First day of classes

What a beautiful day.

Today was the first day of classes. I had Negocios Internacionales (International Business in Spanish), International Economics, and International Marketing Strategies. Tomorrow I have one class: International Finance. Fun! Haha.

Here’s what the Sant Pau campus looks like:

It’s pretty beautiful. The Eixample campus, where I take my other three classes, is just a building so I didn’t bother taking a picture.

It was definitely a little nerve-wracking. First day of classes usually are. Everyone wants to fit in, make friends, get to class on time, etc.

It’s fun walking around. I feel like there’s something to do or see anytime anywhere. Seriously. And people are always down to do something. I’m sure it’ll die down a little after a while but for now, the excitement and eagerness is in full swing. Love it.

I am seriously in love with the hustle and bustle. People walk everywhere and it’s a pretty beautiful thing. It makes me feel small yet so hungry to explore and absorb everything.

Taking the bus today, I felt a little more confident haha. I still feel like a foreigner, which is a given lol. I wonder how much I stick out. Not that I’m trying to fit in so much lol. I can’t deny my touristic antics. I take pictures on the streets and use my map shamelessly. I am learning to use the map a little less though haha. Poco a poco (little by little), right? Hahah. And I’m not going to be here forever, I need to capture as much of it as I can haha. I can’t afford to be shy! No shame!!! Hahah.

My host family is pretty cool too. They speak to me only in Spanish, although the parents know English. If I say something in English, they pretend to not understand lol. Overall very chill and very understanding of study abroad student habits, such as going out at 9 or 10 pm and coming home 4, 5, 6, am lol. My host dad thought I was going to go out tonight hahah. It’s a Monday night. But good to know clubs are open. Noted.

Overall, I’m just waiting to get settled (even more) and get in the groove of things. I’m still keeping in touch with some people back at home so it doesn’t feel like I’m too far. I just wish I could share what I’m experiencing with people, the food, the air, the good times. For now, I’ll soak it up and upload pictures.

Randoms

– El Corte Ingles is this CRAZY department center… they have a billion stories of women’s, men’s, children’s clothing, toys, cosmetics, perfumes, etc. and a full supermarket below ground floor lol. It’s amazing. They sell “EVERYTHING in the world” according to another student hahaha. They really do though lol. It includes a pharmacy, fresh groceries, food food food, cosmetics, a pastry shop, chocolate shop, deli, etc. I bought some sandwich material for lunches. Yes.

Here’s something random I found:

– They charge .05 euros per shopping bag. Must start carrying one around lol.

– Yelp and Citymapper are lifesavers.

– There are 5 meals in Spain. El desayuno, el almuerzo, la comida, la merienda, and la cena. Now you know. And I do too.

– Edit: Of all the things I forgot to bring (like tape, calendar for my room, cottonballs, more t-shirts…), I forgot to bring a notebook. Yeah. I have no clean paper on which to write. None. Reminds me of someone who said, “You’re not studying abroad, you’re just going abroad… it’s gonna be CRAY.” Hahaha except the cray part. Tomorrow’s festivities will include searching for a store that sells notebooks.

Happy Monday!!