Make a difference MONDAY.

The first day of class is today and I’m nervous to see how much material we can possibly cover in 4 hours.

Skipped the alarm along with the running this morning and casually got in the shower. IT’S THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! You know what that means- must look our BEST haha totally kidding. Definitely just threw on a V-neck, shorts, and my chacos and headed out the door. Skipped breakfast- probably shouldn’t eat cereal anyways considering I'm allergic to milk fat and id rather not have a stomach ache all day- and packed a protein lean shake, apple, and snack bar instead- Zachuhryeyuh you’d be so proud.

Took about 15ish minutes or so to walk to school and by then- at 9 in the morning- I was already hotter than could be. Had to get muhhh gurrllsss C-Tina and Currroline to help a sister out with some fan-age haha. Shoot I don’t want to be the sweaty new kid the first day of class! Thank goodness for these nifty fans.

Met my new classmates and started off what was shorter than I though would be of a day. Too bad tomorrow we have school at 8 am instead of 9- that’s not going to be very fun for me considering I am NOT a morning person what so ever and Christine will probably come in as she always does with her “GOOOOOOD MORNINGGG!!” At least we’ll get out of school earlier.

It’s the first day and we’ve already covered a surplus of information- which means one thing... I ALREADY HAVE A STACK OF NOTECARDS TO STUDY. At least it will be a good means of staying ahead of the pack and not so much of falling behind- which I cannot do. I would like to see an A please on my transcript.

Snack break and we hit up the super market for some goodies. I didn’t wash my apple so I hope I don’t get some strange disease- shoot I've already had enough strange diseases so far this trip I don’t need any more.

School went by fast- even met our “tutors” today- and I bounced out of that building to head home and do nothing better than study WHOOO. Lunch was good- ate rice, fish, and veggies with watermelon for “dessert” again. The normal skype date happened with my rents- which is always good- I swear I learn so much from them each and everyday. Even got to see the other half of my heart- my little bro- although I do love my big bro just as much- and was surprised he was even awake at 9 am in TEXAS time. Sad I'm gonna miss all of his baseball games but at least I got to see some before I left- he even hit a homer on my b-day how sweet.

Since class is so dang early tomorrow I should probably be productive with my time. Planning on studying my flash cards, blogging- obviously, going for a run, eating dinner, shower, and chillaxing for bed- just incase you wanted to know every detail of my schedule. If you couldn’t tell, I'm a very detail oriented person.

And on the Brightside- found out Caroline started a blog!- after giving me such a hard time for blogging my life away- because she was inspired by me, how sweet haha. I knew it would happen- you’re so gonna get addicted.

It’s only my dream to be here and learn so I best make the most of it. Do Not let others define you- but instead make your dreams your own. My Dad is probably one of the wisest men I know and I couldn’t be more thankful for him or little lessons like these. Appreciate the little things given to you in life. Whether it’s a person or object, always be grateful and cherish the meaning of it. Love from your heart no matter what always but also know when to stand up for yourself.

It's make a difference Monday so go out and make a difference.

Loving is the most unmitigated and courageous act I perform in a day.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

Make it Happen.

What another beautiful day we’ve been given. I feel like I start a lot of my blogs like this but seriously each day is just so beautiful. Feeling slightly better which is a good sign. Woke up early to take a shower but Candra beat me to it- decided I’d just have to sleep a little longer then haha. Breakfast this morning was delicious- same as yesterday but had an egg and bacon sandwich instead of nutella.

In the lobby I anxiously waited for my family to arrive. Found out that our house mom loves to have girls- the reason being because she likes to go shopping and is a little on the younger side- that’s a plus. Also found out that her son- who our instructor said was 24 and an artist- usually comes to pick us up because the mom works normally til 3. Needless to say, Candra was excited until he walked through the door and wasn’t to her liking haha. His name is Ale- short for Alejandro- pronounced “Ali”- looks like there’s going to be two Ali’s in the house for a month- this could get confusing.

Had to walk from the hotel all the way to one of the main streets only to cross, drop our luggage off, and walk some more. Since most Europeans use mopeds and since there are so many tiny one-way streets here- even if you’ve lived in Sevilla your whole life- unless you’re professional at driving, you don’t know how to get around haha hence why we had to walk a mile with our 80lbs in luggage.

