Spring Break

April 12, 2009
Well Happy Easter everybody!
It's Sunday and the end of my spring break. What a week it has been!
April 3-5: I went to Dublin and stayed in Abbey Court hostel. There was a 6 person bunk bed room and me and Hannah shared it with kids from Germany. We took a train to the Ireland countryside and spent the day touring caves and walking through fields. It was amazing. Ireland was just as I imagined it. There was so much beer and so many jolly people. I probably will not come back here, but I was so glad to have experienced the culture.
April 5-7: I went to Amsterdam which was my favorite place in Europe!! There is so much to do here and so much history.We ate really good food and we went to Anne Frank's house and the Van Gogh museum. The Anne Frank museum was so enthralling: her room, her diary, everything. This was my favorite part of my trip. The Van Gogh museum was expensive to get into but the Starry Night painting was there so it was worth it. My friends and I also saw the tulips and the Red Light District which was sad in my opinion.
April 7-10: Reuuuuuunited and it feeeeeeeels so goooooooooooooooood!!!!!!!! These 3 days I went to Nerja in the south of spain to visit my spanish family who I lived with for a month after my junior year. This was so much fun and Hannah came with me. They put two twin beds in a room for us and my spanish mom cooked us the BEST meals. I loved seeing them, hanging out at the beach, and relaxing. I don't have school until Tuesday and those are my exams. I am obsessed with Europe, but can't wait to see my family, friends, and room. I feel like I'm living the dream :)
Un beso,
Robin

Recap.

March 31, 2009

The last time I wrote in my blog it was March 1st. Now, it is March 31st. The math tells you that this has NOT been my first priority. Sooooooooo much has happened in a month. The month of March really has flown by, but there were alot of fun and not-so-fun things that happened. Here goes in a nutshell.

March 1-Marquan and Jordan leave thus marking the end of Michigan spring break I had so much fun with my Michigan friends in town, but I was exhausted because we went out everynight. My roomated and I literally just hung around the house and went to class. Friday March 6th Breese and Nona went to San Sebastian, but Hannah and I decided to skip out on the excursion and get alot of things done. It turned out that two of Hannahs friends studying abroad in Italy came in town and while she hung out with them, I read Water for Elephants which was a great book. I really wanted to work on my literature paper, but the plot was so good I just HAD to finish it. So I did. Keep in mind that my New Year's Resolution is to read a book a month. So far so good.

March 9-

My friend Lauren Doroghazi came in town for her spring break/birthday. She is studying in D.C. for the semester, but also goes to Michigan. We ate out everyday when she was here. It was so fun trying new restaurants, but my wallet had never been so thin.Woo-Wee! Every good meal comes with a good price. Thursday was her birthday and we went to a fun Spanish club called Sutton and stayed there all night. Then the next day we went to the beach, but by the afternoon Jeanne had arrived. Remember Jeanne from the beginning? Yea, well she came back for round 2. We all went to the club on Friday and had a great time. Saturday we took the night off because on Sunday....Carmelle and Claire came! If you're thinking I have had a lot of visitors...it's because I have!!! Everyone's spring break was in March so every weekend someone was in town. It's funny because before I left my mom said "Robin, everyone who says they're going to come isn't really going to come". Turns out MORE people than I thought decided to come. The more the merrier right?

March 19

I was glad that Claire was able to come to Barcelona with Carmelle becuase I really left them to their own devices. I wanted to hang out, but I was so behind from all the other guests and I really needed to buckle down. We went to Lisbon, Portugal for the weekend and had a blast. It is my favorite place I have visited in Europe thus far. The people, the hostile, the city..everything was fabulous. It was also very cheap so that was good. Bank of America turned off my card because I tried to withdraw money from an ATM in Lisbon, but other than that everything went smoothly. Carmelle and Claire left on the 22nd.

