blog.

Wow. I originally planned to blog at least twice a week, but it quickly became impossible to do that. Now I hope to get at least one out a week. Western also requires the blog, so it is a little bit mandatory to get one in.

Hard, hard work requires lots and lots of hours. We worked from home yesterday because our office was closed on account of the celebration of Sant Joan. However, we managed to squeeze in well over 10 hours of work from our living room. Imagewest International is a mobile operation. As long as we have the Internet and a computer, we are set.

An odd thing happened on the way home from work the other day. The train we were riding was graffiti-ed while we were on it, the fumes were making us all light headed. I now know how trains get graffiti-ed.

Fresh graffiti. A dizzy-ing experience.

We are actually working from our living room this morning as well because we will be visiting the MV Explorer later this afternoon. The MV Explorer is our client Semester At Sea’s ship that sails for, well, a semester. We are all very, very excited to finally meet our client after working with them for nearly a year.

Last weekend we went to Bilbao. Located in northern Spain it reminded me a lot more of Germany or Holland, rather than Spain. I thought I had been temporarily transported to another country. It was quite windy, but also beautiful. I felt a bit out of place because everyone seemed dressed to the nines and there were weddings at every turn. I swear that everyone in the city worn designer clothing. It would not be a far stretch to say even the homeless people dressed well (I realize this is because they get the old clothes of the people in the town, however, it’s just a point).

Spain....?

I forgot to mention… they speak another language in the Basque country, aptly named, Basque language (or Euskara). It is completely and totally like Spanish. Mark says that the Basque language is proof that aliens are real.

The Guggenheim was my favorite part of the trip. It is the most stunning building I have ever seen in my entire life. Richard Serra’s The Matter of Time, was an amazing work of art you got to interact with inside the museum. I had a lot of fun running and walking through the disorienting spirals and humming inside the echoing walls. The acoustics were amazing. I had to buy the book because there was no other way I would be able to explain this piece (pictures were forbidden within the Guggenheim, boo that).

The amazing and stunning Guggenheim Museum.

On Sunday we were supposed to visit San Sebastian, but us girls partied a bit too hardy with the locals on Saturday night and slept in instead. We had a great time. The nightlife in Bilbao was pretty exciting. Let me just note that the more alcohol you imbibe the better your Spanish gets… not kidding, I actually communicate and understand Spanish a lot better with a few drinks in me. And not just because I “think” I’m speaking and understanding better! I really am!

Lying by the pool in the 63º weather and attempting to get a tan every 5 minutes because the sun kept hiding was an interesting way to spend a Sunday. It was relaxing. I even jumped in the frigid ice-cold water and stayed for a good 10 minutes. I was pretty determined to swim.

It was quite an adventure getting back from Bilbao since our flight got delayed, multiple times, but it was not that bad. I entertained myself by attempting to read, but mostly spacing out and people watching. I never have spent that much time in airports, so I did not know how mind-numbingly terrible it is to wait around in one.

Getting back to La Garriga after 10:40 on a weekday is an adventure. You see, the train only runs until 10:40 and we got to the airport around… 10:40 (we have at least an hour commute between the airport and the train home). Well, thankfully there is a night bus… that arrives at 1:15am. However, it took us until about 12:15 to actually find the bus stop and once we did we all ran for the closest and any food we could find.

Sigh…… I had to do it, I had to eat McDonald’s because I did not have another choice. Chicken nuggets taste better here, just a little note. And I communicated to the McDonald’s guy in complete Spanish. That was pretty nifty. I always get excited when I can say something in Spanish.

We did eventually get back to La Garriga and we learned to use the bus system, so, just another good learning experience. I was so happy to see La Garriga and Romeo. It feels so much like home here. Comfy, cozy, homey little La Garriga.

Well, I should get back to work now. I hope this is a significant update. I once again apologize that I don’t update more often. I literally am too tired to blog most days, so I knocked this out in the morning. I am off to plot more points on many maps for the ITESM micro-site. It is very tedious work and in the future, data entry would not be my choice of job. However, Mark and I are trudging through and we are sure these maps will be insanely helpful to the students.

We’re off to Venice this weekend! I’m very excited. And tonight Rachel and I are going adventuring to find a bar in Barcelona to watch the Spain game. So excited about that too. Many adventures still ahead of me in these last lessthantwoweeksleftsadface, here.

Adéu to all!

PS: The internet is being buggy, so unfortunately I can’t add all the pictures that I want to add. Check out all of our pictures here. It is quite a massive assortment. I also have a lot of albums on my Facebook if you want to look there.

Study abroad is quite the learning experience. Especially when you are thrown straight into the city on your own right off the plane.

