La Vida Dulce

Hola!

The cooking class I went to last week was AMAZING!!! We learned how to make the tomato/bread appetizer, chicken paella, Spanish potato omelet, gazpacho and Catalan Cream for dessert. I can't wait to make a Spanish dinner for my family and perhaps for my roommates when I return back home!

A lot has happened this week! First off, I signed up for a language partner through my school. Through the program I am paired with a Spanish speaking native student and we are expected to meet up for language and culture exchange. In addition, the program hosts a ton of guided tours during the semester including a tour around Tibidabo (one of the 3 main mountains in Barcelona), Dali's Museum, the History of Catalonia Museum, and much, much more. Our orientation for the program begins on Friday!

I also booked my first trip this week! In late February I will be heading to Seville (a city in Southern Spain) and then traveling to Morocco during a four day weekend! In Morocco we will be going to Chefchaouen, Tangiers and Tetouan, which are all in Northern Morocco. I can't wait!

A few photos from my walks around the city:

Plaza Reial located in the heart of Barcelona (these lampposts were some of the first creations made by Gaudi)

The Base of the Columbus Monument, which reminds us that Barcelona is where Columbus reported for his voyage that changed the world

Seville / Morocco Map

La Comida, YUM

I have finally settled in and started my intensive Spanish class this week. With only two and a half hours of class a day I have had plenty of time to explore the city, get to know other kids in my program and eat some delicious Spanish meals!

The food here has been superb so far and I wanted to dedicate this blog to Spanish food as tonight my program is going to have a Spanish cooking lesson (here is the link http://www.cookandtaste.net/who.html). I have never been really 'taught' how to cook, well besides for some of my mom's recipes, so I am really excited to learn a little bit of the art of Spanish cooking tonight.

Well firstly, the Spanish meal times are very different than what they are in the US. Spanish breakfast (or 'el desayuno') is eaten around 10am and is usually very light and can consist of toast with jam or a croissant (I have had plenty of these since I have been here!). Next follows a snack/coffee break around 10:30-noon time. There are so many nice cafes and bakeries here that is very easy to find that afternoon coffee pick-me-up. A few hours later, around 2pm-4pm, is the Spanish lunchtime which is called 'la comida' (which literally translates as 'the food' in Spanish). This lunch time is much later than the noon time American lunch. However, you quickly adjust to this later lunch time as many restaurants are not open before 1pm for lunch.

'La comida' is the biggest meal of the day here and usually has three main courses, including a dessert. Many restaurants have 'el menu del dia' which is similar to the special of the day in the US. These menus are posted outside of the restaurants on chalk boards and are great deals as you get an appetizer, main meal, and a dessert for usually about 10 euro. Delicious! And afterwards you can't help to take a 'siesta,' a mid-day nap. However the eating does not stop then, around 5pm-7pm is the late afternoon snack, 'la merienda', and yet again it consists of a light snack or a coffee break. Finally, typically between 9pm-10pm is the Spanish dinner, 'la cena.' The Spanish dinner is much lighter when compared to lunch and can lasts hours at a time, that you might find yourself leaving a re

staurant at midnight!

Okay on to the fun part - the types of food! I am just going to list a few food items that I have personally seen as popular here since I've been here:

JAMON (HAM) - is SO popular here. It is practically on almost everything you might order. It comes in bikinis which are just a melted ham and cheese sandwiches, alone in tapas (small meal snacks), and even hamburgers here are literally HAMburgers.

PAELLA- is a delicious Spanish dish made of rice with a mix of vegetables, meat and even seafood. You will see signs for paellas everywhere you go.

CHORIZO - a spicy Spanish sausage

PA AMB TOMAQUET - is an appetizer of tomato and olive oil on toasted bread. It is cheap, easy to make and a great food to have before your main course arrives.

GAZPACHO- cold tomato soup

Well, I hope I helped you learn a little bit more about Spanish meal times and food! I must start getting ready for my cooking lesson! I will write back soon!

Semana 1

My first week in Barcelona has flown by!! Even though this week went by so quickly in a blur, the 700+ photos I took prove that I wasn't taken siestas all day long! Even though I have taken plenty of siestas since I have been here.

Tomorrow is my first day of class! My Spanish intensive class starts at 12:30pm and goes until 3pm leaving the whole morning and rest of the day free. With only 14 students in my class, I will be sure to have plenty of time to practice speaking Spanish. I am excited to begin!

Below are photos of some Barcelona sights. We have seen a lot of the city this week by means of walking and exploring, a bus tour and three other walking tours. Enjoy!

A view of Barcelona from Mountjuic

La Sagrada Familia - absolutely stunning

A fountain in a park near us

Park Guell by Gaudí

The First Days

Well, I am currently sitting in my room in Barcelona!!!

I arrived yesterday and so far I have already done so much in just over one day! My group and I took a tour of the Gothic section of Barcelona last night (so beautiful), had two Spanish meals (one at this great seafood restaurant with views of the entire city) and used the metro system. Yet, we still have not been food shopping as markets have been closed because of the weekend celebration of All Kings Day. Hopefully tomorrow though we will purchase all our food essentials and buy much needed phones!

But all has been great so far, a little bit hazy about what happened yesterday as I was working on no sleep but today I felt full of energy walking around the shore of Barcelona, having a 4 hour lunch with the group (this is at the seafood restaurant) and then going on a run with a friend to explore even more.

The city in the background and the beach at the Mediterranean

Barcelona's Shore

As for my living situation, I live in a small single with my own bathroom (yes!). I share the floor with 9 other flat mates, who are both international and BC students. We all share a common cooking/lounge room. And the apartment is conveniently located about 3 metro stops from central Barcelona. Everything is really new in the apartment and brightly colored. It is pretty nice, and it even has a pool on the roof deck! I will definitely be using that soon in the upcoming months.

School doesn't start until next Monday so I still have a bunch of time to familiarize myself with my surroundings and do some sightseeing. I have been trying my best to use Spanish, even though us American students have been speaking English constantly to each other.

But all is very good so far and I will write back soon with more updates! As for now, I need to boil some ricotta and eggplant ravioli, that is ravioli requesón bereneja, and enjoy the night out!

On My Way: About UPF

In just a few days I will leave for my grand European adventure! Thankfully I bought the last of my travel essentials yesterday including a journal (to document sights and experiences along the way) and a few (needed) clothing items. I even did some packing last night, it's going to be a tight fit, but I think I will manage.

As I prepare for my trip. I have been doing some research on the University of Pompeu Fabra (UPF). Here are some facts on the university:

- UPF is a public and urban university (located in the heart of Barcelona from the Rambla to the Olympic Village)

- UPF has three campuses 1. Ciutadella Campus (Social Sciences and Humanities) 2. Poblenou (Communications) 3. Mar Campus (Biomedical Sciences)

-Student population: over 8,000 (which is just about the same amount as Boston College's 9,000 undergraduate population)

Here are a few photos of the university:

UPF Ciutadella Campus

Roger de Lluria building (located on the Ciutadella Campus) - looks very modern

The UPF Library (above), but nothing compares to my favorite, BC's Bapst Library (below)

As for my program, I will be taking an early-start intensive language course once I arrive to Barcelona and then I will complete two trimesters (5 courses in total). And all of my classes will be taken in Spanish! Hopefully all of my years of Spanish classes have prepared me well!

I will write back soon! Wish me luck!

-Christina