March 31

Now it is Tuesday. I got back from Paris on Sunday morning and it is my NEW favorite place (sorry Lisbon). It was cold, but I LOVE that city. Everything is so luxurious and decadent. We went to museums, walked around, and ate alot of pastries. It actually was not as expensive as I thought. The hotel and cost of travel was the most expnsive, but once we were there we were SUCH tourists. Ofcourse, we did alot of window shopping, but we really just wanted to see the city. I could spend hours writing about Paris so I better not get started. Oh, and all of the Parisians I met were very friendly contrary to popular belief. Maybe Obama really is helping out world image :)

Ciao.

Spring Break already?

February 28, 2009

This week was one of the best I have had in Barcelona. It was Michigan's spring break so my friends Marquan and Jordan came in town. We did alot of touristy things and went out, basically, every night. This week was just a mix of nice dinners, VIP, and walking. They left this morning and I really wish they could have stayed longer. Tuesday night was the best because we went to a Mardi Gras carnival at Sitges. There was a huge parade and all these buses took the barcelona kids there. The buses left at 11 pm and brought us back at 5 am. Breakfast was served on the bus, but I did have class the next day. It actually wasn't bad because my art history class took a field trip to the Picasso museum and it was awesome. Today I think I will wind down and watch a movie.

Adeo

Have To Do Better

February 21, 2009

I have GOT to do better with these blogs. Last y'all heard I had booked my ticket to Sevilla and I actually returned from there last weekend. Kim came in town last weekend and I think she had a really good time. I hope she can come back again because she barely scratched the surface as far as things to do in the city. She did go with us to Sevilla, and she had fun there visiting Khaled with me. Kim treated me to so many dinners AND bought me groceries for the week so that was really nice! (she did eat alot of them though). It's so funny because Kim and I spend money so differently. She would rather have a nice meal and I would rather have a nice outfit. So when we went out she was ordering so much more than I EVER would, but I can't say I was ever hungry that week!

After kim left I went to class, finished reading my book Them, and relaxed. Now, it is Sunday and as I sit here typing one visitor has just left,Marquan is on the couch, and another is in a hotel. Sam Todd was visiting from Paris and he had a great time in Barcelona. It's hard not too. We went to Parc Guell, the beach, the marina, and took a walking tour of Barcelona. It is Michigan's Spring Break so Marquan and my other friend Jordan are visiting. They are going to Amsterdam wednesday through Friday,but they will be here for the rest of the time. Yesterday, we went to Parc Guell which is a very touristy park that overlooks the city. I was telling Marquan to be careful of the pickpocketers because they are always in groups of big people. It was so funny because Marquan said "pssssssh..I'm hip to the gypsies. Plus, I'm from Flint..I've seen worse people walk around than some pick pocketers!" He DID have a point and we all died laughing. Last night we went to club Lotus and we were VIP all night. Not a bad lifestyle eh?

Adeo

I'm Back

February 7, 2009

I know, I know, I have totally ignored my blog. I have been out the country, at clubs, at school (and not in that order). Anyway, it would take far too long to give details about everything so this time I will give quick "blog bullet points" of my last week.

• Geneva-cold, but fun. The town was small so there wasn't alot of nightlife, but it was cool to go to Switzerland. We were absolutely freezing so we ate..ALOT. Chocolate,crepes, more chocolate. Geneva is a very wealthy town so things were expensive. We stayed in the hostile for a night and it was clean, but kind of empty. We stayed on the France/Switzerland border so one morning we had breakfast in France and then walked around Geneva the rest of the day. Checkout was at 12:00 pm Saturday and our flight was at 7 am on Sunday so it was literally the longest day/night of my life. I will NEVER try to save money by shortchanging accomadations. That last night was miserable.


• Class- My classes are actually pretty hard. I don't know who let out the rumor that study abroad was easy because it is not. Well, all of my classes are in spanish except for one so that is kind of hard. My literature teacher must think we are native spaniards because she talks soooooo fast!!!


