Thinking · about · making · my · move · tonight

She replied, "Don't break the bowl, bitch."

I yelled, "What?" astounded that she would say something like that.

"What's in the bowl, bitch. You haven't heard that?"

"No, Mom. I haven't."

"Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet, eating her curds and whey. Along came a spider who sat down beside her and said, 'What's in the bowl, bitch?'"

Current Mood:

amused

I worked at The Office, yes, The Office and Michael sent Stanley and me on some sort of off-premises mission. After we completed our mission, which was in a parking lot, Stanley was supposed to give me a ride back to the office. But he didn't have a car, he had a moped. And instead of waiting for me to get on the back of it, he just drove off, laughing maniacally. I was stunned and hurt that he would be so mean. But as he pulled out into traffic, I watched him be hit by a car. He wasn't hurt that bad because he was wearing a helmet but still! So I was freaking out because Stanley was just hit by a car, I was yelling, "Did anybody call an ambulance?! I would but my phone is out of money!" (a common occurrence in Spain) and I was thinking, "great, idiots. no one called an ambulance." because everyone was just staring at me blankly. Then all of a sudden, an ambulance pulled up and who jumped out of the back? JD and Turk from Scrubs! NOOOO way! Yes way! So I got to ride with them to the hospital and Stanley ended up being fine. And JD and I started dating. The end!

best dream ever.

One Day in Morocco

I met you in Morocco,
one day.
Sitting backwards
on a train,
the hills and men,
goats and children,
existing in reverse.
I peered at
fleeting shacks
as you told me stories of growing up:
when there were no phones in houses,
so the man from the corner store
would yell,
“Reda, it’s your uncle!”
I saw the man and I saw the streets.

We practiced each other’s language,
unfamiliar words rolling in my mouth,
like clunky marbles,
and I learned to count to three in Arabic –
wahed, jzhuz, tlata.
You said I sounded like a three year old.

Morocco smelled like orange blossoms –
I wished I could bury my nose,
face,
and whole body
in the smell.
The expectant rain
hanging in the air
heightened every sensation.

I left the next morning,
on a forward-facing bus
that smelled of warm vomit,
olives and sweat.
and we drove through dirty towns
and stopped at random places
where beggars and boys
entered to plead for money
or that you buy a bar of chocolate.
I avoided their eyes
and wondered how so much magic
can exist in one day
and not spill over
to the next.

just booked my flight to Rome and back for next week. should be a blast. I'll be staying with my hella cool older cousin, Chuck, who is studying there this semester. Plus Meredith, his sister/ my favorite cousin, will also be there.

also, I wish I could watch this past week's episode of the office but fanpop.com isn't working! it usually has all the episodes for free but it seems like someone caught on... and no more free episodes... :( I need my usual dose of jim, michael, and dwight.

things that I am going to buy when I'm back in the US:
The Departed
The Office on DVD (every season)

Things that I miss about NYC:
The happy male voice on the fancy 2/3 line that says "Stand clear of the closing doors please!" (that voice haunts me)
The sailing team
Internet in my room
The city in general

Things that I like about Barcelona:
Not really having school work
Jamon serrano bocadillos
gelato shops on every corner
Lazy days in parks
Digital countdowns on the metro platform til when the trains arrive

I'm leaving tomorrow morning for five days of traveling to Sevilla, Morocco, and Granada. Unfortunately, the weather forecast says it's going to rain every day in every place. coooool. Like I didn't get enough of rain this past week.

Registering for classes at Columbia is usually a semi-stressful process. But I'm totally lost over here across the Atlantic. I honestly have no idea what the heck I'm supposed to do for creative writing classes. The department hasn't even posted a schedule online. Nope. Just a list of class names without days or times. How helpful. Mehhhhh.

Time to pack.

Current Mood:	bitchy
Current Music:	Queen - The Miracle

having a good day. I have an intercambio, Javier. He's a 23 year old engineering student and we get together once or twice a week after my 5 pm class and talk over coffee and pastries.

p/s I was talking to my parents on Saturday. They went to see a Peter, Paul, and Mary concert up in Providence and they were going to dinner beforehand. "What time?" I asked. "5 pm," my dad said. I almost died. 5 pm!!!!!!!!! I eat dinner at 9:30 pm here. Just last week, I found myself hurrying home at 8:45 pm to make it home in time for dinner On my way to the metro, I thought, "What is this? It's 9 pm and I'm going home for dinner... and it's normal."

