Estoy aqui!

I'm here! Sorry I haven't uploaded any pictures yet or updated this blog since I've arrived. My first few days have been packed with activities already! I already love it here in Barcelona. The small amount I've seen of the city is beautiful, the lifestyle is more laid back and focused on family and friends which I love. It's opened my eyes already to a life outside of the United States and it's just making me more eager to travel and see the rest of the world. Lemme see if I can get recount what I've been doing the past few days...

Day 1 - Jueves
I finally arrived in Barcelona after about 16 hours of traveling... my flights were fine though, everything went smoothly. On both my flight to London (almost 10 hrs) and my flight to Barcelona, I had really nice neighbors to chat with and everyone told me that my trip to Spain would be a great experience :) On my long flight, I watched the movie Invictus, and tried to sleep to shift my sleeping schedule. When I arrived at the BCN airport, Mu-Ping's family friend and "host mom," Montse picked me up and we went back to her apartment. This was my first experience in Barcelona forced to have a complete conversation in español, as we drove back. A bit intimidating but I think I did pretty well :) When we got back, I waited for Mu-Ping to get back from class and then we just spent the day getting me settled in (aka go to "la caixa" - catalan for ATM - to get algunos euros) and then sleep early.
















My first sight of Barcelona <3

Day 2 - Viernes
Friday I went on a day trip with the program to Girona and Figueres. Met a bunch of the other interns and made some friends. Girona was gorgeous... cute little town. We were treated to a 3 course meal of tapas, a second course (I chose paella), and dessert. It was my first tapas experience and was very yummy!

las chicas.

tapas.

After Girona, we went to Figueres where we had a tour of the Salvador Dalí Museum! It was by far the funnest, most interactive museum I think I've ever been to... I am so glad we had a tourguide who could explain Dalí's artwork to us. He was a FASCINATING man. How he came up with his ideas and what went on in his head...I have no clue.

this was on the ceiling. It's Dalí and Gala, his wife.

That night, Mu-Ping and I went out to dinner, had some sangria, met up with some friends and went to the Shoku club! Barceloneta's crackin at night. Literally, all night. We got home around 530AM. Yeah, didn't really help the jet lag situation...

Day 3- Sábado
Saturday. I moved into my homestay in the morning. I love it here - my señora is wonderful and I feel very at home here. I have my own bedroom with my window facing the terrace and a view (we're on the 11th floor). Also, there's air conditioning! This is very rare and I am SO lucky to have it. Later, I had my orientation with Rich, my program director and the 2 new interns who arrived that morning. Guess where they go to/graduated from? UCLA!! What are the odds... We walked around the Grácia district, had tapas and ice cream and got cell phones! Ah, at long last. I feel connected to the world again. Later that night, Mu-Ping and I met some of the guys at Montjuic de Nit, a giant music festival that took place in Montjuic. We got lazy and just went to the techno stage and jazz stage. Soooo fun though. And the magic fountain is incredible!

Spain beat Paraguay that night 1-0. Hence all the red.

The beautiful magic fountain

Day 4 - Domingo
Sunday. Went to a nearby city called Sitges, about 35 minutes away on the train. BEAUTIFUL. Chilled at the beach and finally got some relief from this hot weather! At night, I went to the the magic fountain at Montjuic again to meet the other new interns/students. After, I spent the evening, early morning celebrating the 4th of July at an Irish pub, George Payne's, with some fellow Americans. I forgot I was in Spain for a few hours and thought I was at a frat party. Fun times...






Day 5 - Lunes
Monday. My first day of work! I LOVE my internship. I'll be working about 20 hours a week at a health and wellness studio called Studio Australia Barcelona. (learn more here: www.studioaustraliabarcelona.com) It's a growing business based on alternative medicine and holistic health. Although it started out as a Pilates studio, it has grown to incorporate other aspects of holistic health such as osteopathy, reflexology, acupuncture, massage, and some other things you may not have heard of such as colon hydrotherapy and hypnobirthing. I fit in just right here :) There are 3 other interns focusing more on business, whereas I'll hopefully learn more about the physiology of these different techniques. I'll also be helping with some of the marketing. My main manager used to be a body builder (but looks like a normal woman) and the osteopath is the world champion in Philipino stick fighting! Amazing. I am surrounded by some truly gifted and ambitious women there. I'm going to start taking Pilates hopefully next week (starting with a one-on-one session), as well as go to a boxing class taught by the stick fighting champion! Not to mention, I'm going to get a massage in about 4 hours. These things aren't free, but I get a staff discount. Might as well see these things first hand :) The studio is stunning. I'll try to take some pictures later if they let me.

That night, the other interns and I went to an outdoor film called "Buscando un beso a medianoche" ("In search of a midnight kiss") again at Montjuic. Thank goodness it was an American film, but with Spanish subtitles.

Now I'm waiting for Mu-Ping to meet me so we can plan our trip this weekend to San Sebastian, Pamplona (running of the bulls!!) and Bilbao, in northern Spain.