Learning Cities by Getting Lost (Sunday, June 9, 2013)

Before bed I left a note for my roommate telling her my plans for the day.  Then I went to sleep and woke up early so I could go with my friend back to La Sagrada Familia right when it opened so we could go inside.  We ended up leaving a little later than we wanted, but still with plenty of time for us to go, come back, eat with everyone from the group, and then go to a beach down the coast. 

We made it to the cathedral on the metro with absolutely zero problems.  Then we waited in line for a little and walked in with open mouths and wide eyes because of how beautiful everything was.  So worth waking up early.  We set a time to get out, snapped as many pictures as possible, and got out and on the metro.  This time, we used a different entrance but we still found our train back to our stop and we said those famous last words, “We just beat the subway system! We own this city!”.  So wrong.  That is almost as bad as saying, “It can’t get any worse” or, “What could possibly go wrong?”.  We got on the right line and everything, but in the wrong direction.  By the time we realized it was too late.  We were lost in Barcelona, in an area we had never even heard of before.  For an entire hour we went from subway line to subway line and stop to stop before we finally made it back to El Poutex, our final stop.  We got out of the station only to find that we had missed breakfast and to put a cherry on top of that, everyone was on their way to the beach up the coast!  We were devastated, not to mention hungry.  We told them to let us know which beach they stop at, and we would be five minutes behind. Ambitious after an hour of wandering around the Spanish undergrounds, but still a noble attempt. 

We ran back to the hotel, saw our professor, got some directions to the separate train needed to make it to the beach, changed into our suits, and ran back to the station.  We followed the directions, but as we are us, we got lost. Again. For four and a half hours!  We asked so many people for directions, but everyone told us a different answer. Even when we asked two police officers, we got different directions from both.  Finally, we decided to stop at a Subway and grab some sandwiches to eat on the train because we still hadn’t eaten and we had been walking around with our backpacks on our bellies feeling like pregnant women for hours.  We eventually made it to the airport completely bewildered and angry that the others didn’t just tell us to go to the freaking airport and make it easy for us.  By this time it was cold, cloudy, and drizzling, but we were determined to make it to the beach and have a damn good time. 

We finally got on the right train, attempted to eat the worst Subway sandwiches of our lives, and got a text saying to not bother coming, it was too cold anyways and they were leaving.  At that point we had no choice, so we just kept going.  We made it almost to our stop, thought we were there, and got off the train.  We looked around a second and realized it was actually the stop right before the beach they had supposedly left.  Quickly, we ran back to the train as the doors started beeping shut, I almost got left behind, and we plopped down ready to cry at our luck. 

We went one more stop and made it to the beach very sad and cold.  My friend and I wandered along the damp sand and decided to go back when we saw people from our trip!  We were beyond happy and ran to them as if they were the only people we had seen in years.  We decided to stay a bit longer before going back.  Then the sun came out and we saw even more people!  No one had left yet!  We all waited for the train home together and took the hour train back to the metro station, and the half hour metro back to our hotel (standing the whole time due to a lack of seating).  On the bus, we asked how their day was and although it wasn’t quite as bad as ours with the amount of getting lost, they said it was still a pretty bad day.  It wasn’t even warm enough to take off their beach cover-ups.  We were secretly happy, but we kind of felt bad about that. 

Then everyone else decided to go to the Ice Bar but my friend and I were so exhausted from our day of getting lost that we stayed in her room and ate cold pizza with a few other lazy people.  She left and got locked out, by my roommate and I were too busy talking to notice her knocking at the door and she didn’t get back from the lobby getting a key for another 30 minutes.  Oops.  Then my roommate and I went back to our room, talked for a long time, and went to sleep so we could be ready to have a typically busy day the next day.  Oh well, at least the beginning and the end were pretty good.

You! is Now the Funniest Thing Ever (June 8, 2013)

Again, sorry this is late.  I know. I suck. 

So Saturday morning June 8^th, we woke up to thunderstorms in Barcelona.  Bummer! We didn’t want to miss an entire day in the city, so we (basically everyone on the trip) decided to follow my roommate’s plan to see like everything in Barcelona in one day even with the rain (which promptly stopped about five minutes after we left to make our day nice and hot and humid as usual. I swear this place is like Michigan with all its wacky weather.).  We tried to get together in the lobby, but that took some time to get everyone there at the same time.  Then, we tried to get to the metro, but moving that many people in a strange city didn’t really work out either.  Having gotten a quick little tutorial on where the subway was and how it works, my friend and I tried to lead, but no one listened and we ended up taking quite some time to find the stop.  Then we finally got there and there were some issues getting tickets.  One girl’s credit card even got stuck in the machine, and the guy was so confused saying, “Wow, this NEVER happens”.  So reassuring. 

