Domingo

It was absolutely beautiful in Barcelona today. Lots and lots of sunshine. Last night my host mom told me to sleep as much as I wanted, and I guess I took that pretty literally. I slept until noon, which was really 1pm because we advanced the clocks last night. I has some cereal for breakfast and soon after, Amparo (my host mom) returned from church and started to cook lunch. 

For lunch, we ate outside on la terraza (the little balcony outside overlooking the street). First we ate little slices of meat, chunks of cheese, and potato chips, while the main meal cooked. She made me a big plate of rice with a fried egg on top and then she poured some smooth tomato sauce, kind of like ketchup, on the side. It looked weird, but it tasted really good! Then I had some chicken. And dessert was vanilla ice cream con nata (whipped cream). 

In the afternoon, I met up with three kids on my program in the newer part of the city. I walked to my friend Mary's apartment and then we took the tram out to meet two other kids. We learned that the doors of the tram don't open automatically, you have to push a button. Too bad we learned that only after we missed our stop. Oh well! We walked back and found the boys from Dartmouth. The apartment buildings in that area were very nice. John's building had an enclosed courtyard with a swimming pool, so we laid in the sun for a while. It feels like summer to us because we are used to Hanover weather. But I guess it doesn't feel like summer to the Spaniards, because people walk around all bundled up and nobody would even think about swimming this time of year. 

We walked around for a bit and then tried to find a place to eat. Most of the businesses and cafes were closed today because it is Sunday and Spain is a Catholic country. We took the tram back and found a Subway restaurant. It was nice to see American food. By that point it was almost 8pm and time to go home for dinner. I'm rather impressed that I found my way back. Cities are confusing. When I got home Ampara was busy cooking again. 

For dinner, she made "una tortilla" which was kind of like an omelet. The outside was an egg, and inside it was kind of like mashed potatoes. The whole thing was warm and delicious. Then I had some fish and for dessert, an apple and some yogurt. During dinner, we watched the news because there is a big election going on. It was the only thing they were talking about on all of the TV channels. But for some reason, and Amparo explained this but I didn't understand, only 2 provinces in Spain voted. It's kind of nice to watch TV during meals because having a conversation is a lot of work. 

After dinner it was pretty late and we watched part of a movie that I didn't understand. It's interesting that nearly all of the movies are English movies that have Spanish voiceovers. It's a little strange to see that the mouth movements do not match the words you hear, but it doesn't seem to phase Amparo, who told me she loves to watch movies. 

Tomorrow is the first day of classes and I'll finally meet all the other students on my LSA.

 ¡Hasta manana!