The sun is brighter in Barcelona

In my second to last weekend abroad I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to visit Spain. This has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember. There is something so exotic, romantic, and hypnotizing about Spain to me, and I was thrilled to finally be able to experience the country firsthand. Needless to say, I was not disappointed.

Like all CIEE scheduled activities, this one began at the crack of freaking dawn. We had to be in a cab to a train station at 5 am in order to get to some airport in the middle of bumblefuck that I'm convinced is only used to fly cheapskates like students out of the country. Have you ever flown Ryanair? If you have not, DONT. If you have, please accept my sincerest apologies. We finally got on the plane after arguing with the lady who wouldn't let us on because we didn't have visas, and people were literally poppin bottles in the aisles, blasting music out of speakers, jumping on the seats, and refusing to sit in assigned areas. At 7:30 am this was a complete nightmare and the flight ended up being bumpy, swervy, and just overall terrible.

There is an indisputable difference between traveling and vacation in my opinion. I've been traveling for the past 7 weeks, trying to take in as much culture and as many calories as humanly possible, and as much as I LOVE it, it can get exhausting, especially when you have a professor treating your 3 week course like a full semester one. When I landed in Barcelona, I felt like I was on vacation. Stress fell off my shoulders as I pressed my face against the window in the coach bus, admiring mountains and palm trees. After ditching our bags at the hostel, tasting the best nachos of my life, and physically brawling with ATMs, we embarked on a 3 hour walking tour. This entire travel blog should probably be titled: "Walking Tours, Chaffing, and Boob Sweat: An Autobiography". TMI, my apologies. But seriously. I love seeing new cities, and I don't mind walking, but for 3 hours at a time while listening to some dude drone on and on and ON and melting in the sun? Nooooo thank you. But CIEE looooves walking tours and Barcelona is breathtaking so we made the best of it.

After eating dinner at a disgusting, cheap cafeteria comparable only to the Old Country Buffet, my friends and I headed back to get ready to ~hit the town~. First stop, Chupitos. This is the shot bar we LOVED in Amsterdam. We kept asking the bartender to give us the cool shots. He lit stuff on fire, fed us shots through straws, and had us inhale vodka vapor. And I'm just standing in this bar thinking, "Wow I will never do anything this cool ever again". He gave us a free round since we had already bought 5 shots each and suggested a hip hop club nearby. We wandered through the squares of Barcelona and some guy started yelling at us about free shots. We asked what the catch was and he said no catch, just that no one was at the bar yet. We went inside, got the free shots, danced in an empty bar for 25 minutes, got another free shot, and went to the hip hop club across the street.

It took us three tries in the line before we finally got in for free. The first time the bouncer told us it was 5 euro. The second time my friend drunkenly tried to bargain with him to get 4 of us in for 10 euro, and he wasn't having it. As we were contemplating whether or not is was worth paying 5 euro each, a group came out of the club. We ran over to them, asking if it was worth the money. They proceeded to tell us that if you said, "Las Matias" at the door, entry was free. We got in line for a 3rd time, gave the password, and the bouncers, feeling defeated reluctantly let us in. We danced like crazy until 3 am and made it back to the hostel.

The next day we spent the morning in the beautiful Park Guell, one of Gaudi's famous works. The mosaics and the design were just happy; there's no other way to put it. We went shopping by the cathedral and then I took a 6 hour nap I kid you not. When in Barcelona right? We ate at this really nice tapas place for dinner and sat with some boys from the Berlin program. They were super nice and one was from Alaska - it was nice to talk to and socialize with some new people after being surrounded by the same group for weeks.

Later that night we went to Opium, which is this INSANE club right on the beach. It's one of the top 10 clubs in the world, but there's a 20 euro cover. No way in hell were we paying that. I googled 'ways to get into opium for free' at the suggestion of my friends who had been to Barca a few weeks ago. I signed us up on some guest list and was emailed a paragraph in spanish that included a phone number I was instructed to whatsapp. I messaged this dude Isaac, who told me to say his name at the door. and BAM we were in for free. This place was unreal. So many bars, lounges and different dance areas all over the place. It was sooo crowded and not really my scene but it was fun to see.