First stop: La Sagrada Familia.  How amazing!  We walked around and took a bunch of pictures and then some people got in line to go inside.  I, being an idiot and listening to someone who told me the wait was going to be 2 hours and that we would only be allowed inside for 10 minutes, decided not to wait and went on with my day.  (Big mistake that I was sure to correct the next day, don’t worry.) (I keep getting incorrect information on this trip. lol)

Then, I went with a group to the beach, where we heard there was good paella.  They loved it, but I have decided, although it was fine, paella really isn’t my thing.  I just don’t like rice so I don’t know why I even bothered.  I guess I thought I had to try paella in Spain or the trip wouldn’t be complete.  To be honest, I’m ready for some new food because I was getting sick of all of the Spanish cuisine.  (Too much of the same and very pricey for all those little portions)    Parisian food should be really good and that is our next stop so yay! 

After lunch, we walked on the beach and took bunches of pictures with sailboats and the pretty view.  We went out to the pier and basked in the sun and saltwater fish smell.    We continued walking, saw a nude beach, and went to the W hotel where one girl had a membership and there was supposed to be an amazing view on their rooftop bar.  The rooftop bar wasn’t open for another half hour, so I went with one girl to Disegual (free beer, watermelon, and cheese?) while everyone else went to some bar called Salt.  We met up with them and waited until the bar opened but instead of going to the bar we went to the roof pool.  That was pretty cool because it had a really great view of the beach, but it was a bit cold and I was getting anxious to get a move on.  Then some of the kids made a friend with some guy from South America and mooched his alcohol until they decided to finally go upstairs.  Turns out, we weren’t dressed appropriately to even get in to the roof bar.  It was pretty sad so we left and some people went back to the hotel while two of my friends and I kept on touring. 

One girl had to leave so the two of us left made our way to the Gothic Quarters, not knowing what we were even looking for.  We got a little lost, so I said, “I wish Hugo was here so he could help us find our way and have fun”.  Then my friend said, “I dunno, I wish Peter was here”.  Literally, the crowd next to us cleared away and less than a minute later we looked and she shouted, “You! I know you!” right at Peter’s face.  Of all the people in Barcelona!?  Peter helped us find our way (AKA go straight and it is less than 100 feet away), and asked us how our day was.  My friend and I, being completely awkward as usual, answered with a little detail missing.  She said that we spent the whole day at the beach and the hotel, and that tomorrow we were gonna go back to the beach so we could relax.  We sounded ridiculous so she made sure to tell him the next day that we did more than that to make up for our apparent lazy tourist beach days.

So we got to the actual Gothic Quarters, took a million pictures, and moved on to the next thing on our hit list.  We walked to Las Ramblas, asked a police man where it was (he thought we were so dumb) and there just happened to be an Art Fair right near by with all local artists.  I love that!  But I didn’t find anything I wanted!  I did like the all plastic made jewelry, but I’m just gonna try to make some myself.  My friend bought a shirt too.  Then we went to the market for some essentials: chocolate, coke, and water.  On the way to the metro, we again thought we were lost (lol jk when we asked we found out the metro station was five feet away).  This boy (American?) gave us directions, because we really needed it, and then invited us to a traveler’s bar.  We told him we weren’t interested, that if we were going out we would be going to a local bar.  He tried to tell us it was local, “the bar is about 50% locals and 50% foreigners”.  We laughed to ourselves, said thanks but no thanks, and went to the metro to go home.  Of course, the ticket ran out and we had to buy more.  But hey, we got a new one and it worked out.  We even figured out the rest of the way home no problem at all!

Then we went to another market and out to dinner for some really bad pizza and pasta at some hole-in-the-wall before coming back for a much needed bedtime. 

Pretty good day, just wish I spent less time at the beach and the W.  But if you know me at all you know I am really not a lay on the beach kind of girl.  Well, for the most part.  Oh well.  Still amazing in Barcelona!  

