TO DO LIST

*NIE Number

*Bank Account

*Spanish Cell Phone

*Bicing Pass?

9-30

Last day of September... I left for Barcelona a month ago... and it's been a good 1st month!

I found an apartment (I move in tomorrow)

This is the view of my street (the A is my door!)... so exciting

I found a job (I started on Monday)

She's 12 and British but born in Spain, her name is Heidi and she hates homework haha

I ran a 10K (ran... walked... same thing)

We actually finished in 1:21... 10 minutes faster than we thought!

Toni left for England... saaad... but it's ok. We have BBM & Skype and he'll be back Oct 18th for a few days... then I'll be there for the week of Thanksgiving... then he'll be home for 3 weeks for Christmas.. then he's home! So quick... I might need more of a holiday from him :P

I sent him a package on Tuesdayyy... spent a few hours walking around and picking out all these nice things for him... hmm... maybe I shouldn't write this up here... but I don't think he ever reads this... well I just won't put details... but I'm SO excited for him to get it! I should make him Skype with me while he opens it so I can see his face... it's going to be like Christmas.

I packed all my clothes today and I've been making a list of things I need for my apartment and I'm getting VERY frustrated.... I lived in a dorm for 4 years and an apartment for 2 years... I have EVERYTHING I could need for an apartment... and now I have NOTHING!

I'm pissed I have to re-buy HANGERS, SHAMPOO, PILLOWS, A GYM BAG... stupid stuff like that that I have PLENTY of at home... just not in Spain. I'm ready to fly home and ship everything I need over here.... Maybe I'll make Lindsay bring some of my stuff when she comes :D

9-26

Ahh the weekend is almost over! Time for a recap...

Friday I hung out with Toni and his family. It was La Merce... and since his mom's name is Merce... it was her Saint's day, which means she celebrates and gets presents (of course I looked up MY saint's day... it's March 23rd). We went out to eat at El Barkito which is literally around the corner from them... we had octopus, shrimp, squid, mussels... and I had swordfish. It was a lot of fun and the food was amazing. His parents were very sweet to include me.

Later that evening Toni & I went to Sitges to walk around and relax... we had some frozen yogurt at the place I go to every time I go to Sitges (wow 3 whole times).. so good. Walked in and out of shops and laughed at all the crazy little things...

Then I spotted a tea shop... and I just love tea shops... I love smelling the different kinds and looking at all the tea contraptions.... we bought some delicious peach & vanilla tea that Toni picked out... but if I could read spanish I could have picked it out too.

We hung out by the church and enjoyed the sea wind (that his mom warned us about) before heading back to Barcelona.

Saturday was spent PACKING Toni's bag for his study abroad and running around and doing his errands... when all was done we went to La Rambla and caught a little of the celebrations of La Merce.... the drum corps (which is just a bunch of weird people).

But it was really cool... we saw maybe 20 different groups stroll by all playing different beats.

THEN IT WAS TIME FOR MAGO!

Mago de Oz is a rock & roll/hippie/renaissance band that isn't extremely popular but has a very loyal fan base. Alexia is in love (maybe obsessed) with them and she had been dyyying to go to a concert... so I joined her and her 2 friends for the night.

It was pretty intense. I recognized a few songs but the rest I didn't know... I think the best part was watching Lexi jump up and down and be completely happy in the presence of this band. She even touched the lead singer at the end...

After the concert I went to our favorite bar with Toni, Juan, Alex, Joan Ignasi, Mireia & Carlos.. a nice little goodbye drink for Toni.

But we didn't stay long since we had to get up at 730 to get ready to head to the airport.

I tagged along with him and his parents all the way to the Girona airport (45 mins away) to see Toni off to England. He will be spending 4 months at the University of Southampton. I'll miss him! But I'm excited to have a reason to go to England!

9-23

Thursday. On Tuesday I had an interview for a babysitting job right down the street and I GOT IT! Very excitingggg!!!!!!! I will be working Mon-Friday from 430-830ish... it pays my rent and gives me some extra cash but now I just need to find a morning job to fill my time and give me MORE money..

