English Bookstore in Barcelona

I figured that while I'm here I should probably post a few tips, places, etc. that I've figured out. Then, when people are searching Google for things to do in Barcelona they might benefit from this tourist's thoughts.

Because I was packing for a 117 day trip, I needed to only take the basics. That meant that several books didn't make the cut and I was left with my Bible and two "Christian living" type books. Now, these are definitely good reads, but sometimes I want to read but not really have to think about what I'm reading. The books I brought definitely require an active mind to read. So, after searching Google and an English magazine here, I found the used English bookstore Hiberian books. There are a few others, but I chose this one based on its proximity to my apartment.

Hiberian, located at Carrer de Montseny 17, looks small but, aren't looks usually deceiving? A lot of the books are very old (I had never heard of most of the classics), but I was able to find a few newer fictions that suited my needs. Overall, I think the newer books outnumber the obscure classics. The subject matters range from cooking to politics to sci-fi to feminism and the prices are EXCELLENT!!! Also, all of the books are in very good condition. I bought a paperback and a large hardback for the grand total of 9.85 euros! A few weeks ago I looked at the small selection of English books in a large chain here and all of the prices exceeded 17 euros... paperback too. And considering I found the UK edition several magazines today (finally!) that all cost 8 euros or more, I think Hiberian will definitely be getting my business again.

Forever.

Friends, I am happy to say that the sickness has passed! The doctor gave me a few meds, an anti-stringent diet (?), and told me that my body reacts to fevers in strange ways. This achy pain that I get every few months is my body's way of fighting off fever, but sometimes it reacts more strongly than other times... hence the anti-stringent diet. Sadly, I got sick during the week of La Merce and only got to see 3 of the big events. I wish I could have seen more, but it was much better that I stayed close to my bed, which is close to the bathroom if you get my drift. Sorry, but I just like to keep it real.

There's a lot to update you guys on.

For organizational purposes, this post will be bulleted.

* Last Friday kicked of La Merce. If you forgot (or if I forgot to tell you), La Merce is the festival that celebrates Barcelona and the Roman Catholic feast day of Our Lady of Mercy. Each city has a patron saint, and Barcelona's is Mare de Deu de la Merce. Friday's festivities included a parade of sorts. I say "of sorts" because I'm not really sure it can be categorized as a parade. The name Correfoc, literally "fire run," should give you an example of what we experienced. Community groups dress up as devils and demons and run through the streets wielding fireworks, flame throwers, and even dragon-like contraptions that blow fire. I really don't know how to explain it, but that's probably because I don't even know the purpose of it.
This is in the middle of an explosion. As you can tell from that girl's face, people weren't that concerned about being burned.



I think something crazy happened behind me right when this picture was taken...

* The next day I woke up and headed to Placa Sant Jaume to see the Castellers de Barcelona. This is the most traditionally "Spanish" part of the festival. Essentially teams from different community groups create towers of people and a small child climbs to the top. Unfortunately I was feeling quite sickly by this point, and I only stayed long enough to see one tower completed. I wish I could have stayed longer. It was really cool! If only I were a little taller... I had to take all of these with the camera held above my head, so I'm sorry that they're not very good... or straight.


This team didn't make it. They started climbing down after this.




These guys were the first to build a complete tower. You can kind of see the child on top in the last picture. The little bugger was so fast I couldn't get her holding her arm up in victory.

*I went to the International Church of Barcelona again this past Sunday. This time I chose to go to the later service, and it proved to be an excellent decision as there were many more people my age attending. The 20s/30s group had a cookout after church and I got to go and be a part of that. It was held in Les Planes which is more than gorgeous! It's an area in Barcelona, but outside of the hustle and bustle of the city. The church owns a house there where people are constantly meeting for church/prayer/gatherings/etc. It also has several rooms for people to stay in when they are visiting. The pastor of ICB and his wife live in the little apartment upstairs.
The large building in front is the Les Planes metro stop building. The whiteish/yellowish (it's yellow in real life) house to the left is the house ICB owns.

It was good to be able to meet and spend time with other Christians my age. I've definitely missed that since I've been here. Hopefully, I'll get to know them more as the semester goes on. I've decided to join a small group with them, and that starts Wednesday night. I pray that it will be a good time of growth and fellowship.

