Estoy muy lleno...

Well it's been about a week and I am definitely still in the transitional phase here in Barcelona. To be honest, it hasn't been easy! It's like going back to freshman year when you are lost and new to everything - except here everything is in a different language.

I'm not sure if I mentioned this before but all of my classes are from 3:30-10pm. I think it's because of space issues that the school splits the student body into two groups: mornings and afternoons. Juniors and seniors are in the afternoon group, and apparently by "afternoon" they mean 3:30-10pm. It's weird coming home after 10pm because I usually like to rest/eat/shower etc. after coming home from school. And then I might start doing homework. But here I feel like I should be in bed by the time I get home!

This morning I went into school around 10am to meet with some classmates for a group project. Afterwards we went to have lunch together at this place near school. And now I finally understand why Spanish people don't eat very much for dinner. It's because they eat a LOT for lunch! We went to a place with a set menu of 3 courses for 9 Euros. First they give you complementary bread. Then you have the 1st course, which for me was a giant red pepper stuffed with meat. Then you have the 2nd course, which for me was some steak and potatoes. THEN you have dessert - I got a slice of banana-chocolate pie. Oh and yeah, a drink is also included. After the meal I started to fall into a food coma.. so now I understand why Spanish people take a siesta after lunch :p. It all makes perfect sense! Lunch kept me so full that I came home after class and just had some cereal for dinner. I think going out for a Spanish-style meal should be like initiation for all people that come to Spain. No puedo comer mas!

So I've been shopping classes and today I went to "Portfolio" class. I was pretty set on taking this class until today when it got kind of stressful. We were learning Flash... Normally I have enough trouble following in a computer class, so this was extra hard because it was a computer and Spanish class in one. I'm also the only exchange student in the class (it's much more comforting when there are at least two of us... because then we can be lost together) so I was quite lost at many points throughout the class. It also didn't help that my computer crashed twice! I started having second thoughts about my choice in classes and then that got me worried because it took me forever just to figure out my schedule up to this point. Basically, I'm realizing that being here is really testing my comfort level. Everything about being here requires you to step out of your comfort zone and that is a lot easier said than done. I am constantly tempted to run away from all the challenges and just go with what makes me comfortable. But I think I know deep down that I should face the challenges head on. Otherwise what's the point of coming here right?

Last Friday, I found myself really missing RISD because I got so used to going to fellowship on Fridays... and then going to dinner, and then hanging out, and then staying up etc. I just hope I can settle on a church soon and hopefully get involved in a community outside of school. The whole school culture is very different here because students don't live at school. There is no "campus". It's actually a lot like high school because many students live at home and just come to school for a few hours everyday. The only disadvantage I'm discovering about this is that I have to pay to be able to dance! The ballet school I found near where I live is reasonably priced... but I'm afraid I might not be able to afford ballroom classes as well. Makes me really appreciate Brown for letting me get involved in so many dance groups without worrying about money.

I'm still in the process of getting to know people at school... Classes are not as interactive as RISD and even though there are a lot of exchange students, we all only met briefly at orientation on the first day. And then we were thrown into shopping period so it's hard to get to know people. I'm pretty sure that by the end of 3 months I won't want to leave - that's what always happens to me. I always make the decision to go somewhere on my own and then I get really homesick once I get there. And then after a few weeks I don't want to leave. Right now I'm still waiting to reach that point! I can't wait till I do :D.

Yesterday I went La Viña church with Viviane. It was really nice - the people were all very friendly and the environment was very warm. But there weren't that many young people and I'm not quite sure I could follow the sermon. I get confused because in the few Spanish churches I've visited (both here and in the US), sometimes I really get the sermon and other times I'm totally lost. And I'm not sure if that's because I am just zoning out or if it's because of the language difference. Originally I was hoping to go to a Spanish church here in order to get total and full language IMMERSION. But again, it involves stepping out of my comfort zone because it means that everything is in Spanish! Not that I don't want that - I love Spanish! That's one of the reasons that brought me here. But when you are placed in a room with all Spanish speakers, getting yourself to speak actively can be quite daunting because you don't want to make a fool of yourself by saying something incorrectly. That's just me being honest!

And so... I'm slowly conditioning myself not to care about making mistakes. Everytime I talk with Spanish people, they tell me I speak very well... but I think that may be because I can say things like, "I'm an exchange student. I'm here to study for three months" very well. And then I can answer all the basic questions about where I'm from or how long I've been in Barcelona etc. After that, it gets more challenging. I've also learned that understanding is a lot easier than speaking. I can listen in a class lecture and be okay... but if you ask me to recount what I learned in Spanish, I may just give you a blank stare :p. Oh yes and there's the Catalan too. I think it always gives people a nice surprise here when I speak Catalan :D. Apparently there's a Korean girl at my school (fyi there are like no Asian people at my school... I really STAND OUT) who speaks Catalan but not Spanish. Isn't that weird/cool/unusual/rare/awesome???!!

Ok I got sidetracked. After church, Viviane and I stopped by this huge outdoor mall by the church. We had lunch and then we split because Viviane wanted to go home to sleep and I was hoping to go to the Chinese supermarket. Turns out the Chinese supermarket was closed. So I tried the normal supermarket, but that was closed too. Turns out everything is closed here on Sundays. I wonder what happens when you really desperately need something.. like toilet paper! Haha. So I headed home but I decided to walk through the park. It was so lovely that I ended up staying in the park for a few hours, just reading my Barcelona guide book (thanks Melanie!) and watching some people play soccer. And so I end this post with some pictures from the park!







And this isn't even the main park by where I live. The bigger one is just another block away...!