Week 3 Recap

Hello!

Hope you all enjoyed the post about my wonderful trip to the Costa Brava.

Since my schedule is so jam-packed Mondays-Thursdays, I'll be posting either Thursday evenings/Friday mornings with a recap of my week. Perhaps I'll also do weekend wrap-ups on Sunday evenings if I have time. We'll see. But time is absolutely flying - I don't know where the days go!

This is my 3rd full week here in Barcelona so I'll just do a quick summary and some highlights of the week.

WEEK 3
Classes
School has been going really well. We're now just starting to get into actual class content since last week we focused mostly on the class schedule, projects, class expectations, etc.

Internship
This was my first week at AmChamSpain and like most internships, it was a bit dull the first week in terms of busy work. However, I was invited to their members2members event titled "The impact of the internet on the Spanish Economy." The information was quite interesting (especially as an aspiring economist!) because they talked about how the internet has opened a lot of doors for Spanish businesses yet a constant problem for Spanish companies and businesses is incorporating more IT so that they increase efficiency and productivity in the workplace. I had a picture take of me with the other girl who is interning there as well but she hasn't sent it to me yet. Next week, I'll post it.

Dinner with Isabel's granddaughter Clara 
Sunday night, one of Isabel's grandaughters, Clara, came over and we chatted for about 2 hours out on Isabel's terrace. The three of us (Bianca, Clara, and I) hit it off so well we decided to have dinner on Friday night. Clara took us to a delicious crepe restaurant just a flew blocks from the house. I wish I'd taken a picture of my food, but it was soo good! I definitely plan on going back. My savory crepe came with tomatoes, chicken, ham, and cheese and the sweet crepe had bananas and nutella.Here's a picture of the three of us though!

Clara, me, and Bianca after having crepes!

Trip to the Chocolate Museum
No trip to Barcelona is complete without a trip to the Chocolate Museum. Since it rained all day Saturday, my friends and I decided to check out the legendary Chocolate museum! The admission ticket was a bar of a chocolate... now THAT is my kind of my admission ticket. Check out the photos below for cool sculptures made of chocolate!

My chocolate ticket!

Chocolate figurine of Gaudi's art

Chocolate Sagrada Familia...gosh I'd love to eat  visit that!

Another chocolate sculpture!

Me standing next to my favorite...a chocolate Chicken Little!

La Merce
From Thursday, September  22 - Sunday, September 25, Barcelona hosted the annual "La Merce" Festival.
Since 1872, this annual festival in Barcelona has honored Nostra Senyora de la Merce (Our lady of Mercy) in a week of concerts, masses, and dances. But in 1902, Catalanonians added a cultural twist to it by adding events such as the correfoc (a parade of fire-breathign dragons, giants, and monsters), sardana dancing (traditional Catalan dance), castellers and falcones (human towers) and the piro musical (fireworks set to music).

My friends and I did some activities on Thursday and Friday but it wasn't until Saturday and Sunday that the real festivities began. Unfortunately, it was raining on Saturday, so all the outdoor events (so pretty much all of them) were canceled. But, Sunday was absolutely divine and we enjoyed the festivities all day long.

Pouring rain on Saturday...but still smiling! (Lily, Jessica, Alysse, and I)

Bianca, Bonnie, Jessica, Alysse and I at Castle Montjuic

People dressed up as devils for Correfoc!

Crazy correfoc...people were dancing under the fire sparklers!

Castellers - human towers! They're incredible

For more pictures of my adventures please check out my Barcelona 2011 Album (I have TONS of pictures in there I didn't post!)


Off to Switzerland this weekend! 
Yup - you read that correctly, I'm off to Geneva, Switzerland with some new friends, Jessica and her roommate Lauren. I literally bought the tickets last Friday the 23rd because there was a good deal (about 115 euros roundtrip). We'll be staying at a hostel and the wifi's kinda bad there, so I'll post when I return. Any suggestions/tips for Geneva?

A Mixed Bag of a Day

I don't know if today was a good day or bad day. But, I'd say it started out bad and got gradually better.

