Valencia

Hola!

This past weekend there was a mandatory study journey with our IES program. We went to the cities of Tarragona and Valencia. Both of the cities are south of Barcelona, but they are still a part of Catalonia. We boarded the bus early Friday morning and set out for Tarragona. I think a part of the trip was designed to get people away from the normal crowd they hang out with because our buses and roommates were assigned to us, we didn't have a choice. Luckily my friend from Wofford, Kate was on my bus and I got to know two other girls (Jessie and Haley) from our program as well. It was around a two hour bus ride to Tarragona and when we got there it was pouring down rain. They warned us to bring rain gear, but whenever I come prepared it never rains. Of course with my luck, I decided to not bring rain gear thinking it wouldn't rain-I was very wrong. Haley graciously lent me her umbrella, but that did not prevent my Ugg boots from becoming soaked and now they possess a tie-dye quality that I am hoping will fade over time. Tarragona was a city heavily influenced by the Roman Empire. We toured the ruins which was really neat to see, but it would have been more enjoyable if the weather was nice (which is why I barely have any pictures). One of my professors told me that Barcelona used to be the same way, but the fact that Barcelona became more metropolitan overtime led to there being less remains of the historic walls that were common of the Roman Empire. We left Tarragona, after being scolded for getting on the bus a little late, and headed to Valencia.

One of the only pictures I have from Tarragona-Colosseum where Gladiators used to fight lions

Valencia is the 3rd largest city in Spain-behind Madrid and Barcelona. It was similar to Barcelona, but it was evident that the pace of life was a little bit slower. There is also more historical buildings and remnants of the influence of the ancient Roman Empire. We went on a walking tour of Valencia later on Friday afternoon. Then we had free time until dinner. We stayed at a really nice hotel and the dinner on Friday and Saturday was so good. On Saturday we had traditional paella which originated in Valencia. It is a rice dish cooked in a huge frying pan usually with vegetables and seafood. It has become one of my favorite things to eat in Spain. Saturday morning we got up for more touring in the historic part of Valencia. We went to the Cathedral of Valencia which holds the mythical Holy Grail. It was a really elaborate and beautiful church, I hate that pictures don't really do it justice.

The main alter at the Cathedral of Valencia

Kate and I in one of the main squares of historic Valencia (Cathedral in the background)

After a touring the historic side of Valencia we had a break before we saw the modern part of the city. We went to the City of Arts and Sciences, which isn't actually a separate city its just an area with modern architecture and museums. Our first stop was the aquarium. It was really fun to explore the different exhibits and look at the marine life, but much to our dismay we missed to dolphin show by a few minutes! We were supposed to stay around the City of Arts and Sciences for three hours, so we decided we had enough of the aquarium and tried to go and look at the other museums. We couldn't really figure out how to get in the other museums or decide if they were even open. So we basically just wandered around and sat a cafe until it was time to go to the bus. It was a nice contrast to spend the day touring both historic and modern parts of Valencia.

Jessie, Haley, Kate and Me in front of the City of Arts and Sciences

Pretty view of City of Arts and Sciences at sunset

After a long two days of touring everyone was pretty exhausted on Saturday night and we decided to just lay low for the evening. We had an even earlier wake up call on Sunday morning because there were two more stops we had to make on the way back to Barcelona. The first stop we made was at Torres Vineyards. This was a really interesting experience and I'm not quite sure how it fit into the theme of our trip. We got there and they gave us a glass of wine while we waited on the tour. A tram pulled up and we got in expecting to tour the outside of the vineyards, but there really wasn't much to look at. The tram then pulled into a warehouse and a voice from a speaker came on commentating the history of the Torres Family and vineyards while we watched a hologram movie on different screens and the tram made circles around the warehouse. It felt like a very cheesy, bad Disney World ride. Although it did provide some comic relief because we just laughed about it the whole time. After that we drove to a restaurant called a Calcetoda. Where we participated in a Catalan tradition of eating Calcotes. They are like long spring onions that are grilled until they are black. It is a very messy activity so they gave us bibs to make sure we didn't spill all over  our clothes. You peel the burnt layer of the onion off and dip it into this sauce and put the whole thing in your mouth. It is really difficult to describe, one of those "you had to be there". I thought it was pretty good. It took forever though- 3 hours to finish our meal!!One thing I have learned is that Spaniards definitely take their time when completing any task. If you are at a meal do not expect them to bring you your check and rush you out of the restaurant like most American places do. Once you finally catch the waiter's attention can you ask for the check, which is a whole other drawn out process.

