Wandering by the Water

A lampera made of rope in the little hut where they make drinks on the beach.

Hoy voy a la playa…That is, today I went to the beach. I took the metro and walked a ways to the same place we went yesterday. The beach is notorious for people stealing stuff. I could not figure out how to go in the water to swim, nadar, without getting my stuff stolen. I asked my senora, Claudia, about it and she suggested what I had thought…that I either need to go with a friend, or I need to ask someone to watch my stuff for me. But I also came up with a plan to leave most of my stuff at CIEE (the study center I am taking all my classes at) and just walk to the beach. Yes, the wonderful playa is just a 15 minute walk. I wonder how long of a run?....

I went and wandered in the Gothic Quarter today, looking for a specific church. But it was impossible to find without knowing the name or location and without my guidebook. So dropped the ball on that one….oh well. Today is La Festividad Nacional de Cataluna which is basically a day to remember when Cataluna lost its independence, but they fought very hard for it. It is not at all related to the U.S.’s 9/11. An interesting conquest and the reason for my quest was to find human castle building, but no luck.

Then I found a metro stop and attempted to find my way back…went the wrong direction at first…again. But I finally made it back. At the apartment, I managed to get connected to the internet after an impossible security code that never worked. But found a magic button and I am once again connected to the world. (Hence the 5 posts in one day or something). I also skyped my parents. It was nice to hear their voices again…and English a little. I keep thinking in both languages, which is why I came. But it does get confusing….

After Tiago went to bed, Claudia and I had dinner. We talked about names and other random topics for awhile. She recommended that I had to initiate conversations in Spanish, even if I didn’t understand a thing. Asking the shopkeepers, what is this, or how much is that. She also gave me a short, easy but interesting book in Spanish and told me to read it. It does look interesting so I will try it. She has a lot of good suggestions and I definitely appreciate them. For instance, I found beautiful curtains that I like. She suggested just buying them and not waiting ‘until I have a house’, etc. Especially because you love them now, and you never know how your tastes will change. Not to mention they would perfectly match my new gray walls in Colorado.

But she also is right about deciding priorities. Do I want to travel? Do I want to do museums? Or do I want to shop? And what is the right mix for me to do all of them? Or a bit of this, and a bit of that? Interestingly enough, I no longer know what I want to do. I like exploring the city, but I also want to do Paris, Florence and Berlin. I have no idea where else I want to go….or do. Specific museums, yes. And the architecture highlights here in Barcelona. And a specific model by Gaudi. But other than a couple of places, I have no clue what I want to do…..at all. I think I just need to decide, or take it as it goes…

Tomorrow is my first day of class and I need to get a notebook before class (hopefully) so I am leaving a little early. The first place I went, I could only find gridded cuadernos and was beginning to think that they didn’t have lines. I had to ask Claudia (mi Senora) about it.