Here come finals...

Day 95 – December 1st – Monday
As December begins, it is getting pretty cold here in Barcelona. At about 50 degrees during the day and dropping into the 40s at night, its still no comparison to Ohio right now, but everyone here complains and complains about the cold. I do think its cold, but thats mostly because I don't have more than a couple jackets here. However, when I'm riding my bike, I keep warm that way. Today was a normal Monday at school. Spanish class is actually coming to an end, which means a lot of work to do and even more studying. We have an in class writing Wednesday and then an oral exam next Tuesday and on next Wednesday is the big, long, comprehensive, exam. Friday should be fun though, as it is a party and they are handing out diplomas, whatever they mean by that. Catalán class was good as well, though it will probably be my hardest final. I don't think it will be a whole lot of vocabulary, but she keeps telling us that it will be tougher than the first one, which was very easy. We'll see. All I know is that I've already started studying a bit. Film class should be a pretty easy one to finish out. All we have to do is write a five-page paper in Spanish about the movie that we already have presented on. With the help of all the notes from everyone in the group, it should go smoothly. After class, I met up with my friend Xavi to ride bikes. We rode around for a while with four other guys. It turns out that they had gone to the Velodrome today that is just outside of Barcelona. We were joking that we almost have a whole team. They are planning to go again on Sunday and have invited me along. I'm excited to experience my first velo ride. For dinner, I made an American specialty for my host family: Ramen Noodles. They liked it a lot. I told them it was typical of college students. We also had fried white fish and pinto beans. It was a very filling meal. Afterwards, I, of course, did some homework before going to bed. Down to seventeen days and a travel day.

Day 96 – December 2nd – Tuesday
Just another average day at school. We're starting to talk about final exams, which, for me, is more exciting than intimidating. It looks like all of mine are pretty well spaced apart, so I should have enough time to study for them all. Tomorrow I have my in class writing for Spanish class, so I hope I don't forget to take my dictionary. That would be bad. I've done in class writings before, also in Spanish, so this won't be a new experience for me. In Art class, we have a visit to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Barcelona (MACBA) on Thursday to learn about Antoni Tàpies and other Catalàn artists. Then, next Thursday, we have our exam and then we're done. I've come close to the end of a very long four-month road. I definitely feel like I have learned a lot and I should come home with very good grades. After class, I talked for a while on Skype and then went home for spaghettis for dinner. After dinner, as I was studying, I got a call from Ian informing me that his dad and my mom had gone to visit our prospective house and that it was basically perfect. As we talked, our parents were on their way to the landlord's office to take care of paperwork. That is definitely exciting for me. Its hard to imagine that we were organized enough to get a house taken care of from six time zones away. We move in the 22nd of December, so I'll even spend a few days at home, which I'm sure will make my parents happy. After that, back to studying. In the next two weeks, I have to budget my time carefully and balance work and play. To bed! To prepare for my essay tomorrow.