Last Days in BCN

I cannot believe it but my program officially ends on today. I begin my travels to Prague, Budapest, Berlin, and Greece on Monday. This experience has gone by so fast and I do not have much time to take it all in but I know I have grown a lot, experienced a new way of life, and tried things I never thought I would do. Barcelona has been a great place to study abroad because of the people, culture, and history. My one regret is not traveling to other part of Spain, like Sevilla and Granada. It is such a beautiful country with so much to see, but unfortunately time or money didn't allow this. This just gives me a reason to come back. BCN will always be my home away from home and I feel I have a very special connection to it all now. I am excited to go home and see friends and family and how everyone has changed but apprehensive too. Part of me does not want this chapter of my life to end, but these last four months and have been awesome and I would not trade them for anything. 

 

Spring Break

haWe began our spring break journey in Rome. In Rome we saw the Vatican, which is still one of the most amazing churches and buildings I have seen in general. Entering the old roman walls the view of the Vatican at 7 in the morning was an amazing and enlightening experience. The architecture was so elaborate and ornate and made me feel like I was in a palace. We arrived very early around 7pm in an attempt to beat the crowds. This was a great ideas because not only was it pretty empty, but we got to see the exterior of the Vatican as the morning sunlight hit the arches of the buildings. It was absolutely breathtaking. It was such as massive building that we did not know exactly where to begin. I remember saying that oh this definitely will not take more than a couple of hours but I soon realized that a tour through this building was no small matter. Many nuns and monks passed us, which made me realize that this was more than just a popular tourist destination. This was a special place where people of Catholic faith went for spiritual connection to God and was still being used. We started off with the Saint Peter’s Basicalla. It was pretty amazing to see the tomb of the St. Peter in the bible that betrayed Jesus. Another cool thing was getting to see the recent and late St. John Paul II’s tomb. It was very popular and many people knelt and cried in front of it as we walked by. This church took us about an hour and a half to navigate. We decided to take the 500 stair climb up to the domus of the church. It was worth the tiring effort. It was a gorgeous view of the church and the scenery around the church and the front courtyard of the Vatican as well as the Vatican Museums. After this we decided to find Michaelangelo’s Sistine Chapel. I was very excited to be seeing this first hand as it is something I have grown up learning about but never thought I would actually get to see in person. The hike up to the chapel took about 15 minutes. When we arrived we meet a very , very long line. Luckily, it was moving fast and we only ended up waiting about 15 minutes. The journery to the actually chapel took some time. We went through some rooms with amazing paintings on the ceilings and walls. We went through the Raphael Rooms that were gorgeous in their own right and got to see some of his famous works like the one of Aristotle. Finally after going down some narrow stairs and a path, we arrived in the Sistine Chapel. There it was on the wall. The massive painting of “The Last Judgement.” It is something I will never forget. I was actually seeing this famous piece of artwork up close and personal. It was gorgeous. There was so much to look at, I didn’t know where to start. Luckily I found this nice woman with a book, which layed out the names of all the different paintings on the celings and walls. I found out that the ceiling was a depiction of the book of genesis starting with the creation of the earth, sun and moon, then even, then adam, and then the original sin and the life of moses. Right in the middle of the ceiling. was the famous touching of the fingers between god and eve. On the sides of the walls were famous scenes in the bible like the crossing of the red sea. It was like all the stories I have learned about growing up in Sunday school had come to life. I could have spent an hour in that room just looking and observing but it was really crowded and we had to keep on moving. We ended our journey in the Egyptian museum and got to see old mummies and other cool Egyptian statues.
After the Vatican, came the Colosseum and Roman Forum. This was another amazing site, This time we wanted to learn about the history behind these building so we decided to join a walking tour. We learned so many kool things and heard many kool stories about the Colosseum and the way the Romans lived. For example, woman would always stand, while the men sat and about the chosen virgins. Also, the correct way to write the number four in roman numerals is IIII and not IV. The Christians had changed it for a shortcut. The old Roman Forum was very kool I learned about this in my Past and Present Class. Seeing the ruins of the old city really put the old Roman’s way of life in perspective. In Barcelona, you do not see the city as it actually was. You just see bits and pieces of the remains that were preserved. But in Rome, you can actually see a full view of the Roman Forum. I learned that the marble used to decorated the walls and mosaics in the Forum and city were taken out and used to make the sculptures and statues in St. Peter’s Bascilla. It made me wonder just how beautiful the old roman city must have been decorated with all the marble and pieces of artwork.
