The Month in review

Well, this is it. I´ve been here (nearly) a month, and now - I guess I´m done. Let´s do a brief review:

I have been to:
- the Sagrada Familia
- Montjuic
- the Olympic Staduim, pool, torch and village
- the sea (in Roses, Sitges, Barcelona, and Playa Castelldefel)
- the Dali Museum
- A castle
- the mountains (yay hiking!)
- the Picasso Museum
- several Plazas
- the Cathedral
- Parc Guell
- The Gaudi House
- The Gaudi Museum
- The Music Hall

I have eaten:
- snails
- clams
- squid
- tuna (yes, tuna)
- octopus
- pizza (yes - a variety of pizzas)
- a lot of bread, olive oil and tomato (I KNOW! Tomatos!)
- shrimp - with the head and eyes still on (they come that way, you have to take the head off)
- crab
- a burger (I found a place that serves them okay)
- a lot of grilled cheeses
- and coffee. More than I´ve had my entire life.

Things I miss:

Wow. I miss a lot. But, I´ve gained a lot. I have challenged myself and my own independence in ways that I couldn´t possibly have done staying in Kalamazoo. I have skimmed the surface on a whole different culture - and incredible place that I wish I could share with everyone. I think I´ve succeeded in managing this month without any regrets, or huge mistakes. I´ve kept my head in most situations, and done pretty well by myself. Except I wasnt´by myself.

I´ve had so much contact with Americans and British, and friends and family, I haven´t been isolated. So, I´m not sure how this next month is going to go. I have a feeling the easy part is over with. Now I´m completely on my own here, no host family, no friends to see every day and meet for coffee or drinks after class. No home base. I´ve managed a month without breaking down and flying home - it´s going to be tough this next one. But there´s so much to see and do and learn here. I could travel the world my entire life and never see it all, and miss out on a culture or a language and - it´s frustrating. Because being exposed to the cultures and languages is what makes you appreciate not only the new culture, but the culture from where you come. I think it´s too easy to take those things forgranted if I head back home now. I think it´s too easy to fall into the crack where I wake up and think "I´m in the same place I was yesterday, doing the same thing" - I don´t want to forget how wonderful it is to be so lucky.

So, that´s my goal for the next month. In addition to finding a job. To push past the easy answer of "I miss home, so I´ll just go back". I´m going to work on discovering as much as I can here about here and there and me and everything. It will be like traveling Max from Fraggle Rock!
I just have so much to learn. And so much to discover. This month was just the tip of the iceburg. It´s incredible how much you can grow and adjust in a month. I hated this city when I arrived- it was dirty, and smelly, and full of people. And now its full of energy, and vivacious, and I´m in the groove. So I guess it´s suitable that I move on. I´ll be in France for a bit I think. I can´t go to Europe and not visit Paris. And I´ll be going to London to visit my new friends. I´m also traveling up the coast of Spain. I need to be back in Barcelona around the 22nd, because that´s when schools start recruiting again. I´ll keep you posted on whether it´s Europe or Central America. Either one would be fine by me. Or, I might just be ready to be home after a month more of this, and do some summer school teaching here in the breaks. So many options!

That´s a lot of rambling (I swore when I made this blog that I wouldn´t ramble!). It´s been a good, but quick month. And I miss you all incredibly. but don´t let me come home early! There´s to much to do here. To much for me to do. Keep on writing, and I´ll do the same :)