Every week I think to myself that I may have experienced my favorite part of the trip, and then I prove myself wrong. This week, our group flew to Barcelona. I was nervous at first because Barcelona is less safe than Granada for Americans (in general). Everything turned out to be fine, of course. Barcelona is much more like a city in the United States than Granada is. It has wider streets, more recognizable stores, much higher prices, and much more English speakers. It is extremely easy to tell that Barcelona is the tourist hub of Spain. In that respect, I missed Granada. However, Barcelona had its perks.
When we arrived in Barcelona on the plane, we had to figure out how to get to our hostel. It was an adventure straight out of The Amazing Race. We needed to check in to our hostel before 11pm, and it was somewhere just after 9pm when we landed. We had to walk across the airport to find the metro and then navigate the metro to get to the nearest metro stop to our hostel, which required switching lines twice and going up 6 flights of escalators to do so. We made it off the metro at 10:45pm. Great, 15 minutes left until 11:00pm. Not so great, we had to idea where the hostel was, it was a 12 minute walk, and all we could see was an uphill battle, literally. To conserve time, my friend and I gave our "teammates" our bags, and started running with our GPS. It was excruciating, but we made it to the doors of the hostel at 11:02pm. Good thing Spaniards aren't too punctual. The rest of the crew followed, all drenched in sweat, and we officially declared, "Welcome to Barcelona!" with faces of misery. The hostel room was small with 4 bunk beds, a bathroom, and a beautiful view. We settled in for the night and documented the strenuous but hilarious welcome adventure.
In Barcelona, I had the pleasure of going to Monserrat, a monastery in the switchbacks of Spain. I took a 4.5 hour guided bus tour to the monastery and then had free time to wander the campus. The views at Monserrat are unforgettable. It was a lovely day in the sun. There was an outdoor market that had honey, cheese, fig bread, candied nuts, and other delicious foods. I tried the classic cheese and honey dessert, which I wanted seconds of, and also bought candied almonds to walk around with. The church itself in the monastery is beautiful, but the views surrounding the complex take the cake.
Back in Granada, a few days before, Mike, our professor, had us over to his flat for a group bonding movie and burger night. The burgers were delicious, as was his guacamole, but the movie we watched was even better. Called "The Human Experience," in this documentary we were walked through the life of two brothers. They came from a broken home and were living in a half way house when they decided to take on learning the world. They attempted being homeless in New York City, traveled in aid of disabled children in Peru, and visited a leper colony. The stories they tell about their journies along the way are truly inspiring, and the themes to the documentary are finding your purpose in life, asking the question "why am I here?" and valuing the love of your family and friends. Their stories reminded me how lucky I am to be embraced in my family and have the love and support I do. Love you- Mama, Daddy, and Sadie! I appreciated being able to share that evening with my group members here in Spain.
My work week had its perks, too. I got to spend time doing homework with younger kids, and when they didn't have homework, I got to hang out with them. I spent a while coloring a picture with one girl, Manuela, and although we couldn't talk a lot (because of our language barrier and also because the room is supposed to be quiet), we connected well and had fun. We talked about which colors we wanted in which places on the picture and if we thought each color was pretty or not. Manuela dedicated the picture to me and I kept it! Every week I connect more with the younger girls and am able to partner with them for Zumba, play tag with them outside, and color with them inside. I enjoy helping the younger kids with their homework the most, because it is easiest to explain. It is difficult trying to explain English to kids in Spanish at a difficult level because 1) It is difficult to relay my thoughts in Spanish back to them and 2) sometimes I don't even know the English rule. So, helping the younger kids has become my wheelhouse!
I am still getting better at soccer, too, which is incredibly noteworthy. I like to play with the older kids, even though they can sweep the floor with anybody from the United States. They have a passion for the game that can't be beat. I also have found out that I am fairly good at random trick shots in basketball! The younger boys think it's fun to play basketball, and I am better at that than soccer, so it is fun for me to play with them. Of course it isn't 5 vs. 5, but it is 1 vs. 1 or just trying to make good shots. No matter the game, the kids always stay busy outside and love to play. Somehow, though, none of them ever wear sunscreen or sunglasses. It is almost inhuman (for New Englanders, at least!)
This week has been a tiring one, but it was thoroughly enjoyable. I look forward to work next week- hanging out with and helping the kids for my last 4 days. This trip is coming to a close, but I am so thankful of my experiences thus far.
Until next week,
Emma