• Nightlife-Barcelona is the nightlife capital. Literally. Everynight there is something to do and everynight there is a swanky club to go to. Last night we went to a hotel party and the bar had all white couches and madonna music blaring. it was very trendy and fun. All of the Barcelona girls dress SO cute so ofcourse us atlanta girls try to catch up
• Visitors-Alex Johnson(a friend from highschool) is in town because she is studying abroad in Paris and wanted to see us for the weekend. Tomorrow Kim comes in for a week. Also in the future..Marquan,Lauren Doraghazi, and Carmelle will all be coming for a week. I can't wait!!
• Travel-Booked Sevilla this weekend with my friends and sister. We are going to stay with Khaled El-Sawi. Hannah and I booked Paris for the last week of March. We will also do Amsterdam, Prague, and spring break. I will have to see my Spanish family too, but one thing at a time.
• Food-INCREDIBLE. so many restaurants to choose from and Tapas galore. Tapas are perfect for me because I love the portions. Believe it or not, my roomates and I try to do Europe moderately. Everyone who visits wants to know how much money to bring, but it definately just varies on what you want to do/how you want to live. I mean there are girls here who eat out everynight, buy 13 dollar drinks, and travel like its going out of style. We do splurge sometimes, but I think we have been doing a great job of cooking meals here, finding affordable flights, and pre-gaming at our apartment.

I love it more here everyday. I don't want April to come :)

Adios,

Robin B.

The Ball Is Rollin...

Monday, January 26th

Well, it´s official...we have booked our first trip! We are going to Geneva, Switzerland this Friday until Sunday. When I say we, I mean Me,Hannah,Nona,Breese, and Adam Shapiro who went to Woodward with us. We are staying in a hostel for one night and leaving Sunday at 7 am so we are just going to stay out ALL night and then go to the airport early the next morning so we dont have to pay for 2 nights. It may sound cheap..but hey we´re college kids trying to see Europe so we can manage. Today was my first day of classes other than Spanish. I am in the library now and I just had my mass media class. It doesn´t seem like it will be hard and the teacher´s english isnt the best. It will be interesting though because we study the media in all of these different countries not just america and spain. It´s Jeanne´s birthday today, but she is in Sevilla. GET THIS...she is going to stay in Europe and be an au pair for a spanish family. She loves it and is deciding to stay in Europe versus try to find a job in America..which is hard right now. Right now my roomates and I are really into booking trips. One of my friends is going to moracco this weekend,others to London, some to Dublin....EVERYWHERE. We are trying to do it all, but reallistically I want to leave having gone to 1. Switzerland 2. Amsterdam 3. Paris 4. Sevilla and then a spring break trip. We´ll see how that goes.. Oh, and the cafeteria food here is really good and really cheap. You can get pizza, salad, a drink, a dessert, and bread for 5 euro. So i think I will start making my big meal be at school and then eat a light dinner. We´re doing literally everything to save money for trips..We LOVE It here still. In fact, Granny asked yesterday if I was trying to be a full time spaniard. haha. Well, off to my next class which is a political science course about the Spanish government. Sounds great right? ha..we´ll see.

Adeo!

What a Week

January 23, 2009

Today is Friday. I am in my bed blogging and all of my roommates are on a wine-tasting excursion in Torres. I am going tomorrow because I had class today. We watched a movie in Spanish today and it was actually pretty good. Yesterday was pretty productive. After class I came home thinking I would need to meet the internet man, but he took one look at that box and left. I don’t really think he knew what the problem was…but I’m actually doing fine without the internet. Sure, there are some emails I may need to read, but I think I can manage without facebook for a while. It’s kind of refreshing. My roommates, on the other hand, are freaking. Nona had to get one lady told on the phone and Breese’s mom is supposedly calling today so we’ll see. Of course I said “Nona don’t be mean to our advisor” and Nona was like “Robin, you must not have seen these girls in our program”. She does have a point…a lot of the girls on our program are DIVAS. They couldn’t last one hour without their internet and we have been pretty patient. Nona, Breese, and I went shopping yesterday but every time someone found something we would say…trip to Morocco or cool shirt? Needless to say we didn’t buy anything. After shopping we went to have dinner at this pub which would have been cool to drink at, but not to eat. It was way too dark and noisy for my liking. I wanted to have a cute little tapas dinner so you can imagine how I felt paying 10 euros for a huge bacon burger. We’re trying this thing where we eat at a new restaurant once a week so I’ll be sure to have a good place in mind when it’s my turn to choose. We went to a VERY cool club called Opium and it was huge. 5 bars, on the beach, white couches…just amazing. This boy would not leave me alone and kept telling me I looked like Rihanna. Now, if anyone can enjoy a compliment it’s me, but I wanted to say “Dude, what are YOU drinking!?” Because Rihanna is a stretch. We took a taxi home at 4:15 and fell STRAIGHT to sleep. Actually, I’m pretty sure Hannah was trying to talk to me, but I was out as soon as my head hit that polka-dot pillow. I’m sure she will repeat the story when she gets back from the wine country…
Hasta manana

