Just Learn Your Verbs and Smile!

Hola mis amigos!

I am soooo incredibly stoked to be here right now! There are so many exciting things to tell you about, but I should start at the very beginning, a very good place to start.

I arrived at the Barcelona airport a little late because of a slight flight delay. My heart was pounding super fast as I got out of the plane and maneuvered my way through the airport to find my bags and then continued on out to the arrival area. At first I didn't see Carson, our wonderful Interhispania supervisor, so I was worried no one was there, but suddenly he appeared right in front of me and when he asked me "Como te llamas?" I completely forgot what that meant. After a few seconds I recovered, told him my name, and we waited for a few more groups of exchange students. On the bus to the hostel, where orientation was going to be held, I met some really nice kids from both Germany and the US who were staying at the hostel as well. When looking out the window, I was of course immediately intrigued by the palm trees all over the place.

The next two days were filled with 1) Barcelona sightseeing, which was beautiful, despite the rainy weather 2) Orientation! Yay! and 3) Frolicking around Barcelona due to the much appreciated freedom our supervisors gave us.

Our sightseeing was mostly done from the bus, but it was a great way to see the city, especially at night! We occasionally got off and walked around for a while for a better look.  My favorite things were probably Gaudi's various casas, which reminded me a little of das Hundertwasserhaus. La Sagrada Familia, also by Gaudi, was probably the largest church I have ever seen, and it's still not finished! The exterior designs were extremely delicate and creative, and the various sides of the church are completely different. The bus also took us to the harbour and down La Rambla, the main street in that area of Barcelona. Now, I think my new favorite city is Barcelona!

I really enjoyed the orientation on Saturday morning. I felt like everything was explained well enough that we now know what to expect, how to act, and how to be successful with our experience here. I know you can never be fully prepared for what's to come, but I feel a lot better about it than I did before. At the moment my biggest worry is school, but I guess I'll just have to go, see how it is, and deal with it.



I was kind of worried because the CIEE kids had all already met in Boston and gotten to know each other before they arrived, and I didn't know anyone, but that proved not to be a problem. All of my seven roommates at the hostel were really great, and I hope we'll be able to keep in touch. They are all in other parts of Spain, but we're hoping to maybe get together for the Madrid trip sponsored by Interhispania.

So, this morning most of the students left the hostel early -REALLY early- to catch a flight to their destinations. A few of us were lucky and were departing later. The entire morning I was so nervous, it was all I could think about. But at about 10 my host mother Giselle showed up, and I knew everything was going to be okay! She was so nice and seemed so happy to meet me, I couldn't help forgetting how nervous I was. We got in the car and drove to the outskirts of Barcelona, and were already home! The four dogs greeted me very nicely when I came in the gate, and the two cats gave me peculiar looks. The house is nestled in the mountains and has a beautiful view on the valley below it.  My host dad Joan also seems extremely nice, and my host brother Eugeni has been great as well. He's already given me the books I'll need for school this year and explained my schedule. I still don't completely understand it, but I'm going to start school on Tuesday so I guess I have a little time to figure it out! We've been speaking a combination of English and Spanish, but Giselle said that we should start only speaking Spanish soon. I agree! I'm surprised that I can actually understand a lot of what they say when they speak to one another or to me, but I guess the situation will be different in school when everything is in Catalan!

Tomorrow I have one more day to regroup before it all begins. Everyone says the first month is terrible, but I'm determined to make the best of it.  Hope you all are well!

"Learn your verbs and you'll be fine!" -the Starbucks Guy
"The best thing you can do is smile. They'll know you're listening." -Carson

Love always,
Nina