Still Recovering
Today, I woke up feeling like I got sick all over again (not nearly as bad). I thought that being off the meds would help, but evidently not. I surrendered and went to the local pharmacy and got medicine for my throat and nasal congestion. Within an hour of taking both, I certainly noticed a difference. I just hope this goes away soon...I'm tired of being responsible for the "tissue mountains" in the trash can.

Internship at American Chamber of Commerce
As I mentioned yesterday, this morning was my interview with the American Chamber of Commerce. I woke up groggy from feeling sick and my roommate's alarm going off at 6:30 am but left the house promptly at 9 am, giving me 15 minutes of wiggle room in case I got lost or something. I missed the first metro, so I sat and waited for the next one that departed at 9:12 pm. Everything was dandy until I got off the correct metro station: I exited the station and was at the big avenue but should I go right or left? I asked a woman walking her baby in a stroller and she said go left. So, I went left for about 5 minutes or so, but the streets didn't look right (from what I remembered on the map). I asked another person and they said, "Oh no, you're going the opposite direction. You should've turned right." My mental panic kicks in and it's 9:27 (my interview's at 9:30 am). I start walking very quickly and manage to find the building (9:35 am). The office is on the second floor and door #1 (it's not too nice looking on the outside, reminds me of an old apartment building). I come in all flustered, apologize for arriving late, and say "Buenos Dias" to my interviewer. She responds back, "Good Morning." English mode. OK. The meeting went well and within about 10 minutes, she asked me what my schedule looked like. I'd assumed she had already decided to have me intern with her, but just wanted to interview with me to make sure I was the candidate she wanted. Turns out there's another girl from the same program (IES Abroad) but from UT Austin that will be interning as well. I will be interning Mondays and Wednesdays and start next Monday at 9 am.

Getting lost on the Metro

After the interview, I met up with the other intern (named Crystal) and since she was a late arrival (got here Sunday due to her dad getting a stroke), I walked her to and rode the metro with her to Placa Catalunya. Afterwards, I assumed  I was on L7 (the line I take to get home), so I just sat in my seat thinking it would go back in the opposite direction toward home. Several stops later, the names were very unfamiliar to the ones on L7 and I asked another rider and she replied I was on L6. I got off at the next stop, exited the metro, and thought I could easily just walk a few streets over to the next stop. Well, I got lost and was walking like a headless chicken around the business district of Barcelona. After 45 minutes of this, I just gave up, took the first metro stop I saw, and used the map to find my way back. Lesson Learned: If a metro is available, use that to find your way back. Walking around a city doesn't do much, especially when the locals tell you the wrong directions! I found this quote that makes getting lost not seem so bad: 

Getting lost is just another way of saying 'going exploring.'

A Cooking Lesson and Another Siesta...

After the internship interview and getting lost on the metro (or should I say 'exploring' the metro and the city), I changed out of my business clothes and into shorts and a t-shirt. I read the Spain 2020 report the American Chamber of Commerce gave me to read about some recommendations they have for Spain's economy. Very interesting stats, such as 20% unemployment, 40% Youth unemployment, and 11% of teachers (from pre school to university) incorporate IT into the curriculum. Anyways, economics aside, the lady who comes to clean for Isabel came at this time and she showed me how to make Tortilla de Patata (a Spanish omelette). As I mentioned last week, the one she made (shes the one who makes them) was OUT OF THIS WORLD. From the first bite, I knew I was in love with her Tortilla de Patata. I wrote down the recipe in scribbles, so I'll post it later this week. 

Simmering ingredients for Tortilla de Patata...made the house smell divine...

I was so wiped out from the day, I lay down and took a 30 minute power nap before my class at 5:30 pm. I certainly needed it because the last two days I didn't get a good night's sleep. It certainly helped me get through class. 

