Except for my trip to Tarragona, I have been in Barcelona for over a month straight now and am starting to get antsy. Most of my classmates have been traveling every weekend and I really want to do the same (future plans to Lisbon, Marid, and Olso!). But my time in Barcelona has been far from boring.
A couple of weeks ago my water bottle leaked in my bag, drowning my phone, textbooks and metro card. I literally had a puddle of water in my bag that I had to dump out. I tried to revive my phone with rice, but it was too far gone. After 24 hours without a phone and stressing out trying to figure out how to get a new one and using Facebook messenger on my computer to contact people I bought a Spanish smart phone. I am now a new owner of an Android phone – my first ever. Now that I am used to it, I really like my new phone. After the water incident I spent the following 2 hours trying to dry out my books with paper towels and a hand-dryer. It didn’t really work…. But I’ve moved on and am surviving with wrinkled paper.
Next, I had my encounter with the Spanish health care system. After a couple of weeks of my contacts bugging me, they got worse resulting in my eyes being red, inflamed and unable to be exposed to light. I went to the ophthalmologist and then to the doctor to find out that my extended wearing of contacts had aggravated a highly contagious infection. Coincidentally, we had been learning the phrases said at a medical appointment in my global health Spanish class. But alas life moves on.
The weather was warm and sunny for the first week in Barcelona but has been very rainy ever since. Every first Sunday of the month most of the museums are free, so my friend and
I went to the Palau Nacional, the museum of Catalan art, and it was incredible. I was particularly interested in the paintings of women portrayed in powerful positions and impressionist works. Here are some of my favorites.
Overall I can look back and know I survived. Not everything in studying abroad is enjoyable, but everything is an adventure.