Journal Entry June 25th 11:51 am

June 25th 11:51 am (BT)

I spent nearly all of yesterday sleeping. I now understand the definition of jetlag on a personal level. I slept most of the day and a solid 7 hours at night too.

Since I spent most of yesterday in bed I decided today would be my walking day. I left at around 9:30 in hopes of finding my school, I think I got most of the way there but I never found it. I started to get weak and dizzy so I headed back to the apartment.

On the way back I was "brave" and went into a store and bought gatorade. Now I at least have a bottle for water. So I spent the first two hours today walking and now my body wants to spend the next couple sleeping again! I just may, since my internet still won't work and I still have no food. (Thank goodness I brought those granola bars!)

2:39 pm (After nap)

So I tried to dress "not American" this morning as much as I could. It didn't work! I still stuck out and had people looking at me a lot.

Europeans really wear very subdued neutral colors and nobody was wearing shorts even though the temperature is in the 80s! Even when I dressed simple and subdued it wasn't nearly enough. Also I don't know about other European cities but in Barcelona the people are very friendly and helpful.

I wish I had a high-budget film crew like they do on the Travel Channel shows. It would be really cool to have a hidden camera and walk through the city. If you just walk around you are bombarded by everything; the sights, the smells, the sounds.

People hang their laundry off their balconies here to let it dry, some people might find it unsightly or embarrassing but to me the colors floating in the breeze just add to the beauty and charm of the city. The smells are very different from home too. I smell the breeze and the neighbors cooking bacon or ham for lunch. Someone hangs their clothes to dry and it adds a gentle scent of detergent into the air. Luna washes the dishes and it leaves the faint smell of mint (from the soap) it's fascinating really.

Now for the sounds..... where to begin? A nearby neighbor has a baby, yes it cries a lot, but it's beautiful to hear the parents talking to and playing with him. The sound of people just going through their daily lives with no idea that they are being listened to. There are dogs that bark, radios, tvs, talking, laughing, and tonight there is cheering (Spain plays in the World Cup tonight). These sounds are all just from in my room. If I go outside there are new ones. On the streets you hear cars, construction, and shopkeepers and passersby calling out hello to one another. Even now I hear church bells.

These are very different sounds, smells and sights from at home. At home you hear the wind through the leaves, the birds calling back and forth, the dogs barking as they chase the birds, a distant train whistle, the low moo of the cows at the farm down the road. The smells at the house are equally different. You smell smoke just before the smoke detector goes off to say that dinner is ready, shampoo scents float down the hallway from the bathroom, and occassionally the smell of wet dogs when they come in after it rains. The sights at home are like from a different world than here. Deer in the tall grass watch the house curiously while rabbits sneak in to eat Dad's garden, trees waving in the wind, a cat or two wandering aimlessly across the lawn.

One funny thing I noticed is that despite Barcelona's size and population nobody seems to be in a hurry. People meander about, talking and smiling as they go. Compared to the people of Barcelona those in Chicago and New York practically run everywhere they go.

7:32pm

I finally met Dan my other roommate. He is very nice as well. He is British. He said he has been here for a year and a half now. He took the course I am taking and has been teaching since then. It's really cool to hear of someone doing what I hope to be doing, it is even more cool that I live with him.