*I've written this post over the course of a few days because the internet here is less than stellar. Less than stellar internet = hard to upload photos. So, I've kind of forgotten all that I wanted to share. I have a few more pictures from a parade, and will share them when I get them on my computer. Here are a few random pictures for you.



El Corte Ingles- my one-stop peanut butter shop! Seriously, it's the only place I've found in this city that has peanut butter.



**The title of this post has nothing to do with the content. It's just my current favorite song by Ben Harper. If you want to make me happy "forever" you could send me some Ben Harper music :) Please enjoy this youtube video.

Send Me Mail!!!

Okay, here's the deal. I want mail, and I'm not even going to try to be nice about it.

Caroline Schell
Carrer d'Aribau, 322 1-1
08006 Barcelona
Spain

My nice little door lady will hand it to me when I walk through the front door :)



**New post coming as soon as Blogger starts uploading pictures again...

I want my mommy!

I really did want to load some pictures on my computer today, but I haven't even gotten out of my pajamas. Yesterday I mentioned that I felt a little sick. Well, things progressed last night and it's safe to say that I feel like crap. Joel and I tried to diagnose everything last night, but we had no luck. I have an appointment with a doctor at 9:30 tonight. Yes, that is very late. No, I couldn't care less at this point. I just want to feel better.

I'm not going to lie, I really want my mom right now. I rarely get sick, but when I do I want her with me. Anna is being sweet tonight and accompanying me to the doctor.

I've never been sick in a foreign country before! Please pray that this doctor can give me some excellent meds tonight.

I'm still here...

Hi loved ones. Sorry for the lack of entertaining updates lately. Until last night nothing very exciting has happened. The Merce festival started yesterday, and I've attended 2 of the events. They were fun and I will write more about them later (with pictures!) However, Spain has caught up with me and I think my body is rejecting itself. When I get more energy I'll load the pictures from my camera. Until then, I'll leave you with some that other people have taken... it's much easier :)


(L-R) Marina, Christina, Aleksandra, Severina, Cheng, Chenell, Porschia, and I at a "back-to-school" barbecue at the school.


Ok, so I got talked into going to a club. I say "talked into" because 1) this white girl can't dance and 2) I like to go to bed earlier than 6 AM. We left around 3, but here people don't even start going out until 2. I'm too old for this. What happened to dinner and a movie? Anyway, this is Anna (roommate), Porschia, and I at _______. I cared so little that I don't actually remember the name of it. I do know it was on Lincoln though.

I'm going to go drink some tea and coax my joints into working properly again. Hasta luego!

That American education...

There are a lot of ways that the U.S. trumps the rest of the world in their education system. There are a few ways that it falls short. For example, keeping students informed about world events.

Nothing makes you feel smarter than eating dinner with a Moldavian, a Russian, and a Bulgarian (or maybe a Ukrianian--not sure) that know more about your country's current events than you do.

P.S. All the Europeans I've met so far love Obama. However, they aren't learning about the candidates by themselves. They may know what is going on, but it's only surface level stuff. European media is much MUCH less objective than America media... and that's saying something. So, they take the good and the bad things being said without giving it much thought. That, friends, is not good.

***I found out she is Ukranian. And I thoroughly enjoyed my discussion with them over salad. It was nice. And I finally got some feta cheese.

A little alone time.

There are very few people that I can be around 24-7 and not get tired of easily. Basically I can count them on one hand. This is not me trying to be mean or trying to say that I hate people. I just have to have my alone time every once in a while. Lu and I have become masters at learning how to pick up on when the other person needs alone time. Usually after it we end up talking in the hall until 2 AM :) I think it's part of my introverted-ness coming out in me. That's a trait that has been developing more and more as the years go by, and I'm starting to embrace it.

It's been really hard to have alone time since I arrived in Spain. First it was vacation with the family, then I moved in and had orientation/getting to know the roomie stuff, and now everyone is starting to get comfortable with each other and hanging out more. I realized Saturday that I was long overdue for some time to just sit.

