Flu in Barcelona
I'm sorry to report I did not get out to see much of Barcelona since my last report, as I came down with a pretty bad case of the flu and/or viral infection. I got sick over last weekend and by Monday morning when classes began I was in an awful state. But as fate would have it, there was a doctor in my class of six students and he helped me through the worst of it. It went to my chest and became infected, but between the doctor and help from the teachers on what to ask for at the pharmacy I made it through the week! Needless to say, school was about all I could handle this week and so did not get out to explore.
It is a pretty rigorous schedule. Start school at 9:00 a.m., break for 30 minutes at 10:45, then break again for 10 minutes at 1:00. Go from 1:10 to 3:00. During the two brief breaks I attempt to scarf down some food so I don't starve to death. I study at least four hours a day after school is out. I'm not sure I'll keep that up in the weeks ahead.
Despite not feeling well, I did learn a lot in my first week. We're already conjugating verbs, and yes, speaking complete sentences. Spanish is amazing -- for every fricking verb, there are six possible ways to say the word (and this only in present tense). So for instance the verb "to have" is TENER, and depending on who the verb is refering to can be tengo, tienes, tiene, tienemos, tieneis, and tienen. FOR EVERY VERB! Anyway, I expect when I'm finally done here I will be able to speak a few sentences!
Feeling better the past couple days I did get out to find a great vegetarian/health food restaurant with a great soup/salad bar just off the la Rambla. I found it on the internet then went looking for it. Today I took a ride on the train to the beach to say hello to the Mediterranean. I was looking for the gay beach and using the gay European guide, but their directioins suck big time! I think the guy who wrote the Barcelona section was faking it. Anyway the trains here are way cool. The Sea was nice to see (ha) as well. I picked a lonely bench to sit on and meditated on the Mediterranean.
I think it will be hard for me to get into the night life here. For one thing, the bars don't start to get hopping until after midnight. The clubs after 2 a.m. And they are all filled with cigarette smoke. Everyone it seems smokes here, and the smoke is driving me crazy since I am allergic to it. So I am exploring activities and clubs I can join as a way to meet other people in the city. I'm not going to make friends in the school, as they are mostly all pimply-faced college kids, and they come and go all the time. One of my teachers is bringing in a list of english speaking clubs she knows about, as well I found one on the internet which I will explore.
There is one young blonde boy from Germany who I think may be gay and has given me the eye a few times. And there's a young girl in his group of friends who has been flirting with me as well. But I've been way too sick this past week to even think about any of that.
Until later, hasta luego.
It is a pretty rigorous schedule. Start school at 9:00 a.m., break for 30 minutes at 10:45, then break again for 10 minutes at 1:00. Go from 1:10 to 3:00. During the two brief breaks I attempt to scarf down some food so I don't starve to death. I study at least four hours a day after school is out. I'm not sure I'll keep that up in the weeks ahead.
Despite not feeling well, I did learn a lot in my first week. We're already conjugating verbs, and yes, speaking complete sentences. Spanish is amazing -- for every fricking verb, there are six possible ways to say the word (and this only in present tense). So for instance the verb "to have" is TENER, and depending on who the verb is refering to can be tengo, tienes, tiene, tienemos, tieneis, and tienen. FOR EVERY VERB! Anyway, I expect when I'm finally done here I will be able to speak a few sentences!
Feeling better the past couple days I did get out to find a great vegetarian/health food restaurant with a great soup/salad bar just off the la Rambla. I found it on the internet then went looking for it. Today I took a ride on the train to the beach to say hello to the Mediterranean. I was looking for the gay beach and using the gay European guide, but their directioins suck big time! I think the guy who wrote the Barcelona section was faking it. Anyway the trains here are way cool. The Sea was nice to see (ha) as well. I picked a lonely bench to sit on and meditated on the Mediterranean.
I think it will be hard for me to get into the night life here. For one thing, the bars don't start to get hopping until after midnight. The clubs after 2 a.m. And they are all filled with cigarette smoke. Everyone it seems smokes here, and the smoke is driving me crazy since I am allergic to it. So I am exploring activities and clubs I can join as a way to meet other people in the city. I'm not going to make friends in the school, as they are mostly all pimply-faced college kids, and they come and go all the time. One of my teachers is bringing in a list of english speaking clubs she knows about, as well I found one on the internet which I will explore.
There is one young blonde boy from Germany who I think may be gay and has given me the eye a few times. And there's a young girl in his group of friends who has been flirting with me as well. But I've been way too sick this past week to even think about any of that.
Until later, hasta luego.
posted by Eagle Eye at 9:44 AM
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