But maybe I won't get a morning job just yet because LINDSAY BOUGHT HER PLANE TICKET! She will be here for 3 weeks in November and coming to England with me for a few days before flying home! YAY!!!

Lets see... on Wednesday Paul and I went to L'Illa... had some ice cream for a snack and when I asked for some I got a nice cold slap in the face.

After having dinner in the apartment I went out with Toni to Tiago's apartment for more dinner (but I didn't ea anything). It was nice.. just me, Toni, Tiago, and Emma hanging out and talking in Spanish and English and laughing and relaxing.

Today we went to the pool and he was sooo good... a lot quieter than the last times we've been.

I was in a bit of a bad mood and was feeling all woe-is-me and gave poor toni and ear-full about how miserable my life is... he said it's been a long week so I'm allowed to be in a bad mood.

And it HAS been a long week... I've been waking up early to catch the bus to Toni's house to have breakfast... then we go to the gym... then I've either had interviews or Paul. Long days. Tomorrow will be full of relaxation... and partying all night long!

video

I couldn't get this to upload directly to the blog because it's too big...

But I finally got it on youtube. It's private... it can't be searched.. you can only access it through the link

SO ENJOY THIS VIDEO OF ME AND PAUL!

It's quite hilarious

THIS IS HOW I TAKE CARE OF PAUL

LOL

Great Aunty Margo just said Princess Diana was a tramp

And Prince Harry is the son of someone else... both Auntys agree.

Igacio said Bill Clinton probably cheated because Hillary wasn't giving him any and it was her fault

& Charles got everything he wanted... he got the kids, the heirs... & he got Diana out of the way

9-20

Is it really Monday?

Lets seeee....

I made my down-payment on my apartment on Friday =) Toni came with me and got the tour and spoke a lot with the flat-mates... he loves the room, the place, the people... he's happy for me... and that means a LOT since he's FROM Barcelona and knows a good deal when he sees it... Isobel (who's sort of in charge of the flat, she's the oldest and has been living there for 4 years) told Toni that as soon as they saw me they knew they wanted me to live there! And Toni thought "Look at my Becky, everyone loves her" :)

On Saturday Paul had sort of an off-day; we went to the pool but he didn't really like it too much... he was done in an hour and wanted to go home.

There had been a storm the night before and it created huuuge waves at the beach... So I decided to distract him and take him there and maybe he would want to stay... and of course he was sooo ready to put his bathing suit back on. I was a little scared he was going to be terrified while being thrown in the waves around but he loooved it.

I had dinner at Toni's house with him, Rafa, and Claudia... pizza. Then we drove 30 minutes to a small town and had to walk up this really dark path with huge stairs and rocks and bushes... I thought I was going to be attacked by some Spanish animal.. or a snake. The party was at a gooorgeous house that was really old and had a castle tower and 3 floors and was simply amazing. Everyone at the party had been drinking since noon and they were completely wasted... so we stayed for maybe 30 minutes... and drove the 30 minutes back to Barcelona.

On Sunday was the big raaace!!! 10K Cursa de La Merce. La Merce starts on the 23rd or 24th and is the festival of Barcelona... so it's a big deal.

There were 14,000 people running... in sexy pink shirts

In the end, Ignacio finished in an hour, Toni finished in 1:12, and Alexia and I finished in 1:31... my joints were killing me... my breathing was fine, but my knees and ankles couldn't take it. I think it's time for new shoes.

We had a great lunch and I took Paul to the pool. He wasn't really into it again, and was done in about an hour, so we met Alexia at La Rambla to walk around. We went to the Cathedral, which he loves, and we saw the geese and wandered around to kill time.

We met up with Alexia and her friend Ana and we saw the best band...

Paul was loving them.. so I told him to GO DANCE!!! And he raaaan to the band and stared banging on the cymbal... I had to run after him and drag him away... such a musician haha... I couldn't stop laughing.

In the evening I asked Toni to come pick me up to hang out... we had no idea what to do or where to go and once he decided he wouldn't fill me in on where we were going. It was a "surprise". We ended up at the beach... a part of the beach I had never been to. We walked around and I saw across the street some lights... and it was a carnival. So we walked around there for a little.