So my intercambio is really nice and hanging out with him is fun! Some people have really bad intercambios that give them the creeps or are socially awkward or are 30 years old. Today Javi and I talked about classes, being late for things, sailing, and Disney movies. I drew a diagram of an FJ (the boats I sail) for Javi and labeled all the parts. He was so enthralled. I learned that tiller in Spanish is "timón." Later when we were talking about Disney movies, I was like "Timón is a tiller and he's the little animal in the Lion King!" It's okay because Javi is as dorky as I am. (in a good way.)

My Catalan class is so ridiculous. It's with only Columbia kids and for some reason all the boys from Columbia on this trip are goofy with only a hint of intelligence. So Catalan ends up being a big joke. Today we designed the houses of our dreams. My dream house was actually really great.

In all seriousness, I'm learning some Catalan. I find myself mixing Catalan words into my castellano speech. This past weekend, I said a number in Catalan instead of Spanish and the waitress was like, "queeeee?" Another time, I was talking with a Catalan friend and I was explaining my middle name (which is my great grandmother's last name) but I used a Catalan word by mistake and he just looked at me like, "What the heck did you just say?" and I was like, "Oops! Catalan! It's poisoning my brain!"

Also, I was once lost and I asked for directions and the man answered me in Catalan and I understood! I think that speaks volumes for how much my Catalan has improved.

Another exciting thing is that I took the night bus for the first time this weekend. I have a problem in Barcelona. The metro stops running at 2 am on the weekend and it starts up again at 5 am. So I used to either go home at 2 (lame), stay out til 5 (which takes stamina and skill), or take a cab home in the interim (which is expensive). Between 2 am and 5 am, night buses run throughout Barcelona but you have to know your number and where to catch it. Well, I finally figured it out and took the night bus this weekend! It only costs a metro ride and it took 20 minutes to get from the center of the city to my house! Heck yeah! I feel so liberated. I also feel like Harry Potter, sticking out my wand to catch the Knight Bus.

My parents arrive this Friday! Mis padres llegan este viernes. Els meus pares arriben aquest divendres. (english, castellano, catalá)

ciao - Carolina

It's been a long while since I wrote a long email. My apologies. It seems that the more I get accustomed to Spain the less I find strange and email-worthy. I guess I'm transforming into a Spaniard.

For starters, I'm sitting on my patio, facing the view of the mountains, typing this up. I stole Erica's super long ethernet cable so I could have internet out here.

I've been getting questions about classes from some people (mainly Señor Ramey... what's up Señor! He was my Spanish teacher from high school who is responsible for my internet in Spanish. He took me to Spain in 2003 with a group of 10 other students and that's when I realized I wanted to major in Spanish and eventually return to Spain.)

Classes... classes... classes. Where to start? The only thing I can say is that there is a very different mentality towards classes and education here. They do not ascribe to the American method of 4 years of college for a bachelor's degree. The same college culture does not exist. I would say that 90% of students live at home and commute to classes, plus work in their off time. Only 10% live in dorms and those dorms are not near campus. They are more relaxed towards classes but at the same time, they are more serious. It's hard to explain. There is not the pressure to apply to 9 schools (3 reach schools, 3 normal schools, 3 safeties). They go to college when they can, they take the number of classes that they can. If it takes them 7 years to graduate, so what? The type of work is different too. A lot of it is optional but then at the end of the semester, they have 40 page papers due.

I was talking with a friend on the program from the US who entered college in 2001 and he is going to graduate in 2008. He lives alone and has been supporting himself financially while going to college. And he says, "Who decided that I have to graduate in 4 years?" It's true. I think my dad would agree because he thinks the American mentality towards college is madness. College rankings, SAT scores, alumni chapters...

I'm not completely knocking the American concept of college because it's churned out some pretty smart people. And I love Columbia. love love love. My director here in Spain, Alberto, says, "You all have an advantage coming to Spain to study. You already know the American system of education and now you are learning about the European system. And you will learn that it is not a matter of one being better or worse. But just that they are different."

Alberto is basically the best person ever.

And that is true for everything in life. From countries to religions to individuals.

This past weekend our CIEE group traveled to Madrid. Everything was paid for, the train, the hotel, the museum excursions, and our food. We were given vouchers in denominations of 5 euro that were accepted at almost every restaurant in Madrid. I think I spent 40 euro all weekend (and 35 of that was on a new dress... :D) The first day we toured el Palacio Real (the royal palace.) The king doesn't live there though because it's so big that it's a pain to maintain. They mostly use it for ceremonial functions... like signing the treaty when Spain entered the EU! WOO!

