First, yes, I used to be allergic to shrimp as a kid, but now I'm over that, and that's a very good thing (mmm MMM). Also, worth noting, it's a good thing my body's gotten so much better as I've grown up. 10 years ago there's no way my lungs could have handled all of this.
What language did I study and why go to Spain? Good questions (and ones I think my dad also asks). It's kind of a long story, but I'll do my best to shorten it and make it interesting.
Going abroad is a really big deal at Santa Clara. Over half of the students (usually junior year) do so. From the start of freshman year, professors talk about how students should go, great experience, blah blah blah. I, for various reasons, didn't really want to bother with it, so I didn't think about it (although deep down, I was wondering if I was missing out on something). Besides, I would just tell people that I was planning on being a CF (community facilitator, what my school calls an RA). However, during sophomore year, I applied to be a CF and was rejected (ouch). I was suddenly hit with a big problem. Where was I going to live now and with whom? Plus, what was I going to do next year?
With being a CF no longer an excuse, I decided that, you know what, I should go abroad. It was passed the due dates, but Barcelona was one of a few programs I could sneak an application into. It also didn't require students to know Spanish. I filled out the application in basically a day and turned it in. Around 2 weeks later, I got accepted.
And I was planning on studying Spanish my junior year of college. I'd only studied it for 2 terrible years at Toldeo High School in WA (boy, that was a bad school, haha. Just ask Christine). So that was about 5 years ago.
The borderline rash decision to go abroad made for some pretty crazy, hectic, and dramatic problems and issues. However, by the good Lord's grace, things somehow came together and here I am, in Barcelona, and I'm really happy about it. I miss home and the people I care about, but I truly believe this has been good for me in a lot of ways. That said, it will be nice to see my family again in December :)
I went for a run this morning. Man, that felt good. I'm feeling very healthy right now, and it was good to burn off some energy and stuff. I then did a little bit of homework and met up with a friend to go to a good sandwich shop that she knew called Conesa. They were tasty sandwiches. Good price, too. Afterwards, we went to this really good gelato place. Homemade, with some new flavors everyday (along with the traditional ones). I got crema Catalan (amazing) and this chocolate with peppers. It was amazing. Good chocolate with this hint of spiciness.
I then walked back and to this park where I've gone to do homework a few times . Today there was something interesting parked there.
A Lincoln Continental. The plaque next to it said something, but couldn't really understand it because it was in Catalan.
And here's a picture of the park:
I'm now going to do some more homework and then eat some dinner. After that, I'm meeting up with some friends for one more hoorah at the Barcelona night life (ah, who am I kidding? I still have the weekdays, too).
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