Back at the beach people were all over... on the sand, sitting on the wall... I asked why and Toni said it was because it was such a nice night with no clouds. He said people came to see the moon over the sea. I said I see that all the time at my house... he said not in Barcelona. True...

But then we found out the REAL reason everyone was at the beach.

So it was a nice surprise for both of us :)

9-16

Alright... it's been a VERY busy week so far...

Monday was spent re-cooperating from the weekend.

Tuesday Leila's Aunty arrived... she's British but lives in Chicago and LOVES Barcelona. We had a nice conversation in the morning about bread, biking, and her family. When we weren't chatting I was viciously looking for apartments and jobs.

I took Paul to the pool for an hour after school and he was very excited to be coming home...

And he was sooo happy to see Aunty Doreen that he didn't want to take a bath... he wanted her to protect him from the evil clutches of his mother.... at least that's how Paul made it look.

Wednesday was spent visiting apartments. I saw 3 different ones... 1st one was on Carrer de Bruc and it was quite complicated to get there. The neighborhood was soo nice though and there was a huge market right across the street...

Inside the apartment wasn't very nice, though. The bedroom was like a closet and the kitchen was so out of date. Needless to say, I wasn't going to be moving in. Too bad... the neighborhood was soo cute... just a little out of the way.

Later on in the day I went to see a different place that was literally a 5 minute walk from this apartment. It was RIGHT down the street and I was SO excited about it's convenience...

I was seeing the apartment with 2 German girls who are here at a dance school... I learned a lot about them since Freddy was almost 40 minutes late to show us the 2 available rooms.

And when we got up there... it was quite small.. and quite sketchy. And a lot more than I was willing to pay... and THEN the roomie showed up. A long-haired, big-bellied man in his 40's who looks like he belongs in Hells Angels. All 3 of us girls were scared. So disappointment number 2.

I had 1 more place to look at & I couldn't even remember if I had seen pictures of this place. But it's on a street with a name that I love... Casanova... & it's a 20 minute bus ride from Paul's house and less than 10 minutes walking from Toni's house (in fact, it's the next street over). I prayed and prayed and prayed (Toni was praying too... he's in England looking for HIS place to stay til January and he's been having worse luck than me... people won't even consider him because he's not staying a full year. We prayed and prayed together - on facebook) that this apartment was nice because it's quite tiring searching all day long.

This is the website I used: http://www.loquo.com/en_us Thanks to Sarah (a contact I got from Leila... she's also an American who moved to Barcelona about 3 years ago)

And yes... it was great. Big room with a window, big bed, big closet... huge kitchen.. shared bathroom (well you cant get everything), nice living room... and spectacular roof with views of La Sagrada Famiglia, the blue tampon building, and Tibidabo. And did I mention the girls were fabulous? In the end.. it will be 3 girls and 3 boys... and the room was more than I wanted to pay but it's SO worth it. I'm going tonight to give my deposit. It just CLICKED. Loved the girls, loved the location, loved the room. I'm sooo happy :) I'll get pictures up soon.

& it turns out... Toni was having a visit at a place the same time as me and HE got the place TOO! GOD LOVES USSS!!!

Now... time to find a job to afford my luxurious lifestyle.

9-12

Another night with 3 hours of sleep... but last night was so funnnn, and totally worth it. I have the rest of my life to sleep!

Last night Paul's Abuelita and great aunt came over for dinner... and when they left at 11 I was ready for a nap! Usually the "Spanish way of life" means you don't leave your house until after 1am to go to a bar... so I THOUGHT I would get a little nap before going out. Then Juan told me he would be coming to get me in 15 minutes.... WTF... as if I had showered or started to get ready at ALL... fuckin Toni Ros GAY thought I was taking a nap so he didn't want to wake me up and inform me of the early departure... because it's not important or anything....

But thank goodness I'm not a girly girl and I got ready super quick and we left Barcelona and went to Sant Cugat where a friend lives, Santi. We had to be quiet though because Santi's mom was sleeping lol... but we drank BODKA (vodka) with zumo de naranja for a few hours before going to the poshhh club. It was actually a nice time... One guy, Carlos, had just returned from a summer in Dubai doing an engineering internship and I basically talked to him all night about everything Dubai. And scuba diving.

