End to Photo Problem

Hey everyone!

Ok, one final note on pictures. Since it takes forever to put pictures up on this site, I am just going to post a few keys photos and put the rest on Facebook. Otherwise, you guys would just have to listen to me blab the entire time and I know no one wants that. If that doesn't work for anybody, I can try to email you some but otherwise I will just have to show you all of them when I get home. I have been here ten days and taken over 300 pictures. It is very hard to put a camera down here. I am torn between trying to experience the city and taking pictures of everything so I can remember it later after these four months, and somehow both actions can't occur at the same time.

I miss you all so much, but I am having a great time here with the exception of yesterday. Yesterday was a really rough day, and it felt like the first day of freshman year all over again. Everything is new but it feels like it should be the same. I also went to the doctor to make sure I did not have strep throat and instead of delving into that whole nightmare, I will just say I do not have strep throat and that I did not understand the doctor because she was speaking Catalan. Anyway, it is a little frustrating (and no one really tells you this) when you go from being able to understand everything to being able to understand barely anything. It makes it very easy to be overwhelmed, and, after a little meltdown yesterday I realized that I have survived all of it and that I will continue to do so. Besides, for all of the problems I am having here, the fun cancels it out for sure, and I know that my life could be so much worse. So, I am thanking God instead for the wonderful life full of loved ones and adventure and safety that I get to lead instead of one of sorrow and hardship.

And this isn't a disclaimer for a cure for all of the things I miss. I am still going to get homesick. Right now, I miss my family, my boyfriend, my dogs, cold American milk, cheeseburgers, and the Wii.

So, let me get to the good part. I have been in Barcelona now for six days now, and it is fantastic!!! I have mastered the metro already, and I am experiencing the city. I had a super fun weekend. We all went out as a group (there were probably thirty of us) to a bar and a club around eleven. That is the earliest you can go out here. And, to prove the old cliche "you learn something new everyday" I learned that I can stay up partying for more an entire night. I did not get back to my apartment until 6 AM!!!! I could not believe it. But that is normal here. Breakfast is pretty much whenever you get up, but lunch is not until 2 or 3 in the afternoon and dinner does not start until 9:30 pm. Needless to say, my roommate Catharine and I slept most of the day. I only slept until noon (didn't think that was possible either) but Catharine slept until 3. So, we met friends around five to go shopping because there are sales this entire month and I found an awesome lilac jacket at Zara for thirty euro! Not bad for the brand or the type of jacket. It makes me feel sophisticated. Sunday we met up with our friends again and we visited Sagrada Familia, the amazing Modernisme cathedral designed by Barcelona's famous architect, Antoni Gaudi. It was phenomenal! They started building it in 1886, so it is relatively new, but it still isn't finished. All of the building must be built using donations alone, according to Gaudi, and so no state funds can be used to finish construction. It is an astonishing building. There are suppossed to be eighteen towers in all when it is finished, dedicated to the apostles, a few patron saints of spain I think, Mary, Joseph, and the tallest tower when it is built is dedicated to Jesus. It is designed in the style of a medieval church, in the shape of a cross, and each facade has a different theme to Jesus' life. (It follows the tradition of the rosary). Each facade also has a certain style to it as well. Now, two of the sides are not finished, but the Nativity and Passion sides are. The style of each facade corresponds to the emotions and atmosphere of the scenes. The Nativity side looks like a traditional church, and the scenes are joyous, but when you look at the Passion side, the sculptures are bare and rough to match the sadness and the suffering of Jesus. It just amazes me that a person could capture such scope with one building. Gaudi designed the inside of the church to look and feel like a forest. It is amazing what he does with the natural light through the windows of the cathedral to attain that effect. Anyway, each of the columns looks like a tree, and it did feel like I was walking through a forest while I was there. Gaudi said that a forest was the most serene place, and he wanted to replicate that in order to allow the churchgoers to commune with God easier.

Now, enough facts, and I apologize for sounding like a tourguide. We got these awesome audioguides that told us all of this information, and I wanted to ensure that you got the whole effect when you looked at the pictures. And, congratulations to all of you who have made it through this blog post!!! I know it was super long and I apologize, but I have not written in a while and there has been so much the past few days. Today I went down to the port area and walked with my roommate Catharine for about three hours after class. It was just the kind of soothing day I needed after the horrible one yesterday. After we explored the port, we met some friends for a hot chocolate and that put this day in the book of perfect days. I do not know if such a book exists, but maybe I should start one. Well, I think I have rambled enough for one day. Again, congratulations to those of you who made it to the end of this. I love all of you and leave some comments about your days because I want to hear about them too! Enjoy the photos! Any questions let me know!