Last week of school, The Costa Brava, and then the Flu. AGAIN.

This was our last real week of classes, we only have exams this upcoming week and I only have 3 days left in Barcelona because I am going to be traveling to other places my last week here. So, here's a recap.

Wednesday - The presentation that I put together turned out pretty good. We were the last group to go. The teachers were so ridiculous that I just wanted to slap them. They told us what the wanted us to do, we did it, and then the criticized us and it was not constructive criticism. I don't know, that whole class is just so ridiculous and I hate it with a passion. Event management = shit. I'm so glad that it's over and that we only have the exam left this week. After this class I was pretty mad and I went home with everyone. I did some grocery shopping and spent 30 Euros which I think is the most I've ever spent at the grocery store. I got a lot of stuff and hopefully I only have to go back for a few items this week. lol After the store I came home and then as soon as I got home Goncalo came over and I went with him to pick up his suit or something and then I ended up running a bunch of errands with him. He wanted to hear all about my trip to Madrid because he's been there many times and what not. After I got home I cooked dinner, I made chicken with rosemary, olive oil, oregano, mushrooms, and onions with pasta. It was pretty good. I thought it was kinda bland personally but everyone else swears it was good. After dinner I study for my Catalan exam for the next morning and then I went to bed.

Thursday - Woke up around 9 because we had to be to school early to take a picture. We ended up getting there right after they had taken it though. We drew names for secret santa because we decided that we should all get together this weekend and exchange small gifts. After this we went to Catalan to take our exam. I thought I did better on this one than the Spanish one. It was a little bit easier and I guess it didn't cover as much information so it was easier to study for this one. After the exam I went to the CDT with Alex and worked on my presentation for next class, we had to research a spanish painting and present it to the class. Before class Alex and I grabbed a quick bite to eat at this new cafe that opened up near the school. It was ok and it was a little pricey. As for class, I picked Goya's Shootings of May 3rd and turns out 2 other girls also picked this painting and I was the last to present it and I didn't really have anything to say because they had already said everything! So, whatever, class was boring and afterwards we came home and then I took a much needed nap and didn't wake up till almost 11!

After I woke up I got something to eat and then ran a quick errand before Alex and I went out to Sutton to live it up! We had a good time, the music was good when we got there but then it quickly turned into just house music and we left around 4:30. The entire night was quite the adventure and some nasty guy flashed his penis at us because we wouldn't buy drugs from him at the bus stop! lol That's Barcelona for ya! lol We got home around 5:30ish and I went to bed because I had to be up at 9 to get things ready because I was going to go to the Costa Brava for the day with Goncalo. Well, we had planned on catching the 11:13 train but we actually caught the 12:15 train and then it was about an hour or so train ride up the coast. It was a beautiful train ride because you could see the beach almost the whole way there. We stopped first at Pineda de Mar, ate lunch at a little beach-front cafe and lounged on the beach for a while even though it was a little cold it was just nice to be beside the waves with the sun shining on your face. It's moments like these that I wish I could capture in photos but it's just impossible. I've had a lot of those moments on this trip and it's so hard to describe this trip with words or photos because Spain, as well as other places in Europe, is just something you have to experience for yourself. It's beauty is indescribable. After this we headed to Llorret de Mar further up the coast and it was one of the prettiest beaches I have ever seen. The water was so clear and we got there right at sunset so it was beautiful to watch the sun go down over the sea. This town was very touristy, it was full of hotels and touristy things like casinos, arcades, mini golf, and other things but, at this time of year it’s completely empty and a lot of the business are closed or shut down for the winter season because there aren’t any tourists. The majority of the Costa Brava is like this. We stayed here for a little while, walked around, bought some stuff, and then we decided that we would rather stay at one of the quiter beach towns down the coast so we took the bus back to the station, caught the train and picked Arenys de Mar to stop. Well, turns out, this town only had 2 hostels and both were really expensive. We couldn’t understand why, I didn’t think that we looked that touristy but I guess maybe we did? We decided to try a different town and we ended up finding a place to stay that was reasonable. It wasn’t the nicest place but it wasn’t the worst place that I’ve ever stayed. It was very quiet which is what we wanted. After we found a place to stay we grabbed some pizzas for dinner. They were good except for the fact that I found a hair in mine. Gross, ugh. We were really tired and were unconscious by 12.