Our next journey was to Pisa to see the leaning Tower of Pisa. We had to take an overnight train to get there which was an interesting and very sketchy experience. Being up most of the night and sleeping on an uncomfortable train made me feel like a real traveler for once. We arrived around 6am just in time for the sunrise. After grabbing a cappuccino we began our treck to the tower just as daylight was hitting. It was about a 30 min walk but was so worth the wait. After crossing a beautiful river that reminded us of Girona we finally saw the leaning tower in the distance. We even passed a deutshe bank on the way. The sunlight on the tower was amazing.
In Florence we went to the Uffizi gallery. We also saw the original David statue by Michelangelo which was massive and glorious in its own right. We had to go to academia to see it. We found this out while taking a free tour of the duomo church in Florence given by this study abroad student. She gave us neat little tips about what to see and do in the city. The ceiling of the dome of the church was spectacular and depicted scenes of the seven sins, the judgment. The artist began with a B. We also saw the Raphael work of dante’s inferno on the side of the church.
I got a kool sketch of my name from this man on the street for only two euro. After we went to see the ponte vecchio at night, which was damaged and still stands. It was a bridge unlike any I have seen before because it has actual stores on it. It was very beautiful at night and we got a great view of the many different bridges. Not to far was one of the oldest gelaterrias in Florence where we got some really great gelato. On our way back to our hotel we listened to this man play the flute near the Uffizi gallery.
My first day in Paris I learned that everything really is super expensive. A cappicuino goes for no less than 2 euro unless you go to mcdonalds. We went to the pantheon, bastille, and louve. The louve was awesome and massive. My favorites were the mona lisa and the mesapotmia and Egyptian rooms. You can spends hours in this museum just navigation all there is to see. The mona lisa was smaller than I expected and I remember not knowing why it was so special. I felt like I was walking through time when passing from the romans to the Egyptians and other cultures. The sculptures and paintings were breathtaking and so much care and effort went in to them. It made me want to see them in their natural habitat. The louvre was worth the six euro admission fee. Unfortunately for us they just changed the free on Friday night rule a week before we came to only apply to European citizens. Just our luck! On Sunday morning we went to Easter Mass at Notre Damn, which was quite an experience. There were so many people and it was hard to walk. The inside of the church was beautiful and although the mass was in French and I could not understand it, I was glad to be in church on Easter Sunday. We went to the Eiffel Tower and night and waited in line for about 30 minutes and tried to go to the top but unfortunately only made it to the second level. They have this complicated system where you can buy tickets for the elevator to get to each level and we thought we bought a ticket to get to the top but it was only to the second floor. We were kind of disappointed but soon realized that we were on the Eiffel Tower in Paris…something a lot of people never get a chance to experience. We went to the Palace of Versailles which was were all the royal French families lived. The bedrooms were absolutely gorgeous and we got to see the famous hall of mirrors. Something new I learned was that the mirros in the house were strategically placed across from one another so that when you looked into one of them it looks liked you were looking down a hallway. It was really cool. Afterwards we went into the massive garden, which was sooo beautiful. Seeing all the statutes and sculptures was like walking through another city. My favorite was the statue of ecledeus. We slowed down quite a bit for the next two days and slept in because frankly were exhausted and running out of money. The next day we took a 1 and half hour walk to the Arc de triomph, which truthfully puts Barcelona’s to shame. It took us a while to figure out how to actually enter as it is in the middle of a huge circle road. We realized that there was an underneath passage way and it so happened that there was a special procession taking place for veterans underneath the arc. We walked down Champs Elysees, which is famous for its luxury shops and is similar to passegi de gracia in Barcelona. We took this street to the Alexander III bridge which is probably one of the prettiest bridges I have seen thus far. We crossed the bridge to the site of Napolean’s tomb, but did not enter because it was closed.

Spring Break was an awesome time. I learned some valuable lessons. (1) Definitely plan ahead and look up costs so you know what you can and cannot do. (2) Be leery of how much stuff you bring because European flights are very strict on their hand luggage requirements. (3) Lastly, budget your meals and don't splurge in the beginning because you will definitely run out of money. Go to the supermarket to get get breakfast items if necessary

It's the End

We just got back from our spring break trip around Italy and France. I never appreciated family vacations until now. It is hard traveling around on your own with 3 other people. Makes you miss the all inclusive hotel and resort stays with the parents. But I had a great time, and I have many pictures and videos to remember the adventures.