And finally to my favorite part of the entire weekend: the beach!!! I have been having serious beach withdrawal considering I haven't been since last august (a straight up SIN), and I could not have been more ready to see some water. And some boobs. Here's the thing - people in Europe don't give a shit when it comes to what people think of them. Nudity is not a taboo like it is in the states, and why should it be? The human body, sex, and nudity are natural parts of life and biology. Why on earth do Americans demonize these things? Everyone has a body, and everyone's body is beautiful. So why not be comfortable with it? Women in Europe tan nude or topless all the time, and we witnessed this in full force in Barcelona, and guess what? We joined them. And it was so liberating. Not one person stared at me. NOT ONE PERSON! In the states, if I were wearing a V neck tee shirt, old men would leer at me. In Barcelona, my boobs were free falling all over the place and not one person looked at me like that. I had complete confidence in my body for once, and was able to peacefully lay topless on a beach in Spain. How many people can say that? So thank you, Barcelona, for giving me the weekend of a lifetime. Keep shining :)

Whales in Wales

After being in London for only 4 days, our group packed it up and jumped on a 6 hour train to Wales for a promised 'adventure' weekend. While we had all been complaining about the fact that we'd have to put on bathing suits to participate in the activities, after weeks of indulging in apple pie, we were nonetheless excited, and thus the hashtag whales in wales was born. 

We arrived at our lodge in Pembrokeshire and we were all just dying to immerse ourselves in some nature. After being in a city for 4 weeks with no escape, it was unbelievably comforting to see some trees and water. The adventure lodge sat atop a plain that overlooked the beach about a mile down the road, and the views were breathtaking. There was a pony in the field out back and huge grassy areas to have bonfires and play soccer. I was excited to explore the nature on my own. We were in the middle of no where in a sense and I desperately craved some alone time. I love the people I've become friends with, but being surrounded by the same people day in and day out with no outlet gives me anxiety. In Wales, I was able to wander around near the lodge and the beach and just take in the quiet and the beauty of being alone. I needed only about 30 minutes, and I rejoined my group so we could get ready for bed, as we had a long day ahead of us. 

The first activity we go to participate in was coasteering, and this ended up being my favorite by far. Coasteering involves gearing up in a wetsuit, a helmut and a life vest, traversing across rocks in the bitterly cold sea, swimming through caves, climbing up cliffs, and proceeding to jump of them. I used to be a swimmer, and in my early high school days I wasn't half bad. I gave it up to focus more on school and my social life, and it wasn't until Wales that I realized how much I missed it. I was swimming in front of everyone in our group, my adrenaline beginning to pump. All I wanted to do we swim. I asked people to race me, I swam in circles, and I swam in and out of caves with the guide. I felt so free and so adventures and it popped into my head that I really need to swim more. I also decided that I need to live somewhere like this. Somewhere with mountains and oceans and huge rocks. I really want to learn how to rock climb as well. 

We made it back to the lodge for a hearty lunch and a 20 minute nap, and when we woke up for kayaking I was exhausted. Kayaking was fun, but my body ached from the morning and my arms are severely lacking in strength. We had a huge head wind and choppy waters, but they taught me how to capsize my boat and roll back over, so that was fun. Our guide for the afternoon was a girl not much older than myself. She was from New Jersey, had been to Wales on an abroad program weekend just like me, and loved it so much that she just picked up and moved there for a year to work for the adventure lodge. It was so inspiring. Some people are so brave and just let life take them anywhere, and I really hope I can be like that. She also had this really cool blonde and purple hair, which made me want to dye my hair purple again when I get home. Sorry mom. 

