Happy February!
To say that things have been moving and shaking for me feels like a bit of an understatement in all honesty. I have had some life changes since we last spoke, which I guess is unsurprising considering how long it’s been.
The first of these was my move from Sabadell into the actual city of Barcelona!
I enjoyed Sabadell quite a bit. It was peaceful and safe and was very useful for practicing my Spanish as well as being spoken to in Catalan all the time which, while less than ideal, made me feel pretty special.
But I really was missing the city and was looking to spend the last few months in Spain here, in the place I fell in love with in the first place.
My new place is in l’Eixample (as Wikipedia will tell you, Catalan for “the expansion) neighborhood of the city, which is the same neighborhood I lived in when I studied abroad here in 2016. It’s my favorite part for living because it really has that more local feel with more Catalans and fewer tourists. It’s much quieter than parts closer to the old city and has a little bit more of that peace that I loved about Sabadell but I don’t have to take a 45 minute train ride home at 2:00 a.m. if I want to come have drinks with my friends.
I’m living with a family who owns a nearby restaurant and, because of that, it really feels like I have the place to myself because they’re there all day long. But they’re also incredibly sweet people; my “host mom” (if you want to call her that) complimented my Spanish when I came to tour the place back in January which is always a delight for me and they’ve offered to help me with the class that I have this semester that is taught in Spanish. Also, they have a sweet little black pooch!!
Needless to say, I’m thrilled to be here.
The timing was also perfect because I left my old place before I was able to move into this apartment and just before my parents arrived for their visit in January! I spent two quick nights at a hostel — and my stuff spent a few days at the most amazing Puck’s place, thanks girl!! — before they arrived and I could spend the week with them at their Airbnb.
We had such a wonderful time together. I love getting to play tourist and, boy, did we hit most of the highlights. We took the city bus tour — which I had never done before! — saw La Sagrada Familia, the MNAC (Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya), the Joan Miró Foundation, part of a game at Camp Nou, Casa Batlló, and La Pedrera, just to name a few. Dad also got to take a little dip in the Mediterranean, even though it was so cold he was the only one out there. And I got to show them so much of the food that I love here like pinchos, crema catalana (which they astutely pointed out was basically just crème brûlée), pan con tomate, jamón ibérico, escalivada, and cava, cava, and more cava!
I also got to introduce them to my pals.
I’m just very thrilled that they finally got to see the city that means so much to me.
After they left and I moved into my new place, my friends Puck and Romina and I took advantage of our one week of freedom before the resumption of school by going to Málaga.
Though we somehow managed to be there the one week out of the year that is cloudy and chilly in la Costa del Sol, we still managed to make the most of it and had an absolute blast together. We walked all over the city, saw a flamenco show (my and Puck’s first!), and got to tour the Alcazaba — the palatial fortress in the city from the 11th century. We also checked out the city museum like the good Master’s students interested in history and politics that we are. And, just like everywhere else in Spain, we ate good.
Now, the second semester begins and I set my sights for real on working on my thesis. I’m planning on doing a little school update in the next week and I’ll go a little more in depth there.
Hasta pronto!
fakestginger 