A little bit of everything!!!

A little bit of Spain!!!

Well I must say Im not the best at keeping a blog.. I tell myself Im going to write and then who knows what happens, and I tell myself ooohhh Ill do it tomorrow and I NEVER DO!!

Andalucia- Granda, Seville, and Cordoba
Well At the end of January my program and I went to the south of Spain which is known as Andalucia. We went to three different cities which are known as Cordoba, Seville, and Granada. The purpose of the trip was to complete our intense three week art history course. Professor Gustavo and the other two directors took us around to all the different locations which had to do with art. It was great to see soo much culture in the entire South of Spain. However, if you know me pretty well you know I love to go and visit and enjoy the view, but the minute you start explaining to me about the art and what era its from I really don't care. Its not that I'm ignorant its just never been of entrance to me. I like going and enjoying not feeling like I'm in a history class!!!! Which is kind of ironic because learning the history of all this art work was the purpose of this trip. Well we took a 12 hour bus ride to the south of Spain and for some unknown reason I thought it would be a great idea to go on a chocolate binge while I was on the bus, and felt sick for the last 3 hours of the ride. Well Andrea and I got kind of cozy on that bus ride especially after 12 hours!!! Once we got to the different cities we had the opportunity to explore and go find food.. OHHHH ya we had to provide our own meals, which got kind of expensive I must say. SO we all stole snadwhiches at breakfast and called it a day!! After going out every day it got soo expensive but nothing we could do!!! I must say this was so hard because I was so homesick. It was my boyfriends birthday and all I wanted to do was be with him. However we both settled for skype because it was the best we could do!! Well alot happened this week and by the time it was over, I was glad to come back to Barcelona and begin the semester!!!






The Semester Begins
Well the first week of February was when my actual semester begin. I had already completed one course which was a grammar and an Art History course. It was an intense three week course which was 3 units, which meant I would only need to take 9 units when the semester began to complete my 12 unit requirement through Laverne. Im taking Literature of the 20th Century, Cultural Psychology, and Morfo ( which is another grammar class. So for once in my life, my schedule wouldn't be as crazy as it usually is. My literature class I must say was soooo difficult at first because I had never read anything in spain as intense as these books where. I was struggling a great deal, but after some weeks went by I finally got the hang of it! I'm finally about half way done with the semester, and it seems to be getting easier. I had my share of difficulties, but everything is solved with time. I also had a great deal of help from a friend, who always answered all my questions when I needed help! I found my self to be very laid back with the semester, which is so different to how I usually am. Im usually pulling my hair out, however here Im so mellow about school. We have two exams and thats what makes up our entire grade. I finished taking midterms the first week of March. As of now I have only gotten one back and I got a B-. Ehhh its ok considering that was the week I had a stomach virus and I left in the middle of the midterm to go throw up! It was horrible. Also I kept telling my self ohh Yolanda dont study this he probably wont put it on the midterm, and YUP her sure did!! I SURE have an act for not studying something and then having that be what the test is alllllll ABOUT!!!! Its like the 2nd time that has happened. Well I went to take my Morfo midterm and I had another throwing up episode right before the midterm so I asked Tony ( my teacher) if I could take it another day and he was so nice about it, and let me go home. Well nothing else to exciting has happened with school.. I MEAN ITS SCHOOL!!! Need I say more.

