Mi nueva vida

I just got back from Valencia for a field trip with my program which is in southern Spain for those of you who are not geographically savvy (me being one of them)!  Although I want to tell you all about my trip I figured I would wait until I have uploaded all of the pictures and can give you a full recap!

Recently I have began to explore the Spanish culture a little bit more.  We have been visiting hole-in-the-wall bars where the locals hang out and drink rather than hitting up the discotecas where all of the American study abroad students can be found.  Don't get me wrong I love me a good discoteca, but there is something about the Spanish music and sticking out like a sore thumb that I can't resist lol! We recently went down to the fútbol stadium to watch el clásico (FCB vs Madrid) and the locals were literally chanting "You are boooootiful" and singing American songs to us trying to convince them to give them a kiss! They definitely love the blonde hair here...I guess we are seen as exotic?

Kier and I have become wine experts within the past week! We signed up to go to a wine tasting class and learned all about the aging of wine and what to look for!  

At our class learning how to properly taste test wine

Putting our skills to the test as we taste test wine at Torres Vineyards

On top of the wine tasting that we have been doing we have signed up for a cooking class that is done a man's house in Barcelona.  We are able to go to his house and casually drink wine and cook a traditional Catalan dish.  This is an AWESOME experience because we are able to see how the meals are prepared, ask questions and get to learn a little bit more about the Spanish culture.  It is supposed to be a two session course but of course we fell in love and want to keep doing it so I think we are going to try to schedule more than just two sessions!  This past week we made Paella this is a traditional Spanish dish that originated in Valencia and when made in Barcelona is typically made using various seafoods.  We also made an in-promptu tapas (a small appetizer starter dish) and a white bean cod salad (SO GOOD)!  For dessert it is traditional to have a type of mild cheese with honey and walnuts.

Muscle Tapas

White Bean Cod Salad

Paella

Dessert

Eating my first muscle (so obsessed now)

Everything we made was delicious and I definitely plan to bring the recipes back to the states with me!  This week we are making some sort of chicken dish for dinner so I am anxious to see what that is going to taste like.

I really feel like I am starting to get acclimated to the culture...I really want to continue to improve my Spanish and force myself to speak in Spanish more often around town and in my apartment!  After this weekend I really think that I have the whole siesta thing mastered now I just have to get on the same sleep and eating schedule as them! 

Keep checking back for more updates! I should be posting about Valencia within the next few days! 

Salud <3 

Vida de Barcelona

Still loving Barcelona and still can't even think about leaving this place! Kiersten and I have been talking and really think we should apply for internships in Europe :) Although this is a bit unrealistic we are beginning to think that 4 months is NOT long enough!  Each day we go out to explore we discover more things to do in Barcelona which makes it seem that it is necessary to extend our trip a bit!

Living in another country is unlike any other experience that a person can have!  It has forced me to go outside of my comfort zone and do things that I would never have done before.  As many of you may know I am a bit of a planner and like to have everything planned out to a T! Well in Barcelona planning and being punctual are not really apart of this culture.  The Spanish lifestyle has taught me to step back, let go and let things play themselves out.  Less stress and more adventure....I really can't complain!

I have seen so many cool things within the past couple of days

Parc Guell

Parc Guell

Parc Guell

Parc Guell

Montjuic

 

The view of Barcelona from Montjuic 

The beach

Check out my Facebook for more pics

We are going to Valencia this weekend! Kier and I are really excited about it! I will take lots of pics!

Exploración de Barcelona

So this is really not real life! This schedule is SO CRAZY and now Kier and I are paying for it with sore throats! Tomorrow is the first full day of class so hopefully once we start those we will get on a normal schedule.  For the most part Kiersten and I have just been trying to get to know the city so we took a bike tour and a gourmet tour of the city the past couple of days.

It was a bit rainy and cold the day that we went on the bike tour but we still had a good time and saw some cool parts of the city.  Here we are with our tour group in Parc de la Ciutadella we plan to go back there when the weather is nicer and visit the Barcelona Zoo that is inside of it!  Besides for the guided tours we have been doing more exploring on our own and getting lost only to find ourselves discovering other things like the Sagrada Familia below.

One of the coolest things to see in Barcelona a definite MUST SEE! We plan to revisit and go inside for a tour.  Along with all of the site seeing we have made sure to make it a learning experience and learn the history behind the buildings and parts of the city.  So even though my pictures on Facebook might reflect something different this really is a learning experience!  I think I can speak for both Kiersten and I on this one by saying that our favorite part of Barcelona is the beach! 

We have been spending quite a bit of time down there because there are clubs and bars down there to go to and all of the tours include this in the route!  I mean come on how couldn't you! A lot of cool historical information about this area and VERY easy on the eyes! We are so happy that it is not warm right now because it is safe to say we would probably be ditching school and catching some rays instead!

Kiersten and I are really excited for the upcoming events we have planned.  We are signing up for a 5 hour (yes it is actually 5 hours long) wine tour in Barcelona and a 2x3 hour cooking class so we can figure out what it is that Catalan people actually eat!  Right now we are in the process of planning a couple of trips with some friends...so far we are thinking of London and Interlaken Switzerland so I can actually experience snow this winter! This weekend we are going to hit up some Barcelona hot spots including the Aquarium and a trip to the mountains! Next weekend we take off of as an entire program (~400 kids) to Valencia for a 3 day REQUIRED trip where they have us all put up in 4 star hotels! We are SO excited for this because we get to be wined and dined!! 

As always check out my pictures on Facebook and I will try to update this as much as possible! Words truly cannot describe everything here but I hope my pictures and descriptions give you some what of an idea of what life in Barcelona is like it is a must to study abroad and to experience a different culture it sure has made me reevaluate what I want to do in the future and taught me to appreciate the American lifestyle.  Oh and I already have about 15 videos of the trip so those may be coming soon too! :) 

Buenas noches <3 

Bienvenidos a Bareclona

WOW! Words really cannot describe Barcelona! If I were to pick one of my favorite things tho I would have to say the architecture! The buildings are amazing here and everything is so pleasing to look at.  Kiersten and I decided to check out some of the city today and got a lot of great pictures and videos of what an average walk down the street consists of! 

 We are trying to compare Barcelona to a city back in the United States but cannot think of one that fits it to a T.  We are thinking like New York City but cleaner and a little less congested! But there are people EVERYWHERE and constant traffic!

We have been experiencing the night life of Barcelona the past couple of nights and have somehow found ourselves getting back to our apartment at 5:30 AM....I guess that means it is pretty good!  No more house party hopping or embarrassing nights at Rick's and Skeeps when you are that girl that couldn't get in...literally ANYTHING goes here! Kiersten and I decided it would be a good idea to put together a video of our first night to show everyone a little bit of what we are experiencing so here it is...

Pretty unreal right....I am hoping to write on here everyday...it's been a little hectic with the adjustment so  I have been slacking but I have ALOT to look forward to and am already in LOVE with this place (sorry mom and dad :) ) Feel free to check out my pics on facebook as well! :) 

(Video and pics of my apartment are soon to come) :)