Ain’t No Onions in a Paella (June 7, 2013)

Sorry this wasn’t posted on the actual day, but here’s what I did on Friday, June 7^th in Barcelona!! 

We woke up early to go to the Damm Brewery (emphasize the Damm), the largest brewery in all of Europe.  It smelled disgusting but either it got better, or unfortunately, we all got used to it.  I like to think it got better.  We were given a presentation about the marketing techniques and all of that good stuff all about the Damm Brewing Company.  They are famous for Estrella Beer and they own a bunch of different companies that make all types of beer: beer for celiacs, flavored beer, low calorie beer, everything. They do so much advertising (unlike Cordoníu) that they told us that their new commercials are released every summer, and now in the winter too, and people literally wait for them to come out so they can watch and download the music used in the commercial.  The presenter showed us the most recent commercial, three days old, that already had like a million views or something.  Ridiculous.  He also showed us a lot of other commercials from the past few years with famous chefs and cute little stories.  They were all surprisingly good commercials with all that happiness selling.  The ones we watched were all like watching little RomComs and stuff like that.  Apparently there was one they called the Lesbian Kiss or something (there was one scene where two girls kissed so I guess that made sense in the 4 minute full commercial) but there was this BIG controversy all throughout Spain about it.  Bet you can’t guess why.  You think it was the lesbian kiss don’t you? Nope.  Well?  Give up? It was because they made the paella in the commercial with onions, and there are no onions in paella!  How crazy and awesome is that?!  Then they took us on a tour of the brewery where there are hardly any workers but there are these super cool robots that use chips and GPSs to do all the work.  It’s insane!  Then, like the winery, we had a beer tasting where you could taste any of the beers they had.  People went nuts.  I tried the Damm Limon.  It was really good.  Like a weird, I mean interesting, lemonade.  (We can’t say anything is weird on this trip so even when it is, it is actually just interesting.  Weird is no longer in my vocabulary.)  Then we took a group picture and went to go back to the bus.  But before we left, they gave us a nice little present: a free bottle of beer.  Not that I enjoyed that type, but hey it was free?! 

Then we went back on the bus to go back to IQS.  Since I only have International IQ and Cultural Intelligence, I had a free block of time.  So I squished into a cab with some friends and went back to the Parc Guell with the other kids that didn’t have class at that time.  We walked all around the park and looked at and took pictures of all of Guadi’s beautiful work!  I had no idea it was such a big park, but it is seriously huge and amazing and wonderful.  Then we had the most ridiculously expensive lunch (cheese melted on baguette) and got a few souvenirs.  On the way out a living statue dressed completely in brown stopped my friend saying, “Oh look at you, you chocolate man!”  When asked if he was supposed to be a chocolate man, he told us no, he was a living statue, my friend is the chocolate man.  My friend was offended but he just laughed.  I truly think the living statue just didn’t realize how he sounded.  Oh well.  We won’t see him again.  Then we took a cab back to school.  The jerky driver tried to make us pay 4 extra Euros for using the back seat of his cab.  We said no, gave him the money we actually did owe, and got out as quickly as possible without looking back. (I gave an extra Euro just to be sure he didn’t drive off with my friend in trying to get out of the backseat.)  Taxi driving in Barcelona is supposed to be a noble and honest profession, but this guy clearly didn’t get the message.  You are driving a van!  The back seat is supposed to be used! 

Then we had International IQ class with the awesome Hugo and all 47 of us from the trip.  Then Cultural Intelligence with Peter.  I seriously love the classes.  They are really great and the teachers know so much. 

Then we took the autobus back to the Hotel Catolonia 505 (room 218) where we met in the lobby to go to dinner with a few other people at a fish place Peter suggested.  We got there and it didn’t have anything I wanted to eat, so I went next door with half the group and had the best food I probably had in all of Barcelona.  I got this really yummy fish in this red creamy sauce, and delicious chocolate mousse.  The people who went to Peter’s place hated their food, so that sucked for them, but at least I was pretty happy.  I know selfish, get over it.   

After that we took the metro downtown to go see the Majestic Fountain.  We got out a little early so we could see some of Guadi’s buildings (Casa Batlló and La Pedrera)  and downtown Barcelona.  One girl’s girlfriend came and met us.  She was a really nice art history major and she told us all about the different buildings and the area we were in with so much detail I felt like I was getting a real tour.  It was so great and so much fun.  Then we got to the Majestic Fountain where we took tons of pictures and enjoyed the view. 