Half Way Through

January 21, 2009
Today is Wednesday and I had a Spanish quiz. WOO-WEE was that thing long. Truth be told, it wasn’t easy either. I think I probably got a B plus though. I can’t complain because I didn’t really study for it. Last night, we all went to a café to use their internet access. We all had our laptops, microphone, ipods, EVERYTHING. Everybody was looking at us, but we didn’t really care. The cashier asked me to help him with English so I told him the name of some food items on the menu. O yeah, yesterday I watched the inauguration on CNN.com which was good enough. Hannah watched it too which was cool because she voted for McCain and all. We both thought it was really good. Okay so here’s the deal..I’m going to volunteer 4 hours a week at an organization (if I pass the interview process). There are so many interesting ones, but here are my top 3 in no particular order.
1. Hospital Sant Joan Deu- I work with sick kids at the hospital. There parents don’t have time to be with them all day so I would have to sit with them and distract them from their illness and just keep them company. I would read them books, take them to the hospital library, paint, draw, etc.
2. Casal d’Infants del Raval- I would work with underprivileged children by helping them with homework, dance lessons, and artwork. The children in this program belong to different ethnic backgrounds and I think a lot of them are immigrants.
3. Sisal- If I work with this organization, I work solely with senior citizens in Barcelona. Their project is called ‘A granddaughter/grandson for a grandmother/grandfather’. My job is to help my senior citizen with daily life which includes keeping them company, taking them for a stroll, helping them buy groceries, going to the pharmacy to pick up their prescriptions, and playing the occasional games of dominoes or cards. The idea is to make the senior citizens feel as if they have a granddaughter. (I guess they’re all pretty lonely)
What do y’all think I should do?
Adios
Hasta luego

I'm Back

January 18, 2009
Today is Saturday January the 18th. Well…it is 5:47 in the morning so I guess technically its Sunday. Jeanne,Breese,Nona, Hannah and I just got back from club Elefante. It was so much fun and the girls got free champagne with entrance. We danced all night, and saw a lot of Americans. I even met a cute boy from Dartmouth (smile). Anyway, I haven’t been able to blog because our internet has been down. In a nutshell, I’ve gone to class, explored our neighborhood, and went grocery shopping. We have been having so much fun, but sleeping very late too. Tomorrow Jeanne leaves and Nona etc. start class on Monday. Barcelona gets better everyday. I will write more as more comes. Adeo!

My friends came!

January 12, 2009
Finally!!! Nona, Breese, and Hannah arrived in Barcelona. I had my first day of class today which went well. I rode the metro and listened to my ipod and had spanish class for two and a half hours... Howeer, after that I sprinted to the metro to meet my friends. I found out their room number and I was ecstatic to see them!!!!! They don't move in until Wednesday, but might consider moving in early. Tonight, Jeanne and I went to club Apollo with some spanish boys, Alex, Ramon, y Guillermo. Guillermo went to Emory for a semester so Jeanne knew him and it was great. He lives walking distance from me so it will be nice to know a local around my age. His house is very nice and he gave us good ham. haha. No, really ham straight from the leg. It's a delicacy. It is 5 am here and I have class tomorrow. Dios Mio!

