Day 33 February 3, 2009 Tuesday

Today Jody was put into the hospital. She got food poisoning from the muscles in paella… So much for that classic Barca dish, I am going to just stick with chicken. I feel so bad for her. I can imagine just the way the future thought of food can scar you

I am still gaining weight from salt and white carbs. No good.

Today an all time embarrassing moment happened. It was sad that Jazz wasn’t here to be like “I’m going to leave you” or pull a Jazz comment. I had a full 1.5 liter water bottle in my backpack and I was waiting at the railing during class on the 3rd level of ESCI (which is fourth in Europe). I whipped around when I re put on my backpack and it fell out 4 stories down and crashed to the floor. It was one of those slow motion actions that you instantly knew what you did. My backpack felt instantly lighter. Kids started yelling. It could have seriously injured someone. I booked it and Katie got the blame.

Today we toured the Palace museum for art history today. The coolest part of the museum was the concept of having world exhibitions at a place and having temporary buildings built, just to be knocked down. Some of Barcelona’s best buildings were built for this, but were still preserved because war broke out and they did not have time to tear down the structures. Also another fact I learned at the museum today was that some of the best preserved Roman artwork in the world is from small churches located in the Pyrenees. Private collectors raided through churches on the coast, and large churches could afford to update their pieces, but the old mountain charges had ancient pieces of work still preserved and enact. It is amazing how something can stay preserved like that. Spain was bombed in history, but never as bad as France and Germany, so that is another reason why so many pieces of art was well preserved.

When I was walking to therapy today I had to walk through Passigg de Gracia, the Uptown of Barcelona. I love Barca how it is so condensed because you can only build within the city because the mountains and sea harbor it in. It was so warm outside and the sun was shining. The air was like spring and grilling out. It has been the best smell so far since I have been here. It was comforting. The hustle and bustle of a classy city, the most amazing homey smell in the air, and the perfect temperature is just like a comforting fall. It made me happy. It reminded me of Minnesota and how much I missed it. I fell in love with Barcelona just as I did Minnesota. When I am in these cities I get an amazing feeling. There is so much to do and I am not holding myself back. I am taking chasing and exploring my options.

I realized another thing today. Boys who flirt around you act like people don’t notice, but they do. I love when I guy talks to a girl and lightly touches her to make her feel special, but if you do it to everyone it is not special. I am learning to watch for that small detail now when making my selections with boys.
Also I have talked to a couple ex boyfriends since I have left. I have been gone one month and you think things would change. They haven’t. For a while I was convinced they would. But the same old side is coming out. It actually makes me sad. And when I end up talking to one, they both talk to me in the same night. I am becoming more mature and I am realizing what I need to have in a guy to see a future.