*I have been cheering on my host family as they lead their active lives, participating in 5Ks and padel tournaments. Yay for them! I have been trying to exercise but it has been pretty sporadic.
*A few weeks ago I explored Parc del Laberint d´Horta with Anna (free on Sundays!). It was a really nice under the radar place that isn´t overrun with tourists. We also ate Mexican food at Rosa Negra, and it was quite delicious.
*For a few days, the weather here was abnormal. It became unusually hot (90F or 32.2C to be exact). So that week I learned to appreciate having air conditioning in every building back in Georgia because the schools here do NOT have it. I swear that week everyone was getting sick and in a bad mood because the school felt like a sauna.
*I helped the kids in P3 make candy and strawberry jam that they later sold to raise money for school supplies. That was fun but also a little stressful. Imagine watching twenty something three year olds brandishing knives as they clumsily attempt to cut strawberries into tiny pieces. Thankfully no one was injured in the process!
*I explored the small beach town, Sitges, with Kirsty and Katelyn. It´s a really cute town about an hour from my house. I had to take a different train and almost missed it but I used my minimal Spanish skills to ask for directions. Whew. See silly ladies in Sitges below.
*We had a three day weekend last week, so I flew to Munich and took a train to Passau to visit my good friend Martin and his girlfriend, Chenxin. Even though I was sick and the weather was pretty dismal, I had a great time exploring big and small towns, looking inside elaborately decprated churches, eating authentic home made Chinese food and having coversations about Brother Orange, and going to a ¨Cuban/German¨bar with decent cocktails and fantastic music. I had one small challenge during that trip. I was alone on the train back to Munich to catch my plane back home.... when the train broke down. I went to the information desk to ask for help and the woman didn´t speak English. The man who later sold me a sandwich spoke PERFECT English, and he sent me to the bus driver who gave me a few options. Eventually I decided to just get back on the next train and hope for no more problems. Then the next train randomly stopped and I thought Ökay, don´t panic. You´ve got this. Just ask someone what the heck is going on.¨ So I stood up and yelled to the whole train car full of silent passnegers, ¨DOES ANYONE HERE SPEAK ENGLISH!?¨And not a soul replied. I whipped out my directions and shoved them in a friendly looking German man´s face. He shook his head to indicate that I had, in fact, not missed my stop. One minute later, he and his family started shouting at me in German to let me know that I needed to get off the train. So it goes to show you that no matter where you are in the world and no matter what challenges you are facing during your travels, you can find a way to communicate and get the help you need. And MOST of the time people are happy to help the crazy lost American.
*In other news, everyone here is still sick. It´s almost June. Why are people still so sick? I really don´t know. Also, Barça won the kings cup last night. I watched the match with the host fam. Normally they dont watch futbol but it was a big match. I heard many fireworks and drunken fans passing through the streets last night.
Now I only have three weeks of school left. I can´t believe how quickly the time has passed. I never expected to have SUCH strong emotions about the end of my time here, either. One minute I am excited because I will get to do a little bit of travelling and see all of my loved ones back home. The next minute I am crying because I don´t know when I will see all of my amigos in Barcelona again. I have developed some amazing friendships here, and it will be hard not to see these people every day. I am so used to seeing these people every single day. Now I don´t know when I will see them again. I don´t know if I´ll ever see my students again. It makes me so emotional to think about these things so I try to focus on th present, but I am not so good at that. One thing is for sure though: I am SO grateful to have had this experience. Either way, I will leave with wonderful memories.
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