Spain -- the beginning

Spain seems better than Italy just because I have a friend here who's lived in Barcelona for the last 7 or so years...That being said, I really really loved Italian!!!! Spanish is first on the list though (desperate need....) and then Italian. And then....who knows.

So my plane from Milano was late for an hour just like the one to Italy (this seems to be the norm in Europe...) but this time I had my phone so could text-message in the worst case! Lufthansa also seems a few classes above the cheap airlines such as Easyjet -- they gave us food and drinks for free, no problems with the extra 5 kilos, etc. Getting through the Spanish customs also seems easier than the Italian ones (and Bulgarian for that mater) -- nobody, I repeat nobody, checked my ID....And I thought BG was bad. Welcome terrorists...Go figure. To my great relief, Ivka was waiting for me! :)

From there it was train and metro; same missing escalators down (and some places up); better streets for rolling suitcases; no elevator in her building....We finally made it and it was wonderful to be in her cozy apartment! Nine or more years is a lot of time to catch up with someone so the day and night went by so quickly -- talking, talking, talking :). We went out and walked on some of the busiest tourist streets in Barcelona. Well, it looks a little bit like BG beach towns in the summer -- people trying to sell you stuff, merchants that sell the craziest things, clowns, etc. And tourists! Many of them! Beautiful though!!! First glimpse of Gaudi's works. Nothing like I've ever seen before....It looks like nature to me -- the big roots of a huge tree, so round and curved. Very impressive.

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Saw some nice fountains, the sea, had some wine and very yummy tapas and decided to go back home around 2:30am even though the streets were full. Everyone says Barcelona is a nocturnal city -- I felt a little bit of it and love it!

The next day we went to "my apartment" - what a relief it was to be in my own room and unpack my suitcases!!!! Ever since I gave up my US place at the end of May I've been living in friend's living rooms, kids' rooms, parents' room, etc. My room is small but nice, cozy, clean and....I have my own space!!!! :) Extremely thankful to my friend here, Ivka, who carried suitcases up and down stairs and made it seem as if that was the best thing that had happened to her for a while...Didn't believe it for a second but thank you! :)

I spent my first day in my room enjoying the space, getting things done online and just relaxing. Found a small store that was open (it was Sunday; everything is closed) and bought some pasta and red wine -- some habits don't die...Today was my first day at school and I felt like a student all over again! The group is nice but not very diverse -- out of 15, 8 are Americans (I guess they are not afraid of the warnings that many schools do not hire Americans due to some bureaucracy stuff; I like it though -- feel at such ease with them), 1 is Australian, 1 Romanian, 1 German and me. So the non-native speakers are much less but like Anna (our course director) said, "Non-native speakers have a huge advantage because they know grammar." I hope so!

First day was interesting. We had a crash course in Spanish (numbers, food -- basic stuff to get you going); went for lunch and ordered something from the menu knowing only 1 word which was cheese (turned out to be a pretty good sandwich); we got separated into groups of 4 and told that we start teaching tomorrow (excuse me?); decided to walk back home and stopped to marvel at Sagrada Familia. I wonder how many more times I'll be speechless in front of such works of art -- the Duomo in Milan, the Castle, Sagrada Familia.....I'm sure the list goes on and on but it is simply incomprehensible....

On my way back I also stopped to get some groceries from one of the many local "farmers' markets." Delicious vegetables and fruits!!!! I can pick up the stuff and there is no need for Spanish there! Gotta learn it though because it's not really cool to have no clue and look like a fool....

So first days in Spain are great; going to read some English now.....Stay tuned for my teaching classes (students who barely speak English and a teacher who pretty much knows no Spanish -- good combination!).