The weirdest thing was walking through the gardens surrounding the Palacio and immediately being transported back 4 years before when I was in Madrid for one night with Señor Ramey and the group from high school. I find it incredibly strange to say that I've been to Madrid twice in my life and I'm only 20 years old. weeirrrdd. I have to get out more and stop retreading all the well worn paths of my childhood. (it's a joke.)

Madrid was cool but I didn't get to see that much of it because I came down with the stomach flu the first night we arrived. I spent most of my weekend in my hotel room bathroom. I missed the visit to the Prado but I did make it to the Reina Sofia and saw Picasso's Guernica. wow.

Being in Madrid made me realized how much I love Barcelona and Catalunya. hehehe. I liked all the places we visited in Madrid but I didn't like the city as a whole but then again... I didn't have a full experience.

I'm still not feeling 100%. I usually babysit/tutor today but I took the day off because my stomach is still angry with me.

This weekend I'm going to Ireland with my cousin, Meredith, who is studying in Sevilla. We will be staying with one of my best friends, Erin, who is studying in Galway. I'm hoping I feel better by then.

Until soon,
Caroline

1.) I've been whoring myself out on intercambio websites to get a language exchange with native spanish speakers. Before I had only responded to other people which got me nowhere. But last night, I put myself up and I got my first response 7 minutes later! Unfortunately, I won't be here this weekend to start my language dates but I can start next week... which brings me to my next bullet point:

2.) This weekend, I'm going to Madrid! It is an excursion with the whole program. Everything is paid for: the train ride, the hotel, the museum visits, and dinners. I don't think I can stuff my excitement into words. Madrid is going to rock.

3.) I bought new shoes today because my other shoes (my black slip ons) were ruined at Carnaval when I decided to go in the water at the beach... they almost floated away with the tide. Word of caution: don't wear clothes you care about to Carnaval.

4.) The sailing team is going to St. Petersburg for spring break this weekend and my heart is with them! As Terence always says, "The only thing to look forward to in Fall semester is the Swim Test. After that, I just wait for Spring Break." (or something to that effect)

Hello,

I had an unforgettable weekend. I think the crowning feeling is a feeling of accomplishment and of belonging. For the first time, I feel like I can navigate the city. Before, I simply new landmarks and how to get to important places via the metro. But this weekend, I spent a lot of time crossing from one neighborhood to another without using any of the main streets. Instead I used shortcuts and cut through side streets. It is easy to become disoriented in the streets here because none of them are grids. But this weekend, I went everywhere. I felt unstoppable.

On Thursday, I went to an absinthe bar and had absinthe for the first time. Quite an experience. I kept quoting Mitch Hedberg. “Pretty soon I was forcing the trip. Why is the floor as low as I can go?” (or algo así) Everyone expects “green fairies” but it’s actually pretty nasty.

Before absinthe though, I played Frisbee in el Parque de la Cuitat Vella (old city in catalan) with four really cool guys and a bunch of 9 year olds. It was a dreamlike afternoon, perfect. We went to a champagneria for lunch. It is a place that only sells sandwiches, tapas, and champagne and you eat standing up, smushed in a crowd. But worth it for the real experience and the coolness.

Miguel visited this weekend and I think he had a good weekend! Albeit, a very varied one. I showed him my university, which is a very magical place with terraces, beautiful trees, and courtyards, and we went to a club on Friday night.

On Saturday, we went to Parc Guell, Parque de la Cuitat Vella (where we rowed on the pond), and I took him to the champagneria for lunch. Because I had fallen in love with it and I just wanted to recreate my magnificent Friday afternoon. We had dinner with my lovely señora, Paula. But afterwards, Miguel had an allergic reaction to something (he thinks it was an apple) and I had to take him to the emergency room! If anyone knows Miguel, he can never visit me without something semi-catastrophic happening. When he visited me in Rhode Island, he got himself locked in the upstairs bathroom and had to climb out the window.

Once again, this Sunday I didn’t leave the house at all. I love Sundays in Spain because absolutely NOTHING is open so I never feel compelled to leave the house and be mobile. Instead, I do my homework, read, rest,. I always know I can look forward to Sunday as a day of rest when my week is going crazy.

