I'll start with Thursday. We had a field trip to La Pedrera, also known as La Casa Milá, a gigantic house built by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí for the wealthy couple Roser Segimon and Pere Milá (hence the name). In addition to the opulent rooms, the roof of the building is a piece of art in itself, with elaborate non-traditional chimneys, curvy walls, and tiled towers. In my opinion, the curvy architecture gives the whole place a tranquil, calm ambience. I learned that Gaudí was inspired by the colors and shapes of marine life, and thus a lot of his buildings seem to resemble the skeletons of marine animals and to take on the colors of coral, for example.
Later that night, I went to see Diplo perform at Razzmatazz, una discoteca in Barcelona. This was probably not the brightest idea since I was coming down with a cold and hadn't slept very much, but I had already bought my ticket and had been looking forward to it all week. First stop was La Ovella Negra, a bar close by. When we first got there, it looked like a sketchy little tiny nothing in the middle of nowhere, but we soon realized we were at the side door. We found the main entrance and walked in, and it was like nothing I had ever seen before: a "bar" the size of a Harry Potter dining room. We got there just as it started to fill up, and chaos ensued. Our table had a jug of sangría, and preceded to drink the fruity wine while talking amongst ourselves and observing everyone else. It was a fun and exciting place, but I felt like I was surrounded by loud, obnoxious, drunk Americans who were either falling over or spilling beer on their shoes. It was a weird mix of being at a bar in Barcelona and feeling like I was at a frat party back in California. Anyways, we eventually left for the concert; luckily the venue was only a few blocks away.
Our tickets included 1 free drink, so we checked our coats, picked up our freebie, and then headed to the dance floor. Diplo came on at 3 a.m. (I don't know who played before).
Around 4:30 a.m., we decided to head home. Five of us piled into a cab and we were on our way. I was so tired that it almost didn't even register when a police officer was signaling for us to pull over. Apparently our driver was in trouble because there were too many of us in the car. He also might have been drinking...but we still aren't sure. The Spanish officer was very nice to the five of us girls and was asking us where we found the cab driver. He eventually let the driver go, after two of the other girls left to find another cab, so the three of us remaining continued on our way home. The cab driver then tried to rip us off by charging us too much. We argued no, paid what we owed, and went home. I was exhausted, slept for two hours, and then woke up for class Friday morning.
(sidenote: thanks, Mom, for sending me the link to this Blackberry commercial featuring Diplo)
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Friday
Staying awake in class from 10 - 2 was extremely difficult. Afterwards, we had a break from 2-3 p.m. I ran to the pharmacy to buy cold medicine, which came in a lemon-flavored powder form that must be dissolved in water. It tastes pretty bad, but it does the job and lasts 8 hours - longer than any DayQuil I've ever tried. At 3, we had Academic Orientation, where we learned how to look for classes using the University of Barcelona website, which is in Catalán. We also got more tips on how to be cautious and avoid being robbed. Right after orientation, I went to view another apartment. It was very last minute and this one wasn't on the top of my list, but I'm so glad I went - I ended up falling in love with it. I also viewed a different apartment around 7:30 p.m., which I also liked. So by the end of Friday night, I had two apartments in mind as potential homes. By around 9 p.m., I called the one I had seen on a whim and told the renter that I would like to live there.---
Saturday
I would have liked to sleep in all day, but I was actually excited to wake up and turn in my security deposit for my future apartment. The closest Metro stop is right next to a pretty plaza with a huge statue. Anyways, I met with the renter, gave her the money, chatted for a bit, received the keys to my new place, and felt extremely relieved to have that out of the way. My future roommates are an Italian girl, a Spanish guy from Barcelona, and a guy from Peru.
That afternoon, I met up with some friends to look at classes together. We ate at this trendy, colorful sandwich place, where I ordered a sandwich with fresh toasted bread, lettuce, salmon, and cream cheese. It was delicious.
After looking up classes, I tagged along to view an apartment with friends still looking. All three of us were of the same opinion: it was overpriced, kind of crappy, and we got a weird vibe from the male medical student who already lived there.
Back home, I passed out at 9:30 p.m. I slept 13 hours..as I woke up today at 10:30 a.m.
Sunday
I'm taking it easy today. I showered, ate breakfast (my señora has some version of nutella called nocilla!!! it exists here!!), and am about to continue looking up classes. I also have homework to do. But I am so relieved to have an apartment, to have gotten a good night's sleep, and to have survived my first week in Barcelona. I can't wait to see what the next five months will have in store. :)
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