Paris, France
What a trip this was. This was my first trip out of Spain and into another part of Europe. I went with Andrea, Tracey and Carrie. We took an hour and a 1/2 bus ride to Girona airport to catch our Ryanair flight to the middle of no where France. Once we got to France we took another 1 hour and 1/2 bus ride into the city of Paris. It was so amazing to be sitting on the bus and see everything that the city had to offer. The first night we went up to the Eiffel Tower and we where able to see the whole city of Paris. It really is such a romantic city!!! We ended up meeting on of Tracey's friends and then we all headed up towards the Eiffel tower to see the immense view!!! However it was so cold and I literally felt like my hands where going to fall off. As we went into the inside of the tower it was pretty cool because it had all the different countries located on the wall and how far they were from Paris! The next day we woke up bright and early, went and got breakfast and went to the louve and spent a great 3 hours in there. I GOT TO SEE THE MONA LISA, which was not as big as I had always imagined!!! Well my trip to Paris wasn't very long because as some of you know I ended up in the emergency room due to a pre existing condition!!! Eh don't want to waist my time talking about that, every thing was settled and ended up ok, minus the fact that I could not see the rest of France. Its ok though because I saw the Eiffel tower and that has always been my one and only dream, so the rest can be seen another day!!! Well we headed back to Barcelona Sunday night!!! Let me warn ANYONE who may not know about Ryan air.. YES it is the cheapest airline however the CRAPPIEST!!!! I felt like i was watching one of those 24 hour program selling shows!! It was out of control how they are like an advertisement!!!! They tried to see lighters, perfume, anything you name it!!!!!! When I'm so high up in the air I'm not thinking about SHOPPING all I want to do is squeeze in a nice little nap.. but wont happen on a Ryan air flight!!! Well that's all for Paris!!!



Ireland!!
Well I was suppose to go to Ireland to meet Eva but since we where flying Ryan air.... our FLIGHT WAS CANCELED!!!! Its okk though Instead I booked a flight to go see Eva in Frankfurt Germany and then to go to Ibiza in April!!! What an amazing Month April will be!!!

Snow in the mediterranean??!!!
Well for the first tim in 26 years BARCELONA HAD SOME SNOW!!! This was amazing considering the fact I live in Sunny California!! Well as I was studying with some friends in the basement of the study room it started SNOWING!!! It had been freezing the days before the snow actually feel. As I was taking my literature midterm it was POURING snow, and me having ADD I could not concentrate because it was sooooo pretty!!! Everyone in Barcelona had been running around and going crazy because no one is use to weather like this. The typical day in Barcelona is sunny with nice weather. However this semester there has been soooo much rain it is out of control! Finally it seems to have calmed down and we havent really had rain... KNOCK ON WOOD!!! I though the snow was great until it all started turning to much and I was wearing the wrong kind of shoes for it. I felt like my feet were going for a swim in my boots for about 5 hours!!! So as a couple of the girls and I decided to stay after class and study for the Morfo midterm, some one had told us the metro would be closing so we all ran out to catch it because none of us were walking home in the mushy snow with like 5 degree weather!! However it was a lie.. no metro shut down, but the city literally SHUT DOWN!!! People left their cars and everything closed down!! It was INSANE how everything just stopped because of the snow!!! When I got home my host mom was freaking out, like a tornado had just happened and I decided to walk home threw it!! Ya she was all worried because she could not get ahold of me. Apparently her family was affected a great deal by it. Her brothers car would turn on and he was stuck in the middle of now where. Since the city literally shut down and no public transportation was working he could not get home =( Well this concludes the snow!!!

more to come later... STAY TUNED

Mi segunda Semana en Barcelona!!!

Well Better late then never right!!!

During my second week in Spain a lot happened! I was finally settled in my new home for the remainder of my stay in Barcelona! The homesick was still not going away. I literally emailed the advisor of the program and asked him what it would cost me to drop out. With the encouragement of my family and boyfriend I was told I was not a quit er and things would get better, I just needed to have patience. I was experiencing true culture shock and I had no idea how to deal with, because I felt like I had no business being in the city of Barcelona! I couldn't complete the grammar class, couldn't speak Spanish to the level of these Spaniards, and was completely lost in all my classes!!!Well as the days went on I opened up to a great friend named Andrea who truly has blessed me on this trip! She made me see the endless possibilities I would be missing out on if I where to go home! She dragged my BUTT out of my house and made me go sightseeing and see everything the city truly had to offer me! But I was wrong it has alot more to offer me then I could ever imagine! Its a city of endless adventure, culture, and new experiences!!

We toured around Las Ramblas, Sagrada Familia, shopped on Pacia De Gracia, Went out to a tapas bar for her 21st birthday, and experienced the CRAZY European night life. Yes I said CRAZY!!! Don't even bother showing up to clubs until 1:30 or 2 am because you will be on the dance floor alone. The party gets poopin at about 2 and ends at 6 just in time for breakfast! Personally its a little much for me! Usually Anthony is taking me home at 2 because I'm ready for bed!!!