1. Flip-flops are a bad choice for footwear (the rain in Spain does NOT fall mainly on the plain).
2. Flats from the United States cut your ankles and they become painful and bloody. Spanish flats are kind and perfect for jumping from Metro to Metro.
3. You probably should not wear tennis shoes to the beach—they get sand in them and then it is a crunchy walk home.
4. Two for one deals on Spanish flats are amazing.
5. I promise I’ve learned about more than shoes… last, but not least, you have to walk. A LOT.
6. This is not a Mary-Kate and Ashley movie.
7. iPods are not recommended, but required on train rides that take over an hour.
8. Catalan is NOT almost like Spanish.
9. There is a chance that you will get bitten on Las Ramblas.
10. If people are allowed to be nude, they will be nude. Naked bike riding is not out of the question.
11. Toilets do not have a lot of water in them.
12. The Europeans dress better than most people from the United States could even fathom.
13. 1-liter boxes of wine that cost less than a Euro are the perfect way to end the day.
14. Go FC Barcelona—that’s all you need to know. Even if Spain is in the World Cup, people in Barcelona only care about players from Barcelona.
15. If you keep trying to speak Spanish, you will eventually make sense.
16. Wear sunscreen even when walking around, you will get burned.
17. It’s okay to take free drinks from strange Brazilian men on the beach as long as they are drinking from the same cup.
18. If it happens to be World Cup time and you happen to be in Spain, you should go watch a game with the locals. It’s an amazing experience. Fútbol is a religion here.
19. Try anything and everything you can—you might not like it or you may love it, at least you tried it.
20. Do not ride backwards on the train. It will make you carsick (at least, it makes me carsick).
21. The Metro system is your best friend if you want to get anywhere in the city.
22. PDA is very accepted here and you should not be offended if you see very handsy and romantic people. Remember, the United States was founded by Puritans that wanted to escape the European insanity.
23. The Metro system is also very, very crowded at most times and you have to be very, very careful not to get pick pocketed. Someone could bump into you and rob you blind. You never know.
24. Street signs are written in Catalan in Barcelona, not Spanish (in Barcelona).
25. If you just keep walking and you at least have a Metro map, you will probably find your way.

The Metro is our best friend. We would be lost without it.

Look for a real blog post from me soon. We have been so busy, I don’t even time to tell you about how busy we are. That’s… busy.

We have had a crazy, busy week, but I have loved every minute of it. Yes, the jet lag is a little bit terrible, but I’m sure I will be over it in just a few more days. Where do I begin expounding on my adventures so far?

The trip from the Nashville airport to Barcelona was an adventure and an experience in itself. It started off okay, then our flight was delayed and we flew out over an hour late. This would have been okay, if we would have made it to Philadelphia on time. However, we did not. We literally had to run through the airport to make the plane; they were calling our name when we were still quite a way away from the gate. Thankfully, we were able to board our flight and soon were on our way to Barcelona. The eight or nine hour flight was, quite long. The jet lag was already getting to me every time I looked at my watch. I could not believe when I woke up around 7 am that it was only midnight in Louisville.

After successfully disembarking the plane, making it through customs and grabbing our luggage, we were now left with the job of navigating from the airport in Barcelona to our little apartment in La Garriga. It was not the easiest task, but between getting on the Renfe, getting on the Metro, getting off the Metro and back on when we realized we had to go further, we eventually made it to La Garriga. It would not have been so bad if we did not have about 70 pounds of luggage each. Napping was a necessity after we settled into our apartment. Exploring the town after our napping was the best way to end the day. Delicious food is always a plus of exploring.

Our first meal in Spain (Beer and potato cake things (and meat, not pictured)

Delcious pizza from "Little Italy" -- Yes, we ate pizza our first day in Spain, do not judge us...

The next day went a bit smoother. We successfully navigated to the office in Barcelona. It’s a little tight for six people, but we’re making it work. The campus where the office is located is quite beautiful, but they won’t let us take very many pictures. They say that it is an “Universidad” and pictures are not allowed to be taken in them. Very… odd… policy. We managed to sneak in a few.

It's a little tight, but we fit. This is us trying to figure out the window...

What we see before we get to our office just a little bit down the hall

After work (and maybe a bit of getting lost on the Metro, well, getting a bit turned around… why do they have two Sant Andreu(s) right next to each other, I do not know), we went to a grocery store and got a lot of tasty supplies to make dinner that night. I got a slew of yummies for a little over 8 Euro. For dinner, Courtney (link) and Stephanie (link) cooked us pesto pasta with chicken. We had bread and dipping sauce on the side. And I could not forget about the delicious Sangria we had with the meal. The Sangria cost only 1 Euro and was quite tasty.

Cooking dinner in our tiny European kitchen

Sorry it took me so long to post, we are crazy busy and I’m exhausted by the time I get home in the evening.

You can see my pictures on Facebook (here are the links if you don’t have an account: Somewhere over the Atlantic/First day in España, First day at the office (Second day in España). I’m going to upload them to Picassa as soon as I can.

Until later… ¡Adéu!

Just 4 days until we fly away from the Nashville airport and toward Barcelona, Spain! I’m so excited; I can still hardly believe it is real. We have settled on three side trips as well, one to Bilbao, Spain (home of the Guggenheim), another to Majorca Island (part of the Balearic Islands), and our last side trip to beautiful Venice, Italy. Believe it or not, we are also taking a day trip to Figueres (home of the Dalí museum) and Girona, Spain, as well.

All this excitement spinning through our minds, but we have still been working hard this week preparing for our trip. We finally found out what we’re going to be doing for the school. I, myself, found out that the campuses are in Mexico and the office is in Barcelona). So, we’ve been researching anything and everything we can, trying to figure out the best strategies to bring our client success.

Other than that we have all been bouncing with excitement, counting the days until June 7th and brushing up on a bit of Catalan. We will be experts by the time we come back… or, we will at least be able to talk to communicate… we hope.

A very long weekend is ahead of me as I have to pack a mere 50lbs into my already 20lb suitcase (this will be an adventure). I cannot wait to get on that plane Monday afternoon. I know European adventures are waiting for me across the ocean. Until then, be sure to check out everyone’s blog and leave some comments if you want to.

I cannot wait to see a beautiful Mediterranean sunset…