Hola

HOLA from Espana! Yesterday was a LOOONNNGGG day because we had orientations and meetings at the university for most of the day. Then, we suffered through a 2 hour tour of one of the hosptials in town. Our tour guide, Carlos the male nurse, talked very quickly and in Catalan, which is a regional Spanish dialect that most of us do not understand. We had no idea what was going on during the tour, and pacience faded fast. We were all very tired and grumpy after that!

But... today has been great and we started our classes! I am taking  Spanish Translation and Culture and Medicine on the Mediterranean, and I'm loving the classes already! On days that we have class (Monday-Thurday), we eat in a cafeteria on campus which serves delicious, authentic food!!! Only problem, is the PORTIONS ARE HUGE! Do they think we're fat Americans?? Haha, no, it's the same everywhere, not just on campus. One night at dinner, Manolo (our favorite waiter), thought we didn't like the food he made because we left so much on our plates. It looked like I didn't make a didn't in it, but I had actually eaten a lot! The photo below should give you an idea what I'm talking about... really, who eats half a pizza (other than the boys in our group)!!!

But most of the food is very good! Breakfast is always fresh pastries, fruit, and yogurt in the dorm cafeteria. When we have to eat in the dorm for other meals, the food is just OK. Nothing great unfortunately, but it only happens like once a week. A lot of our dinners are at El Bar Delta, which is a restaurant about a mile away near the university apartments, where some people in our group are staying. Dinners here are really yummy, and we love our waiter, Manolo. I really love the girls in the dorm with me, and Sunday night we went out in search of a place to have dessert and sangria. We found a great spot on La Rambla and got to sit outside enjoying sangria, pastries, and eachother. We are all having so much fun together. Love these girls!