When the fountain was over, we went to a restaurant near the bull-fighting stadium converted into a mall called Tapas, Tapas.  I didn’t get anything but everyone else who did didn’t seem too happy with his or her decision so it was okay. 

After that we headed back to the hotel and took a shower and went to sleep at around 3am.  The night was amazing and it was so perfect!  Plus, it was Friday so we didn’t have class the next day!  Even better!  

DJ Hugo Goes a Dancing

Day 2 in Barcelona and what a day!

Woke up to our neighbors looking for a wifi password and playing some great rap.  And when I say great, I mean not really at all.  But it was fine because it was time to wake up soon anyways and our alarms went off shortly after at 7:30 (7:31) AM.  Then we received two wake up calls just to be sure we were really awake, got dressed in our business casual low attire, and headed down to breakfast.  Lots of yummy pastries and breakfast food and all of it paid for in the trips tuition. Hail yeah.  Then we took a lovely bus to the IQS School of Management where we had our first real class class with our director Hugo.  He teaches International IQ, a class all about learning your place in the world ish.  We talked all about the EU and the map and what our itinerary would be for the rest of the trip.  Sounds like the final for that class is gonna be loads of fun.  Then I had a break and went with some friends to a bakery near the school before heading back to my Cultural Intelligence class. I am a big fan of that one. My prof is really cool and his accent is super fun to listen to.  I can even understand it almost the entire time.  Look at me go.  After class we had a lunch break at a nearby restaurant.  

Then we had our first professional visit! Woohoo!  We went to the Codorníu Winery in Catalonia.  It was so beautiful and you can’t imagine how much wine is in those cellars.  People could get lost in there.  I felt like I was in the dungeons of Hogwarts with all of those dusty bottles.  Follow the spiders, right?  So first we listened to a lecture and watched a movie about the history of the company and all about their sparkling wine.  It was interesting, but my jet-lag was really kicking in and once my pen died and I couldn’t take notes or doodle wine glasses and grapes, I was falling down that slippery slope of sleepiness very quickly.  Then we had a tour of the vineyards and all the buildings and the cellars underneath.  And then, as per FN tradition, we had our wine tasting to start of the trip right!  We cheered and celebrated being in Europe before being forced to exit through the gift shop.  But hey, every place should really have a gift shop anyways.  Then we took our “party bus” back to the hotel.  Some people tried to open one of their new bottles of Cava, but the cork flew into the air and foam went everywhere as the bus driver immediately stopped and explained harshly that there was no drinking allowed on the bus. Oops for them.  

Then we got back and had the rest of the night to do whatever we wanted.  AKA go back to the room and chill and start some homework before dinner.  We went to dinner at a Japanese place down the road because we heard it was good and cheap.  It was pretty nice. They had some excellent fondue de chocolate.  Three people forgot to pay for their waters (Come on now, that’s not free like home guys.)  But the owner of the restaurant said that we were okay, which was extremely nice of her. 

Then we came back and talked about the rest of our trip, got ready for bed, and did/are doing some homework.

Overall, pretty amazing day in the lovely Barcelona!  See y’all tomorrow!

P.S. We asked a stylish woman for directions today and she helped us out the best she could with her broken English.  I tried  to compliment her on her outfit but she mostly spoke Catalan and in the end she replied with, “oh you like my look? Haha Americans”.  Not sure exactly what that means but I guess I’m just improving my International IQ every minute aren’t I.

P.P.S. Sorry these posts are super duper long. Get used to it or don’t read them.

Barcelona Day 1

First day in Barcelona! What what!  

Yesterday morning I left at around 10:30 for my 12:10 flight with my brother. I took a go at TSA security, and failed.  So laptops are not listed on any of the reminder signs to take out but apparently its expected you do that anyways.  My bad.  Then I looked at where my flight was boarding, saw it was boarding right then, and airport hustled to my gate.  Then I waited for my zone to be called and went aboard.  I sat next to a pilot with a mustache who fell snoringly asleep almost instantly.  Then I had my layover in Atlanta and went aboard the next flight.  I sat down and the man next to me was a little chatty kathy.  We talked for a long while.  He was really very nice, but I just wanted him to be little quieter. My movie monitor was broken so I didn’t have that for most of the flight, but oh well.

