. (pics!) I did a lap around the church and considered my options, and felt to wearied from my earlier social interactions, and decided on McDonalds for something familiar--and I found since this is a tourist heavy area they have electronic ordering boards (one-upped Sheetz kiosks because they have a card machine too so you can even pay without talking to a real person!) I am somewhat embarrassed about this because I should’ve just braved a local deli and gotten over my lack of confidence in speaking to get food that was actually good. Tomorrow is another day and I will try again. 

 Another note--what i assume is in response to the recent attack--military style police in packs of three manned every side of the square. I dont know if this would make my parents feel safer about me being there because they’re prepared, or less safe because they feel its necessary. 

From here, to Clot metro, just to see, but I found by this point my feet had begun to hurt, so after 10 minutes on a bench, I hoped back on the metro and returned to Bac De Roda. (With a T-10 metro card, boarding again on a journey within 75 minutes only counts as one swipe!) 

Lessons of the day:

1. Fake it til you make it still applies here

2. Be patient with yourself 

[irconvalentia]

Travel & Trial By Fire (11.12.17)

El viaje

I am here! The past 48 hours have felt absolutely surreal, partly due to lack of sleep and food. But, as of now, several first have been accomplished: first solo flight, first international flight, first solo taxi, etc etc etc.

Navigating the airport was easier than I thought (this was weirdly my biggest cause of stress initially) as was the flight itself. I slept for a few hour-long increments between the loud 5 year old behind me and her snoring caretaker, but the flight itself was smooth. I watched Hidden Figures on the plane for a reminder of WV while over international waters, and read the subtitles of the Grand Budapest Hotel in our last half hour before landing. 

I also did not realize that airplane food is so terrible. I thought pasta was a safe option but it made me nauseous and stopped me from eating the first 24 hours I was here (Since then no worries I have acquired the gentle sustenance of Magdelenas, the beautiful nutella-equivalent-filled mini muffin, as well as a fruit smoothie, Wok to Walk fried rice, and a piece of an apple cake from a friend of a friend of a friend-- Gracias Aina!) 

El Primer Dia - Diada de Catalunya 2017

Before coming over, when I was checking with my roommate to ensure that he would be home to let me in upon my arrival, he told me he would probably be off work because it was a regional holiday. Having just come off American labor day, I didn’t think much of it and assumed it was a closure day for offices and some businesses, banks, etc. 

What I learned on my first day (After arriving at 9:00 a.m. unpacking, napping) was that September 11th is Diada de Catalunya, the national day of Catalonia which is a celebration of their regional language, culture, and identity--but also a peaceful protest for their independence from Spain (I still have a lot to research and learn about the history of this day and the conflict between regions of Spain, but this day was truly an incredible introduction to the region for me. I am so thankful that my roommate popped his head in my room to invite me to this all-day event when he easily just could’ve left me to sleep!

So, if you truly want to know trial by fire, I highly recommend flying into your first day abroad on the region’s national day. Catalonian flags flew from every balcony and building, and popped up from the crowd from every direction. 80% of people wore the day’s shirt (neon yellow), and many wore shirts from celebrations in years prior. There was chanting, signing, clapping, giant dancing statues (see sun and moon pic), and HUMAN TOWERS (also see pic because this was so interesting and I am told it has become a major trend in Spain such that every town/region has a human tower team and they travel around to compete).

So, in a day that could’ve easily been spent sleeping and being scared to leave the apartment, I walked 7 miles, saw more of the city than I had intended to in a week, took the subway and the tram, and definitely got my fair dose of Catalonian culture. Language has been the most difficult part so far and I feel massively underprepared for that part of this experience -- but I will write on this later after classes begin. 

TL;DR - In summary, all is well and my first day was incredible.