I learned some new Spanish during my ride to the club... bad words. It's all Juan's fault (everything is always Juan's fault). They made me yell at Malo and call him a peanut... hmm... but this is the club. So prettyy.. the colors actually changed.

There were 3 different areas... the main room that played Spanish music and American music, the outside which played techno... and another room that we didn't really go into but I met a really nice gay guy there.

Like most of the time, I was the only girl. I had many bodyguards.

A very fun night... got home around 6 and was up at 9! YAY ME!

Paul and I hung out and then went for a walk around the area... there's a few "parks" around us... but I don't really like Barcelona's idea of a "PARC". Yea, there's some trees and a slide for kids... but there's no grass... I think it looks quite disgusting.

It looks dirty... and it feels dirty. And Paul likes it for the first 5 minutes and then he's done... but we walked and explored and I took pictures of different graffiti

Had a quick lunch and spent the rest of the afternoon at the pool. The bus ride home was soo crowded... it was insane. We are the 1st stop and we couldn't even get a seat. I actually ended up standing next to some American girls who were studying here this semester. We talked for a while about boys, different cities in Spain, New York... and then Paul got SUPER jealous and started screaming and whining and crying and kept telling me to talk to HIM! So I would tell him what we were doing for the rest of the night.. and continue my convo with my new friend.. and he would be right back at it screaming and crying. He's so jealous. It made me feel a little good :)

9-11

Ok it was probably... no it was DEFINITELY a bad idea to go to the bar last night... but who can say no to a bar?? It's actually good that I went because the FUNNIEST thing happened...

Toni picked me up and we met Juan and 3 other people at the bar we always go to... the girl who was there asked me where I was from and I said Connecticut... she said "O I WORKED THERE ALL SUMMER!" I said wooow where? CAN YOU GUESS WHERE?!?! SOUTH NORWALK!! I ALMOST HAD A HEART ATTACK! I was literally sweating and had to fan myself... what a small world. She worked in SoNo for July & August and lived in NYC. Very Very cool.

O.. and Toni got his official Spanish Polo team head thing... he was toooo happy.

So I took a cab home after the bar closed and the boys decided to go to another club... got in bed right after 4am.. and was up at 715 with Paul. We had a hectic day (to say the least) but we finally managed to make it to the CNB... spent some time there and then walked up La Rambla to kill more time before heading home.

He had a boob problem. He wouldn't stop feeling me up even when I yelled at him and hit his hand away... he was like a boob magnet... I felt so violated by this small 13 year old boy. More signs that he's pre-pubescent!

And guess what... I have to do it all over again tonight... bar, club... and probably get 1 hour of sleep before dealing with the little monster (and he was def a little monster today)

Motooo

My life on the back of a motorbike

And here's a different video on YouTube

9-10

YAY! WOKE UP FEELING BETTERRR! Jumped out of bed and ran to Mari and did a little "healthy" dance =)

I hopped on the metro and went to La Rambla... I HAD to find a nice new purse! I walked down the first street on the left... went into all the stores I saw... and there it was. In a small store with bags, jewelry, scarves... MY PURSE!!! It's perfect. Brown, leather... pockets... 15 Euros... I love it.

Well that took 20 minutes... It was only 11:45 and I had the rest of the day (until I had to pick up Paul at 5) to walk around and shop, explore, eat... whatever. So I had some horchata :D

Bought a dress... new red sunglasses... and finally woke Toni up a little after 1 and forced him to come have lunch with me (he said he's like my slave...).

While I waited for the still drunk and dirty Spaniard to get ready I walked around La Boqueria and around La Rambla.... I had a nice (short) conversation in Spanish with a man about scallops... I'm learning more and more every daaayy!!!

These are my favorite pictures from the day...

Starving... I met up with cranky Toni and we walked around until we found one of his favorite Mexican restaurants... which I don't know the name of... but it was nicely decorated.