The next morning I woke up so thirsty around 8:30 in the morning. I was having a hard time sleeping all night so I was still pretty tired. I went downstairs assuming that someone would be there at the front desk or making breakfast in the restaurant but it was like a ghost town, there was no one in sight. I was so thirsty and I spotted a bottle of water on a table so I poured myself a glass, drank some, and went back upstairs and tried to fall back asleep. This time, I woke up around 11 and just simply could not sleep anymore. I got up, got a shower and got ready for the day. I had to wait for Goncalo to get ready. We ate some cereal, some oranges, and some chocolate for breakfast. Very healthy, I know. We left around 2 or 3, went down to the beach, checked it out and then decided that we wanted some lunch. Turns out, everything in this little town is closed on Saturday. We didn’t understand why but it seems as if there wasn’t a single restaurant open to eat at. We ended up eating at the hostel restaurant because they had paella and I really wanted some paella. And as the story goes…of course they didn’t have paella, and then the chicken that I wanted was going to take to long to make and the guy was speaking terrible English and terrible Spanish to the point where we couldn’t understand him so I just said, “I’ll have the same as him” in Spanish of course (and having no idea what he ordered.) After he left I asked Goncalo what he ordered, it was steak or something along those lines. We also had some wine and when it came he poured me a taste and I immediately found 2 little nats or fruit fly bugs floating around in it. I’m really hoping that they were already in the glass because if not then that was really gross. As you can tell, I was not having the best luck with food this weekend. Lol First a hair, and then a bug, I just don’t handle that kind of stuff well normally but here it’s different and you just have to learn how to deal with it. So, our food came out and it was pretty good. I really enjoyed it and after we had finished we stumbled upon a Christmas market on the way to the train station so we stopped and had a chocolate crepe at this little tent that was being run by middle school aged kids, they were pretty cute and the crepe was so good. We didn’t have to wait long for the train and we made one more stop in another town to walk along the beach and then we got back on the train and headed for Barcelona. I started feeling kinda sick about 15 outside the center of Barca. At first I felt really hot then like I was going to throw up everywhere, and then really dizzy like the room was spinning and then at this one stop some stupid girl got on with her dog and a bunch of crap and she started arguing with these guys on the metro and she was slapping him and then she kicked one of them, it was a very uncomfortable situation and they were speaking in Catalan so neither of us could understand what was going on. They all got off the train at the next stop though so it wasn’t a huge deal. So, we finally arrive in Plaza Catalunya and I’m still feeling pretty sick. We were walking out of the metro and we were almost home so I didn’t want to say anything to Goncalo about feeling bad but he kept asking me if I was ok and I kept saying yes and of course I felt bad for lying but then I felt like I was going to puke everywhere so I had to run to a trash can and then obviously he could tell something was wrong. I couldn’t throw up but it felt like it kept coming up ya know. He was really scared and wanted to go to the hospital but I told him it’s no big deal that I’m just sick. Well, we got home and I got into bed and at this point I was feeling pretty awful I was shaking uncontrollably, I couldn’t catch my breathe, my whole body was hurting especially my lower back, I had a migrane headache, and I had a fever of 101.8. I was in a lot of pain for some reason and I wasn’t sure what was wrong. I took some IB Profen and then I asked Alex to bring my computer back to my room so that I could call my mom and ask her what I should do… well she brings it back but the internet isn’t connected to it so I tell her to ask Stephanie if I can use it and she says well when I’m done with it and Alex in turn asked her and do you think that’ll be like 5 mins? And she said…well I’m busy doing something (AKA facebook) so whenever I’m done you can use it. I was pretty pissed off and when Alex came back and told me this I called her something really mean and if I would have had the energy to pull myself up out of bed I probably would have gone out there myself to bitch slap her and take the internet for myself. When it’s hooked up to my computer everyone can use it so therefore she could have continued whatever she was doing within a 2-minute period. She knew that I was sick and she knew I wanted to call my mom so that makes me even angrier that she can be such a bitch. I really honestly don’t like her and I only have to see her ugly, linebacker self for 3 more days! Thank goodness! So, I finally got the internet, called my mom and of course the first thing she says is swine flu. I wasn’t really sure and I didn’t want to pay money to see a doctor because here my insurance doesn’t work ya know so I decided to tough it out. However, I was really upset that I wasn’t going to get to go to the gift exchange/Erasmus party with everyone. I also still had to buy my person a gift so I sent Goncalo out with some money and he picked out a very nice t-shirt and took it to the party with my best wishes. When he got back from shopping he wanted to make me a soup so with the help of Sam they made the saltiest soup I have ever tasted. It was like sipping salt water and after I had finished it I probably could have had a heart attack from the salt overdose! I didn’t really care too much at this point though. I know they were just doing their best to make me feel better. Alex took really good care of me but, her and Goncalo both wanted to take care of me and there was definitely a little bit of clashing in this aspect. Lol Stephanie of course didn’t seem the least bit phased and Sam, well he’s a guy, and he asked me if I needed anything and he helped make my soup so he was helpful. After they made me my soup they all left for the black sheep where everyone was meeting and I passed out!