Reached the car- which was tiny like everything else in Europe- and met our house mom. So sweet. Looks like we’re going to have a good experience- plus she like to talk- along with Ale- so that’s good practice. Loaded our luggage into the car and had to walk the rest of the way because our luggage took all the seats haha. I’m in a good mood today if you can’t tell.

Come to find out our apartment is the closest to the TTU center out of all the houses, which means I’ll be walking everyday! Maybe not during lunch considering it will be 120 plus degrees but definitely in the morning. I'm going to burn so many calories in this next month just from walking its unreal- maybe it will cancel out all the dang bread they feed you here- they’re bread fanatics and I could see why- made fresh daily.

After successfully getting our luggage up to the apartment, we got the low down on rules- which there are hardly any- and way of life then got the chance to finally unpack. I am so sick of living out of a suitcase its crazy how thankful I am to see a set of dresser drawers. Not much room in those bad boys though.

It’s not as hot as I thought it would be without AC but we’re defiantly going to need another fan. Siesta for Candra and some alone/thinking time for me, we waited for lunch. I actually pulled out my verb list and took advantage of the study time. And I am so thankful our family is more on the modern side because we have high-speed internet- where as a lot of other familias don’t- HALLELUJAH!

Our house mama is so sweet. Since we have been traveling for 10 days before actually arriving here, Candra and I have a nice sum of laundry. Usually laundry days aren’t but every Saturday- because its not like laundry in the US, you actually have to hang dry and iron your clothes here- but she so graciously took our laundry and is going to do it for us.

A call for lunch and it was spaghetti- another more modern dish for Spain- along with bread of course, water, and watermelon for dessert. I LOVE WATERMELLON mmm. Completely full Candra and I asked for our keys- and after an explanation of what is what and how everything works- we headed out the door to get a phone and a fan from of course take a guess… El Corte Ingles haha. Only to realize that we had been walking the wrong way for the past 10-15 minutes- COOL. So instead we stopped at an ice cream shop- Candra got her usual chocolate and strawberry ice cream and I just stuck to a big 1.5 L bottle of water. That’s one thing I do love also about Spain- their normal bottles of water are usually our HUGE bottles of water in the states- but its good for me because I absolutely LOVE water. I'm practically a fish, or so Candra says- don’t ask why I drink so much water because I couldn’t tell you.

The night is still young and dinner is a couple hours away. Thinking I'm gonna study some more verbs sometime between now and dinner, maybe skype my parentals if they’d actually get on, and take a quick run- gotta stay in shape with all this bread floating around.

School is early tomorrow so an early departure into the ZzZ’s tonight is on the list- I know Candra will be happy about that one.

I wish we could all understand why things are the way they are but sometimes I guess that’s the beauty and mystery of it all. When you get down, just brush it off. My Dad once told me that no matter what be kind to others- brush off the little things and focus on your goals and ambitions. Do your own thing and let everyone else do theirs. If you want something- go get it. If it’s your dream- make it happen. And just don’t sweat the little stuff because it doesn’t matter- move on. Little lessons like these inspire me to be better, push harder, and reach farther because you never know what’s out there or how far you can go until you try.

God grant me the serenity 
To accept the things I cannot change; 
Courage to change the things I can; 
And wisdom to know the difference.
- Reinhold Niebuhr

Keep it REAL.

It’s the second day with our classmates in Sevilla and breakfast is first on my list. Up by 9:30, I was ready to go. I mean who doesn’t like free breakfast anyways? A nice plate of eggs, fruit, yogurt, kiwi juice, and nutella bread was surly able to get me going.

Today we headed for a walking “tour” of Sevilla with our instructors and then to the largest Gothic Cathedral in the world- yes, in Sevilla- who knew? I guess this place is full of monuments I had no idea about of have ever even heard about before. Found the shopping district of Sevilla- not like I'm really going to utilize that except for with my eyes- and headed to the Cathedral.

This Cathedral was definitely unique inside. I would have to say that the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona out did this Gothic Cathedral by a good amount but that’s just my opinion. To me, Sagrada Familia had so much detail and effort carved into every inch of the Cathedral and so much history of God’s word and story inscribed within the picture, figures, and monuments carved into each wall- still so amazing to me. 