Adeo,
Robin B.

La Sagrada Familia

January 11,2009
Today Jeanne and I woke up at 3 p.m...yes 3! I had my curtains close and we slept like babies. After getting some fruit for breakfast (or lunch rather) we took the metro to La Sagrada Familia which is a Roman Catholic church under construction and it began in 1882. I had to do a project on it once, but it is absolutely GORGEOUS in person. After this we got some snacks and headed home. At home we usually talk,talk,talk and read our maps. We have so much fun together. We were never that close growing up, but we have become great friends here and we have alot in common! I was even kind enough to let her borrow some pajamas (the poor thing only has like one pair ) because she is back-packing through Europe. Here I am thinking I took to little and she looked at my little closet like it was Beyonce's wardrobe. We were going to go to a quaint restaurant in Las Ramblas, but a boy-Max- from our group invited us over for dinner. Chinese food and wine for 5 euro at his place. His apartment is in an amazing location and it is very cozy. Everyone was glad to meet Jeanne and we had a ball. I asked Max all about the Gaza riots because he is a walking CNN station. No, really, he is the smartest 20 year old I have ever met. He goes to Berkely (as did both his parents) and he has been ALL OVER the world including Israel 3 times. He told me about Hamas and how they are a terrorist group, but they control everything and they do alot for their people. He also said that Israel appears to be bombing schools on purpose, but really Hamas, strategically, keeps all of their weapons in the basement of schools so in order for Israel to defend itself they have no choice but to destroy their weapons, but in doing so they kill civilians. He also said that before Israel bombs schools, they tell Hamas to evacuate the children..but Hamas never does. He is very smart, but he clearly knows this. I ask him alot about everything..and he loves to tell me. We will play into eachother well because I ask alot of questions and he has alot of answers. Now, Jeanne and I are ready for bed because we both start class tommorow! I am going to have a spanish partner where I help them with English and vice versa. I am also going to volunteer to teach english at the ymca. There is sooo much I want to do! Jeanne is signed up to move into her homestay but may end up staying with me because she doesn't know that much spanish. Today, she called her host family and she kept saying " yo arriba tommorow" which means "I up tomorrow". I kept correcting her and it was hilarious. I think she will be fine, but she is a little worried about communicating with them! Tomorrow, Hannah,Nona, and Breese(my roomates) will arrive! I can't wait!!! I absolutely love it here.

Adeo,
Robin B.

My apartment

My bed with the polka dots and hannahs

the first two pictures I put up! XOXO

Our patio

Our kitchen

Our eating area

More to come..I can't upload them all!

Jeanne comes to town..

January 10
Today was fabulous. Well, last night it rained but kids in my group went to a bar called Chupitos. It was a bar with just shots-175 shots to be exact. They had girl scout cookie, harry potter, bin laden,monica lewisky and many more so you can imagine what type of place this was. After that we tried to go to a club called Catwalk but decided against it. We got home at 4 am and I had to wake up at 9am to meet Jeanne at my apartment. She got a little lost, but when she finally made it I was SO happy. It was so great to see someone from home and I think I talked her head off! She will be abroad for 80 days (wants to stay longer, but there is a minimum if you don't have a visa). She has been to Paris, London, Amsterdam, and now she is in Barcelona and will stay with a family for a week. After that she is going to Madrid, Seville, Italy, Switzerland,Germany, Czecch Republic, and then back to Barcelona( I convinved her). Anyway she rode the train here, stayed in a hostel last night, but was ready to go today! She got 60 euro stolen from her in Amsterdam, but she has a really good attitude about it. In fact, she is paying for her trip over here. Well kind of- Her parents are still paying her car note, and her rent in Miami( no luck with a subletter) and some of her trip, but she is so in love with europe and will want to stay a while. Today we split paella which is a spanish seafood dish and after we had a chocolate waffle. The big event of our day was a protest against the violence in Gaza. At first it was interesting to see how passionate everyone was. I mean this protest was HUGE-singing,posters,cameras. However, it got a little intense and me and Jeanne had to leave! All we wanted was a chocolate waffle and we got caught in the drama. One sign was of the statue of liberty with a cnn tv and in spanish it said "who are the real terrorists?'. Another had an israeli flag +american flag that =nazi. One man held a fake baby doll with fake blood and had his shoe off (wanting to throw it at Bush). Signs in spanish said Bush was an asassin and others had an american fork eating kids. One man explained to me that America likes to just watch things happen and he hated Bush. I am not a Bush fan myself, but these signs were terrible. The spanish people are very nice though, I never felt unsafe, just claustrophobic. I haven't been here long but already love learning how the world works. I would never get to see a protest like that at home (maybe in Ann Arbor), but never Georgia. I guess the Europeans are right because while they were out there protesting violence I was just trying to find a chocolate dessert. It really gave Jeanne and I pause...We need to step up our political game/ world knowledge. It is 10:41 pm here..we are going to go out..

