Move-In Day!

The five flights of gorgeous stairs up the my apartment...but there's an awesome elevator, too.

I need to start writing these posts earlier in the day, but right now I’m just trying to stay awake. Not surprisingly, it is difficult to get your body to adjust to an 8 hour time difference. The first accomplishment during jet lag was to take a test….in Spanish, of course. It was semi-difficult. We’ll see what level I am placed in. The level I am placed in will determine where I have class. Tomorrow I will meet with the internship coordinator.

I am living with a woman and her son, Tiago (short for Santiago). I guess we are in the rich part of town, but more importantly it is right across the corner from the metro stop, which makes it very easy to get to class. Right now my host mother is actually on a business trip, so I have a substitute mother for the week. I should say two mothers, since it is her two best friends right now. If I understood their Spanish correctly, all three are designers, whether furniture, fashion or interior design. I am wondering if I could have a better fit, but we’ll see. J

We did take a tour today as well, which focused on some the history of Barcelona. Sunday, September 11 is a day of great importance, since it is the day that Barcelona lost its independence. There will be huge celebrations to remind Catalans of the importance of their autonomy. In other words, one good party, lots of speeches, etc. Other than that, it was mostly logistics issues and the mandatory lectures that unless I wrote it down, I doubt I will remember honestly.

The window displays here are amazing. I am going to have to bring my camera everywhere! But mostly I am excited to start being able to move somewhat at my own pace. I have literally been so busy that I didn’t even have time to really contact my parents. (Don’t worry, I got in touch with them today).

Tiago is adorable. He is the never ending energy of an 18-month-old. Busy, busy, busy. But I can definitely understand his Spanish, which is a huge plus! We took him on a walk today to the park (complete chaos with tons of niños running around). I think I explained the different schedule, but stores are usually open from 10 to 2, then reopen from about 5 to 8. Dinner is at 9PM, with a heavy lunch at 3 or so. I’m still trying to adjust, but so far my stomach is faster than my sleep. Barcelona is beautiful, but I need to take pictures, then it will make more sense. It’s impossible to explain in words, really.

Tiago in my room, with the cute piece of art that I love!