No wonder it too over 40 years. Here at this Gothic Cathedral- it was more of a museum with Gold/Silver artifacts and stories of the history of Sevilla and what not. Although the irrigation system in the “orange court” was muy interesante because way back then they somehow fixed the system to where the water would come from the fountains and run through these ditches to reach every tree in order to supply it water- so smarty pants for back then. Got to see a statue of the Sacred Heart- Dad you'd love it- even took a picture. Also went up the bell tower and took a view of the city- AFTER WALKING UP 34 FLIGHTS- and on the way down even did the Bernie hahah it was CLASSIC.

If any of you think it’s hot in TEXAS, come to Sevilla in late June almost July and then tell me what you think. IT’S HOT. Like 120 degrees hot. You walk outside for 5 minutes and you’re already dying. I never though I’d see the day when I’d buy a hand fan and be one of those people that walk around with it out fanning themselves, but I broke down, gave in, and bought one- it is a NECESSITY here. Thank God the TTU center has AC.

Hotel for lunch- we ate salad and seafood paella- the shrimp they gave us were whole shrimp, eyes and everything. Siesta- we hit up the El Corte Ingles- our favorite store- for a couple items including Epsom salt- told you I would nail that- pure alcohol, and band aids for my clumsy mistake and Neosporin for the healing.

After 20 min of walking there and back, we had to walk another 15 minutes to the center in order to complete orientation along with our first lesson. This month of school is going to be EXTREMELY intensive- we start Monday and we already have a quiz Tuesday and a project due Friday. Looks like ill be studying more than I thought. Don’t worry Dad I didn’t forget my 3 BS-es. Be Safe, Be Smart, Be STUDIOUS- that’s for sure.

Exhausted from the day I hit the bed at 7 not feeling too hot- ever since I’ve been in Spain I haven’t felt very good, it sucks and is kinda weird- my mom thinks I’m gonna get the Bird Flu haha but I don’t think that’s the case, although I could be wrong who knows- and didn’t wake up until 11pm- and YES I even skipped dinner which is unusual.

Now I'm completely ready for bed- blogged and all- about to see if falling back asleep is possible. I still don’t eel good and we meet our families tomorrow so I'm hoping I can get a good nights rest and whatnot and possibly start to feeling better before tomorrow. Keep it REAL- much love.

Standing in the inspiring vision of my future, 
I boldly take every step - large and small - with courage and intent.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

New Beginnings.

After waking up at 12 instead of 3 pm as planned- I threw on my running shoes with Candra and hit the streets of Sevilla for a nice 30 min run. Can’t wait to do this EVERYDAY for the next 5 weeks!

Today is the first day I get to meet all the new classmates and that’s exactly what I did. After running for 30 min around town and getting back to the hotel nice and sweaty from the extreme heat- I hit the shower while Candra napped and then headed out the door- of course after Candra had showered and what not as well- for a quick lunch before orientation. It is seriously going to be SO hot this summer- I can’t even sit outside for lunch without being so hot for more than 15 min.

Met everyone for orientation and let me tell you how small of a world it really is. My roommate last year her dorm roommate freshman year is here- that I know- and then on that same note a girl she when to high school with that I’ve met a couple times through her is also here. WEIRD. Right off the bat we set the mood as an upbeat atmosphere and talked about everything while we waited for our teacher to get here. This summer is also going to be so fantastic- already have laughed so much and it’s only been the first day- many memories to come. After we left the hotel we headed for the school- about a 10 min walk. I love how you can almost walk to anything here- going to have some TONEEE legs by the end of this trip.

Once we reached the destination of the school- after we got asked by 13 year olds to buy them cigarettes- which we didn’t- we toured the many classrooms within that building. Haha there’s only like 4 classrooms but there’s no hallways so in the future we either have to use the front or back door depending where our class is.

Sat down for our orientation- which was pretty much just a reminder of everything we have already learned- were handed our school keys, got our insurance cards- which I totally could have used 10 days ago when I was sick so I didn’t have to pay 60 euros- a BIG map of the city, found out who we were living with- which of course Candra and I are living together thank God- and found out what class we were going to be in- which Candra and I are not in together.