I booked my flights to Galway for the weekend of St. Patrick’s Day! I can’t wait! I’m going with my cousin, Meredith, who is studying in Sevilla. We will be staying with one of my best friends, Erin, and my other best friend Lauren will also be there! I think the weirdest thing will be being in an English-speaking country. ☺

I felt I should update my lifejournal and tell everyone what I did today. I willingly skipped class. I was sitting in class, waiting for the teacher, and my friend ran up and said, "We're going to go costume shopping. Want to come?" And I said, "Sure!" So I gathered my things and left. Whatttttttttt? I know!

The system of education in Europe is so different though. (I feel qualified to say Europe because I talked to my friend in Austria and he affirmed that it's not just Spain that's different.) I have a class every Tuesday and Thursday that starts at 11:30 am but the teacher has yet to be on time. The second class, he was almost 45 minutes late. And no one blinks an eye. He never even apologizes. Today he was 20 minutes late, and he just came in, sat down, and started lecturing. It's like, "Hello! What have you been doing for the past half hour? Drinking cafe con leche around the corner?!" My teacher for my 1 pm class told us on the first day that she was never going to be on time. She is always 15 minutes late and after the first 45 minutes, we always have a 5 minute smoking break that turns into 10 minutes. So basically, no one gives a shit.

And we don't even have homework. We got syllabi the first day. I use syllabi in the loosest sense of the word. We got "syllabi" the first day with a list of about 25 books... and only two of them are required. The rest are optional. Who the heck is going to read 23 optional books?!

So I skipped class today and I don't even care. If this were Columbia, I would be racked with guilt. Nope. I went costume shopping because I'm going to Carnaval in Sitges tonight and I need to dress up. I'm going as Peter Pan. It will be super sweet. I bought a peter pan shirt for 3 bucks at a thrift store. Then I bought a hat and a mask at a costume store.

I've also discovered dates. Not like today's date, or like a dating service, but the fruit. My señora came home last week with this styrofoam container containing sticks and things that looked like rejected grapes. If a grape had deformed, fat older brother, it would be these things. So this styrofoam plate sat on the kitchen table for a few days and no one touched it. After awhile, our señora gave up and thought we just didn't like dates. One night, she said, "Los dátiles no tuvieron mucho éxito, ¿no?" (The dates didn't have much success, huh?) I was like, "What the heck is a dátiles?" She said, "A date." I was like, "I've never had one. How do you eat them?" "You just eat it. But watch out for the seed." I ate my first date and it's like she's created a date-eating monster. I can't stop eating them now. They are so good! They aren't even sweetened! Why would anyone eat any other type of fruit? Why would anyone leave a land of dates for a land without dates?

So basically, when I get to Morocco, (Cuz I'm going in April... yeah!) I´m going to eat dates, ride a camel, and maybe see if I can finagle a tent. That would be sweet.

Today was the first day of the rest of my time here in Spain and it was a great day. :) Let me start from the top. I've changed my schedule yet again because one of my Universitat de Barcelona classes was too hard. So now I have two UB classes (which meet Tuesday and Thursday) and two CIEE classes which meet Monday and Wednesday. My new CIEE class is Literature and Cinema of Spain, along with my old favorite, Catalan. (just kidding.)

So today I had my two UB classes, español en los estados unidos, y literatura hispanoamericana. After class I went to lunch with some people, then I had to hop on the metro to meet Ana and Raimon. (I was mistaken before, his name is Raimon, not Ramón.) I was really afraid Raimon wouldn´t like me or that he would be bratty and spoiled, and hanging all over his mom.

But he was so cute!!! His big eyes and short blond hair. We hung out and had a snack together. He actually knows a lot of English (more than I thought.) He was very excited when he remember how to say something in English. He ran into the kitchen and said, "My name is Raimon!"

Raimon, his mother, Ana, and his father, Tomas, live in Villa Olimpica, a newer part of Barcelona where they held the Olympics. It is a gorgeous neighborhood. It has a lot of space. The Barcelona Zoo is nearby, plus lots of parks, and fountains and the best part is that it´s right on the beach. They definitely live in the nicest part of Barcelona.

I found out that Raimon really likes movies and I asked him what type of movies are his favorite. I asked, "Do you like Disney movies?" Then his mom told him to show me his movie drawer. He pulled out Gladiator, League of Extraordinary Gentleman, and LadyHawk. Not what I was expecting. But I was so excited when I saw LadyHawk. Ali and Dad know what I´m talking about. A little known 80s classic.

