Day 7 – September 4th – Thursday
For breakfast today we had a piece of fruit and coffee, but a type of coffee I'd never seen before. It was soluble. So I filled my cup with milk, and then added the coffee powder and drank it cold. It sounds strange and it was, but it was pretty good and Fernando was right, cold coffee is quite refreshing when its hot outside. The next time Matt and I looked at the clock, it was 9:30, giving us only a half hour to get across town. So we hopped on the metro, making sure to get on the right train and transfer to the next one smoothly, as time was a factor. When we got off the metro, we found that we weren't the only ones who had no idea where to go next. But there is strength in numbers, so our little group of about twenty-five clueless Americans with a map eventually figured it out and got to the test, only a few minutes late. The placement exam consisted of three parts: multiple choice, essay, and interview. The eighty multiple choice questions got harder as the numbers got higher, so we were told to stop when we were completely guessing. There were three different levels of essay questions, from which we were supposed to choose one of two prompts. The interview was one-on-one with a teacher from the university. I was able to answer all eighty questions and easily surpass the 100-word requirement for writing (I chose a prompt regarding what I thought of Spaniards having had just a little bit of interaction with them) and I felt like I did pretty well on the interview. When asked a question, I tried to give at least a two or three sentence answer, unless it was a yes or no kind of thing. We'll find out tomorrow for sure how well we did. With the beach being so close to school, it was really the only logical destination after a stressful morning. So we went for a little walk and grabbed some food while looking at the beautiful Mediterranean the whole time. Then we checked out some shops in town, including an official F.C. Barcelona shop, while waiting for the group to take a little walking tour of Barcelona. We walked around the Gothic quarter of the city, which really just means that its the most ancient part. Many of the ruins are actually under ground, as they have been destroyed and built over top of over the centuries. Barcelona was founded 300 years before Rome by local pagan groups, but has been ruled by the Carthaginians, Romans, and Muslims. The Romans were of course famous for the roads and their columns, so we saw some ancient roman columns and the intersection of the road they built. Whenever the Romans conquered a city, they continued their road system with one road north to south and another east to west. After this tour, it was back to Fernando and Teresa's house for a little siesta before dinner. And what a delicious dinner it was! Steak and potato fries (they weren't French) with ketchup (of course. According to Teresa, all Americans love ketchup.) and some delicious watermelon for dessert. After a shower, Matthew and I met up with a few friends to see what kind of nightlife was in the area. Before I came here, I got all kinds of input on where I should go, what I should see, and all that kind of thing. Of course, I took all this with a grain of salt because Barcelona is a big place and what are the odds that I'm going to find one little hole in the wall? One bar I was told was a must was El Gato Negro (the Black Cat), which just happened to be one of the closest bars to my house, right around the corner. It was a nice little place, filled with locals, so you knew you weren't getting overcharged. We hung out there until it closed around 2:30 and headed home. Tomorrow, we have orientation at Pompeu Fabra at 12:30.

Day 8 – September 5th – Friday
Orientation was short and sweet. I placed into the advanced class for Spanish, which is right where I thought I should be. We also got a few little books. One was about Barcelona and its culture, which will probably be pretty helpful. It covers everything from the history of the city to the art of the pick-up. After a packed lunch of Spanish tortilla sandwich (egg and potatoes with lettuce and tomato), Nicolas, Matthew, and I took a little trip out to the Olympic stadium. This was very cool to see. As we rode the tram out of the metro system, it was easy to imagine Olympic athletes of that time such as Pete Sampras and Demitra Navertalova standing in the same place. I was searching for the velodrome, but thats probably one of the more obscure places, though I did see track bikes on many of the banners. We ran out of time before we found it, but I did get to stand in my first European soccer stadium, that of the lesser-known Barcelona team, Espanyol. We went back to the city in order to catch a bus on a panoramic tour of the city. We drove past the city's old bullring, its new, highly ornate bullring which seems to have a lot of Jewish influence (go ahead, figure that one out) and also past the cathedral. The cathedral was interesting because it was constructed in two phases. The first half under the direction of famous Spanish architect Gaudí, but when the plans were burned during the civil war, it had to be finished in a much more modern manner by another architect who's name I don't remember. But while both sides definitely show some kind of religious influence, they are strikingly different. Next we stopped off at a park that was designed by the same Gaudí, called Parc Güell. It is one of the biggest parks in Barcelona and a place where Gaudí himself used to live. It is very ornate, but still natural. I will post pictures of it. We then headed home for a siesta and then dinner, which was very good, and i wish i could tell you what it was. It was a kind of beef stew with something that seemed like a cross between peas and lima beans as the main ingredient (Mom, I'm sure you would have liked it, don't worry) and with onions and carrots as well. I went out to see Nicolas' house, as his family is out of town and suggested that he have a couple people over so he wasn't lonely. We hung out for a while and got a beer at a local tapas bar and then I caught the last metro home a little before 2:00. Tomorrow is our first Saturday in Barcelona and we really have nothing to do, so I'm hoping to go to a bike shop that I saw during our bus tour. I've GOT to get a bike running so I can really start to learn the city and stop paying for the metro. I've already seen a few single-speeds of fixed gear bikes riding around, so maybe I can make some friends that way too.

Day 9 – September 6th – Saturday
Nothing much to do today, as it is Saturday. I went to the internet café for a little while and then ate lunch with Fernando, Teresa, and their son Ferrón. It was some kind of sausage in a potato based sauce. Good, but bland. It is the weekend, which means that the Magical Fountain is up and running. This is a very spectacular spectical indeed. It hints at the fountains of the Bellagio in Las Vegas, though smaller and more complicated. The show is Thursday through Sunday from 9:00 to midnight, every half hour and it draws quite a crowd. We made it there for the 11:00 show which featured music from artists such as Queen, the Police, and Cher. Lights combined with misting fountains made it look like the water was on fire and the grand finale shot water at least ten meters into the air. Afterwards, Nic and I just kind of crawled our way back to the University district where I live, stopping for a drink here and a baguette there before going to El Gato Negro, which is quickly becoming one of my favorite places.

Day 10 – September 7th – Sunday
Sundays are lazy days in Spain. Almost nothing is open except a few tapas bars and other restaurants. I was trying to figure out what all these people did, and then i walked past a huge line at the cinema. Also, I noticed that Tersesa, my señora, was inside all day talking on the phone and Fernando relaxed with a cigar while watching an old war movie. After not getting up until 1:00pm, I didn't really do anything all day. We did eventually make it to the beach, where we saw just how gay-friendly Barcelona is (only on a section of the beach), got some delicious kabob from a nearby shop and headed home. After penne pasta for dinner, I pretty much went to bed. Tomorrow is the first day of class, so a good nights rest will be good.

Also, here are some pictures. I hope you like them! http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2026428&l=3bfc7&id=59102876