I was sleeping so sound until about 4:30 am when I heard my roommates come in. Everyone was very drunk and Alex came in to my room, jumped onto my bed, and woke me up and started telling me all these stories and crap, I just rolled back over and went to sleep but she ended up sleeping in my bed which was probably not a good idea on her part. I didn’t wake up until about 1 o’clock today. I was so tired and I think my fever finally broke around 11 because I woke up sweating really bad about this time, used the bathroom, and got back in bed. After I woke up at 1 I got a shower and had a bowl of cereal for breakfast, probably not the best idea because I was still really nauseas and then after I ate it I felt even worse. So, Alex proceed to tell me all about last night. It was a pretty eventful evening and it sounded like fun but at the same time it sounded a little too crazy so I’m glad I wasn’t there for some of it. Alex was so drunk that she kept talking to people on the street, Sam got in a fight and has a nice cut above his eye to prove it, and then I heard that Stephanie was actually a lot of fun – I would have loved to have been there to see this one, so out of the ordinary for her! I didn’t really do much else today. I did some laundry to get ready for my last week here and then I went out to mail something and buy a new thermometer because I accidentally broke Goncalo’s (and let me just say, thermometer´s are not cheap!). He stopped by to see how I was doing and then him and Sam went to play tennis and when he got back I went over to his place because he made a wonderful vegetable soup and it was honestly one of the best vegetable soups I’ve ever had, plus he emulsified it so that I was easier for me to eat! I ate soup while I had to watch him eat pasta, salad, and steak. Ugh, It looked so good but at this point my stomach just can’t handle something like that. After this I headed back home and now I’m getting ready to head to bed, I have a very busy week ahead of me. I definitely feel better today but I still don’t feel 100% back to normal. I think that maybe it was just a 24 hour stomach flu but I’ve never had it come on so suddenly like that and be so painful. I’m not sure what was wrong but I feel better today so thank god for that! I’m glad that it happened right when we were getting back too or that could have really ruined my weekend. The Costa Brava was gorgeous and I would love to go back sometime during the summer.

As for this week…

The last 3 days of my undergrad career start tomorrow. It´s so weird to think that I´m completely done with my Bachelor´s Degree after wednesday!
Monday -We have an exam tomorrow at 12 and then a class at 3.
Tuesday we have an exam at 12.
Wendesday we have another exam at 12
Thursday – I fly to Granada to see the Alhambra and the Sierra Nevada.
Saturday – I fly to Lisbon to sip port wine and to spend my last four days in Europe.
Tuesday – I fly back to Barcelona late, I will probably go out one last time, pack and then early Wednesday morning I have to catch a really early flight back to the US only to arrive there late! So, it’s getting close and I still have some things to see in Barcelona before leaving on Thursday!


And BTW: Here is a list of things that I would like to have in my house upon my arrival please – Some Kashi cereal the black currant and walnut kind. Some tomatoes, onions, feta cheese, olive oil, vinegar, and some fruits so that I can make smoothies, like bananas, peaches, strawberries, and orange juice.
IF it´s possible, I guess it´s not neccessary. Lol Thanks mom, love you!