Class

Today, I had my Spain's Economic Development and the EU class. I think this is my favorite class so far because the professor is extremely smart and organized (the other one may be smart, but he's so disorganized!). In class, we learned about the chronological history of Spain's Economic Development. In class, we'll be focusing on the 19th century but looking at the periods of convergence and divergence. Funnily enough, there's 17 boys and 5 girls in the class - I'm not sure if this class wasn't very appealing to people, or if Economics is not a very popular major among girls. Either way, I find it fascinating because through economics, one can study, analyze, and understand history in such a way that you can predict a future (to an extent) by looking at the current situation and comparing it to previous times. 

Dinner 

For dinner, we had our delicious patata...mmm...I must make this when I get home! I think once a week I'll make a point of having "Barcelona/Spain day" where I cook all the scrumptious food I had here. I'm thinking the menu will include: pan con tomate, Tortilla de Patata, and tomatoes with olive oil, vinegar, and a pinch of salt.

Productive Tuesday

Still sick (but gradually recovering!)
I'd say I'm back at 70% from 85%, I stopped taking medicine (thinking that I would recover naturally). But that wasn't too successful. So, I'm back on my meds and honey+lemon treatments, which have made a significant difference. Even if I feel slightly better, I've just got to stick to my routine.

Vegetarian Lunch
Today my wanna be vegetarianess got to me - I indulged in a DELICIOUS falafel from Maoz Vegetarian Restaurant on Las Ramblas. I would have taken a picture ( I did take out my camera) but it was so good and I was so hungry that I ate it too quickly. The only photo I would have managed to take was of the used napkins (it was a messy lunch but oh so scrumptious). I'd almost say the falafels here are better than the ones I get at the Santa Clara Farmers Market because 1) you order the falafel (on either wheat or white pita bread) and 2) add additional toppings/sauces/etc from the buffet line (e.g. tabbouleh, grilled carrots, sun-dried tomatoes). I'll definitely be stopping by again between classes. 

Classes, Classes, and Classes - Oh my!
As I mentioned yesterday in my post, I had three classes today. Each class is about an hour and a half, but fortunately I have two hour breaks in between, so that definitely helps. But it just makes for a long day! Today, I had my....
(a) Internship Seminar (9 am - 10:30 Am)
The professor for this class is extremely flamboyant and funny! I really like him! We'll be meeting 1x a week to discuss our internship experiences, learn about the Spanish lifestyle/culture in work environments, and writing compositions about our experience. I've never taken a formal Spanish class before so I'm actually looking forward to this because I'll actually get to improve my written Spanish.
(b) European Regional Economies (12:25 pm - 1:55 pm)
 Today was my class with my Professor who's wife is expecting a baby any day now. He came in a bit frazzled but we talked about our upcoming group research project/paper. I've never done an Econ Research paper before (probably cause I just finished all my foundations courses) but it sounds exciting and different
(c) Mediterranean Oceanography
For this class, as I mentioned before, we visited the Barcelona Aquarium. We went through the exhibit in an hour while our professor pointed out different fish (some hermaphrodites, others normal) including flounders, eels, sharks, and clown fish. I'm still a big fan of the Monterrey Bay Aquarium but this was still quite impressive because the Mediterranean eco-system is very different from the Pacific. Check out some photos below.    

To look at all my photos from my adventures studying abroad, please check out my Barcelona 2011 Album.


Catching up with the Parental Unit (PU)

I came home exhausted from all the walking (and learning!) today. I caught up with my parental unit on Skype. My mom did a little fashion for me of what clothes to send me (Did I mention I only brought 5 shirts and 2 sweaters with me to Spain? I think i wasn't thinking straight when I was packing...I was trying to be minimalist but clearly was not being a realist). Here are some really comical print screen shots from our conversation. Oh they're so funny!

My mom's putting Mexican Flags in my care package...typical Mom!

My mom showing me some super hoochie mama boots she bought (but they're cute I will admit!)

Interview for Internship Tomorrow
Normally, I wouldn't wake up so early on Wednesdays, but tomorrow is my interview for an internship with the American Chamber of Commerce here in Barcelona. I have to be there at 9:30 am, but will leave early to allow time for delays and getting lost (which I'm sure will happen!) So, I've got to get up early so I can look nice. Well, I'm off to bed. Hopefully I'll have good news to report on the internship!