Live your life by a compass, not a clock

Hey y'all!

I'm loving my life here. Every time I'm here I have seemed to develop a second family. We all become very close and only have each other since we're all away from our own families. One of the things I love most about traveling is the relationships and deep connections I make with people. I've felt a closer connection to some of the people I've met abroad than some friends I've had for years just because of the experiences we've shared. As my time here is quickly coming to a close, I'm starting to panic. I feel so sad to be leaving this beautiful place and people yet so happy to be returning to my family and friends at home. I've never found a quote that describes my life so perfectly:

On Monday I dropped some students off at their apartments and ran some errands around the city. My role as an intern does sometimes live up to the stereotypes, but it doesn't bother me. Sometimes I run and get coffee for others, or pick up office supplies but I do all of these things in Barcelona. Last week my boss asked me to go to the supermarket to get him peanut M&M's. We both laughed at how typical a job it was for an intern, but I love getting out of the office and communicating with the locals -plus he gave me some!

On Tuesday I ran around the city meeting some of our students at their internships to take pictures of them. At first I wasn't thrilled at how many interns I had to get in contact with to schedule a meeting but I actually love it. I've gone to some really cool companies and parts of the city I've never explored before. I love this internship because it allows for me to get out of the office and into the city all the time. 

That day, I was having some home-made pasta on a park bench when a little old man approached me. I thought he was cute as he was asking me questions about where I'm from and such. He even handed me five euro to get myself a coffee. It wasn't until he asked me to come with him up to his flat to have lunch with him and give him my phone number that I realized this conversation was getting creepy really fast. By the end of the conversation he said he was going to leave and seemed like he was going in for the standard two kisses on the cheek goodbye. He was actually going in for a kiss on the lips, which I dodged real fast. I told him to leave, but I still had the 5€   ;)

Later that afternoon I joined our students on a guided Gothic Quarter tour given once again by Olga. I love going on these tours because its so nice to see my old host mom. She's an amazing tour guide and really knows what she's talking about. After the tour we got a crepe and took walk. I miss our late night chats over a cup of tea.

My friend is still there, working hard

On Wednesday night we had a goodbye dinner for two of our workers Kristin and Mollie who were both returning home to the US this week. We went to a very local and delicious tapas restaurant and had some of the best tapas ever. I love going to eat with our co-workers because they always take us to the best places since they're locals! I love every person that I work with here and think it's rare to find such a genuine and compassionate company like Barcelona SAE.

We'll miss you Kristin! See you on the East Coast!

Los Bobs

On Friday I went with our students on day trip to Besalú and the Dalí Museum. I was excited I was assigned to this trip because I'd never been to Besalú before. We took a double-decker coach bus (which was awesome) to Besalú first. It was about 2 hours North of Barcelona. It was a tiny little medieval town. I felt like I was walking around in a fairy tale. We only had a little free time there so I had a coffee with my two co-workers and then we walked around. We did have time to check out the sausage museum which was ...interesting. We also stumbled upon a miniature museum, where little sculptures were so small they had to be viewed by a magnify glass. There was a little tiny town situated in a pistachio nut! 

After Besalú we took the bus about a half hour up to Figueras to have lunch and visit the Dalí museum. Lunch was delicious, we had a menu del día. My first course was gazpacho and my second course was this delicious plate of potatoes with fried eggs and bacon on top. For dessert I had chocolate cake :) We also ordered porro's for the students to try. They are a typical Catalan wine serving pitcher where you pour the wine into your mouth without touching your lips to the bottle. We have competitions for who can pull their hand away the farthest while still getting the wine into their mouths. It's a very messy treat.

After lunch we headed to the Dalí museum, which is so so cool. I went there before when I was studying here but didn't even mind going again since it's such an experience. The Dalí museum is a piece of work in itself. He put his heart and soul into creating this place. He plays with the reflections in the windows and even has a "treasure room" where you feel like you're in a treasure box with velvet walls. 

Dalí made this painting by literally throwing squids at a canvas. Afterwards he thought it looked like Beethoven so he put some final touches on it. He even attributes the unwilling squids in his signature.

Dalí considers his museum to be his mausoleum -which he is buried inside.

Last time I was here I didn't get to see the original of it because it was in Paris.

Even though I already went on the tour, I learned a lot still since we had a different tour guide. That night we had a fourth of July party at our house. It was the one day where we all agreed to be obnoxious Americans. We wore red, white and blue, played country music, made hot dogs, played beer pong and drank Budweiser.

