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Day 101 – December 7th – Sunday – 11 days left
I didn't get up today until around 2pm, which was some much needed rest. When I got up, I talked to Fernando about how great the game was last night. He agreed and seemed to be in high spirits coming of such a fantastic win. I was a little bummed that I didn't go to the velodrome, especially when Xavi texted me to say that it was amazing, but i really did need the rest. I headed over to school to do some work and use the internet, though I didn't do any work, just basically watched movies and talked to some people on Skype. I'll be home so soon. I remember right before I was leaving that I had this sort of feeling, but much more the opposite way. I was scarred of the unknown, and almost didn't even want to go. But now that I've been here and seen that it is a big scary place, but that I can handle it with ease, I'm excited to go back to Columbus. I hope that all of my friends don't get tired of listening to my stories. The first time you go somewhere is always the hardest, whether it is the grocery store alone for a few hours, or to another continent and culture alone for almost four months. I will be glad to come home in less than two weeks, but I know I will be back. And next time, it will be easier. I got home in time for dinner and to see that Madrid was losing to Sevilla. Its always good news when Madrid loses. I studied a little bit after dinner, but not having school tomorrow kept me from really buckling down. Matt and I took a little walk to the Parc de Joan Miró when we both got bored and then came home and feel asleep.

Day 102 – December 8th – Monday
Today I was awoken by the sound of Tersea's familiar “a comer” (to eat). It was almost three, so lunch was a little late, but I had literally used it as an alarm clock. It was kind of hard to eat so soon after getting up, but we had a pretty good Spanish lunch. Starting of with a salad, the second plate was “berenjera frita” (fried eggplant) and these really delicious thin pork chops that are also fried. For “postre,” I had a couple of mandarinas. Today is a national Catholic holiday, the day of the Conception, so no one is doing anything here in Spain. I sat out on the balcony for a little while after lunch and just watched the people walk around. I'm getting a lot better at understanding the Spanish in the street; last night I got asked for the time, a cigarette twice, and directions. I only had the time, but the point is that I didn't have to ask for them to repeat it or anything. Sitting on the balcony today, I understood a lot of what was being said, but its a little dicouraging when you can't even understand the little kid who is screaming Catalán, although I am getting a bit better. This weekend, actually, I spoke Catalán with two different people on different nights. From one, an Russian-American student who had already taken a few courses, plus it being his fourth language, I got a language lesson, as his speaking and vocabulary in general was much better than mine. From the other, who was French and had lived in Andorra for a few years and was now studying in Barcelona as well, I got a culture lesson on how variable the Catalán language is. Catalunya is divided into four provinces, which create two different dialects. There is also Andorra, the only country to have Catalán as its national language, which lies in between France and Spain, home to all the best skiing. Their Catalán is different. There is also Velencian which is based on the same grammer, spoken to the south of Catalunya. Then, there is the Catalán of the Islas Bareales, in the Mediterranean. An example of the variant found here is the word for “dog.” In Barcelona, it is “gos,” while in Majorca (birthplace of Rafe Nadal), Menorca, and Ibiza, it is said, “cat.” This raises an obvious contradiction for the English speaker, but at least I have that one understood. Finally, there is a small region of Italy which also speaks Catalán, but I imagine the Italian influnece, which is already strong, is dominant there. Today, I got a lot of studying done, so I felt accomplished, but I didn't really go outside, so thats never fun. I did walk around after dinner for a while, hoping to see all the Christmas lights that Fernando and Teresa had gone to see earlier, but many of them were already turned off for the night.Everyone has to work tomorrow, including me, so I'm sure they're all asleep. I did a littl more studying before falling asleep. Its been a good weekend.

Day 103 – December 9th – Tuesday
Today I had my oral exam in Spanish class, which I didn't worry about too much beforehand and it turned out to not really be necessary. We basically just had to talk, which I am not bad at and not shy about. Also, it helped being in a group with two of my friends. We had to read a newspaper article that was just given to us, then explain it to the other people in our group and finally, answer their questions. Then, as the other two people in the group explained their article, we were expected to think of one question for them. My article was about the service that waiters provide in Japan, without ever accepting tips. Even without this incentive, the service there is considered to be the best in the world. I'm sure it is certainly better than Europe, which the article agreed with. After class, I went home to take a little nap, since I had extra time before lunch. I got about two hours in. After lunch, I studied at home for a bit before going to school to do more of the same. I did so right up until my next class, which was Art. Today, we talked about Antoni Tàpies. It was fairly interesting. He is actually still alive, but is 86 years old. i actually live very close to his museum and archives, but it is closed for reforms at the moment. He received some of his influence from Jackson Pollock. The genre of which Pollock was the pioneer, Abstract Expressionism, was the first to influence the art world of Europe, instead of America being influenced by Europe. They were also part of an art movement that fled from the idea that art could be profitable. They believed that art could not be worth millions of dollars, that it should not be hung as decoration in your house. Art was an idea and moreover a political weapon. Tàpies combines this philosophy with natural materials and hands-on painting to create rather ugly paintings with strong messages. After class, I got to video chat with Marissa for a while before I got kicked out of the empty classroom I was in and went home for dinner. After I ate, there was nothing else to do but study more. I'm so tired of it, but after tomorrow, I'll be finished with Spanish and then start finishing up my other subjects the rest of the week. I'll be back in the USSR, er, I mean USA next Friday. Thats hard for me to imagine, but it has been a long time coming.