Hasta luego-Robin

Busy, Busy,Busy

January 9, 2009
Today I got to sleep in...well atleast until 11:30. Then I had to go to orientation at Pompeu Fabra, which wasn't really orientation. I ended up placing into advanced spanish classes so I did better than I thought! I start classes on Monday so I will be forced to ride the metro which I have been strategically avoiding. After class, my friends(Katie, Alana,Lisa) and I ran so many errands. We went to exchange money,buy them groceries, buy cellphones(mom: DO NOT freak. I got 'pay as you go' plan and its cheap here. I will need it to call friends here. and for safety). Customer service in Spain is nonexistent. They move really slow, but are nice when they are actually serving you. For lunch I had "menu del dia" which included a coke, a salad, bread and tomato and cheese, sausage with beans, and a little dessert trio..all for 10 euro. I think all my money will go to travelling and metro rides because when my roomates get here we will grocery shop and I won't eat out AS much. I think cereal will do in the morning, I will splurge on lunches, and then dinners will be light tapas and wine.Tonight we are going out, but I don't know what we will be doing. There is soooo much to do here. Tomorrow I will go back to my apartment because my friend, Jeannie Lyons, is staying the night with me. She is from Atlanta (Went to Woodward, we cheered together in middle school, and she was Sandy Creek hc queen). Anyway, now she goes to U. of Miami and is travelling around Europe for the semester. It will be good to visit my place since I darted out of there the first day when I was "devastated". It will be fun to explore my neighborhood. Until tomorrow..

Adeo

Placement Exam

January 8, 2009

Today I had to wake up at 9 to take a 3 hours placement exam. It consisted of a multiple choice section, an essay, and an interview. I don't really know how I did because it was so long. I actually enjoy speaking in spanish so the interview was not scary to me. You can either be in beginner,intermediate,advanced, or proficient. I know I will not be proficient so it's a tossup between intermediate and advanced. After the exam some of the girls in my group went to a cafe to eat. I got a sketchy sandwhich which was okay, but I don't like meat if I can't tell exactly what it is. After that, we went on a walking tour through the city. My friends and I were very tires, but I'm glad we stayed because I saw most of the city. It was beautiful and has alot of museums and bakeries. Spain has so much history so it is cool to be in a city that is fun,beachy, and cultural. There are also two languages in Spain :spanish and catalan. Catalan is a mix of french and spanish (or sounds like it) so I am getting 2 languages for the price of one. After the tour, we had churros and chocolate then we went home. For dinner, we went to a restaurant right by our(their) apartment and had a nice meal. I had ravioli, Alana had fish, Lisa had salad, and Katie had gnocci. We fell asleep pretty quickly because we were sooo tired, plus they live on the top floor and we have to walk up 157 steps( I counted).