After IKEA, I needed to pick up a few things from some stores in La Placa Catalunya. Anna wanted to go home, and it was like the skies opened up. I'm very grateful that Anna is my roommate. She's really sweet and a lot of fun, but like I said before, the alone time was necessary. We haven't mastered the art as well as Lu and I have. We probably won't. So, Anna and I parted ways and I got to spend two excellent hours alone.

I browsed El Corte Ingles (it's like the Wal-Mart of Barcelona, but with high end goods... think Carolina Herrera and Burberry mixed with a little Home Depot mixed with Best Buy. The most excellent one-stop shop!), I went to a book store, and then I decided I wanted a little coffee. Lucky for me there's a Starbucks about a quarter of a mile from the book store (past Sephora, Godiva, Camper... there's some seriously good shopping here!) So, I got my coffee (grande latte, a little cinnamon, a little chocolate, and a lot of sugar) and headed out the door to sit on the patio.

The I remembered that I don't sit in eating/drinking places alone.

It actually terrifies me.

It was then that I second guessed my decision for some alone time. I thought about calling someone, but I realized that both of my phones were dead. I looked for a book in my purse, but I realized that I had taken it out. I had come to Starbucks to enjoy my wonderful latte and time by myself and I would have to sit outside alone and look like a loser. What's a girl to do?

Well, I prayed.

I prayed that while I sat there the Lord would increase my appreciation for the opportunity to be in Spain. I prayed that I would be observant of the people around me. I prayed that for at least 30 minutes I would be aware of my dependence on other people's company and overcome it. I have to say that after those 30 minutes alone I felt better than I had the entire time in Barcelona up to that point. A family sat beside me and their small son blew kisses at me the whole time. I realized that I'm more drawn to "nerdy" people. The "cool" ones aren't interesting. I realized that I really can be more independent. I also realized that I'm not quite as independent as I want to think I am. I realized that there are a lot of things that I'm still learning about myself and the world around me.

So, I've decided to go somewhere alone, outside of my apartment, at least 2 times a week. I think it would be beneficial to me, my roommates (another one is coming at the beginning of October), and all of you back home. You can hold me to it.

Now I'm going to have my alone time for the day :)

International Church of Barcelona

From the time I found out that I would be spending a semester in Barcelona I knew that I wanted to attend a church while here. This past sunday I visited the International Church of Barcelona. I want to be honest and say that I've been a little skeptical about this church. I learned of it a few months ago, but didn't really want to try it out. Basically, I'm a snob about church a lot of the time (I'm working on that!) However, this is the only church I have found in Barcelona with services in English.

My roommate decided to go with me (praise and prayer are requested! :)), so we got up and attended the 10 AM service. We walked in to smiles and warm welcomes... so far so good! After talking to a few people, the service started. (Mom, we had to stand up and introduce ourselves like in the Swiss church.) It was SO good to be in the company of believers again! Because it was the early service (and the Spanish don't do many things early... or on time, for that matter) there were only about 30-35 people there. Everyone seemed very sincere, and I think they have a fairly active college/career group.

I'm going to visit another church (with services in Catalan/Spanish), but I think that I will end up attending this church. I know that it would be excellent to attend a church that is more "solid," but that isn't beneficial if I can't even speak the language. Also, there's no guarantee that the people attending the church will speak English. At least this way there will be some other students like me, and I'll be able to have a little "English" haven here in Barcelona. Please join me in praying that I will be used for service in this church and that I will find Christian fellowship here.

My first real weekend in Barcelona.

This weekend was my first one in Barcelona without my parents. We didn't have class Thursday or Friday (never on Friday!), so it was a very very long weekend. Like I said before, nothing was open Thursday due to the holiday. We tried to get to IKEA again on Friday, but several things happened and I ended up spending the afternoon with a fellow exchange student in La Placa Catalunya. Friday was also the day that I discovered the restaurant across the street. I honestly had never even seen it until Friday, but they have THE BEST chicken and tomato paste sandwich. I don't even like tomatoes, but I could eat this stuff at every meal. From what I hear you grate tomoatoes, throw in some olive oil, add salt, and you're done! Seems easy enough. I will be eating at this place more often.

