Sunday June 18

Today was a free day! We have the whole day to either spend time with our host family or our friends. My friends and I decided to go to the Moco museum which was very cool. It was an art museum with modern, contemporary and street art from artists like Keith Haring, Andy Warhol and Banksy. It was a mix of physical and digital art and there were some amazing photo opps with some of the rooms they had. 

After the museum we shopped around the Gothic Quarter. I was able to get all my souveneir/gift shopping done today! We found that there are so many gifts shops that have the exact same things but here and there you can find the good ones. 

Later we met up with two girls from my high school who are traveling through Europe and happened to be in Barcelona right now! It was very nice to meet up with them and see familiar faces.

Tomorrow we start up with class again!

Monday June 19

Today's cultural activity was a photo challenge in La Boquería, a large market in Barcelona with countless vendors with fresh fruit, meats, cheeses, seafood, and ready to eat foods like empanadas or juices. We had to take a picture of something we didn't know/never tried before and had to ask, in Spanish, the worker about what it was and how they make it. It was definitely a time to get out of your comfort zone in order to ask them about their food. 

In Spanish class we got our project of the week which is about all of the creative culture in Spain which includes music, art, architecture, movies, and dance. 

After class we found a café to finish our homework at, and then we walked home as the weather was nice and breezy today. 

At dinner I get to play some fun games with my host brothers: one of them was where you have to ask each other questions, but you can't include the words "sí" or "no" so they'll ask something like "Te gusta el helado?" (Do you like ice cream?) and you have to try and answer without saying yes or no. You have to say something like "me encanta" (I love it) and it's a great way to focus and practice my Spanish. 

Tuesday June 20

Our cultural activity today was a graffiti workshop! We took the metro to a skate park/lot where the graffiti is legal and there were two artists who helped our make the collaborative group picture. There were twelve kids per painting and we essentially colored in the outline of a picture and then we signed our names at the bottom. We also had to talk with the artists about their art and art around Barcelona, as it relates to our project that we are completing this week which focuses on the creative culture of Spain. 

After Spanish class my friends and I wanted to go shopping and then find a café to work at. We stopped at a few stores along the Passeig de Grácia, which is one of the main shopping streets in the city. We eventually made it to the Cortes Íngles which is a nine story mall with an extensive food court at the top. We were very hungry so we decided to eat and study there, and you can get a great view of the city up there! I ate some croquetas which are a classic Spanish tapas dish and they are essentially a fried ball with a creamy, cheesy filling. 

For another part of our project we had to find movie posters in Spain so on our walk home we were able to find a movie theater!

My roommate and I had a nice conversation with our host grandma during dinner. We talked all about music, the stories of our names, and what we want to study in the future. 

Wednesday June 21

We started our day off with a tapas cooking class! We collaboratively made 5 different types of tapas, as there were stations that each group of seven kids took a turn at. For some we cut bell peppers and onions, others we put tuna on some bread and we all helped out to make the completed dish. 

There were two salad-like toppings that we put on bread, one was a mango curry taste and the other had imitation crab and mayonnaise. Then we had tuna on bread with a bell pepper cream, empanadas with tuna and hard boiled eggs and then a Spanish tortilla. A Spanish tortilla is very different from your typical tortilla you use for a taco. It's essentially an omelette with eggs and sliced potato chunks and it's quite delicious!

We had to ask the chefs that taught us all about the food of Barcelona and their experience as a chef. We have a portion of this every day during our cultural activity, where we must ask questions to a certain person that relates to whatever it is we did that day. 

After the class our program leaders took us to get gelato and it was very tasty. 

We had Spanish class and after that my friends and I decided to go shopping and I got to buy some new clothes. I've noticed a few new things since being here in Spain, one of them, is that things are a lot cheaper compared to the US! The other being the way they organize their floors. The ground floor, which we would normally call floor 1 in the US, they call floor 0. So the first level upstairs from ground level is floor 1. Then once you go downstairs from level 0, it's floor -1. Just an interesting thing they do here in Europe!

Thursday June 22

Today we went to La Pedrera or La Casa Mila, it's another building from Antoni Gaudí the most popular architect here in Barcelona. He's known for his Modernism style that takes elements from nature such as trees or animals. It was once the home of the Mila family and so we got to tour the rooms they once lived. Although the best part was the rooftop, where you got a great view of the city amidst some cool architecture. 

After class my friends and I went shopping but this time we made it to a second hand store called Humana! There were two, one was just secondhand and the other one was vintage, and I got some cute shirts at the vintage one. 

I've been trying lots of new snacks and drinks here, one of my favorites being the Fanta Limón which is lemon flavored Fanta and it's so delicious! It's essentially sparkling lemonade. I've also tried Aquarius which is equivalent to Gatorade, but I think it tastes better than Gatorade!

Friday June 23

Feliz Viernes, Happy Friday!! We don't have a cultural activity on Fridays so we just had class in the morning. We presented our projects which were all about creativity around Barcelona and Spain and then we had some reflection time with our group leader about how we are all doing. 

Class got out at 12:30 so we ate some lunch and then explored a neighborhood called Grácia. We were there for our cooking class earlier in the week but decided to come back to see what they had. We were able to find more vintage stores so I bought some more clothes. It was very fun to just explore the area and just chose which direction looks best. It was very leisurely because if there was a store that looked fun, we would go and check it out. 

Today was the celebration of San Joan, otherwise known as the Summer Solstice! I feel so lucky to experience this while I'm here in Spain because it was so cool getting to see everyone get together. I went with my host family and roommate and then my host uncle (my host mom's brother) and his 4 year old daughter and his host son (who is in the CIEE program with me). All around the city there are essentially block parties where everyone gathers and they bring so many fireworks. Most of them are the smaller firecracker types but some of them were so loud!!! They had a group of drummers who were performing and then they stepped to the side while the main group had their display with these spinning firework displays and two giant pigs with fireworks coming out of their mouths - it was crazy! Then after that was said and done they had a huge bonfire in the middle of the street made up of old furniture, and everyone was just throwing their fireworks into it before it was lit. Then once it was lit, it ran for the rest of the night. 

On the other side of the street, father away from the fireworks area they were selling food, drinks and they had a stage for a band. They had lined up tables but those were reserved so we just enjoyed our dinner on a blanket on the sidewalk. They were playing music so we were all dancing and it was so much fun!  

Saturday June 24

Today was a reset day for me! I just took it slow and had some time for myself which was much needed. I ate lunch with my host brothers and mom and then my brothers and I watched a movie. 

Later on I decided to take a walk around and I stopped at a grocery store and bought a nectarine and a Fanta Limón. Then I just found a park bench to sit on (there are so many throughout BCN) and read my book! It was very peaceful, and the weather was nice and breezy in the shade. 

I came home and ate dinner which was rice, tomato sauce, and a fried egg on top, a common food for young kids in Spain. Then I tried watching a movie in bed but I ended up falling asleep😅