The calcots (onions) before they are peeled

It was an eventful and interesting trip. I'm glad I got to know other people in my program, but I was exhausted afterward. This week in Barcelona its supposed to be very cold and they are even projecting a possible snow on Thursday. Apparently Barcelona is a lot like South Carolina when it snows; everything shuts down. I'm crossing my fingers this doesn't happen because I am ready to get rid of my winter coats for the season! Margaret and I have some Wofford friends coming to Barcelona from Alicante this weekend! I am excited to show friends around the city and see some sites I have yet to make it to! It should be a good weekend despite the chilly temperatures!

Hasta Luego for now!

Langley

My Host Family

After the first two weeks, I have finally began to feel at home with my host family. The first week or so it was kind of awkward. I didn't want to get in their way or inconvenience them. When I left for school I would just slip out the door without saying anything, but now I am finally used to their habits and lifestyle. Margaret and I live with a family of four. Jordi: the father, Berta: the mother, Nil: their son who is 10 years old and Laia (Lie-YA): their daughter who is 9. The first night we sat down with the kids and they immediately started to bicker with each other. Jordi came in and reassured us that it was ok and that they live in a very informal household. Discovering that has been such a great relief. I don't know what exactly I was expecting, but they are like any other four person American family. Nil and Laia both play ice hockey. Nil recently broke his tailbone at a tournament and will take his school classes online for the next month! Laia often tells him he is faking it and that he isn't really hurt. Berta and Jordi live a fairly modern lifestyle. They have iPhones, iPads, and Macbooks. They both cook and clean, it just depends on their schedules. I haven't yet figured out what they do for a living, but I'm pretty sure Jordi works from home. Dinner time is really the time we get to know them and have real conversations. It is often the most entertaining part of my day because Nil and Laia really get into it with each other at dinner time. We can't understand their fights, but their parents translate it to us and it is very reminiscent of dinner times at my house when with my brother and I would fight. One time Nil told Laia that he would punch her in the nose and cut it into pieces and Laia responded to Nil that he may think he is funny, but he is actually sad. It is really entertaining to listen to their fights because even though I don't know what they are saying, their attitudes change as the fight becomes less serious and more joking. When the sibling rivalry erupts at dinner, Berta and Jordi apologize profusely, but Margaret and I reassure them that we both have brothers and that it is quite normal in our house. Nil always taps on the door and asks us to play Monopoly or computer games. Laia hasn't done that so much because she doesn't know quite as much english as Nil, but she will always give us a hug or tell us goodnight. Jordi is very knowledgeable and helpful whenever we have a question or need a suggestion about how to get somewhere or do something. He even promised cooking lessons by the time we left! Berta is very kind and patient. She does our laundry twice a week and folds it into perfect piles on our bed. I think we hit the jackpot with our host family and our friends love hearing our dinner time stories the next day at school. Two of our Wofford friends stayed with Berta and Jordi last spring so we owe a very big thank you to them for suggesting we request this family!! I think that as the semester goes on Margaret and I will develop an even better relationship with the family, making it harder to leave Barcelona.

Champangeria, Sagrada Familia, FC Barcelona game

Saturday morning Margaret and I slept really late. We didn't get up until around 3pm whoops! I guess you can still say we had a bit of jetlag. We really wanted to try out this bar/restaurant place someone had told us about. It is called the Champagneria. You can get a bottle of champagne and 2 tapas for around 8 euros. We arrived at the champagneria and plunged into the crowd. It is truly a hole in the wall spot. Once I fought my way up to the counter I order a bottle of champagne and 2 bacon and cheese sandwiches for Margaret and I. They gave us two dainty looking glass and just placed an open bottle of the champagne on the counter. We got our sandwiches which were huge and delicious. We have come to found that the sandwiches here are usually pretty small and cold, but this were hot and soo good. The whole experience was so interesting. Here we are drinking champagne in a small dive bar, standing up and eating, and shouting over the crowd. Everytime you order a bottle of glass of champagne they require you to order food as well. Most likely to soak up everything you are drinking, but the food is just as good as the champagne so its a great deal.

                                           Margaret, Maggie, Kate, and me at the Champagneria!

We took it easy the rest of the evening Saturday and Margaret and I headed home to eat with out host family and go to bed. We wanted to wake up at a decent hour and do some tourist things in the morning. Sunday we visited the Sagrada Familia. This is a catholic church that was partly designed by Gaudi. We were just walking down and normal street in Barcelona and all of the sudden the Sagrada Familia just seemed to appear. It is huge! The design looks like something right out of candy land or Disney World. Needless to say, it really stands out and just draws your attention immediately. We went on a tour of the inside and it was just as impressive as the outside. Huge stain glass windows and a very intricate ceiling were the main features of the inside. We also rode to the top of one of the towers and could look out over Barcelona. It was such a pretty view! The Sagrada Familia still isn't finished which is why there is constant construction going on around. It really is like nothing I've ever seen before so it is must-see when in Barcelona.