Dinnertime is at 8 so we chilled out for 15 min or so after walking home from school. Ate an interesting dinner of gazpacho, pork, and flan- pretty delicious I must say. I’m proud of Candra because she’s trying most things, which is a big step for her.

Now I'm lying in bed after a long day- pretty run down- and about to pass out for a good nights rest. I haven’t been feeling too hot lately so sleeping is probably the one thing I should do. Got another long day ahead of me tomorrow with A LOT of walking so being fully rested is smart.

Don’t let the little things in life bother you- instead pick yourself up and move on to what’s important to you. If it’s your dream- then accomplish and live it. No matter what happens- do your own thing. And when times get hard- open your bible and submerge yourself in the word.

The darkest night is often the bridge to the brightest tomorrow.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

A day of travel.

Well GOOOOOOD MORNING everyone! It is the final departure from our adventure of travel to our destination SEVILLA- guess it looks like its time to study.

Woke up this morning about hmmm 7ish- washed my face real quick- returned my key to the desk- and headed out that hostel door. Off to the street we went to find a Taxi and the headed to the train station. We had a train from Barcelona to Madrid at 9 am to catch and that is slightly early for me considering we have to be up by 7 to make it in time- or to be on the safe side. Successfully made it to the station and on our train. It’s 2.5 hours to Madrid then we have to drag our luggage all the way to the airport to get our other luggage and then back to the train station to catch our next train to Sevilla. I guess we didn’t think that out very well when we were planning our trip because the cost of the cab ride to the airport to get out luggage, the cost of storing the luggage, and then the cost of the cab ride back to the exact same place was a little excessive in expenses but hey it is what it is.

Back at the train station we went through the same processes again of checking in our luggage and whatnot but first had a nice meal at burger king- mmm let me tell you, SO NICE. JOKES. I hate eating nasty but what are you suppose to do when that’s the only thing that exists to eat pretty much in the station? Ordered my chicken strips- after getting yelled at for telling him what I wanted. I swear- people are so rude these days- there is no reason to be rude to a young women who is just trying to give burger king some business sheesh. Hopped on the train and were off to Sevilla. My seat was in coach 8 and Candra’s was in coach 6 but ended up crashing some real important peoples party in coach 7 I think. There was no one sitting in coach 7 so Candra and I decided just to move to coach 7 so we could sit by each other and if someone came then we would just move out of their seats- but that wasn’t the case. We ended getting to ride in silence in this coach pretty much all by ourselves until two other girls came along and sat directly across from us and talked the WHOLE time- they were so loud. I think that the people who reserved the whole coach didn’t really like that because when they walked by to get food they didn’t look like that happiest people- oh well, I was being quiet.

Candra passed out for a good nap and I once again blogged. Its like whenever I get the time to just be and have a chance to blog I want to take it no matter how tired I am because it’s so hard to catch up when you’re behind and you can remember everything fresh.

I put away my computer once it died and passed out myself for a couple of hours. 3 hours later we had arrived in Sevilla and off to the hotel we went! Called for a cab and this lady pulled up to drive us. That is the first time I have seen a woman cab driver- wasn’t exactly fun because she made us lift all of our heavy luggage into the back and was telling us what we could and couldn’t do. Too bad the back of the car didn’t close and she charged us a luggage fee on top of that- I'm just glad my luggage didn’t fall out.

Arrived at the hotel and got situated for a nice relaxing day. Honestly- today hasn’t been that interesting because all we did was travel. Up to 231 we went and cranked that AC on high. Candra passed out again and I continued to blog once my computer was plugged in. Long story short I ended up passing out face down, with the computer up on the bed, still on facebook chat with people, with my headphones in- and Candra got a picture of it. I didn’t realize I passed out so hardcore until I woke up to Candra messing with me haha. Then we went to dinner where I ordered paellas and it was the seafood kind. Problem though- there was broken clamshells all up in my rice and although I'm not picky I was slightly disgusted. Stopped at the super Mercado and grabbed some water, fruit, and breakfast bars. Explored the city just a little after we ate and returned back to the hotel for a nice relaxing night.

