Day 16 - Things That Suck

I've been told that bloggers should refrain from venting and unleashing on the internet. I understand that this is not some public forum where I can express my thoughts and frustrations. That's not what public forums are for.


Oh wait, yes it is. In that case here goes nothing.


Things that suck when you're in a foreign country:

• Losing your ATM card
• Food poisoning
• Homesickness (and the inaccessibility of all things home-y)

There are countless other things that could be worse: kidnapping, rape, death, family emergencies, etc. But at the same time, turning green and getting sick all up in a hotel room an a weekend school trip is no walk in the park. Neither is convincing the the 5th Indian customer service representative you've worked with in the past 4 hours that A) yes, you are studying in a foreign country, B) no, you cannot call from your cell phone, C) no, you cannot receive mail, and D) you MUST HAVE money for your expensive trip to Rome planned for the weekend.

I guess all is well that ends well. And it ended well! I am eating normal food, now have money, and realized that I should be enjoying my time in Barcelona, not thinking about how much easier the past week would have been at home.And to be completely honest, my Study Journey to the Northeastern coast of Spain, called Costa Brava (Brave Coast), started off swimmingly (Har har). I stayed in Girona both nights, but during the day I had some amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experiences.

Beautiful Girona!

On Friday, IES split the students up into two groups. One group went to the South of France, but my group went to Thetre Museum Dalí in Figueres. The Salvador Dalí museum was literally out of this world. The whole place was peppered with symbolic sculptures and some of the most amazing paintings I have ever seen. My personal favorite was the ceiling in his bedroom.

It would take me MONTHS to describe all the symbolism in this painting.

After the Dalí museum, we headed back to Girona for the night. Now... the next day was my birthday! My 20th birthday, was, hands down, the best birthday I have ever had. We started the day with a somber visit to Museo Memorial de l'Exili (Memorial Museum of the Exiled), a museum dedicated to personifying and preserving the history of the Spanish Civil War and, more specifically, the exile of the Republicans after losing to the hands of general Francisco Franco. It was a powerful museum.

Next, we took a short bus ride to Collioure, France, for a quick stop above the Spanish/Cataluñan border. It was here where we visitied the grave of Antonio Machado, a Spanish poet and unofficial representative of the Republican struggle during the Spanish Civil War. At this point I had almost five hours to spend in beautiful Southern France. I explored the city, laid on the beach, and, most importantly, I ate French food.


Seriously... it was the best food I've ever had. When someone tells you that French cuisine is the best, you listen. I had a fromage and Sardine panini with Crêpe Citron. Magnifique. I must've reminded myself to take a picture for the blog almost 1000 times, but by the time I went to take a picture, the food had mysteriously disappeared. Oops.

A for effort.

Birthday Guinness!

That night, some friends and I went out and had quite a bit of fun. I spent the night with good friends, in a beautiful vibrant city. In fact, I celebrated with a birthday Guinness! (Libby, I forgive you for losing my glass. :) )


The rest, is well, history. I got home, got horribly ill, and spent the next few days trying to orchestrate a trans-atlantic customer service fiasco whilst getting over a debilitating bout of food poisoning. It wasn't pretty.


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And here I am! Tomorrow, Me, Libby, Kyle, and Shaina all leave for Rome. We have plans to see the Vatican museums, St. Peter's Basilica, the Forum, the Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain, and the Galleria Borghese (home of the famous David)! Not to mention we might meet up with a friend and classmate of mine, David, who is studying in Rome this summer! 

From left to right: Kyle, Libby, Me, and Shaina.

Can't wait for an amazing weekend in Rome. Here's to eating whole food, paying with cash (for once), and figuring out how to live life in an unfamiliar world. Oh I almost forgot, my Spanish is getting much better!


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