                                                     One of the views from the outside

Ceiling on the inside

Kate, me, and Margaret on the other side of the Sagrada Familia

 

After the Sagrada Familia we had plans to visit Park Guell, but because the light was fading fast we decided to save it for a sunny day so we could take pictures. The day didn't end there, we had tickets to go and watch Barcelona's soccer game that night! Barcelona has the best team in the world right now and they have won countless championships. We couldn't pass up the opportunity to take in a professional soccer game with the added bonus of the home team being #1. We got to the area where the stadium was and there were HUGE crowds of people just waiting at the gate. Everyone had scarves of their favorite team tied around their neck so of course I had to buy one to show my support for Barcelona. Once we were able to get inside we set off to look for our seats. Camp Nou (the name of the soccer stadium) is probably the biggest stadium I have ever been in. It makes Williams Brice Stadium look tiny, I won't even go there with Wofford...Maggie and I had seats in the nose bleed section, while Kate and Margaret got tickets a little lower. I think if there had been clouds in the sky that night we would have been in them. It wasn't bad though, we were able to see the entire field and what was going on the whole time. Luckily though, Margaret and Kate called to say they had empty seats near them so we eventually moved down and got a closer look. Barcelona played Real Betis which is in Sevilla. Barca won 4-2, but it was an exciting game because it was tied for awhile. I really enjoyed the songs and cheers during the game, I just wish I knew what was being said. Once the game was over we had to rush to the metro station to get on before it closed at 12. The way we wanted to go outside the stadium was not an option because it was like a tidal wave of people were going in the opposite direction. We had no choice but to go with the crowd. It would have been a disaster trying to fight it in the opposite direction. There were people and mopeds everywhere. We tried to cross the street and I think all over our lives flashed before our eyes because it seemed like mopeds were headed for us and they do not slow down for anything! Much to our relief we made it out of the herd of people in one piece. The soccer game was soo much fun, I can't wait for when Barcelona plays Real Madrid here in the spring. The match will be the equivalent to our Superbowl because they are the best two teams in the world. Tickets are way too expensive to come by, but I'm sure we will be watching and cheering with the rest of Spain.

Me and Maggie in our extremely high seats

Barcelona players warming up. #10 Lionel Messi is one of the most famous/best players in the world!

Waiting for the gates to open!

Tomorrow is my first official day of school for the semester. I only have 2 classes tomorrow, but I am really interested to see how they turn out. It is weird to finally begin school, but I just have to remember that is why I am here. Hopefully we will begin to plan some trips soon!

Adios!

-Langley

One Week

   I have officially been in Barcelona for an entire week. It seems like longer because I have packed so much into a single week, but I have only scratched the surface of what Barcelona has to offer. Orientation wasn't bad; it was just full of helpful information  about the city and how best to get around. Spanish classes started Friday and continue until tomorrow. Wednesday is the official first day of school. I tried to drop down a level in my Spanish class, but my professor doesn't seem to like the idea. Hopefully tomorrow she will consider it again. Margaret, our two other Wofford friends (Kate and Maggie), and myself continued to explore the city during the week; often wandering off on side streets and finding really cute restaurants and shops. Every time I go out onto the street, things become more familiar and I am starting to find shorter routes to certain areas. Margaret and I walked to the beach one afternoon after class. It was exciting because it was my first time seeing the Mediterranean Sea! It was gorgeous. I hope it gets warm enough later in the semester to go sit out on the beach.

The Beach in Barcelona-so pretty!

Thursday night was our first real night out in Barcelona. We went to a "Welcome to Barcelona" party for abroad students at a bar called Dow Jones. This is a favorite spot of past Wofford students and I think we will continue the tradition because I really like the atmosphere. Thursday it was really crowded and we could barely move, but people began to clear out and it was more enjoyable. Dow Jones is a Wall Street themed bar, so the crowd is pretty American. There are TV screens up throughout the bar with drinks listed and their prices. Every so often an alarm sounds and lights begin to flash; that signals that the stock market is crashing and drink prices drop. Everyone tries to get to the bar so they can get the lower priced drinks, so it gets pretty crazy. We decided to call it a night pretty early for Barcelona time (2am).

