I can’t decide if today is one long day that feels like it should be two, or two days that feel like they should’ve been one. Either way, its been long but super cool.

The day began Sunday morning with the whole family crowded around the kitchen counter eating doughnuts together. Despite how excited I was for Barcelona, it was still sad to leave them :(. I had just enough time to stuff (and I mean really stuff) the last of my things into my suitcase and backpack. I managed to zip everything shut and minutes later I had dropped my 44 pound suitcase at bag check and was taking myself and my backpack through security. I felt like I packed a lot, but nearly everyone else I’ve seen brought two suitcases and a carry on.

The flight to JFK was nice and smooth- a good nap opportunity! Immediately upon arriving at the gate for my flight to Barcelona, I spotted growing clusters of college students huddling and hugging and talking about their breaks. Turns out that the initial assumptions I made about them were right: They all knew each other and were all going on the same program as I was (There are apparently over 200 U Miami kids on this trip!). I was getting very clicky vibes…

Of course I ended up sitting directly next to a clump of them on the plane. Nonetheless the flight was incredibly relaxing and enjoyable: I watched thee hours of the Office (which was the intended purpose of the flight, let’s be clear), Delta served us dinner, I slept for maybe an hour, and then I halfheartedly tried to sleep for the rest of the time. I really enjoyed looking out the window near the end: the city views descending into Barcelona were magical.

The line for border control took a record-breaking amount of time but I got to use these cool new fingerprinting and passport scanning machines and an officer stamped my passport so everyone can know I’ve officially been to Spain.

My flight contained the first batch of BSAE students to arrive, and we were taxied to the BSAE center and given a quick 30 minute orientation and chance to meet each other before we split into taxis once more headed for our home stays and apartments. I rode with a pair of roommates and they were clearly perfectly matched with their host mom. I was jealous and nervous as we drove another 20 minutes out of the city for my homestay. It got gradually less busy and more hilly (while still being a gigantic metropolis), and when we came to a stop I didn’t see anything that resembled an apartment or a host mom/grandma standing there to greet me. Three more steps, however, and Cristina flung open an unsuspecting door, kissed me on both cheeks, and whirled me up to her beautiful fourth floor apartment.

Cristina poured me a glass of water and kindly laid out some cookies as we chatted about my flight and got the wifi and keys to the apartment sorted out. I was then given an enthusiastic tour of the apartment and allowed to choose which room I wanted because I arrived before my housemate. Given that one room was dark, facing away from the sun and decorated in neutral tones and the other was bright and cheery and seemed to beckon you in with a door to the sunny porch, I chose the second one. I unpacked and got the room “decorated” (my decorations consist of a crocheted dinosaur called Bean, a tin deck of cards, the game 5 Crowns, a few notebooks, and a bottle of lotion) in little time. It looks like what I imagine Scandinavian minimalism to be.

Cristina had a work meeting at 2pm, and she took the opportunity to help orient me to the Barcelona Metro system. We bought a Metro pass and she gave me a route to sample while she attended her meeting. I felt very professional riding the Metro down to Barcelona’s Central Plaza, walking around a bit, and then heading back.

At this point in the day I still had 5 hours before I could reasonably go to bed, but I was so very tired. I decided I’d go on a run/walk to shake myself awake. It turned into more of a stroll, but I was able to face time miss Tamara and explore the funky streets and adorable tiny shops all around the apartment. I returned about 5, picturing Cristina worrying that I’d gotten lost- which she was not at all- and sorted and organized some more things in my room. Christina began making dinner around 6, and my house mate arrived an hour later (she took a late flight)- earlier than we were expecting so she was able to join for dinner! Objects felt like they were wiggling and shifting in my vision as I battled my eyelids to remain open, waiting for dinner. Any time I stopped concentrating on it, my neck would snap down towards my chest in sleep mode.

We had a very early dinner for Spain- around 7:15. Cristina made vegetable and noodle soup, chicken, salad, and bread, and we had bananas for dessert. Once we cleaned up, Cristina and I both made some nighttime sleeping tea to lull us to bed. Goodnight!