Skyped my parents after waiting for 2 hours and now I am just laying in bed getting ready to fall asleep. I think tonight I’m actually going to be the one to pass out first- I must be so exhausted from these past 10 days because I'm about to be out. Candra FINALLY blogged her trip so far today and man was she just going for it- seriously was typing for a couple hours. I’m so excited to meet everyone tomorrow and I hope we get to have class with some real cool people!

Don’t ever second guess doing the right thing- It doesn’t matter who or what the situation is and be sure to stick up for others when the world is falling down on them or they just need a hand. You don’t have to know the people you stick up for but believe me, they’ll want to know you.  It’s nice to know someone cares. It’s even nicer to know people still believe in doing the right thing. Think about it.

May the world be kind to you, and may your own thoughts be gentle upon yourself.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

GO BIG OR GO HOME.

What a Wednesday it has been. From waking up to living it up and really just taking every moment for what it is has been great. Cannot believe that already tomorrow we will be leaving for Sevilla and saying goodbye to the wonderful city of Barcelona. It our last day here so here goes nothing!

Waking up wasn’t half bad this morning- considering we slept in til 3 pm haha. We planned on getting up and going to the beach around 12 but obviously that didn’t happen- so 3pm it was. Decided to eat a nice little lunch at a place called American Soda, but to be honest it wasn’t all that great and way over priced- along with everything else in Barcelona. While we were eating we saw a girl getting arrested outside our window and on top of that two men we’re getting questioned and what not about selling stuff on the streets- which is illegal- and then, the policia took their inventory. The police here are SO intense and those guys were slightly pissed. Finished our lunch and headed out the door down to the beach.

Since the money just goes like crazy- no matter how hard you try to budget- we decided that we were just going to walk all the way down to the beach because it really wasn’t that far of a walk. About 15 or so min later we had arrived at the beach! Took a stroll a few meters down from where we first came out to and found a nice little spot next to nothing special. Keep in mind this was around 5 ish when we finally got there- oops. There was a guy on the beach- straight crazy- selling donuts. And you wanna know how he was selling donuts? He was balancing the tray on his head while spinning and running around, hitting a small triangular bell, and singing whatever he was making up in that mind of his- was a great sight to see that’s for sure.

The water is beautiful and feels so good when you get in. I still thought that the water was going to be more of a bright blue color but it’s actually a darker blue color like every other beach- just without all the nasty junk in the water and seaweed. We sat out to tan for a bit- trying to ignore the many “vendors” bothering us to buy their stuff- and ended up running into our friends from last night at Boulevard- Arturo and Marc. Since it was already getting late, we didn’t get to spend that much time with them but we did chit chat for a while and actually got in the water for a good 20 at least. The water here is SO COLD it takes a little time to get used to but then your body adjusts and everything else becomes so hot. Oh how I'm going to miss the many friends we’ve met and hung out with this trip- I wish they could all come back to America and just live around the same area as me.

From the beach we took a stroll to some Italian restaurant but instead of eating just said chao to the boys and headed to the taxi’s in order to take us to our FREE dinner meal- only one catch- you have to buy a drink to get the free dinner- how gay. So we made it to the restaurant by 815, sat down, and no one came for like 20 minutes to serve us. I always feel like an idiot when we go eat because first it’s a gamble as to what you’re going to get on the menu and second the way places to eat work here vary so much within a couple of feet that you never know whether to order at the bar, sit and wait to be served, seat yourself, etc. And if you do it wrong you just feel straight stupid- but to be honest it’s not like they can’t tell we’re not from here so it doesn’t exactly bother me because how are we suppose to know. When we were finally seated though and order placed- which was the plate of the day because it was free- we had to order our drink. Candra and I looked at the menu and decided on something fruity with strawberries, apples, and oranges I think but what we got WAS BEYOND disgusting to the point we could not even drink it. I don’t exactly know what they brought us but it seriously tasted like rubbing alcohol. The first sip was almost unison in reaction between Candra and I- THAT BAD. The food wasn’t anything special either- cold pasta with cold meat sauce- and when we got the chance to finally pay for our disgusting drink- after we stood at the bar waiting for 10 minutes with no one else around- we left and headed for home.