This week was our last week of classes and I cannot phantom how fast our time went here. Now that fantasy land is over, and we will be back to the U.S. with real priorities and responsibilities of encroaching adulthood upon us, I am very grateful for my time away and encourage any student to take advantage of study abroad experience.

London Continued

Here are the videos from the London Bridge and Abbey Road...My most favorite parts of our adventure in London.

London Bridge!

This week we traveled to London to visit friends and family. There is too much to do for just a week in London. The best part of being here was seeing my sister! And also my aunt and cousin I haven't seen in 8 or so years.

My lovely cousin Doyin, took us around most of the weekend. Every time we asked her what something was, she did not know, she just lives here. It was quite comical.

The first site we visited was the Tate Modern Museum, and we stumbled upon art works by Black artist. Our favorite one was "No Woman No Cry". When we were looking at the painting, the tour guide was having trouble remembering who wrote the song, "No Woman No Cry" (Bob Marley) My group knew the answer and then the tour guide asked us to sing it. We hesitantly sang the 4 words we knew of the song "No Woman No Cry"


Highlight: My sister almost burning down my aunt's flat, and me saving the day by putting the fire out! ( Thank God I go to Cornell...we thrive under pressure)

Low point: There wasn't one, I was with my wonderful and lovely sister for 5 days.

Accomplishments: 1.We walked Abbey Road, 2.I got a picture of a stereotypical English woman, 3. We sang and danced "London Bridge is Falling Down" and Fergie's London Bridge song on the London Bridge.


I will post again with more that I can remember later...pictures and video are coming! I have a spanish exam in the morning I should be studying for right now! (I also had to change my flight to fly back on Sunday instead of Monday as I originally planned because my study abroad program decided to give a final on Monday...)

Lesson in Art History

The works of Gaudi are absolutely stunning. I recommend seeing La Pedrera or Casa Mila, Casa Batllo, Parc Guell, and of course Sagrada Familia. You will be blown away by the amazing architecture. Pictures do not really do these building justice. 

I did not realize how intrigued I was by art and architecture until coming to barcelona. Getting to see the architectures, painting, and sculptures by some of the most famous artists in the world is something that I will appreciate and remember for the rest of my life. From Miro, to Dali, to Picasso, and Gaudi all of them have helped me to view art from a different perspective. 

I am very excited to see the works of Michaelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci, Botticelli, Rembrandt, and Van Gough when I go to London, Italy, and Paris.

I feel like I am really getting to know the history and culture of Spain now. As my teacher was discussing different building in Barcelona, I was able to recall what I knew from visiting these places and follow along as an active participant.

Almost Vacation TIme!

March! I am amazed that it is March, I remember( ha I have to write I remember) my first week here and getting lost around the city. Now I can trek all over the city without a problem.

The Good: The Sun is out!
The Bad: My Spanish has progressed but falls greatly short of fluent.
The Ugly: My metro pass got swiped...I had to buy a new one, it was very expensive :(

After watching 11 seasons of Top Model, I believe I have gander enough skill to be classified as an amateur photographer. Here's a sample of my work...

Today we went to La Padera the apartment building designed by Catalonian Architect Gaudi.

Next week I get to see my wonderful and beautiful older sister in London!

A Walk to Remember...

Another week in Barcelona....Its going to fast.

We found a black beauty supply shop. It had olive oil spray and perm and weave!. Who said black hair care didn't exist in Barcelona. That made my week. Of course it was a little more expensive, but the point is I can get everything I need here in barcelona...No need to go to London. Haha. 

Two more weeks into no more ESCI classes. I cannot wait cause this whole five classes things is not quite working for me. 

Skype is the most awesome thing in the world. I don't know how I didn't know about this before. You can video and call anywhere for really cheap rates.

Day lights savings time in the US occured so they are only five hrs behind us now. Yes. 

Travel in Euro

Whoever said traveling in Europe is cheap was lying. we are in the process of booking our spring break trip and end of the program travels and all the flights are sooo expensive. one flight back from paris to barcelona one way is like 100 euro!!! It's ridiculous. I guess things are only cheap if you book them like 3 months in advance. I was expecting 20 euro flights. And the cheap websites such as clickair and ryanair suck. You will get through a reservation and then in the end it will tell you error, we cannot confirm this flight or they will show you one price and then in the end jack up the price but adding on fees, taxes, and other charges. Now the spring break place is city hopping through italy and then flying to paris. I am excited to see the Eiffel Tower and Venice, and visit the Louve, I just wish it was not so expensive. 