Then I landed in Barcelona, went through integration, went through customs, and found my group at the Jamaica coffee bar.  We waited and then took taxis to the hotel where I was told my roommate was already in.  She is great! Yay!  I walked upstairs, set my stuff down, and then went out with her and a few other people to find the Parque Güell.  Beautiful!  Then we walked to a restaurant, La Taulla, and ate tapas and tried not to fall asleep.  The girl next to me ordered a glass of Sangria so the owner of the restaurant decided that he would have to make us all some, so he brought a big tub of it and set it on the table.  Classy stuff.  Then we came back to the hotel and had our first class with FN, which took 4 hours.  Wow baby trying to stay awake for that. nuh uh.  Then we went to dinner, and now I am back. Ready to shower and go to sleep to get up early to have class and tour a winery.  

Sorry this post isn’t super amazing.  I’m exhausted and just trying to get it written.  Keep watching for more Barcelona and then Paris! Ahh

Adventure Time

In one week from today I will be in the airport waiting in long security lines with half naked people rushing to their boarding gates with rolling suitcases and crying children.  How exciting and scary is that?!!?  I’ll be taking one of those big ol’ jet planes across the world for an entire month of studying, learning, meeting people, and exploring at least seven wonderful cities in Europe!  I’ll take classes and visit big companies that have influences all over the world!  I’m so thrilled, and nervous, and scared, and jumping off the walls about this study abroad I can’t even explain it!  I have gone from extreme excitement to not-wanting-to-go-but-really-actually-wanting-to in a matter of seconds and then back again!  

While I’m there I plan on taking as many pictures as my memory cards allow and blogging every night (if I remember and am not too tired). So keep watching for even more once I’m in Spain, and France, and Italy, and Switzerland, and Greece, and wherever else I end up going in just one month!  

See you in a week!  First stop: Barcelona, Spain!!

P.S. If you know of any can’t miss sites to see in Europe, leave them as a comment or whatever!  I’d love to hear them!

Adventures in Dog Walking

Two days ago I was walking through my town with my dog and I heard a car speed off behind me.  Naturally, I turned around to see the taillights of the minivan disappear beneath the one small hill in my Stars-Hollow-like city and began to turn back to my dog and continue walking in the opposite direction. It must have been fate, because just then I saw someone running down the hill and kept my gaze.  He was pretty great looking, but then I realized he wasn't just some cross runner.  Well, to be honest, he could have been.  I not so subtly turned my head even farther to follow this graceful runner knowing he could definitely be who I thought he was.  The chances were higher than at any other time.    I mean, he was in the area directing a soon-to-be-top-100-movie.  I tried to grab my phone to snap a picture of Ryan Gosling speeding through my town, but he was too fast, and I was already being way too inappropriate.  I settled for my extreme excitement at seeing this guy sans photo, who could have very well been some regular nobody with a lucky twist in genetic fate.  

Then, today I was walking my dog at around the same time and a similar thing happened.  I'm headed for that one tornado blocking hill and just then speedy-mcspeedster runs past me.  I figure, hey, I'm headed in that direction, might as well quicken my pace?  All I want is a picture, a high five, to tell him he's awesome, and to invite him to dinner for some matzo ball soup.  What are the chances that he's had some really good matzo ball soup anyways?  Granted, what are the chances it was actually him...? Anyways, I get to the downward slope of the hill and he has already run a few blocks ahead.  Then, I stop for a car to drive past and he's gone.  I lost him.  It was really too bad.  I definitely would've taken a picture with Ryan Gosling's look-alike.  I mean if you look like that...  

Now I am fully aware of how crazy and stalker-like I sound, but hey, he decided to become famous and I'm pretty sure it comes with the territory.  If I were famous, hugging fans would probably be my favorite part of the job.  

So, Tuesday I was about 33% sure it was him.  Today, I am almost 97%.  That is a pretty amazing improvement.  If I was failing a class I would be very happy with that change in score.  Maybe I'll see him again and be 100% positive it was him, but the chances of that are about as slim as The Doctor landing the TARDIS outside my window and asking me to be his companion.  Even still, next time I walk the dog I am going to be ready with an invitation to dinner, and maybe a camera.     

P.S.  If Ryan Gosling ever reads this: I am super sorry I tried to somewhat follow you on your run. Also, if the guy it was that wasn't Ryan Gosling ever reads this: I am super sorry I tried to somewhat follow you on your run.