It's my third day here and I think I'm starting to get the hang of life here. It's difficult to say because I have not yet adjusted to the time difference, so I sleep at strange times. For example, My first full day I woke up with the family, and then fell back asleep after the girls had gone to school. I woke up in time to walk around during the hottest part of the day before having to pick up the girls, something I don't recommend to those who don't like the heat. I forgot my water bottle, but I managed to find a Burger King so I could buy a bottle of mineral water. It has been very frustrating trying to communicate here, because many things are in Catalan, which I don't know at all.
My house(or flat) is at the top floor of an apartment building on a quiet street off of Av. Diagonal, the main street that runs through all of Barcelona. There are two stories to the flat, the first floor has a living room/dining room, a small kitchen, and an even smaller laundry room. There is also my bedroom and the girls bedroom as well as 2 bathrooms, one that is large with a toilet, shower, and long counter/sink. There is also a bidet, but...I don't use it. I'm not sure it even works, the girls have balloons in there, so I think maybe it doesn't. The other bathroom is just a sink and toilet. The second floor has the parent's(A and E) room, bathroom, study and a workout room. There is also a huge terrace where we have eaten dinner every night. On the terrace is also a hot tub!
My bedroom is pretty small, but suits me very well. I have a small twin bed, and a desk as well as lots of closet space. I was worried I wouldn't have enough space for my things, but I do. Hopefully I won't accumulate too much stuff. The family gave me a beautiful book of pictures of Barcelona, and they also bought me a hamper to put my dirty clothes in. It really feels like I'm part of their family.
My first night here they picked me up from the airport, and brought me back to the house. They gave me a tour and I was able to unpack before "a typical Spanish meal". I can most certainly say that the food here agrees with me! We listening to M, the older girl, give a presentation on Sevilla in Catalan. It was very good, or what I could understand, which was very few words.
My second day, I made it to L'illa Shopping Center, which is only a couple blocks from my home. I also made it to one of the gardens in the area, but I didn't stay long enough to get the name...I went home for lunch with E and A and we practiced English, they mostly drilled me on my background. :) Later, I went with E to find out the route to take to pick up the girls around 5:00pm, she had a meeting to go to so I went and read my book. During our time on the bus and waiting for the girls, we practiced English some more. We discussed the differences between "to go", "to come", and giving directions. I also taught her the difference between "get on/get off" and "go up/go down". Many of the things I've taught have double meanings depending on the situation. We took the girls to Kumon(!) and she showed me what Cortes Ingles is. It's sort of like a Walmart and Ikea...the conveniences and largess of a Walmart, and the furniture of an Ikea...but without the overwhelming being trapped to go through the whole thing. I took a nap when we got home and woke up when the girls went to bed and ate dinner.
Yesterday, I managed to wake up early but missed getting up with the family. I'm working on it! I instead decided to walk the other direction down Av. Diagonal and wound up getting pretty lost. I eventually found an area that was heavy with tourists, and somehow managed to make it to Av. Catedral which has one of the most famous Cathedrals on it. I wasn't able to go inside because my clothing was not appropriate, but I did go into Museo Diocensa de Barcelona, which featured an exhibition on remaking Italian Renaissance gowns and Gaudi, a very famous architect. The museum itself was housed inside what used to be a Roman tower and tomb. It was also nice to be in the air conditioning for a little bit! Afterwards, I found my way to La Rambla, where I was able to find souvenir stores and take in the more popular sights. I made it to the port, and then turned around to go back up. But it was fascinating to see! There are many different places along la Rambla, and I will have to go back to take it all in. A warned me to be very careful since it is also a very popular spot for pickpockets. When I got home, I ate lunch with E and took a loooong nap. I woke up and helped M study for her English exam. Since she is learning positions like "in", "behind", "next to", ect, we played a game where I put a balloon in various places around a box and she told me what they were in English. This was very fun for us! We also worked on the difference between present and past verbs, which were much more difficult for her. Afterwards, we had dinner and we all went to bed.
Tomorrow, we are going to D'Argo where the family has a beach house. Hello sun and sand!
My house(or flat) is at the top floor of an apartment building on a quiet street off of Av. Diagonal, the main street that runs through all of Barcelona. There are two stories to the flat, the first floor has a living room/dining room, a small kitchen, and an even smaller laundry room. There is also my bedroom and the girls bedroom as well as 2 bathrooms, one that is large with a toilet, shower, and long counter/sink. There is also a bidet, but...I don't use it. I'm not sure it even works, the girls have balloons in there, so I think maybe it doesn't. The other bathroom is just a sink and toilet. The second floor has the parent's(A and E) room, bathroom, study and a workout room. There is also a huge terrace where we have eaten dinner every night. On the terrace is also a hot tub!
My bedroom is pretty small, but suits me very well. I have a small twin bed, and a desk as well as lots of closet space. I was worried I wouldn't have enough space for my things, but I do. Hopefully I won't accumulate too much stuff. The family gave me a beautiful book of pictures of Barcelona, and they also bought me a hamper to put my dirty clothes in. It really feels like I'm part of their family.
My first night here they picked me up from the airport, and brought me back to the house. They gave me a tour and I was able to unpack before "a typical Spanish meal". I can most certainly say that the food here agrees with me! We listening to M, the older girl, give a presentation on Sevilla in Catalan. It was very good, or what I could understand, which was very few words.
My second day, I made it to L'illa Shopping Center, which is only a couple blocks from my home. I also made it to one of the gardens in the area, but I didn't stay long enough to get the name...I went home for lunch with E and A and we practiced English, they mostly drilled me on my background. :) Later, I went with E to find out the route to take to pick up the girls around 5:00pm, she had a meeting to go to so I went and read my book. During our time on the bus and waiting for the girls, we practiced English some more. We discussed the differences between "to go", "to come", and giving directions. I also taught her the difference between "get on/get off" and "go up/go down". Many of the things I've taught have double meanings depending on the situation. We took the girls to Kumon(!) and she showed me what Cortes Ingles is. It's sort of like a Walmart and Ikea...the conveniences and largess of a Walmart, and the furniture of an Ikea...but without the overwhelming being trapped to go through the whole thing. I took a nap when we got home and woke up when the girls went to bed and ate dinner.
Yesterday, I managed to wake up early but missed getting up with the family. I'm working on it! I instead decided to walk the other direction down Av. Diagonal and wound up getting pretty lost. I eventually found an area that was heavy with tourists, and somehow managed to make it to Av. Catedral which has one of the most famous Cathedrals on it. I wasn't able to go inside because my clothing was not appropriate, but I did go into Museo Diocensa de Barcelona, which featured an exhibition on remaking Italian Renaissance gowns and Gaudi, a very famous architect. The museum itself was housed inside what used to be a Roman tower and tomb. It was also nice to be in the air conditioning for a little bit! Afterwards, I found my way to La Rambla, where I was able to find souvenir stores and take in the more popular sights. I made it to the port, and then turned around to go back up. But it was fascinating to see! There are many different places along la Rambla, and I will have to go back to take it all in. A warned me to be very careful since it is also a very popular spot for pickpockets. When I got home, I ate lunch with E and took a loooong nap. I woke up and helped M study for her English exam. Since she is learning positions like "in", "behind", "next to", ect, we played a game where I put a balloon in various places around a box and she told me what they were in English. This was very fun for us! We also worked on the difference between present and past verbs, which were much more difficult for her. Afterwards, we had dinner and we all went to bed.
Tomorrow, we are going to D'Argo where the family has a beach house. Hello sun and sand!