Madrid and Amsterdam

So I am kind of late with this but we took a trip to Madrid the first week in Feb. I cannot believe that was a month ago. The time goes by so fast here. My overall impression of Madrid was that is was a pretty city, but definitely not somewhere I would live for a semester. It was smaller than I expected. It was everything that I expected Spain to be like and seemed more authentic than Barcelona which is very globalized and full of tourists. While there we went to the Royal Palace, The Prado Museum which was one of my favorite activities because I got to see the works of famous Spanish artists such as Dali, Miro, Goya, and Valazquez. I enjoyed Dali's works the most because of their surrealist elements. We also went to the Reina Sofia and got to see the famous work by Picasso, Guernica. It was amazing to see all of the works of these artists in person after reading about them in school back in the states. I wish I could have taken pictures but that was strictly forbidden but these two museums are are a definite must in Madrid. We want to go to the famous Kapital but it was too expensive and we were exhausted from the day's activities.I felt like Madrid was more diverse than Barcelona and I did not feel as out of place which was positive. I was extremely cold which made it hard to walk around and explore, so i would suggest going later on in the year.  

We went to Amsterdam the last week in Feb. The city itself was really pretty, kindof like Barcelona. We crammed so many activities into two days since our time was limited. On Fri we went to the Anne Frank House after waiting in line for almost an 1. Being in the house were they hid out gave me a more personal perspective on the Holocaust and I really got to connect with her story while watching the videos and reading the phrases from her diary on the wall. I would suggest going really early or late to avoid the crowds. We also went to the Van Gough museum and saw the famous Starry Night painting which was awesome to see in person and worth the 15 euro entrance fee. I passed on the Heineken Experience because it was too expensive but I heard that it was really fun and they had alot of kool things to see.  We got to take a canal ride which is something I always wanted to do. I didn't expect to see boat houses with people actually living in them. I learned that due to a housing shortage in the past, people asked permission to build and live in boat houses in the canals. That was definitely something very different from our culture. We also went to Zanse Schans, which is about 30 minutes outside of Amsterdam, and saw windmills and went to a clog making factory. It reminded me of Amish country in that their culture was so different and traditional. There were alot of black people in Amsterdam which is something I didn't expect to see and generally alot of diversity.  Also, I learned that everyone in Amsterdam in addition to speaking Dutch also speak fluent English. It felt good to be able to converse in English with someone and actually have them understand and not look at you funny. Our hostel was really close to the Red Light District which made it really easy to explore and do things in the city. I wouldn't suggest Travel Hotel because the hostel was really crappy and everything was falling apart. What made it worse was that my bed was missing a leg, so I had to sleep on a slant for two nights. That definitely was not fun. Overall I enjoyed Amsterdam and was impressed by the city. 

Proof that your video taking skills suck!

Cant complain if you don't write. Its all my opinion!

Me Encanta Barcelona!

Well, there was a lot more to our ski trip than my alleged complaining, but all in all it was an awesome trip! Surprisingly, it was our first time ever skiing, given that we both live in snow abundant areas in the U.S. Now we have something to look forward to when we return to the frigid tundra prone city of our university. But I can't wait to say that the first time I went skiing was in Andorra!

Trips are not the only thing we do here, we actually engage in the "study" part of study abroad. We have classes Monday through Friday in history, business and of course, Spanish!

The part that I enjoy most out of my day is walking through Placa de Cataluyna or any Placa because there are a lot of interesting street performers and there is always something new to see everyday.

Since I am the only one who actually writes blogs here it goes...

Why this week was amazing!

It's a miracle. I found a black hair salon in Barcelona right off the Jaume 1 metro stop. Its legit and not too expensive. YAY! Now I officially will not look like a hot mess.

We discovered KFC snack pack. Yes... we have come all this way to Barcelona to eat kentucky fried chicken. Money is tight, however, and the chinese food just was not cutting it. And can you believe it. We actually received some customer service there. Of all the places...KFC.

I found the equivalent to a dollar store. Yes that's right. I have been looking for one and all along it has been right next to my house. No more expensive notebooks and paper and pencils and toiletries.


I managed to make it a week and no shopping. Yeah that's right. Bola you owe me!!!!!! I might have a small addiction according to Bola but it is getting better. The best cure is one look at my bank account in EUROS!


