Classes began about two weeks ago and my spring semester is now in full swing. I am taking a mixture of classes at both my program’s study center and at the University of Barcelona. I am really enjoying my classes thus far and I can tell that my Spanish level is much higher than last semester. I love being able to attend the University of Barcelona as it is one of Europe’s most prestigious universities and was founded in 1470. Coming from Eckerd College which is not even 60 years old, I am pretty impressed by a 545 year old school. Additionally, the University of Barcelona’s main building in the center of Barcelona looks like the Spanish Hogwarts. The entrance is this huge stone staircase with large paintings and tapestries hung on the walls. There is also a room filled with paintings of all the past presidents of the university which reminds me greatly of the paintings of past headmasters of Hogwarts in Dumbledore’s office. There are also two courtyards with fountains and orange trees where you can see students hang out during breaks in their schedules. To say the least, I am really enjoying my time at this university.
A few weekends ago, my new friend in my program, Lauren and I along with Katherine and her friends, all journeyed up to Montserrat. This is a monastery built on the highest mountain near Barcelona. We had to take a train and funicular to get up to the monastery but the views are incredible. You are able to see all of the towns surrounding Barcelona as well parts of the city and the Mediterranean. Besides the church, you can go hiking all around the Montserrat Mountain. After lunch we decided to hike to a view point that overlooks the monastery. To our surprise, there was lots of snow! The weather has been warm and sunny in Barcelona and we never thought to worry about snow. However, we continued with our hike and had so much fun slipping and sliding our way up and down the mountain. We even threw a few snowballs! The view from the lookout point was incredible! The sun was out and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Since right now is the low season for tourists, we had the place to ourselves (except of course for Juanes the Cat who we named and as far as we can tell lives there). We laid down on the ground and soaked up the sun. We kept talking about how incredible it is that we are living in Spain and spent the afternoon living in the moment. It was by far one of my favorite days I’ve spent in Spain.
Living in a Lone Star World 