Well back to my life at home at my host moms house. The second week I got a stye in my eye for you who don't know what that is, its a pimple in the eye!! ( gross I know) Well my host mom so kindly asked me I would like for her to take me to a palm reader where she could take my hand and transfer her positive energy into my body which would cure my eye! My heart hit the floor because I literally thought i was living with a witch crafter! Then she told me she practiced this in her house, which made my heart skip a couple beats!! I kindly told her I didn't believe in that, and that it was against my religion!!! Also Ive been lectured alot like I was some 5 year old! It was so hard to listen but I sucked it up and realized its her personality. When I tried to get a word in she wouldn't let me speak, she would cut me off so fast, and keep talking. OHHH SPANISH WOMAN! enough complaining! Shes not that bad, just some MAJOR adjusting will have to take place. This concluded my 2nd week in Barca! I packed my bags and headed off to Andalucia where I visited Visiting Granada, Seville, and Cordoba!!!

Stay Tuned...

My arrival in the city that NEVER SLEEPS!!!!!!!!!!

Well I must admit I am beginning this blog kind of late.. but Ill make sure to give a play by play of my first month in Barcelona... aka the city that NEVER SLEEPS!!!

Week 1

Well I literally finished packing my suitcase about an hour and a half before Anthony had to take me to the air port. I had been lagging all week because I knew once I began packing it would actually become real that I was leaving. Well I have to go back a couple of days. My AMAZING and yes I said AMAZING friend Jen came over and whipped my butt into shape. She got me organized and if it weren't for her I probably would be begging Anthony to ship me all the stuff I left at home!!! After Jen made a list of all the clothes I needed for example: 1 sweater 2 pants etc.... I went and tripled every thing on her list. Why??? well because I'm the girl who ALWAYS OVER PACKS!!! I'm the freak at the airport desperately trying to take stuff out of my luggage to make the 50lb limit!!! Sure enough THAT HAPPENED AGAIN!! I should have listened!!! Well... after that A.D.D moment Ill go back to the what this blog is really about. Well Anthony and Chanel took me to the airport at 4 am so I could get on my 7am flight to JFK!!! As we got there this experience was becoming more and more real and I could not stop crying!! You would have thought some one died the way I was crying!!!! We checked my luggage and then Anthony and Chanel walked me to security!!! oohhh wow was that hard or what, knowing I'd have to go four months with out seeing my beautiful best friend and 2 and 1/2 before I got to see my amazing boyfriend!! The lady behind me in the security line seriously wanted to smack me because I would not shut up, and I kept hitting her (on accident) with my suitcase to see if Chanel and Anthony where still down stairs!!! Well let me just say 17 hours of traveling and being sick is not the BEST COMBINATION!!!

Well we got to Spain and our BCA group met our program director!!! We took a bus to Hotel Bonanova Park!!! We stayed here for the first week, as we got adjusted to the city and learned our way around. We had orientation and we began our pre semester course!!! The first week was so hard I literally was ready to jump on the next flight out to LAX because I was SOOO HOMESICK!!! I tried to keep it to myself because I felt like no one else felt homesick. I made friends easily because everyone in the program is great!!! The first week a couple of use decided it would be a great idea to walk to school!! Well after 2 hours of walking and 10 minutes to spare before class we realized we should probably take the metro for what was left. I must say it was hilarious when I look back.. but not at the moment because my blisters where killing me!! Well I didn't do too much sightseeing the first week because I was so jet lagged. Every break I got I wanted to Sleep. I was waking up at 4 am because I was wide awake and could no sleep!! Our hotel was located so close to Avda Diagonal which IS AMAZING!!!! On Thursday we got to find out who our host family was. I would be staying with Eva Del Campo and she lived off Avda Roma, like a 3o minute walk to school ( with how slow I walk). Well On Friday we all anxiously waited as we got picked up one by one. I was one of the first ones to get picked up and my host mom seemed amazing!! She was sooo nice and I was so excited to finally get settled!! Well that illusion lasted about 2 days. Let me just say if she is not watching TV she is Nagging about something!! Trust me she will find something to complain about even if there is nothing. Well that really concluded my first week in Barcelona!! Stay tuned..