Skiiing in Andorra...Well that was interesting. Bola complaining about her calves and legs the whole time. Bola complaining about having a heart attack. Bola complaining about it being cold. Bola complaining about not having enought light.... Bola complaining.....etc. You get the pt. Me falling halfway down the mountain and getting stuck in a snow bank. The long arguments about splitting the change and religion and politics. The tiny itty bitty apartment. Sleeping in our ski gear because we were afraid to actually touch the sheets. Getting stares of amazement that yes two blacks girls were there in Andorra to ski...watching 3 year olds zoom past us on skis as we struggle to bucle our skiis...top model photo shoot inspiration....any many more memories that I am sure I am forgetting.

That's it for me!. Off to Madrid. YEAH!!!

La Semana Pasada

This past week I learned a few lessons. Like you can only buy medicine from a pharmacy not a supermarket, corner store, or corte ingles for the matter. Nope, only a pharmacy! Also, do not expect to get a newspaper from anywhere other than a newspaper stand or a gas station if it has a store. I am slowly learning how different life just really is here in Barcelona. It is not only the big things like speaking a different language but the small things like the ones mentioned prior that has really opened my eyes to the cultural difference here. This past week has been an interesting one. President Obama was inagurated this week. AHH! Isn't it great. I love it. We went to this viewing party at the Meridian and got to watch the inaguration in english on a big screen. I am not gonna lie. It felt great to be in a room full of english speaking people for a change. My friend even got interviewed and we actually ended up in the newspaper "La Vanguardia" the next day!. Three weeks in and we are already making the news. It was pretty awesome...definitely the highlight of the week. On the weekend we went to Girona and Besalu which are very pretty and definitely a must see, although it was pretty cold and windy the day we left. We viewed old roman and gothic architecture at various different sites and did a couple walking tours around the city. We even got to make a "very special purchase" which could not be made in the United States which shall remain nameless. Let the goodtimes continue!

New Country, New Adventures, New Attitude

These first three weeks in Barcelona have been crazy. I cannot believe that it Jan 18th already. I feel like I just boarded the plane to come to Barcelona yesterday. This week I got to see a flamenco show in Las Ramblas, although i was disappointed because there were no chicas with pretty dresses. It was still very interesting though, but too short. I also went for calcotadas with the program. Before lunch we had to endure a two hike up this montain that I definitely was not prepared for. It was my first time hiking though and the view was incredible so all in all it was a good time. I also went on a tour of Barrio Grotica (or something like that). It was pretty kool as I learned alot about the history of the neighborhood and got some interesting facts about the architecture. I also went on a tour of the Palau de Musica which was pretty awesome. I cannot be more detailed because its kind of all a blur, but the pictures say it all. Lastly, I went to a Barca game. I am not really into soccer but my friends dragged me. I am really glad I went cause the experience was pretty awesome. The stadium is huge and I have never seen a more dedicated or enthusiastic fan base as the Barcelona futbol fans. We had the most amazing view right in front. We were definitelys sitting in the wrong seats considering out tickets only cost 15 euros. Although it was freezing, I think I will do it again before I leave.

SNOW

Yeah,

So much for leaving crappy ithaca and buffalo weather behind. Today while we took a tour of the city we got caught in a hail storm!!!!. So ridiculous. Supposedly it only happens like once every 10 years here. Just our luck. Snow just seems to follow us. We just can't escape.

Funny Moments!

Momento Numero 1
On the first day, during Orientation we had to write a letter to ourseleves about the goals we wanted to accomplish in Barcelona.
Numero Uno: "Yo quiero Aprendir Espana"
In our hotel room later that night as we reminisced the day I realized that I had wrote that I wanted to learn Spain instead of Spanish! Haha.

Momento Numero 2
On Monday night, we attended parade for El Reyes, the holiday. They were throwing out candy into the crowd and as we reached for one some little boy growled at us and yelled something in spanish. Don't mess with little Spanish boys.

Momento Numero 3
We decided to venture out into Las Ramblas yesterday night to find some bars. Little did we know that we would be walking into prostitute heaven. Every where we turned we were bombarded with prostitutes. And they were all African with braids. I kept on thinking I would be mistaken for one and get arrested.

Hello Barcelona!

It's 8:00pm the night before I leave for Spain and I am still packing. I have spent the last week in the freezing snow capital of the world. So it was a nice reminder of what I will not be missing for the Spring semester at school.