ARCO youth hostel we arrived again and some alone time it was for an hour. I blogged- Candra chose to nap- and everyone else in the room did their own thing. 10 pm hit, we jumped in the shower, put our nightlife clothes on, and headed out the door for another adventure in the great city of Barcelona. Tonight we went on the exact same bar crawl as last night only this time with different people. Met two Canadians- Trina and Sarina- who are cousins and made our last night in Barcelona count. Trina is from Canada but the cool thing is she works for and English school in Sweden so obviously she lives there and to me that is just so mind boggling cool. Sarina came to visit Trina- what a good cousin- and now they’re in Europe just backpacking- who doesn’t want to do that? Met some German girls as well in one of the bars called Tequila’s- which totally smelt like 300 cats peed in there and left- sick nasty. It’s crazy how many people you meet and how everyone is from all over the world but how we’re all so much the same.

After getting water almost dumped completely on our heads from the locals that live up above in the streets, and using my directionally talented skills to leave “City Hall”- because it was terrible- and go back to “Boulevard” for another memorable night- because it’s that legit- we managed to have a blast and plan on making the memories last haha. Too bad I don’t pay enough attention when walking down the street though and somehow step on packing plastic and gash my foot- in my Steve’s- so that blood gets everywhere- but you know that doesn’t stop us from conquering our ambitions. On a side note: I told plenty of vendors to stop asking me to buy stuff because I didn’t want any of it. You have no idea how annoying it gets- especially after 10 days of already being here. You will be eating a nice meal, enjoying company, and they will come up to you WHILE YOU’RE EATING and interrupt you to ask if you want to buy a half dead rose for 5 euros. Haha NO I DON’T WANT YOUR HALF DEAD ROSE- RUDE.  

Up in Boulevard Candra found her hot spot of Australians while I rode solo to the voice of Pit Bull, Shakira, and all the other American music artists. Don’t worry- I rock the dance floor by myself all the time haha I’m pretty bomb at it and when it’s BOTH Candra and I you don’t want to get in our way- WE STAY IN THE ZONE. The only bad part of Boulevard is that there tends to be glass on the floor from people dropping their glasses- stupid- and so when you wear flats like I do, you get glass in your foot- YAY. So currently I have glass in my foot and a slightly gashed foot haha just my luck. The first thing my Dad is going to tell me is to soak it in Epsom salt- I’m calling it now.

It’s terribly late and I need to charge this bad boy before getting on the long train ride tomorrow- need some blog juice with some tunes to sit that one out. I believe our train ride to Madrid is 3 hours and then to Sevilla its 3 more hours so a total of 6 hours together. DANG- I’m gonna feel like I’m making that miserable drive to Lubbock from Austin again. Love and miss everyone!

Life may not be the party we hoped for
but while we are here we might as well dance. 
- Anonymous

Terrific Tuesday.

Woke up to the noise of construction outside our window- and I mean loud construction. What a terrific Tuesday it already is- it will get better though I just hate the mornings and especially hate getting woken up by construction- its always something or has always been something on this trip- EVERY DAY. Our friend Joe- who was in the Hostel with us left today so a whole new crew is about to come in for tonight- this should be interesting. Oh and on a side note: Spaniards definitely don’t eat breakfast like we do- they say “free breakfast” in the hostels but then you get up to go get it and it’s like these weird cookie things and milk- not exactly my kind of breakfast.

Started the daily somewhat of a routine again with washing my face and brushing my teeth- I’m getting low on face wash though and THAT, THAT RIGHT THERE is not good at all. Looks like I might be playing connect the dots with myself if I don’t get some more real soon- two days til I get my luggage from the airport- if I can just make it two I’ll be golden. By the time the morning washing face/brushing teeth rituals were over it was well lunchtime. Long curly hair, don’t care- white shorts and a black tee- I was off to find me some lunch before we hit up the Barcelona bus tour!

I couldn’t exactly tell you where we ate lunch because there’s been so many places so far that they all start to run together but I can almost guarantee you it was somewhere with chicken or pasta. Lunch was decent I do remember that- and we got our workout in because finding the Barcelona bus tour activation booth was nowhere close to easy. A long day of touring the city was ahead and we couldn’t have been more excited. Only one problem- it was hotter than hell outside and we definitely got our fair share of sun on that bus, but it was totally worth being a “slight problem”.