Yesterday, we finally got to IKEA, and it was glorious! There were about 29,384,302,975 people there, so that stole a little of my joy. We found almost everything we were looking for for only $45! I don't know if that sounds like a lot or a little to you, but these were our purchses:
2 rugs
1 skillet
3pc. pot set
17pc. (!) tupperware set (I guess it's not technically tupperware since it's IKEA brand. You may ask, "Why 17 pieces?" Well, it was the cheapest, duh.)
1 fitted sheet
1 toilet brush
4 dish towels
1 casserole dish
2 paper bags to carry it all home in

I think that's pretty good!

Oh the joy of IKEA. I hope that you all can experience it in your lifetime.

This is un-American.

Yesterday I had to pay 20 cents to use the bathroom. I was told that was cheap. Seriously?!



***I realize that the paper is backwards. Even with the backwards writing paying to pee is ridiculous.

You must watch this one too!

This one is really funny too. :)

Please, do this for me!

If you love me at all, please watch this video. I just saw it and had to share. It gets really good around the 1:55 mark. Oh my.

Oh, Spain...

...why must you celebrate holidays when it's inconvenient for me?!

Anna and I need to go to IKEA. Actually, I really need to get to IKEA, and Anna just wants to tag along.

Our trip to IKEA was all for naught. I know that the Spanish take their holidays and rest very seriously, but I never thought that an establishment as large as IKEA would be affected by this. I was wrong. VERY wrong. We even called to make sure! After switching trains in Placa Catalunya and then riding to the next to last stop on the L1, we talked to several unknowledgable (word or not?) people to find the location of this beloved store. How could anyone miss that they have an IKEA in their neighborhood. Are they blind? We finally figured out that bus 79 would take us there. I never saw the parking lot, but both the driver and Anna confirmed that the store we all know and love was closed.

So, maybe tomorrow I will be able to replace the pot with the handle that hangs down at a 45 degree angle. Maybe tomorrow I can get a mirror for my room so that Anna doesn't have to wait on me to get ready. Maybe tomorrow I will get my rug and start feeling comfortable walking around my room without shoes. Maybe tomorrow I'll have plastic containers so we can start keeping leftovers. Maybe, just maybe...

Just a little addition...

So, I asked you to comment in the last post, but I realize that not everyone knows how to do that. Here are your detailed instructions.

1. At the bottom of each post there is a place that says "0 comments" or "1 comment"... you get the picture. Click there.
2. There's a huge box on the right. Type there.
3. All done!

:)

Forgive me.

I keep apologizing to the 7 of you that read my blog. I really am sorry that I'm not updating daily, but I really don't think it's something that I should keep apologizing for. Moving to a foreign country is pretty time consuming, and I think you all understand.

My situation has changed a little in the past few days. I've moved into the apartment that I will be living in for this semester. My roommate is Anna from Romania. She's very nice and we get along well. Right now it's just the two of us, but we know that we'll have at least one more roommate. She will move in at the end of September. Just picture the apartment that Mom, Dad, Grandmomma, and I stayed in. It's not like that AT ALL. It's quite old, a little run down, and only students have been living in it for the past several years. My room has one small window that looks into a dark alley. Needless to say, I don't open it. I have a pretty good bit of storage for clothes, but other than the armoire, only a bed and a very small shelf fit in the room. It's very tiny! However, we have a good sized kitchen, living room, and dining room. Anna scrubbed and disinfected the whole apartment from top to bottom before I arrived and it's very clean. She even cleaned the outside shutters!

This past week was pretty easy. Okay, it was VERY easy! We don't have classes on Fridays and today is a national holiday. So, we had a 3 day orientation. Anna and I celebrated yesterday by doing a little shopping... but mostly window shopping. I did have a finance class on Monday. The professor is really nice, and he knows the subject very well. I think it will be a good class. Our classes only meet once a week, but they meet for 2 hours at a time with no break. I know that doesn't seem very long, but I get SO antsy! I was alternating between fidgeting and dozing off by the time 45 minutes had passed. Yesterday, all of the new students and exchange students met on the school's patio for tango and tapas. Instructors will be at the school every Friday for anyone that wants to learn how to tango. It was fun to watch! :)

