Unfortunately the first time I started writing this blog my internet failed so this is take two. This last weekend I went to Barcelona and had the most fun I've had in Spain yet. I love Barcelona. The people are nice, the shopping is fantastic, the buildings are incredible and the discotecas (clubs) are crazy. I went with three of my friends (one from DC, one from Minnesota, and one from Pennsylvania). It's really interesting to hang out with people from all over the US because we are all so different but have a lot of the same interests and likes, but finding out the differences in eachother are interesting too. It definitely gives you another perspective on things. Anyways, we left for Barcelona on thursday night with only a backpack because we are all really cheap and don't want to pay for a checked bag! Surprisingly, I packed enough clothes and had some left over! Our flight was short, only about a hour and a half and around 11:00 we landed in what I would soon call one of my favorite places! We quickly figured out the train which is a little sketchy, but found our hostel quick and easy. Our hostel was really fun, except for the fact that we were split up. I got to stay with one girl but the two other girls had to stay in 6 person rooms alone... that'll teach us to book together next time! Me and Alina stayed in a room with 8 other people, the first two nights being all girls. We had a roommate from London who studied abroad in Barcelona before and a group of a few girls from Slavonia who were studying abroad in Portugal, as well as a couple girls from hungary. I love being here. It's so cool to meet people from all over the world and to travel to the coolest cities, not to mention the simple fact of just living in here. We woke up early the next morning so we could start seeing everything we wanted, which was a lot. We first saw La Sagrada Familia which is spectacular. It is such an amazing building. 
It has taken over 200 years to build and is expected to be done in 2026. Then we walked so far to run into the cutest stores ever! So much shopping and so many sales, unfortunately but in the long run I am sure it is for the best, I only brought my backpack so I had no room to buy extra clothes, that just means I'll have to go back!! hehe.. Anyways, we ate lunch at a cute little restaurant on the sidewalk because the weather was actually fairly nice, around mid 60s. Barcelona is far more accommodating to foreigners than Sevilla, which is why I am so happy I studied where I did because I would have no chance in improving my Spanish. We attempted to use our spanish to order our food but the with impatient waiters they speak back to us in English and force us to speak English too. After that we were forced ;) to go shopping a little more as well as buy some ice cream bars and walk in a park for a little because it was on our way to our final destination-- la playa (the beach). We made it just in time for sunset which was beautiful. It got pretty cold so we figured it was time to go to our hostel which was so far away. My feet hurt so bad after this trip, and I am sure we walked more than 10 miles. When we got back to our hostel (after eating at the same kebob place we did the night before--so good), you could sign up for 3 euros and the hostel would take a group of whoever wanted to go to the discotecas with free entrance as well as a ride there. The first place we went was right on the beach and I remember thinking to myself how amazing it would be in summer! 
The clubs were a lot of fun and there were tons of people... who are sketchy! One of the girls got her phone stolen as well as her diamond necklace while she was dancing with someone. We didn't get home until around 6:00 because things are so different here in terms of partying then in the US. People tend to go out in the US around 11 or later and finish around 2 whereas Spaniards don't go out until around 1 or 2 and finish as late as 7. Which the bummer about that is we have to wake up earlier and don't get to enjoy a longer day, especially because we had to go to the police station to report my friends phone. Somehow though the next day we managed to do everything we wanted and see everything we wanted and more. We started off going to El Parque Güell which is where Gaudi's (the man who designed La Sagrada Familia) house is as well as some other cool buildings and pretty scenic pictures are where you can see all of Barcelona. After that we all luckily love chocolate and desserts so we got some dessert (chocolate croissant which are the best here!!) and kept moving so we could see the other things. This time we met one of Alina's cousins friends who lived in Barcelona by the beach where he took us around there and of course we stopped and got gelato ( I am going to gain so much weight here) and then took us to see the
Magic Fountain of Montjuïc. Everything in Barcelona is so beautiful and so much fun. 
So after that we went to some other clubs and figured we would just stay up the whole night because we had to be at the airport at 5 am anyways so it would be pointless to sleep. We went to a couple clubs which one had more than 1000 people and I met someone who studied abroad in the US and went to the University of Oregon! Small world! Anway, we somehow managed to get to the airport, not miss our flight, not lose any of our stuff and make it home okay, although dead tired. The next day I slept all day which felt so nice but it's so hard to sleep here because I always feel like I have something to do or something I would rather do than sleep. I wish I was a better writer, I think these blogs would be more interesting but I know I will be glad I wrote anything in the long run. But for now, I need to wake up in 6 hours so I should go to bed. The bad thing about school here is it takes just under hour all together between a 1 mile walk to the metro, a 20 minute metro ride, another 15 minute walk to my class but hey, at least I know I am attempting to burn off all the sugar I eat during the day. Which reminds me of how I got the perfect family here-- they love chocolate like me! 
The bad thing is they feed it to me constantly and I can't say no; I think they are trying to fatten me up... ehh, oh well!! I am going to end with a saying I saw in a store in Barcelona that I liked and thought was kind of interesting:
Life is short, but the day is long. A second, any second of your life, can contain a kiss, a stimulus, a laugh, a jump, a chord, a beginning, a shout, a feat, a caress, an idea, an explosion or the green light for a revolution. Less analysis, less paralysis. More creativity, more ideas. Turn your genius loose and make the most of every day, every minute and every second to think big. To learn something new, to love, to make yourself handsome, to make yourself beautiful, to give wings to an idea or to dance as if there was nobody there. Until now, the good things started on Fridays, but enough of reserving positive energy. Good things start here and now.
I still can't believe I am here, it's surreal, it's a dream come true and I wouldn't trade it for the world. I do miss all of you reading this!! Hope everything is going good : ). Love to you all.
Your word is like a lamp for my feet and a light for my path.
Psalm 119:105
Adios y Buenos noche!
