Already one week!

It's been exactly one week (almost to the minute) of me stepping into my apartment for the first time. It's hard to believe this much time has flown by! 1 week down, 16 to go, and I still have so much I want to see in just Barcelona (not even including other travel adventures). Unfortunately, I have a feeling time will continue to fly by...the days just keep zooming by.

It's been a few days since I've wrote, and geesh, I've done so much I can't even remember it all. On Tuesday we began out Spanish classes. (very challenging and all in Spanish). She won't say one word in English (she'd rather act it out then tell us). It's good though. It definitely makes me stay alert the entire class (no doodling on margins in this class). That night we had a welcome ceremony at a really nice local hotel. Only problem was that there were so many people in such a small space that it made it really hot, and everyone was hungry, and there was very limited food. Oh well, I've felt welcomed to the city in many other ways, and don't need a an official welcome ceremony to make me happy. After the ceremony I went out with some friends to a really neat pub/bar. All the bars here are just so cool. This one (Oveja Negra) was like a huge cave with fireplaces everywhere. Very medieval looking. Supposedly it offers some of the best Sangria in Barca. I'd have to agree, it was quite spectacular.

Each morning I've enjoyed getting up and exploring the city by myself before class. All my friends have classes at such varied times, it's just easier to explore on my own(for now). I walk everywhere, so it's a nice way to get familiar with the town. Yesterday I explored down by the Olympic Village

although after my 2 hour trek around the city I had little time to actually enjoy the beach.) Very cool though, and I will definitely go back when it's sunny. Today it's a little overcast, but yesterday was very hot and sunny.

All the people from Barcelona were dressed in their winter coats, while all us students had such light jackets on. It's like summer to us, but freezing for them(which is silly, 55 degrees is not freezing). After seeing the coast for a few short minutes, I metroed it back to class, making it just in time.

After class, I had the opportunity to go on a really cool walking tour. (Only problem is we have to wear these radios and earphones....HELLO TOURISTS! Not really a good way to blend, but a good way to learn. )Our school offered two tours this week, and yesterday's was "In the Footsteps of Picasso." It was very, very interesting, and in addition to showing us many locations in Picasso's upbringing, our tour guide also explained to us a lot about the city in general (especially the old town, and the way things used to be). Although Picasso was not born in Barcelona, he spent many of his much crucial "formative" years in the city. Barca also served as a lasting source of inspiration for many of his great works. The tour took us past taverns and restaurants he spent time at, to the different locations where he lived, and down many streets that he named his work after. (Such as Les Demoiselles d' Avingon, a work which portrays 5 female prostitutes from a brothel on Avinyo Street in Barcelona)

The tour ended at the Picasso museum, which featured a large collection of his works. (especially ones from his earlier years, which his mother saved). I read somewhere that he is one of the few artists that has so many pictures from early in his childhood (as his parents realized his talent at an early age and preserved much of his work, which they would later donate to the museum) The museum also showed the progression of different styles of painting Picasso adopted throughout his life. He began as a realist, painting very regular things, followed by the Blue period where things become more abstract and as the name implies...blue, then on the cubism (what I think of his art as being), and finally onto very erotic work. The museum had a special exhibit on this, and it was quite "different." I never would have guessed Picasso had such an "interesting" mind. At any rate, the tour was very informative, and I left feeling very cultured.

Today I am going on a tour of cuisine in Barca. I will have to fill you in on that tomorrow.