Mojitos - 3.50E; Nachos & Chicken Fajita & Dessert - less than 10E... Feeling like you're in Mexico - Priceless

I was talking about what I would do with Paul tomorrow since I'm in charge... Toni said "Charge? Like the battery of the mobile?" hahahaahahahaha

ALSO! TOMORROW! 9/11... a bad day for Americans; and a bad day for Catalunyans. In Spain tomorrow is the celebration of the day that Spain defeated Barcelona in Catalunya's fight for independence in "the 80's"... I thought... damn that's recent... but no... "In the 1000, 800's". Oooh. Now that makes more sense. And WHY do you celebrate your defeat to Spain?!?!?!? "Well we celebrate the people who died for Catalunya"... ok that makes more sense as well.

Ok... I wikied it. The "Siege of Barcelona" ended in 1714. So much for my great geographer who knows everything.

I learned all about Rafael Casanova, who gets flowers placed on his grave tomorrow. Too much to write about him... but he was important.

I picked up Paul and we went for a nice long walk to Turo Parc... hung out for a while... and walked home. I don't really like going to parks because Paul is pretty big... and when it's crowded (like today) he looks like a giant surrounded by all the small 2-4 year olds. But it's good to be out of the house.

We had an early dinner and now Paul is driving me crazy with his EEEEE-ing. I could put him to bed if I wanted.. but since I'm in CHARGE tomorrow I'll let him stay up a little late. Plus... he keeps telling me he doesn't want to go to bed. Soon, though!

And Happy Eid to all my Muslims!!!

9-8

ugh... i woke up quite sick. sore throat and light headed. popped some pills and went to the gym... and i felt great. did 4K (2.5 miles) on the treadmill... and swam 1K (.6 miles) (20 laps/40 back & forths)....

after school Alexia and I took Paul to L'Illa (a mall that's pretty close) and we shopped around for a nice purse for me... I want a small leather one with a long strap so I can fit in with everyone else... Alexia hates them. We went to MI SA KO (which even Toni recommended) but I didn't find what I wanted. Supposedly everyone gets their purses from there...

I'm a simple girl... and I want a simple purse... kind of like this:

but I want mine to be tan...

We got ice cream from Dino's (which I looove) and Paul went on a ride in the back and then we made our way home. Of course when I get home I feel sick again... when Leila got home she gave me a huge horse pill of 1000mg of Tylenol... It HAS to work hahaha

For dinner we had soup.... Alexia told me it's LEECH soup. Yummy. She meant Leak ahahha

Leeches always make me think of that Grey's Anatomy episode with the frostbitten nose... and the movie Stand By Me.

Haahahahahhahahaha

But dinner was great... and we always have funny conversations. Alexia started talking about the tongue and how weird it is and I mentioned how fast it heals. Leila the OBGYN added that the vagina heals very fast too... and I said well they're both pink, moist... and Alexia said "holes!"... Then there's Ignacio... "Who has a pink hole?" We all cracked up.

Paul was in such a good mood... spying on people while they ate their dinner across the street at the restaurants.

Now, after a niceee cup of tea.. I'm going to bed early to hopefully wake up better and continue my search for the perfect purse.

9-7

Well... it was a nice surprise to be woken up at 5:45am by a very cuddly boy who was desperate to go on an airplane. And since I don't have my own keys we had to wait for Alexia to wake up at 7am to open the kitchen and have breakfast.

1st day of schoool!!! When everyone left I went back to bed for a few hours... woke up.. organized my clothes... and met Toni at La Rambla to go to the gym. I'm so used to going to the gym with someone.... but working out with them once I get there. I MISS MY GYM PARTNER/BIG BROTHER/PERSON WHO KNOWS ALL MY SECRETS: NATHANIAL DANIELLL!

We lost a lot of weight together... and had a lot of good talks... I miss my Danny & sweet Maria... and of course Reina and Lucy and Nate!!!

But even though Toni isn't my gym partner... I get a lot done. And actually I got him to do abs with me today and we threw around some heavy balls that almost knocked me off my feet... and we did some laps in the pool before retiring for the day. My body is sore.

When I got home I wanted to take Paul out but he was content at home... Actually he was in a hilarious mood and was very mischievous but veryyy cute.

