Church: 1, Michelle: 0

¡Vale, vale! (Spanish for “okay”)... Today was a bit interesting, and in retrospect, I feel as if I didn’t do anything...accept eat some very good pasta, but that’s beside the point. Being a beautiful Sunday morning (totally lying... it was a duck’s day. Cold and wet...with a slight chance of blehhh) I decided to venture out into the town to try and find a protestant (emphasis on the first syllable, we do not typically protest the existence of the ant population, well, unless its summertime and the ants are big enough to strap saddles on and ride like horses. In which case, I totally oppose them by spraying mouthwash on their tiny bodies and watch them run around in circles... quite diverting!... now, I’m just being silly) *ahem* anyways, I decided to attempt to find a protestant church in the area so that I could get plugged into the community; however, I didn’t want to just meander the streets by myself looking for a random cross and sign that said “iglesia” so I got onto the internet...okay, this is where my day got horribly mundane, so I’ll omit the details... basically, I couldn’t find one within the city limits so I decided to head back to the Catholic Basilica “Santa Maria del Mar” for the evening Castilian Mass. As I live in the state of Cataluña (physical state in Spain, not emotion...huh, I wonder what feeling Cataluña-ish would be like...) the majority of the churches hold services in the local language: Catalan- which sounds like Spanish (Castilian), but makes zero sense if you don’t speak it. I entered the name of the church into the computer and wrote down the time for the Castilian mass (7: 30 p.m. if you’re even in town on a Sunday). And since I’ve been struggling a bit with the Metro system, I decided to leave around 6: 45 ish to get there on time. Needless to say, I got there around 7 p.m., but didn’t know it because I forgot to bring a watch. So, I walked inside, and had enough time to sit down and think to myself “whaaa?”. I then realized that I must have gotten there early, so I headed off to a coffee shop. Ahh! Spanish coffee! My heart swells with joy! Oh! Tears! ...yeah, I’m addicted... hehehe.
Okay, this is a random story, well not really (the one I’m about to tell!), but food here is a huge deal. As we were getting off of the bus, and I’ve heard other snippets of information from Rafaela (my Spanish mum), the war in Spain (civil) started around WW1 and ended about 30 years ago after Franco died and democratic elections were set up. (Their government is essentially the same set up as England, with a Royal family and Parliament, etc.) During that time, food was incredibly scarce (I was trying to play the “I’ve eaten stranger food than you” game with Rafaela...she wins) SO, having and distributing enough really good food is something that families take great pride in here. (We were warned (not joking) to not overreact if we kinda liked something. Apparently there as an incident a few years ago with a student that told his house mother he really liked a dish that he thought was kinda bland...and ate it every day for two weeks until he told the family he couldn’t take anymore!) What was I talking about...Oh yeah! So, at every meal I have so far, once I say “Estoy llena” (I’m full) or at times “¡Por favor, no puedo más!” (Please, I can’t eat anymore..I just can’t!) I’m usually told “Oh! you don’t eat very much” or something along those lines. It’s actually incredibly cute in the house, as I know Rafaela simply wants to take really good care of her niñas; however, sometime I’ll get told those in restaurants as well, which can be a bit annoying... Alright, now that I’ve taken you guys on the scenic tour of my mind, back to the coffee story: I ducked into one of my favorite coffee shops (yes, *sigh* I have more than one now...) and ordered a café con más leche (essentially milk with a little bit of coffee, only way I can truly enjoy it). I kid you not, right after I paused expecting the man behind the counter to ring me up, he looked at me and said (in Spanish) “what? that’s it?!”...Yes!
In all honesty though, I couldn’t be more grateful for the culture. One of my greatest fears was not being able to fit in well, or being completely shunned, and though the Spanish culture is different, I have only met the warmest people. As of right now, the only reason why I don’t fit in is the color scheme of my wardrobe. Its cold, so I’ve been enjoying my red jacket...and everyone wears black, gray, dark green, etc. I actually enjoy my coat in a sneaky kind of way. Happy colors!
Anyways, to be quite honest, at first I didn’t like Barcelona. It was quite different from what I expected. I was thinking beach culture much like San Diego, and instead, its much more like a large-upscale city...think New York, but smaller and with a lower crime rate, if you will... actually, more like the Gas-lamp District but everywhere. Point being, I didn’t immediately fall in love with it like I did Madrid, so I’ve been heading out everyday to explore the city and attempt to make friends with the local culture, and so far... its worked. Its amazing how the area has made a point of making friends with me, rather than the other way around. I know, I know, this sounds silly. Its also incredibly late at night for me... But, I came expecting one thing, and got another. Its totally different, but I think I’m starting to like it much more than if I had arrived with the correct picture in my mind, the perfect plan, etc. I know, I’m babbling...babble, babble, babble...Oh! Did I ever finish my original story? Ha! okay: let’s review, so you don’t have to scroll back up to the top. I went to find a protestant church, couldn’t, decided to go to a catholic church, arrived early, got some coffee, made friends with a street performer, went back to the church AND at this point the Castilian service should have started, but I was stopped at the door by one of the guards who said that it was closed. On a Sunday. Irony. Actually, it was a holiday, so they had a two hour Catalan mass and no Castilian mass. Bummer. But! I don’t consider it a wasted trip, as I got the opportunity to meet up with the area, and figure out the metro system. Maybe next Sunday I’ll have better luck with the church thing. Anyways, hope you guys had an amazing Sunday. Shout out to my sister for her birthday party “WHOO HA!”.
Oh, and GO MY FAVORITE SPORTS TEAM, GO! BEAT THEM SOUNDLY in the... SKIRMISH! (Super Bowl meets Brian Regan, anyone?)
Okay, I start classes/ find out which level I tested into. Let’s hope it stops raining enough to get to school! Hope you all have an excellent Monday! Bye!