That night, my shoulders ached as I sat on a bench drinking beer with these people from Mississippi. I talked to them for hours and we built a bonfire. It was so relaxing and I honestly didn't want the weekend to end. The next morning we went on a seven mile hike through the cliffs, over the ocean, and it was truly beautiful. The weekend was comprised of more physical activity than I've participated in all summer, but at least it made me realize that I want to do these types of things all the time. I'm thinking Colorado. When I graduate next year, I can literally go anywhere in the world, and that's crazy to me. Well, anywhere I get a job I guess. But that's a whole other thing. Anyway, I highly suggest that if you ever make it to the UK, you make a point to get to Wales. There may not be a whole lot there, but there's something special about being in a place that feels as if it remains untouched by man

London's Calling

Wow. I go home in twelve days. Which means that I have seriously neglected this blog over the past 2.5 weeks. I can't say that I haven't had ANY time to post, but I have been out exploring a lot and doing way more homework than I was expecting. Every day I get back to my room and pass out, and I'm still tired every single day. First world problems am I right? Let's back track a bit so I can give you a lay of the land.

We're staying in Kensington, which is a beautiful, wealthy, and kind of boring neighborhood. I was randomly assigned Anna as my roommate (lol) and we have this huge room with high ceilings, crown molding, and a private bathroom. Some people believe that going abroad with a friend is a bad idea, and while I may agree if you're talking about a full 4-6 month semester, but choosing to come here with Anna was one of the best decisions I've ever made. We've done a good job of making friends and doing things with other people, but if we're getting sick of anyone, it's easy to retreat to each other. We both came to Europe in search of something - for me, that was a free type of happiness and self awareness, and for Anna it was an escape from her bad breakup. We've been able to lean on each other and rely on each other and grow together during this time, and it's truly been priceless. Last night we were sitting in a pub together, just talking about how happy we are to be where we are in our lives and how far we've come. While I would feel awkward confiding those types of things to many, Anna understands. And living together has been perfect. Anna put it best - when we're together, it's like we're alone. I'm the kind of person who thrives on alone time, and that's really hard to come by on an abroad program. But we can retreat to our room together and sit in silence for hours and truly feel alone.

But back to London. This really is the world's city. We've met so many people from so many places. We've eaten food from far corners of the world. We've wandered through markets, browsing items and listening to people speak multitudes of languages. I personally love East London. There's art, music, food, a huge vintage market and tons of bars. It reminded me a little bit of south street in Philly, but I'm also homesick and biased so I can't say others would agree.

We've been to the British Museum, the Natural History Museum, the Tate Modern Museum, and the Victoria and Albert Museum. I'm starting to really love art, and I find it fascinating to try to put yourself in the artists head. I'll just stare at a piece and try to pretend that I made it, and why I would have made certain color choices and drawn certain lines. Maybe I'm a freak. But you should try it. I'm so curious as to what motivates people in everything they do - and most art is so weird that it's mesmerizing.

As for the class itself, it honestly kind of sucks. Our American teacher has a PhD in Philosophy and claims to be accident prone. This somehow qualifies him to teach a course on the NHS. Our whole course revolves around the philosophy of health care, which in itself is interesting, but not exactly what I signed up for. I still have no background knowledge on how the NHS functions and I'm starting to think my teacher doesn't either. He also has us writing 4 essays and doing a presentation in the 3 weeks that we have class. It's bizarre and I miss our Amsterdam class.

People keep asking me which city I like better and they're so different that I honestly cannot say. Amsterdam was magical and beautiful and fun. But to me, there will always be something special about London. I feel like if I was in London for an extended amount of time, I would never be bored. There is so much culture, so much nightlife, and so many things to do. People are always out and about getting drinks after work and running around on the tube. It seems like people here work hard but also enjoy their lives. There are so many parts of the city to explore because it is ENORMOUS, and like I said, the city truly belongs to the world, and I feel like a little piece of it is mine.

So this post was pretty unorganized, poorly written, and rambly, but hey. I'm trying to get back into the swing of things. To make up for this random post, I'll plan to post a more specific piece tomorrow about my weekend in Wales (which was amazing btw). This weekend I head to Barcelona, and then only have one more week to spend in London! I am planning to visit Westminster Abbey, the London Dungeon, the Serpentine Gallery, the Museum of Broken Relationships, Selfridges and Harrods, and the Portabella street market in Notting Hill. We also have tickets to see the Book of Mormon, attend afternoon tea, and a polo match! I also want to try to make it to the famous Ye Old Cheshire Cheese pub and a beer garden. Until tomorrow friends!