I pointed out that it was July 4th on our day trip and my German friend gasped and said "Oh thats right! Aren't we supposed to say congratulations to you or something?"It was the funniest thing I heard all week. She was worried she was being disrespectful since we were with all American students :P We also taught our friend Mònica how to play beer pong that night.

Yesterday I spent the day walking around the city and doing a little shopping. I spent an hour looking for one of the two bagel shops Barcelona has. But sadly it was turned into a pasta shop. During the month of July, Barcelona has city-wide sales. Barcelona has 2 major sales each year -January and July. The clothing stores all have sales from 30-50% off. It's awesome! I've been in Barcelona for both of the sale seasons now.

Me encanta las rebaixes

Some pics from the week:

Dunkin' Coffee likes to pretend its as good as Dunkin' Donuts

I'll be going on a trip with the company to Valencia for next weekend and then returning home on July 19th.

Now I understand why Dalí was so afraid of time.

"My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive."

Hola folks!

We last spoke on Monday about the incredible Sant Joan festival, so let's skip ahead to tuesday. We didn't do much on tuesday since we had the day off and stayed out all night the night before. It was nice to catch up on some much needed sleep!

On Wednesday night, Olga invited me over for dinner. We've had these plans for over a month now, so I was so excited when the day finally came. It was so strange commuting back to my old house. It was bittersweet. Olga is such a wonderful cook so it was nice to have her cooking again -I've definitely been missing it. She made me her famous tortilla patata and her special baked eggplant dish, which she remembered I love. I also got to meet the two girls currently staying with her. She even had a bottle of cava for the occasion! I brought her an apron from the states which she seemed to love. It was such a great night, I went home with a full belly and a smile on my face.

My old metro stop

Commencing nostalgia 

I really missed the beauty of my everyday commute

My old street

Olga makes the best tortilla patata I've ever had

Thursday was the big US game against Germany. Our boss Rich, who is American, made reservations for us to all leave work and watch the game together at a local bar. It was the first US game on at a normal hour for us. My roommates are very spirited about futból, which makes it more fun. At halftime, Gee and I went to get some fresh air from the stuffy bar and found ourselves window shopping for a good half-hour. Everyone was wondering where on Earth we went! It's easy to get sidetracked in such an exciting city!

This week at the office was pretty hectic for me since we have another large group of students arriving tomorrow. There is a lot we have to do in preparation for their arrival.

This weekend was one of the best so far in Barcelona! We spent Saturday sunning on the beach, and splashing in The Mediterranean. We went to a very local beach to get away from all the tourists. Most people were topless, which is very normal here. I'm proud to say I even joined in for a while -I'm so European now :P

Today Zach and I headed out to Montserrat, one of Barcelona's largest mountains. I never made it up there last time so it was definitely a must-see this time around. We didn't realize how far away it really was from Barcelona. We had to take an hour train outside of the city, and then take a cable car up the mountain. I do have to say it was entirely worth it. The views were breathtaking and unlike anything I've ever seen in Barcelona! It was nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city for a bit. First we climbed the tall statue for an epic picture (even though the sign says please do not climb the statue). Of course a stupid man had to ruin my picture by climbing on up, but it wasn't anything my mom's photoshop magic couldn't fix.

Riding up in the cable car

Then we headed over to the monastery, which is why Montserrat is so famous. It's a very religious site, and is known for its statue of the Virgin Mary that dates back to 50 AD!  The line to see the virgin was out the door, so unfortunately we didn't get to see her. Afterwards, we did some hiking. The views were incredible and there was so much to see. We didn't get to see everything since the mountain was huge, but we got to experience Montserrat on a gorgeous day!

Outside the monastery 

Blurry version of where the virgin is

We had dinner at one of our favorites, 100 Montaditos, a tapas place with 100 types of little tiny sandwiches each for 1 euro (on Sundays and Wednesdays).

I ended a perfect day with a great big refreshing glass of sangria and some delicious montaditos

Photos from the week:

Thinking of you mom ;)

This guy was awesome! When his owner wasn't riding the skateboard, he would chase after it. Now thats a golden retriever! 

In times of media manipulation, to read is an act of revolution

A delicious hotdog joint

In a hat store -go figure!

So I literally did it all this weekend from the ocean to the mountains! I'm so grateful for this city and the joy it has brought me. ¡Hasta la semana proxima!