Getting Everything Figured Out!

FINALLY!
After Google not recognizing my location, locking me out of my account, having the wrong phone number, and it taking 24 hours to reset my new password... I am FINALLY posting! Which I must say is perfect timing because, last week I was in absolute shock stepping off of the plane. WARNING: I plan to be brutally honest in this blog and I know my mother will be reading this and you don´t tell a story without telling EVERY LAST detail!

The Plane Ride
First... the plane ride... OH MY GOODNESS!
This was one thing I was in no way prepared for. I have flown here and there on little one to two hour flights but, never EIGHT HOURS. We were on a jet that had one middle aisle and on each side of the aisle there was a row of three seats. For fear of extreme jet lag, I felt an immense amount of pressure to try and sleep on the plane. Wouldn´t you know with my luck, I was in a middle seat. So, I was sitting straight up in my chair scared to lean to either side... not because I didn´t want to lay on Kelly or Brittney (they wouldn´t have minded and I didn´t mind them laying on me) but, because I didn´t want to leave the tiny stream of cool air that was blowing down on me. I was doing that kind of thing where you squeeze your eyes closed because you want to go to sleep so bad, then you realize you´re squeezing your eyes so you´re trying to relax your face every five minutes! Yeeeah, so when I finally did fall asleep I felt like I slept really hard and woke up extremely achey. When the plane finally landed I was looking at the tv screen in front of my seat (a positive - free new releases, tv shows, and games - I watched We´re the Millers with Jen Aniston... HILARIOUS) and when the plane had stopped... I NEVER knew it... I felt as though we were still moving and when I looked out the window we had stopped. I looked up and it all of a sudden felt like this jet had transformed into a cracker box and people were sitting on top of me. I had to look down, focus on the ground, and talk myself out of having a panic attack. I have never felt like that... but, all I wanted to do was crouch down, hug myself, and remind myself that this was my space! The longer it took to get off the plane the more I felt like I was going to lose it! Needless to say this hasn´t been my favorite part of the trip! UGH... it made me feel so sick! :(

Meeting the Family
So, we walked off the plane and had to stand in this really long line to get our passports stamped. I was wearing my dad´s UK basketball tshirt and was asked by three people if I played basketball in the states... hahahaha.... ME! I was shocked when we walked straight to baggage claim, got our luggage, and walked out of the airport! When we exited, Kristin (our coordinator) was there to meet us. She was smiling and asked us different questions about our flight. We then walked to a bus, loaded up, and headed out. Driving from the airport to the city... seeing all of the business advertisements and road signs in a completely different language it hit me... and the minute it hit me I looked over and one of the other girls asked, "What are we doing here?" I sat there... and couldn´t answer the question. Kristin stood at the front of the bus talking about maps and metro maps and passes and how to get to school... and to this day I have no idea what all she said.
The next thing I knew, we were pulling up to a tall building with a huge concrete wall around it. We pulled onto this tiny side street and were told to get off and get our luggage. There was a crowd of people waiting to greet us. I stepped off the bus, grabbed my luggage, and stood on the sidewalk watching all of these people greet my friends with kisses, hugs, and smiles. All of a sudden, I heard someone say "Mandi, she´s right there..." I looked over and this very nice looking man in a suit and glasses was walking toward me smiling. My host dad had come to pick me up. He greeted me and asked about my flight. He took my suitcase from me and we walked to the car. On the way home we made small talk and he pointed out random things to me as we rode down the road. We got to a small parking garage, parked the car, and walked outside and around the building to go in. We went in, got into the smallest elevator I´ve ever been in and went to the second floor. We walked in a very nice apartment and were greeted by the maid who was ironing laundry.
He showed me around the apartment and told me that he was going to leave me there to rest and that Natalia, my host mom would be there to pick me up at 1:30 to be at school by 2 for orientation. It was 11:30. I wandered around the house then, went to my bed to lay down horizontally for a few minutes. I´ll never be able to describe how GLORIOUS laying down at that moment felt! I had to fight to stay awake. I didn´t want my host mother to come in and find me sleeping the first time we met. I layed there til 12:30 then got up and took a shower. Their shower has two knobs... one turns it on and the other controls the temperature by number. The toilets here have very little water in them and when you flush them, water comes straight up and it flushes straight down... no swirling!
When I got out of the shower, I got ready to go back to school and layed across my bed... I fell asleep and was startled awake by my host mother coming in through the front door. I jumped up and greeted her at my bedroom door. She was running late getting me back to school so we rushed out the door as soon as we kissed each other hello.
Everything felt like a blur... rushing down the street, walking into the metro station, buying a metro pass (my debit card didn´t work in the machine - yes I had a heart attack,) getting on the metro for the first time, riding it to the station near school, and walking to school... I have no idea what we talked about, what I saw, or what my name was... I walked into the reception area and sat there trying to come back to myself.
When we finished with orientation, we were taken on a tour of our school. The tour ended in the cafeteria where we ate some kind of soft cookie that we dipped in what tasted like hot chocolate. During this time we met our teachers and our families came to pick us up. My teacher is a younger looking man... probably mid 30´s. He was very nice. He sat with me for a little while and we went over our class schedule and talked abou how crazy the day was going to be tomorrow because of St. George´s day. Shortly after he left, I looked up to see my host mom making her way over to me and pointing me out to my 13 year old host sister and 6 year old brother. My host sister greeted me with the biggest smile and of course kisses. My little host brother was so shy and whispered hello and nice to meet you in the cutest little accent and gave me kisses as well. The minute they spoke to me everything spinning in my head simply stopped. Their sweet little faces and their excitement made everything better and I was reminded why I´m here and why I chose to do this... children, no matter what they look like, sound like, where they live, or how they live are simply amazing creatures! Adults can be somewhat intimadating at times but, kids don´t know how to be anything but kids. I fell in love. When we got home from school I met my 10 year old host brother who had come home from fútbol practice. We ate dinner - zucchini soup - it was creamy and tasted just like potato soup but with zucchini... it was absolutely delicious and very comforting. After that I was out... I said goodnight to my family and went to bed... I had NO trouble falling asleep that night!

