Home Sweet Home Barcelona

So a lot has happened in the past week or so. The first big thing is that, as of tomorrow, we will have been living here for a month! I can't believe how fast time is flying. I'm starting to wonder if I will want to come home. I have yet to feel homesick. I do miss a few things like my bed, chick-fil-a, sonic cheeseburgers, and being able to really communicate with people. Oh and my family of course!

My Spanish has really been coming along. They didn't put me in the level that I'm supposed to be in so I try really hard to make sure I answer every question my teachers ask so that maybe they will move me up. It's kind of surprising because back home I enjoy just sitting in class and listening. Here all I do is talk in my classes which has really been helping me a lot. There have been a few times this past week that I will be talking and understanding people without even realizing it. I have learned so many new words and phrases. So that's fun and very encouraging. We have a few friends in the program that speak fluently and I always get them to talk to me in Spanish when we go out together. So that helps too.

As far as the past week goes, we have been very busy. We go out at least two or three nights during the week. This is something I never do back home, but I feel like I have so much to experience and so little time. I figure I can sleep when I get back to the states. It's interesting living with boys. Since I never had brothers, it's taken some time to get used to. We are all still getting along fine. Everyone pulls their weight around the apartment and it's just going really well. Pat and Austin have some really fun guy friends that come over a lot. They have even made us dinner which is really nice.

This past weekend Gracie and I ventured off to Paris. It was so much fun but definitely way different than what we expected. We brought clothes for the 40 degree weather but were not prepared for the 20 degree wind chill. It was SO cold. We had a hard time enjoying ourselves a few times because we were so cold. I looked like I gained 20 pounds with all the layers I had on. On friday, after we checked in to our hostel, we headed for the Louvre. It was awesome! I couldn't believe I was actually there. Grace and I don't really know that much about art but it was still really cool. Seeing the Mona Lisa was also very cool. After that we ran off to the Eiffle tower. We wanted to go at night when it was all lit up and sparkling. It was definitely my favorite part of the trip. You just don't know how huge it is until you are seeing it in person. We took an elevator up to the top which was also fun. The next day we took a train to Versailles. We took a tour of the castle and it had to be one of the biggest places I have ever been to. After that we headed to Notre Dame which was also very beautiful. Everything in Europe is so perfect looking. I was proud of us because we saw so much in such little time. The next day we got on the plane and headed home. We were actually a little homesick for Barcelona. It is a lot cleaner, smells better, and is way cheaper. I was very happy to be home.

All in all, we are still having a great time! Nothing bad has happened yet and I haven't started to question my decision to move here yet which is encouraging. This weekend we are going to Sevilla and I can't wait! I'm sure there will be more to write then!