If I could write all the details down there would be SO many. OHHH MYYY GAHDDD this was seriously the best investment I’ve put my money into all trip. Barcelona has SO much to see. The architecture here is absolutely breath taking. There’s so so so much everywhere, so many buildings, parks, cathedrals, monuments, statues, palaces, on and on. You buy this bus pass and you can get on and off of these tour buses throughout the day to see all the neat stuff if you wanted to. There’s 3 different routes and they take about 2.5 hours each to go around. It’s an all day kind of thing- Candra and I got on the bus at 2 and we didn’t get off until 845pm.

Two words:

Antoni Gaudí.

This man was straight genius. You may have heard about him before but if not he basically was a huge influence to the city of Barcelona today. He designed and created a surplus of buildings that are still standing. GENIUS. If you’re ever in Barcelona you have to go see the cathedral and visit his park, you will be blown away. Candra and I had the chance to stop by the cathedral- Sagrada Família- and the park- Park Güell- today. My camera died so thank goodness Candra had just enough juice left in hers to get some of the park pictures! The cathedral is one of the most visited places in Spain- and I had the chance to go inside it and even say a prayer- talk about a memorable moment. Every inch of that cathedral in inscribed with some kind of art in the walls or ceiling even floor- so much Catholicism to it its unbelievable- straight genius is the only way to describe it. And if that doesn’t make you love your faith all the more then I don’t know what does because that is full of God’s word- incredible.

Stopped by hard rock café for dinner after finally getting off that bus route- that was after we almost missed the bus to get home- we would. Ate a niceeeeee Texas BBQ burger, which brought a little bit of home to my mouth. It’s not exactly Spanish but it was there and we were hungry so we said whatever and stopped in. Candra and I were waiting in line just like everyone else for a seat outside when all of the sudden these two men just out of nowhere sit down at a table. The waitress I guess saw the look on our faces- whatever that look was- and made sure to let them know. After about 5 minutes of them being disrespectful to her, they get up and left. Kind of work out nicely because then the guy in front of us got seated there, and right after him not even 30 seconds later we got seated- YES.

Dinner was delicious and sorbet was even better on the way home. Once the destination of our hostel was reached, we hopped in the shower and got ready to meet some new people. You can always tell who speaks English and who doesn’t because when you walk down the street and people are handing out flyers –people as in they talk English- they spot you out like no other and give you this sort of respect that is just known- I don’t really know how to explain it but it makes sense, hopefully. Hung out with plenty of English speaking people tonight and made so many more new friends! Ended up going to Boulevard- which is a nice club- and danced the night away American style with Candra. Let me just tell you though- those short stack creeps- yeah the ones from the beach club last night- those creeps somehow someway ended up being at the same freaking place as us tonight. And what happened this time? They decided it would be a good idea to grab Candra again and pick her up this time and try to kiss her. I kept my cool- obviously- but I DID NOT like that and Candra will be the first to tell you haha. Needless to say- they got a few words out of me and Candra’s heart dropped for them haha I just thought it was funny that she would be scared for them. Looking back, its pretty hilarious- after their creepy selves left we got in a good laugh.

Met Arturo and Marc tonight as well. Arturo is from Guatemala but lives and studies in Barcelona- his brother actually studies in the states though- I thought that was pretty neat. Marc is our CRAZY FUNNY Canadian/Spaniard friend that is over in Spain for the summer visiting family and I think for water polo but is staying with Arturo in Barcelona for a couple of days. They went to school a couple years ago together and met because they were both athletes. Anyways long story short- we all had fun dancing together- but I’ve seriously got to learn how to dance Spanish style like salsa and flamenco and what not because I’m not exactly good at that yet haha.

After a long night and day for that matter I am finally going to sleep. Not sure what tomorrow is going to bring but it’s our last night in BARCELONA so it’s a must to make the most of it!

Life is without meaning. 
You bring the meaning to it. 
The meaning of life is whatever you ascribe it to be. 
Being alive is the meaning.
- Joseph Campbell