Adeo,
Robin

Slowly but Surely

January 7, 2009

My roomates from home( hannah, nona, and breese) do not arrive until Monday so I was not thrilled like everyoneelse to move into our apartments. I knew I couldn't take another night like last night so I asked these three girls if I could live with them. They said yes and couldn't believe I was going to have to stay alone. I love it when people know exactly what you're talking about. Today was SO MUCH BETTER. I was just so sad last night, but I made things happen today. I still had to go to my apartment which was cute, but I literally took the tour then took a cab to these girls' apartment. I consider myself to be pretty independent, but with no roomates, no english, no t.v., and in a new city...that was not going to fly. Anyway, the girls I am living with now live in a neighborhood called "El Born". It is really trendy and they have really cute restaurant. My apartment is cuter, but they have a better location. They can walk to school, but I have to take the metro. When I told my orientation leader I was nervous about the metro, she did not understand why. I didn't feel like explaining the Marta system to her in spanish, but I think she caught my drift. The metro is extremely clean, but full of pickpocketers. These people who pick pocket do it as a living, not on the side. My teacher said she's seen so many good tricks that one time she felt like clapping. Sometimes they try to act nice and ask if you want your picture taken.. then jet off with your camera. Other times they ride by on motorcycles and just snatch. The list goes on, but I have been VERY alert which is good and bad. I sure don't want my things getting taken, but I don't like expecting the worst in people and sometimes I think people have hidden agendas when maybe they are just trying to help. Overall, today was better. Tommorrow I have to wake up early and take a placement exam. I'm just SO happy I am not alone in that apartment.
Adeo(goodbye in Catalan)
Robin B.

Bienvenidos a Espana

January 6,2009

This was my first day in Barcelona, but I never left the hotel. When the taxi transfered me to my hotel, I went to my room and slept until dinner at 8:30. I don't have an alarm clock so I kept waking up to make sure I didn't miss anything. I was supposed to have two roomates during orientation, but neither showed. One was stuck in Munich and the other one (I later found out) was with her parents at another hotel. Therefore, I was in a suite alone. It was dark and lonely, and you bet your bottom doller I cried myself to sleep. I hate when people play the victim card, especially during such trivial situations, but I really was feeling sad. I had no roomates and my specific program only has 11 kids so it was hard for me to meet people that first day. I called my mom and she even felt a little bad for me (and she is not one to entertain foolishness). I didn't want to call home because that makes me more homesick, but desperate times call for desperate measures :). I tried reading a book( the setting was in atlanta which didn't help), then I turned on the news (that was so graphic and scary), so the only other thing was to call my mom. I don't know if that was good or not, but she always makes me feel better!
Hasta luego, Robin

The Flight

January 5th 2009
The flight to Barcelona was not bad at all. Maybe because I am used to 11 hour drives now or maybe because I was in first class. I’ll go with the latter. I feel like I’m a freshman all over again, but it seems silly to compare a flight to Detroit and a flight to Barcelona. I was seat 1F and it was amazing. The lady next to me was nice enough and to the left of me was the most gorgeous Spanish family ever. Anyway, I had my own t.v. so I made a playlist (which was better than my ipod) and I watched Lakeview Terrace with Samuel L. Jackson (I don’t know why I chose this over Nights in Rodanthe). They had so many cool, new movies including Batman so you know Delta was up to date. They offered me a lot of wine but I had coke and water. My dinner was as follows…
First course: Hummus, Thai Chicken and Coconut Soup, and Spinach salad with goat cheese, tomato, and onion.
Main course: Crab Cakes and chili aioli, accompanied by baked spaghetti squash and a snow pea and fennel medley
Dessert:All natural vanilla ice cream sundae with mixed berries and garnished with a pirouline cookie.
After dinner, I just went to sleep and before I knew it I was landing. I wish the flight had been longer because it was so comfortable and I was/am really nervous. After lugging my overweight bags, I took a taxi to my hotel. I really would have preferred to wait on the other CEA student at the airport, but my CEA advisor kept saying “I bet you want to go to the hotel don’t you!”. So it was kind of a leading question. Anyway, now I am at the hotel, I have no idea what time it is, and my room isn’t ready so I’m in the lobby reading an Elle magazine about Beyonce and Jay-Z’s baby plans. Hasta Manana-Robin