Raimon is so cute and he kept asking when I had to leave. When I told him six oclock, he said, "No quiero que salgas." (I don´t want you to leave.)

So I´m really happy. I´m making money and hanging out with a well-behaved little kid.

Okay, so I came up with this elaborate metaphor but no one here understands it. I know that of all the people in my life, my sister, Alistair, is guaranteed to understand what I’m talking about.

Every Monday, I watch the Spanish version of “Dancing with the Stars” which is called “Mira quien baila!” (Look who’s dancing!) I would never watch this in the US because I don’t want to purposely lower my intelligence but here, I feel like I’m learning things about Spanish culture and the language. It’s also just hilarious to watch people dance to songs like, “I’m every woman” and “We are family.” There is one young woman on the show whose claim to fame is that she is the sister of a bullfighter. But she’s kind of fea (ugly). The only thing she has going for her is her youth and her brother, apparently. She’s gawky and gangly and has the most obnoxious personality. Unfortunately, the word gawky isn’t in my Spanish-English dictionary so I can’t impart my specific feelings about Carmen to Paula.

Instead, I came up with this elaborate metaphor: Have you ever seen the Disney movie “Alice in Wonderland?” Yes? Do you remember the scene where Alice is playing croquet with the queen? Instead of mallets, they use flamingos but Alice’s flamingo won’t cooperate. It’s goofy and goes limp when she wants to hit the “ball” (actually a rolled up hedgehog.) Carmen, the dancer on Mira Quien Baila, whose brother is a bullfighter, reminds me of Alice’s flamingo. All goofy, and giggling, and loopy.

That’s my metaphor. Alistair knows what I’m talking about.

Love, Caroline

I was tired and grumpy this morning. About 6 CIEE students had a spanish literature class together at 8:30 am but when we got to the class, the teacher spoke in Catalan the whole time. We finally realized we were in the wrong class. When we went to the department office to ask which room to go to for the spanish literature class, they told us that the class wasn´t offered this semester. So it´s 9 oclock in the morning, I´m grumpy and tired and we just found out that the class we wanted to take isn´t offered. We called up CIEE and told them and then walked to the CIEE offices which are about a 20 minute walk away.

When we arrived, the director of our program, Alberto, was waiting in his office, and he helped us pick new alternate classes and to make other changes with our schedule. It ended up being a godsend because now I don´t have an 8:30 am class; and I was able to change one of my other classes to an early time (same teacher and same class) so that I can babysit on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.

I have realized that Alberto is the nicest guy. At first, I thought he was fake nice and that, when the semester started, he would show his true evil side. But this past week, he has consistently shown what a genuinely nice, helpful person he is. Yesterday, our Catalan teacher was 45 minutes late for class, so after 15 mintues, Alberto came to our room and took us all to the CIEE cafe. He treated us to whatever we wanted to eat or drink and then we sat and talked with him for half an hour until our teacher arrived. Today he let us bombard his office and solved all of our scheduling problems. He´s a great guy.

About the Catalan course: only the Columbia kids are required to take it. So it´s the 8 Columbia kids on the trip right now and one other CIEE kid that just wants to take it for fun. It´s not the whole program. Although, it is open to everyone if they want to take it. However, a Catalan course is required by Columbia University.

Now my schedule is:
Catalan 5-6:30 on Mondays and Wednesdays
Spanish Poetry 10am-11:30 on Tuesdays and Thursdays
Spanish in the US 11:30-1pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays
Hispanic Literature 1-2:30 on Tuesdays and Thursdays

So I have 4 and a half straight hours of class on Tuesdays and Thursdays but then my day is free.

Today was incredibly challenging. When I was applying to this program (CIEE Barcelona Advanced
Liberal Arts), I was like, "I´m way better than any people that just take the regular liberal arts." Because those people don´t enroll in a real university. But today, as I suffered through horrible classes and disorienting babbling, I realized, "I'm fucking crazy." I never take the easy way. Universities are run wicked differently in Europe and then throw in Spanish, Catalan, and the Spanish laissez-faire demeanor and you´ve got yourself one confused American. But then I had an epiphany, "It´s good that I´m here in Spain, challenging myself. I'm growing as a person rather than understanding the system like at Columbia. Also, if all the Spaniards here can function and understand the system, then it can't be completely impossible. I'll manage somehow."

So that was my epiphany.