First Weekend
Ok, so the second night here was my host sister´s 13th birthday. My family had really been encouraging me to get out and see the city. We agreed that I would meet some friends down in the city center and that I would be home around dinner to meet more family and celebrate my sister´s birthday. I had my map and was ready to go... or so I thought. I was so proud of myself when I got to the exact place my friends and I had planned to meet at until my friends were no where to be seen. I started walking around looking for them and the road split. Some how I got turned around and got completely lost in the city BY MYSELF... I felt myself trying to panic a few times and had to act as calm as possible! After walking for TWO HOURS I finally stopped and got a taxi. I jumped in and gave the driver my address. He spoke no English and had no idea where my place was. He took me to the wrong place then restarted the meter and took me to the right place... after he had to look it up in a book. I thought he was just trying to get my money but, when we stopped he offered for me to only pay for the second trip. I paid him for the whole trip because, I was just so relieved to be home! I went in to the apartment, said hi to everyone, and went to my bedroom and cried. BUT, I am proud to say I cleaned myself up, took a deep breath, and walked back out of my room to tell my family what happen and laugh it off. They all "officially" welcomed me to Barcelona. I ate dinner (an assortment of different breads, cheeses, meats, crackers, paté - yes, I tried duck liver... on a cracker - and my host sister´s delicious chocolate mousse cake,) visited for a few minutes and was in bed asleep at about 10:30.
The next night was a lot better. I met up with some of the girls from school and actually went as a group down town and it was so much fun. We ended up seeing a street performer who created huge bubbles with rope and I had gelato for the first time! :) It was such a good night! We also spent Friday night in the city as well.
Saturday morning I woke up to street performers playing music in the park outside of my apartment. It was such a wonderful way to wake up! The drums, laughing, and dancing... I loved it! I got dressed and my host dad laid my map out for me and marked how to get to the beach just 10 minutes away! He also had me write it down so that the map wouldn´t confuse me! A friend and I went and it was amazing. The sand is light brown and more coarse, the water is a darker BEAUTIFUL blue, and there were people selling masages, mojitos, and henna tattoos in the sand. We had lunch out in the sun, napped on the sand (I didn´t wear sunscreen and I PAID for it later,) and we finished the day shopping. IT. WAS. PERFECT.
Sunday, I got up and met a few of the girls at the metro station and we went to Park Guell and Mount Tibidabo. Even though I wore the WRONG shoes, the breath taking views made up for the SIX blisters I received! That night, I came home early, showered, had dinner (pizza - which is not like our pizza at all but, DELICIOUS), stayed up late watching Criminal Minds with my host sister, and ended up playing on Facebook with my host mom!

The Start of a New Week
Now, it´s Monday and it´s a short week at school. I have been giving the students their end of the year English speaking assessment. They have been doing so well. I love my students. I have 6th grade boys and girls (the school splits the boys and the girls into different classes.) The boys are a bit crazy... however, I can´t help but laugh at EVERYTHING they do! The teacher will be getting on to them and I will have to cover my mouth because, I think boys at that age are hilarious - their facial expressions, their antics, and their awkward cuteness... I just love it! They´re in the process of trying to annoy the class pet (a tiny fish in a tiny tank) to death... literally to death... they celebrated today because they thought it had died... but it was hiding behind the tiny plastic green bush! They also decided they needed my facebook and instagram and by the end of class they were google mapping my house and apartment! Oh, and there is one boy who plays the "Spanish" Michael Jackson in some play... watching him dance is the GREATEST thing I have ever seen! I LOVE THEM!
Our last day this week is Wednesday and we are out for a long holiday! :) I know I have written a book... but just know family and friends you are now caught up on EVERYTHING! I love and miss you all ... especially you Michael Thomas!! ;)

Todo mi amor desde España!