playing with our European phones at Dow Jones

After class Friday, we continued to explore then came back to our homestay to take a nap. We were going to try out the Barcelona club scene that night. Margaret and I went to dinner with Kate and Maggie at Santa Caterina Market. Thanks to a suggestion once again from the list compiled by previous Wofford students (don't know what we would do without that! Thanks Molly, Charlotte, Candice!!) Santa Caterina Market is a really neat market by day and restaurant by night. All of the food in the restaurant is so fresh because it comes straight from the market. It also features many different types of cuisine, Asian, Mediterranean, Vegetarian, so it will pretty much suit anyone. We all really loved the setting of this place so I think it is one we will bring our visitors to! We went back to Kate and Maggie's apartment to get ready for the clubs. There is a Facebook page of a promoter who "friends" all of the American students studying abroad in Spain and every other night or so there is an event at one of Barcelona's many clubs. If you know the name of the club promoter you can usually get in for free. We were a little hesitant about it at first, but we thought we should give it a try. We got to this club called Duvet and there was a line out the door and a red carpet, we already were cracking up at the people taking this club scene so seriously. We got into the club and it was jam packed with American students going crazy! We decided not to stay for long  (drinks were 10 euro-like $12 American dollars!!!) because we had met some friends who were local and they told us about another club/bar we could go to. Our new friends, Juan and David, took us to a salsa club. None of us knew how to salsa, but when in Spain...This new club was soo neat! It wasn't crowded and I'm pretty sure we were the only Americans in there so it didn't feel like the tourist trap of the other club. They played popular American music as well as Spanish music. Juan and David and some other Spanairds taught us how to dance. I'm sure we were terrible, but a lot of their moves felt like we were dancing the Carolina Shag like we do at school. Around 5:30am we decided to call it a night even though the club was still going. It was our first big night out so we decided not to push it too much later than that! Tonight we are going to try and go to one of the club events promoted on the Facebook page. Apparently "Loco Lunes" (crazy Monday) is a big night here. Even if these places are filled with American students, its a nice way to meet new people from our program. I'm sure we will begin to find our favorite "going out spots" and stick to them.

 I'm taking more pictures of sites rather than nights out because I don't want to lose my camera, sorry this post doesn't have many pictures. The next one will have a lot! All of the pictures I have taken so far are on my Facebook!

Adios,

Langley

First few hours!

Greetings from  in Barcelona, Spain!! The past 24 hours have been a great start to my study abroad adventure. Margaret (my roommate at Wofford and here in Barca) and I boarded the plane in Columbia at 1:30 on Sunday, we changed over in Philadelphia, then flew to Madrid. We had a really short layover in Madrid, which is where we experienced our one, serious moment of panic when we thought we were going to miss our flight to Barcelona. Luckily, we made it to our plane and landed in Barcelona. All of our luggage made it too, so our trip here went very smooth. We got in our taxi still not believing that we were going to spend the next 4 months in Europe and it all became real once we were dropped off at our apartment building and left standing there with 2 huge suitcases each, not really knowing what to do next. We knew our host family lived on the 3rd floor, but we didn't know if they had any previous warning of what time we would arrive. Thank goodness we located a small elevator that looked like it dated back to the early 1900s, and it could only fit one of us at a time. I got on and waited for Margaret on the "3rd floor" which was actually like the 5th, but oh well. We rang the doorbell and waited for awhile until a nice woman, Berta, answered the door. We asked if we were in the right place. She told us we were indeed and welcomed us in. After unpacking and napping for a few hours (neither one of us really slept the plane ride) we met Berta's husband Jordi, who immediately put his iPhone in our face to take a caller id picture. Well when he turned the phone around both Margaret and I yelped at the sight of our unruly appearance. Jordi, showed us a map of Barcelona and the "dangerous places" to avoid at night. Once we were settled we were ready explore a little bit. We walked along the streets and looked at all the stores and architecture. The downtown area of Barcelona has lots of modern stores with old pretty architecture surrounding them. It was a very nice day and everyone was bundled up on the streets so we brought our coats, but we thought the 50+ degree weather was wonderful for this time of year. We went to this huge 9-story walmart/target/macy's called El Corte Ingles. Which literally has everything under the sun. We bought a straightener, hair dryer, and shampoo like things there. After getting a bit overwhelmed by Corte Ingles, we decided it was time for Happy Hour. We stopped at a tapas bar called Brasserie and ate calamari and pizza. Not being used to the 9:30 dinner time, I figured this late "snack" would hold us over for awhile. Tonight we are hoping to meet up with our two other good friends from Wofford, Kate and Maggie, to watch the National Championship game. It comes on at 2:30 am our time, so we might only make it to the half. Sorry if this sounds sporadic and all over the place, but there is a lot going on and I am loving every second of it. We have the whole day to explore tomorrow, so we might venture out a little further and try and take pictures.

view from our room at the apartment!

Keep reading for more adventures from this first week!