Arrival in Barcelona

Greetings from Barcelona. To make the reading a bit easier on the eyes and less overwhelming, I've broken it up into sections.

Arrival
My flights went very well, except I hardly slept. However, the time that I did sleep, I missed breakfast, so I was famished upon arrival to Barcelona.  Not to mention, airplane food isn't really my idea of comfort food, so let's just say I was really looking forward to landing, stretching my legs, and eating yummy food!

Upon my arrival, my roommate and friend Bianca (who you will be hearing a lot about) met up with other IES Abroad Barcelona program students. We were greeted by Program Director, Cesar and led into a room where other IES Center people met with us one on one to go over our housing assignments, rules and expectations, and next week's schedule. However, Bianca and I weren't warmly received as we entered the room with our hot chocolate, yogurt, and coffee (we were starving). We were told by one of the IES personnel (who shall be referred to as Josefina for anonymity) rudely told us to leave our food outside. Considering we'd been awake for over 24 hours, were starving, and had a long flight, we were not amused (as the queen would say). We dismissed her rudeness and left our food outside as asked.  Upon return to the room, we noticed everyone was giving their passports to Josefina. So, I approached her and kindly asked, "Excuse me, but do you need our passports?" She gave us a comprehensive look as if we were crazy and said curtly ,"Can you sit down please until you're asked to turn in your passports." This really pushed Bianca and I's buttons because her and I are from from being "push overs." We decided that if she was rude to us one more time, we were going to speak with her supervisor (the Center Director) and explain that she needs to be more understanding of the students situation and have a better attitude.  For the remainder of the session, Bianca and I were brief but polite when she asked us questions but did notice a difference in attitude (she was a lot nicer). I imagine it was very hectic for her dealing with all these students, but that's no excuse for rudeness.

 Grumpy Taxi Driver
Then, Bianca and I left the airport in search of a taxi to take us to our new home in Barcelona. As we walked outside the airport, there was a line of at least a dozen taxis all asking us to ride in their taxis. We approached a female driver (whose trunk was already open) and asked if we could drive with her. As she attempted to fill the trunk with our suitcases, she realized her car was too small to take all of our baggage (Bianca and I each brought 3 pieces of luggage). So, she handed us off to another driver. Well, this man put our luggage in the trunk but the trunk kept opening. He got out of the car (engine running and meter going) and took at least 20 minutes to adjust the suitcases. I kept suggesting to him in Spanish to just put one of the suitcases in the front seat but he insisted on fitting it in. Bianca and I got annoyed because we were being charged about $10 during this wait time. The car ride was very awkward because (although I conversed with him in Spanish about his family, Barcelona, Catalonia, etc) he just seemed very distant and cold. Finally, we pulled up to our street and said he would not charge us for the wait time (But he only discounted about $5). I was so fed up I just didn't care and wanted to meet my homestay family, hoping it would be a far more pleasant experience than that taxi ride.

Home Sweet Home at Isabela's

I'd say I'm settling in quite nicely at Isabella's, especially her balcony

Bianca and I were a bit on edge as we were tired from the flight and from grumpy Josefina and the taxi driver. However, we were relieved to find a quaint cobble stoned street (our soon to be new home in Barcelona). We walked up to the stairs and decided to take turns in the elevator. I went first and I barely fit in the miniscule elevator with my three bags (claustrophobia anyone?). The elevator chimed at the 3rd floor and I was greeted by two smiling faces: one, Isabel (an elderly woman with a warm heart and charismatic demeanor) and two, Elena (Isabel's 19 year old granddaughter, who is just as sweet as her grandma). My exhaustion was instantly erased by their infectious energy. They helped me with my baggage and took me to my room. Bianca came up after me. Isabel and Elena asked us about our flight, if we were hungry, where we were from, if we spoke Spanish, etc. We hit it off instantly. We talked about Barcelona, our program, and our plans for our stay. Elena soon left and we got to know Isabela much more.

Isabela - our homestay Señora

Isabela let us settle down and unpack in our new room. Once we were unpacked, Bianca and I headed out to explore the local area. I hadn't eaten all day and Bianca was peckish so we found a cafe called Business Restaurant and ordered from the Menu del Dia ("Menu of the Day"). Bianca ordered Gazpacho and a Cafe Au Lait and I ordered a Lasagne a la Bolognese and Flan. It was absolutely delicious! Bianca and I shared both of our dishes and definitely plan on coming back. Our total bill came to about 11 euros including a soda and water, so we did well our first day eating out. Apparently, our homestay families feed us breakfast and dinner but we are responsible for getting lunch. I actually really like that rule because it forces me to get out and try local delicacies

After our late lunch at Isabela's, I attempted to do some yoga to keep me awake enough to get through the evening and Bianca took a short siesta.

Bianca taking her siesta

At 7:30 pm, our tutor Alberto Moreno came by and introduced himself. I'm not exactly sure what his role will be (I think a liaison between us and IES...not entirely sure yet) but I'll learn more tomorrow.

Lastly, Bianca, Isabela and I had a wonderful dinner of grilled chicken, lettuce and tomato salad with a drizzle of olive oil and vinegar, and sweet nectarines for dessert. I brought Isabela some flavored almonds from Morgan Hill and she absolutely loved them. We've been devouring them as snacks!

Our lovely dining room...with a view!

Tomorrow is our orientation session so I better rest up.


My Address
If you wish to send me a letter or communicate via snail mail, please e-mail me and I'd be more than happy to give you the street address. I'm nervous about posting Isabela's address on the web and for her privacy, I won't do so. But, if you want to, just e-mail me and I'll give it to you!