In front of the Mediterranean Sea at Sitges

Hola a Todos!
So I'm almost into the middle of the third week in Barcelona and everything is still going pretty well! I just did a money check today and realized how expensive everything is and now I need to take better care of all that nonsense! But it's all good, it's just really expensive to do things in Barcelona, especially because of the sucky exchange rate. Dang it, US dollar, can't you be worth more?!?! Other than that, I also thought I was getting sick last night. I brought random medicines with me and was happy to find some Tylenol PM Cold & Flu, so I took it, fell asleep, and now I feel better today! Yay!
I'm in the little study room at UB just trying to "do homework," but really I'm not doing any work at all. I have an essay to write that is due tomorrow, but I'm not too worried about it because it is pretty short. Although... it is in a different language, so maybe I should get to work on it! Ok... right after this blog entry!
In a couple hours I'm also going to the Art Museum of Barcelona. That should be pretty cool. I'm hoping so anyway. We've been to a few museums and while I think they are cool... it just takes too much time and energy to go to museums. I'd rather be outside playing and site seeing. Like last Saturday for instance, we went to Montsarret, which is a holy place in Catalonia with a monastery and cathedral. There was a wedding taking place and the church was really pretty. But the museum and place was not worth the price of the trip. I'm definitely going to do research on places before I go to them! Though we did get to take the gondola to the top of the mountain where the monastery is located and that was a fun and pretty ride. Other than that, unless you're really into Catalonia and love Virgin Montserrat, I don't recommend visiting this place. But ya know, still pretty cool to say I've been there.
The next day was way better though! On Sunday we went to Sitges, which is a small artsy town about a half hour outside of Barcelona. There are ten beaches there and the water is great! I had soooo much fun. We all took a two hour nap on the beach after swimming with the Mediterranean fish! We also got tapas (which my favorite tapas is now Patatas Breves--cubed potatoes with hot sauce and some kind of garlic-mayo sauce) and we people watched. We also met this guy who wanted us to only speak in Spanish even though he knows English because he believes it is important to maintain culture and whatnot. I agreed, but he kept telling me that I should have learned Spanish a long time ago and then would not stop talking to us. But he did explain that in Europe it's common to have long convos with randos. So whatever. He was really rich though, or so I assume. He is like a movie producer and owns houses in LA, Sitges, Barcelona, and Israel. He was there attending the horror film festival at Sitges that weekend. Pretty nice guy. oh but it was funny because he kept telling me that I knew Spanish better than the people I was with and then whenever they would try to say something he would tell me and then tell me to translate for them... but we are all at the same level of Spanish so we all knew what was going on. haha. Funny stuff.
Other than that, classes are picking up. I actually had to do homework the other night, and like I said, I have a paper due tomorrow. I'm writing about "Te Doy Mis Ojos." a film reflecting domestic violence in Spanish culture. I think I should do pretty well on the essay. Well, hopefully. We will see!!
OMG! In this room there is an older woman with like salt and peppered hair and it sounds like she is chanting! She is speaking very softly, but it's like a loud whisper and is really fast. I'm not sure which language she is speaking in, but it's kind of spooky! Though, I think she is just trying to memorize a speech for class. haha.
Oh, I also started making plans with my friends for after the LSA program ends. I think I'll be traveling with my friends Dee, Juan, Sarah, and Korey. I think Korey, Sarah, and I will eventually split from Dee and Juan, but our travels should be fun! If everything goes right, then I think I'll be traveling outside of spain to Italy, Greece, and France! So hopefully that all works out. Originally I didn't want to leave Spain, but I will be traveling through Spain at the end of this month and visiting various places like Madrid, Cordoba, Toledo, and Sevilla. At some point I would really like to visit Valencia and Granada, but I'm not sure if I'm gonna have the time or dinero to do so. It doesn't really matter where I travel because I'm having so much fun as it is! Woot woot! But I did already book my return ticket home for Dec. 15th and my program ends on the 4th, so I have to do something for ten days. Might as well travel through Europe!
(But seriously, I love life here in Barcelona.)
Hasta la próxima vez!!
David.