Leila says he sounds like a baby dinosaur =)

Toni and I had a really interesting conversation about pregnancy.... ITS NOT WHAT YOU THINK! I asked him if girls were pregnant in his high school.. and he said no, that in fact he only knows 1 girl who has a baby.. and abortion just became legal in Spain like this year or last year. I thought that was crazy and asked him if there's a lot of rapes that occur, because I think one reason for legal abortions is for women who have been raped... and he said no - it doesn't happen a lot. Hmm.... in America it seems to happen all the time... and we have shows like 'Teen Mom' on MTV that glamorize teen pregnancies (yes I realize they show a lot of hard times... but it shows teens that they can make it as parents if they wanted).

I know toooo many girls who have babies. HELLO! One of my best friend has twins! And I won't even get IN to that struggle... It seems like everyone has a baby... or is pregnant.. or has been pregnant. I'm happy I'm not in any of those categories... As much as I love Shauna and her babies... I don't know how she does it and I can't see myself doing it either.

*Leila says that not all of this information is true... but this was our conversation so I'll just keep my thoughts about it all here*

9-6

MONDAY! Happy Labor Day to all my Americans... here in Barcelona kids didn't have school either... but not for the holiday. Anyways, I was with Paul all morning at the pooool! We left at 9am and got to the CNB around 10ish... he was literally in and out of the indoor & outdoor pool until 130 when I MADE him get out to eat lunch.

He was sooo happy in the pool. They just spent a week in France and there's no pool there... and he acted as if he hadn't been in a pool in years. He even made a few little friends who kept trying to ask me questions about him but we didn't really understand each other.

He did laps in the indoor pool... and it's so cute watching him backstroke a few meters, then dive under with his feet out of the water.

He even tried to join the water aerobics class... which is nothing but wrinkly, terribly old people.

I got to read my book and dangled my feet in the water... & outside was nice because I got to lay out in the sun and improve my tan. I only had to get up a few times and tell him to leave the water pumper alone because he was spraying everyone. And I think an old lady had a problem with Paul... the lifeguard came and spoke with me but he didn't speak any English... he asked if I came alone and I said no with the special boy... and he immediately apologized and went and said something to an old, fat, grumpy lady and that was the end of that. When I told the story to Toni he said "Well of course; Paul doesn't look special... he just looks like a normal boy who acts a little mad".. and that makes sense. People hardly ever realize at first that Paul is special.

He was an angel all day until I forced him to get out of the pool... we had to be home at a certain time though and he needed to eat something and hang out and get all his pee out before getting on the bus. So he was pissed at me but we went to the beach where he whined and whined and whined while he ate his sandwich... then he swam for a little bit before it was time to go and he had a temper tantrum in the water and I dragged him out by his foot and laughed and laughed and it made him laugh too... he's so naughty. I bribed him with chocolate, he wouldn't get out. Told him Mari was waiting at home for him... nothing. But he got out right away with the bribe of seeing Toni, who was in the gym.

And of course upon seeing Toni... he stared in the other direction and didn't pay him any mind.

We got home and chilled for a little until 4... then it was time for a HAIRCUUUUT! One of the most dreaded things on this Earth... you would think he was walking to a torture chamber or something... the whole time he is just shaking his head no... then when the haircut starts... it's a disaster. It took 30 minutes... 10 minutes of OK behavior... 10 minutes of HORRIBLE screaming and crying and laying on the floor and just all out pissed off-ness... and then 10 minutes of really good behavior. And the haircut looked so good... he needed it.

Around 7 Toni picked me up because I wanted to swim at the beach... so we went back to the CNB and went down to the water... but the sun was disappearing and it had become quite windy... so we waded for maybe 20 minutes with goosebumps before heading back inside. I know he didn't want to swim at the beach... because he NEVER wants to (he thinks its dirty), but it was nice of him to have taken me... even if it was too cold.

We had sushi for dinner at Ginza because I have been craving these flat noodles... which I have to describe as plane pasta to Toni... since plane means flat. They're actually made out of rice.. and they'r soo good... and the sushi at this place is really good too. We like it because you get to pick 3 plates for 10 euros... so we share sushi and dumplings and tempura vegetables... it's a nice restaurant.

I got home late.... and it was raining... and I tried to be really careful walking down the stairs... but of course I slipped on the last one and broke my blackberry... so no BBM for a while. Poor of me.