Almost halfway...

My classmates and I out at a bar in the ramblas near Sagrada Familia (the enormous Gaudi structure looked even more impressive at night as you can see in the first photo)

Today marks Week Five of my stay here (and also about midway through my trip). I can’t believe that it was exactly five weeks ago today that I walked off the airplane in Barcelona airport, collected my suitcase, and found my way to the bus to get into Barcelona center and to my hostal. I remember sitting on the bus thinking THIS is the start of a big trip, as I watched the buildings rush by outside the window.

There have been certain points in my stay here when I have felt “settled”, times when I have been in sheer bliss, times when I have shaken my head in awe that I am actually here. On the flipside, there have been times when I questioned what the heck I was doing here. Each day has definitely been different than the next and than the day before; some are quieter than others and some are much louder. I have been fortunate enough to have met a few great people through my class last week and spent three fun nights with them last week and I hope a few more in the weeks that follow while I am still here. We are of course an international crew and on one night had representation from Poland, Italy, Denmark, Austria, Brazil, Germany and the good ole’ US of A (that would be me although my new Brazilian friends have dubbed me an honorary Brazilian since they think I look and talk like one of their own).

I don’t know if I can make any solid predictions about the weeks to come, but I assume they will be very different from my first 5, as I will have two wonderful visitors (Matt and Kathy) and be doing some traveling around this country that I haven’t seen much of yet. I do know I will be seeing the Sagrada Familia a few more times (I have decided to keep a tally as to how many times I see it up close and I am up to 3 now, because Emily and I had to take Jo there), drinking more sangria, exploring some new sights, and overall trying to drink in every last drop that is the beauty of Barcelona.