I'm still getting to know people, but it's hard. This week I've just been with the 1BBA (same as our freshmen) students, and while I've gotten to know a few of them, it's hard to share in their enthusiasm. I've already been through the "I'm living on my own for the first time and can stay out all night" phase. I rarely even stay awake into the wee hours of the morning to study. Maybe I'm just an abnormal college student, but I'm okay with just going out to eat and then going home. I don't want to go out to clubs that don't even open until midnight or 1. I want to be wearing my pajamas by that time. I really have loved college, but I'm getting to the point where I'm very okay with moving on to another phase. I don't plan to include long nights of drunkenness in that phase. So, while the people in the school are all very nice (and I really hope that I will make friends), I'll probably start reaching out to other parts of the community for companionship too.

I still haven't been able to visit a church. I'm torn between a solid church that conducts services in Catalan/Spanish or a not-so-solid church that conducts services in English. Both have their benefits. I would like to know your opinion.

Anna and I are about to make a visit to Ikea, but I'm going to leave you with a few pictures!
The Schells after the dinner and Flamenco show.

The musicians and a dancer. Mom bought a dress exactly like that the very next day. :)

These guys play in random places around the city center, and they are SO GOOD! It's a treat to stumble upon them.

Some sailboats and Reverie. I considered buying this one, but I decided that it probably wasn't big enough for all of my needs...

Please (please!) comment so I know who is reading! I hope you all are doing well! Off to Ikea...

I have no title.

I know it has been quite some time since I updated everyone on life in Spain. It has be fairly busy and exciting over the past few days! I'm now in my apartment, have met my roommate and some fellow students, and I'm in the middle of orientation! I can't remember where I left off last, so I'll just start at Thursday :) Prepare yourself for another disconnected post.

Thursday was a very very good day. Mom, Dad, and I spent some QT together around Barcelona. We didn't have any plans except to just hang out. We didn't know if it would be our last last time to hang out as our little family of 3. So, we spent a lot of time walking around the 5th Ave. of Barcelona. We went into shop after shop, and then we walked out of shop after shop. Passeig de Gracia is where Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Carolina Herrera, etc. are all located. Thus, our trips were just in and out :) Then, we headed back to the apartment to get ready for the flamenco show. Flamenco dancing is not really part of the culture in this part of Spain, but there is a restaurant that does shows for tourists like us. It was so much fun! We had a 4 course meal and a show and the food was actually really good! I expected it to be less than spectacular considering it was a touristy place. I was surprised. The stars of the night were definitely the dancers and musicians. The dance looks like just a bunch of stomping, but every move has a meaning and it's all very choreographed. And it's HARD WORK! I think I have found my calling. It doesn't matter that the rhythm in my head doesn't translate to my limbs.

Friday (yesterday) I met the KEI people at my school to start a little orientation. I've found out that orientation according to KEI/ESEI means, "we'll just kind of get together and loosely stick to the schedule and you don't really have to be here if you don't want to be." We had lunch together and moved our luggage into our apartments. That. was. it. But it was good because I got to spend the evening with my parents again! We bought a few more things for my room before they left me for the night.
Today we signed some papers and had a little tour before having another afternoon off, so I got to see my parents and grandmother a lot again today! It really has been a blessing that I've been able to spend these last couple of days with them before they leave (tomorrow).

I still think I'm better at vacationing in Europe than I am living in Europe. We'll see in a couple of weeks.

Here are some of my observations for the day:
1. All showers should come equipped with a fixed shower head. Last night I had my first experience with a shower using only a handheld shower head. There is a clip to hang it above your head, but it doesn't work. I figured out that I can hold the thing between my knees while I'm washing my hair and it won't spray everything in the bathroom. I figured this out only after I had tried many other things and sprayed everything in the bathroom.
2. Clothing labels are wrong. In most of the stores they list sizing for several countries on the tag. Either we have a big problem with vanity sizing in the U.S. or the Europeans have no clue what they're talking about.
3. Flamenco dancing is really cool. Really.

