So its been a few days since I last posted so this will be a long one. First off I am realizing how expensive it is to live out here, food and drinks are expensive but I didnt even think about all of the random things I would need to buy like fans for our house (its hot here!) detergent, notebooks, cleaning stuff, and im going to need to get some stuff i forgot to bring like good flip flops and a beach towel, which I cant believe I didnt bring!

So here is an attempt at a little update, there is just so much to say its hard to fit it all in (and i apologize for the bad informal writing in advance im just blabbing my thoughts and typing as fast as I can)...

Classes started monday and they are my favorite thing that has gone on so far that Im here if you can believe that! i am in such a easy spanish class, I am one of the better ones in it but i am still horribe, there are two people who have never even taken spanish before but the class makes me realize just how horrible I am at spainsh, i wish i would have taken it later in high school when I actually might have been interested in it.

My teachers name is Nuria and she is the coolest, sweetest lady ever! she looks like she is in her youung twenties and acts and dresses like it too, but she is actually 39. she is rele nice and helpful and speaks mostly spanish but mixes it in with english to help us every now and then (the other spanish classes are entirely in spanish, which would have been good but I am such a beginner it is helpful) she is so funny, she asked me if i had a novia, and i said yes (y ella es una novia muy guapa) and asked me how long i was dating her blah blah but she told everyone if they could get a spanish novio/novia then they would get extra credit cuz suppossedly one girl got one last session and she got rele good at spanish cuz he didnt speak english. but yeah she is just rele entertianing haha

so there are only 7 people in our class, and it just so happens that 5 of them are from cal poly, how weird huh? the only one i knew was one girl though but yeah classes go 9-12 with a 15 minute break in the middle and they actually go by rele fast. But the class is kind of intensive, we have homework everynight due the next day, class is mandatory (if you miss more than 2 you automatically fail the course) as is participation. there are two midterms and a final at the end, i think four "compositions" which are writing assignments and an oral presentation at the end of the class session. so hopefully i learn some good stuff, so far everything has been review, but it is good for me anyway...

I went to the beach with my roommates the other day, it was pretty crowded (but nothing like on the weekend when I saw it from this bus tour of the city we got to go on) and it was kind of trashy. but its funny there are the persian guys who walk around and try to sell you beer and drinks on the beach and these little asian women who try to give you a massage. the sand was not that nice but the water was, im gonna try and check the other beaches eventually to see if they are any nicer...

So one different thing about these beaches, people dont really mind showing off there bodies haha all the guys wear tiny swim trunks or speedos and a lot of the women are topless. but it seemed that the only ones who were topless were the older women which was pretty strange haha but yeah its kinda weird seeing the women being so nonchalant about their boobs hanging out everywhere haha...

the metro is a good way to get around here, but it seems like i am mostly just walking everywhere and taking taxis, i am still rele confused about all the streets and everything, i rele need to go out on my own and just check them out. all the street names are hidden up on the sides of buildings and some streets just dont have any signs so it gets really confusing. i think i am going to take the metro down towards the water and just find a place to be able to jog around and just check out the area, i really need to get around more but the city is huge!!!

sorry that turned into such a long ramble, but im sure you like hearing about it, ill try to keep updating as best I can!

adeu!

David

So today has been a pretty long day. we went out to the clubs last night and stayed pretty late (they dont really get popular until 2am and i would say prime time is around 4am) in fact, everything here in barcelona seems to be running late. everyone moves around slowly, and eating is much more than a meal, it is more of a social experience. breakfast is usually small and late, lunch is around 2pm and then there is the ciesta period (kind of a nap time where the city slows down and a lot of shops close and some people get it off work) before waking up again later at nigh. dinner is usually around 9 or 10pm. i have only been here for a few days however so i am just getting caught up with all the different cultual aspects.

this mornign we had a bus tour of the city, got to see where they had the olympic games in 1992, go through the gothic district, the realy old parts of town, shop in a barrio thing, check out the beach and the bay and got to see some awesome structures, including a few of Gaudi's masterpieces, including the still unfinished yet gorgeous "La Sagrada Familia" i am excited to actually go inside it as well as check out more of Gaudi's awesome arcitecture

i couldnt figure out the metro system, and took the wrong one so had a 45 walk (including a period of having no idea at all of where i was) back to our apartment which is on Carrer de Mallorca in the Eixample district, which is really neautiful with a lot of old houses and buildings. hopefully i can figure it out better from now on, especially since I am starting school tomorrow, which I am actually really looking forward to. I am just going to be taking beginning level spanish, but i am excited to learn and if the class is too easy, I might even petition the dean to move up a level, we will just have to see how it goes.

I took some pictures and am going to download them later today, so hopefully I can have some of them up for all of you to check out.

Hablen con ustedes pronto!

David

But the city is awesome! its cool seeing how old the city is and the different ways the buildings are built and stuff. we have a pretty good location i guess, we are within walking distance to school and i think it is just a simple metro station away from the main downtown area...the apartment is really cool too! its really old and the ceilings are high, but everythig is kind of crammed together (the bathroom is tiny the rooms are tiny the hallway to one of the other guys rooms (which is kind of downstairs) is tiny, but the apartment is so old and gives off a cool vibe. I have my own room which is really nice, and it is right at the front of the house, with the central living stuff down the hallway.

I walked around the city yesterday to try and stay up and checked out the area where they had the 1992 summer olympic games, but it wasnt that cool cuz I could only see the outside of everything. We went out to the bars last night but I was pretty tired ad so just checked out this one place and then I caught a taxi back.

Just letting everyone know I got in fine from my long trip, it actually went really well, I was able to sleep off and on for a lot of it. I got through customs fine and it was a relatively simple transition into barcelona. I met up with other kids from CEA, one from Cal Poly and another who is my roommate. Everyone seems to be extremely nice, and fortunately there were some good spanish speakers in our group. we went out to eat already, walked around the city and got some food and cervasas. Everything is starting to slowdown for the mid day siesta (nap) but I am still pretty awake so I decided to email you guys and then maybe take a walk around the city just by myself. We have a reception dinner tonight where we meet the rest of the CEA group (about 70 of us) and then they have activities and tours of the city and moving in to our apartments over the next two days. So it should be exciting, this seems like an awesome city and I cant wait to get more of it!!!

So its only five more days until I leave for Barcelona! Im excited but also a little nervous about going out there, I have no idea of what to expect...