Los Dias Pasados...

As I spend more time here in Barcelona I continue to be amazed by the beauty of the city, and the areas surrounding it. We have been up to so many exciting things the past few days and time here is flying.

On Thursday we went to Plaza Reial, which is right off Las Ramblas, it was great to be in such a lively area of the city where there is so much going on.

(One of the first things that Gaudi designed was this lamp post in La Placa Reial)

Then on Friday we had classes as usual, and then we had Salsa lessons! It was so fun but I have no pictures because I was too busy dancing :). We are having another lesson

next week and then we are going to go out dancing as a group.

Saturday, we went on a day trip. We went to a town called Figures Spain and saw the Dali Museum.

Is it a woman or Abe Lincoln?

When you look through a magnifying glass it looked like a face, but if you didn't then this looked like a living room.

After the museum we headed to yet another beautiful beach for a little while.

Today we went to see Harry Potter!! I was so excited to see it and the movie was amazing! Here we are right before we saw the movie.

Nos Encanta Barcelona!

The past days we have really been getting into the routine of classes. Days have been hectic but fun! Yesterday we had our major in the morning and then, in the afternoon, some people went shopping and some relaxed (I went for paella!). Then today we had our elective in the morning, everyone went to La Casa Batllo, designed by Antoni Gaudi. It was really cool, there wasn't one straight line in the whole house! In the afternoon we had our major, in Spanish we made videos showing future students the residence, which was really fun. After dinner, the whole group went out for gelato! It tasted delicious!

I'm still having some trouble with the pictures, but I promise, I'll have them up soon haha :)

Dos Dias Increibles

The past two days in Spain have been unbelievable! Yesterday (Sunday) we had an amazingexcoursion that lasted the whole day. First we went to a town called Girona, where we went t0 see a beautiful gothic cathedral and a cinema museum which we both very interesting. The whole town was really cute!

After Girona we went to a beach town called Tossa de Mar. It was soo beautiful! One of my favorite things I've seen in Europe. The water was amazing and the beach was gorgeous (thesand was weird and gravely though). The town wall came up to a cliff looking the beach, I was awestruck. It was and amazing and exhausting day!

Today we started classes. It was nice to start learning Spanish because that was my whole reason for coming. We compared Spain to America and it helped me realize how different the two places are. Photography was fun too, we took awesome pictures of El Parque de Guell. For dinner we made calamari, which was a lot harder than it sounds! Also, during siesta I went with some friends to the chocolate museum. There were so many amazing chocolate sculptures plus you got a free chocolate bar with admission. Overall, this trip has been so amazing this far and the time is flying by, I can't believe its been over a week! (I'm having some technical difficulties so I'll try to upload more pictures later)

Quick Update

Cooking was great tonight! Then we went to the Cathedral, La Sagrada Familia. It was so beautiful and interesting! Here is a picture (I only had my phone with me so you can't really get the whole idea)

Vamos a la Playa!

For me, it felt like our program really started today. Especially since I didn't fly here to Barcelona with the rest of the group. Our residence is so nice. It's in a great neighborhood with a lot going on. I can't wait to go out and explore it! Today, we went to the beach! It was so nice and the water was great.

We walked there through some really nice areas, and although it took a little longer I thought that it was worth it because I saw a lot of great place that I would LOVE to go back to in the future. Tonight we are all going to split into cooking groups and each make a separate dish for one big group meal that we are going to have. I am so excited because I love to cook, even though I'm not the best at it. That's all for now, I'm so excited that my adventure in Barcelona is finally getting started!

Pre-departure Reflection :)

Two weeks until Abbey Road starts! Two weeks until I get to spend an amazing month in Barcelona, Spain! Words cannot describe how excited I feel, I know that the time I spend in Barcelona will be unforgettable. I cannot wait until I get to meet all the people on my trip and start this remarkable experience.

Learning Spanish has always been something that really interested me, and that I have thoroughly enjoyed studying it in school. However, I wanted to take my Spanish beyond the classroom, and this was the driving force behind my desire to go to Spain with Abbey Road. I know that this trip will help me to greatly improve my ability to speak Spanish with ease.

Also, I’ve always loved to experience new cultures and ways of life. I think that this trip provides a great way to do this because, although it is not a home stay, it still provides plenty of time to immerse oneself in Spanish culture. I am so excited to spend time getting to know Barcelona, a city with such a rich history and way of life!

I know that on this trip I will make memories and friendships that I will carry with me for my whole life. I cannot wait to arrive in Barcelona and start with this exciting endeavor. I know my Spanish and my cultural awareness will improve, but above all I know that I am about to embark on an extraordinary trip that I will never forget and that will change my perspective on the whole world.