I switched my schedule around because I want to babysit for a little boy on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. I am really excited to babysit for him. Paula gave me the name of this woman that she works with who wants a native English speaker to babysit her son and speak to him in English. So I called the mother, Ana, yesterday and she called me back at night and we are going to meet on Friday at 5 pm to discuss the logistics. I don´t know how much I should ask to be paid because not only am I babysitting little Ramon, who is 8, but I will be doing an extra service of teaching him English. I´m reallyyyyyyyy excited. I love kids.

I am very happy that I do not have any more 8:30 am classes and now I cleared up my Tuesday and Thursday afternoons to babysit Ramon. I also think I will like the Catalan class more when I´m not grumpy.

This has been another interminable weekend. On Saturday, we had an excursion to two monasteries, Sant Creu, and Poblet. We had to meet at 9 am at some statue in el Barrio Gótico to get the bus which meant I had to get up at 7:15 to shower, eat, and take the metro down there in time. Man, that’s the earliest I’ve gotten up at Spain so far. Except this week, I’ll start having 8:30 am classes and it’s not like I’m living on campus like at Columbia. I live about 30 minutes away by metro… so it looks like 7 or 6:45 am wake-ups for me. :( A little cruel.

So the monastery of Sant Creu is empty but has little damage. At the very beginning of the tour, we were ushered into a small, rank room. It smelled like someone was storing all the musty, decaying monks’ robes in there. It was pitch black and we had no idea what was supposed to happen. I asked, “What is this? A fun house?” Then the booming voice started and a strange stop-motion movie started, using archaic images from old texts and pottery to illustrate the story of the monks. We were still in the smelly, dark room. The movie was playing on a white curtain. The booming voice stopped its narration abruptly and the curtain rolled back and away with lots of squeaky inefficiency. Staring into darkness, I was sure that someone dressed as a freaky monk was going to jump out and scare us. But instead, a light illuminated some primitive machinery, pulleys, levers and buckets, to illustrate the labor of the monks. Then the wall to the left of us rolled away and I actually kind of yelped. I was so scared. What sort of crazy fun house instructional place was it?! The booming voice roared on about the monks’ daily lives as the light slowly illuminated a mock-monk dining hall. The bad hijinks didn’t stop for another 30 minutes, as we were ushered into another dark room, with more booming voices, weirdly illuminated objects, and crescendos of mood music. Finally, we were allowed out of the disorientating maze and back into daylight where the real tour started.

The monastery was pretty cool and I took a ton of pictures. It was a freezing day though and everyone basically shivered all day.

We had an hour and a half break for lunch then we went to another monastery that is still inhabited by monks. While we were in the church of the second monastery, Poblet, a side door opened, and a monk appeared, like the characters in Disney World, except for real. And you can’t ask for autographs. Everyone froze and someone said, “Hola, buenas días.” He was either disgusted by tourists or he had taken a vow of silence because he didn’t respond. It was cool either way.

By the end of the day, though, someone said, “I think I’ve seen enough monasteries to last the rest of my life.” Yeah, two monasteries in one day is a little much. Going through the second one was like experiencing dejavu.

Today was Sunday and I learned my lesson about trying to do things in town when it’s Sunday in Spain. Instead, Sunday is truly a day of rest. Erica and I went to the only supermarket (el super) open on Sundays (in the morning) and bought some things for Paula. Then, we explored our neighborhood because we’re really only accustomed to the metro stop and the way to the super. The walk was fun and tiring (the hills in our area are SOOO steep! It’s like being in San Francisco, not like I would know since I’ve never been.) Okay, it’s like walking up the Green End Hill or the Miantonomi Hill in Middletown. So, thank goodness I had my map with me because we got a little lost. The streets are so disorienting. Whenever I think I’m facing North, I turn out to be facing East or West which is the worst feeling. But we made our way back and wandered through some beautiful neighborhoods on the way.

Tonight, Paula made us Shepherd’s Pie, which she was very proud of. She used an Argentinian
recipe because Shepherd’s Pie is not common in Spain. It was delicious.

In another news, I have read two books since I’ve been here and one, The Girl’s Guide to Hunting and Fishing, which Mr. Zahm recommended to me, was so good that I read it in 3 days. Honestly, it was really good. I only brought three books to Spain with me though and I am already on the third so I might swap books with people on the trip. Or buy some in Spanish… not Catalan though!

Till soon,
Caroline

Wow. My life has changed so much in the past half hour. I'm online, listening to jazz, talking to people on AIM, checking my email. This is great. I just want to watch an episode of the office too but the connection is bad so the episode keeps pausing and being lame.