I have another list to add today. If you would, please pray for these things for me:
1. That my actions, speech, and treatment of relationships here would be glorifying to the Lord and an example to believers and non-believers alike.
2. That I would not be so guarded as to not build real relationships.
3. That I find a church SOON. I won't be able to visit any tomorrow, but I've been in contact with someone here that has pointed me towards a few churches.
4. The services in the aforementioned churches are in Catalan. Yikes! I want to go to these churches anyway because of their reputation for preaching the Gospel. Pray with me that the language barrier would 1) be overcome quickly 2) be a help in forming a relationships with the people there.

I hope everything is going well in Alabama and beyond! I pray for you!

Oh, and, WAR EAGLE!!!!

Today my mom, Lyna', is going to be a guest blogger. Please welcome her!

Well, I must begin by informing all who read this that I am definitely a novice blogger - actually, I haven't reached novice level yet since this is a first for me. As you can tell from Caroline's blog, our family is in Spain and we are having a wonderful time. We've been here almost two weeks and I do believe our confused American faces are becoming a little less conspicuous. The city is very large and spread out, but we've pretty well mastered the major areas, the metro, and yes, even grocery shopping.

Since Caroline has titled her blog "I've been thinking", and since I am her "guest blogger", I will go with that theme...

I've been thinking:

1) I will add living in a foreign country for a few months (only) to my bucket list.
2) God has created an amazing world - we are so fortunate to get to see this part of it.
3) Making family vacation memories like these are priceless.
4) I love America - even more from across the Atlantic.
5) I will miss Caroline while she is studying abroad, but I am very thankful for her to have this opportunity.

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we travel as we are doing for all of you at home. Also, please keep in touch with Caroline over the next few months so she will have a little bit of home here with her in Spain.

Adios!
Lyna'

Sorry for the delay.

Hello family and friends! I'm sorry that I haven't posted anything lately. I've thought about it, but we've been busy and that means that I've been to lazy to write anything at night. I have a feeling that this might be heavy on the pictures, but that's okay. I think you'll enjoy that more anyway :) We've visited Montjuic, Sitges, Montserrat, the Torres winery, and various other places since you last heard from us. Everything is still as beautiful and exciting as it was when arrived.
Now to some pictures...

We saw this on our bus tour... there's no escape!!!


This is part of one facade of La Sagrada Familia. It's the minimalist side, and the newer side.


This is only part of the inside of the temple. Apparently the design is supposed to mimic the bones of an animal carcass. You can only walk through about half of it, because they are still building. There's so much scaffolding on the other side that you couldn't see through it!


This is the older facade of La Sagrada Familia. I don't have a good picture of it in daylight, but I think I would still like this one more. It is so so detailed! And it reminds Dad and I of those drippy sandcastles that you make at the beach.


Yesterday we visited Montserrat and the monastery there. I know this doesn't show much, but I don't think it would be possible to capture the whole thing unless I was in a helicopter. It covers the entire mountain and has many different areas. We had the chance to listen to the choir boys sing, and I'm pretty sure it was as close as you can get to what heaven will sound like! I really want to upload the video tomorrow. Please chastise me if I don't get this done.


It was tough, but someone had to do it!

(INTERJECTION: I'm watching the beginning of the Republican National Convention. Am I the only one that is not enjoying this rendition of "America the Beautiful?" Does that make me un-American, Joel?)

That's all I have for photos right now. I put this off and now it's after 1 AM! I promise I will try to do better tomorrow :)

Now for my observations (As you can probably tell, this will become a regular thing):
1. I will never get used to people of Asian descent speaking Catalan as their first language. It's just weird to me!
2. Spanish people are very affectionate. Overly affectionate. So far it hasn't bothered me, but today when I was packed in the hot metro with a migraine and surrounded by couples making out I wanted to kick them all in the pancreas. PDA like that is just gross. Is it too hard to just hold hands?
3. Even the English channels on Spanish TV stink. I've watched more CNN this week than I have all year.
4. Travel guides are WRONG about Spanish attire. They all say that the women dress smartly and modestly. They are all full of lies. Especially about the modesty thing. The 4 Bs are not hidden here!
5. I know already that I'm really going to miss Alabama. I think about it often.

I'm not going to stay up for 3 more hours to hear Sarah Palin's speech. I'm very interested in what she has to say though. I think we can all agree that McCain trumped Obama by picking her! If you watch, please let me know how it goes! I love you all !