La Sagrada Familia & My Host Familia

1:25 AM
Barcelona, Spain

My Host

   My host must think I'm a stereotypical fat American.
   My host family consists of an older Spanish woman,** who cooks wonderfully! Mom, I'm eating very well: from tortillas espanas - not flour tortillas - (It's a 2 inch thick seared egg, onion, and potato slab of goodness!) to paella with shrimp and sausage and ham fritters. I will eat anything she puts in front of me and usually only ask what it is after I've started eating.
   Something funny: the Spanish eat fruit and yogurt for dessert. I'm loving the watermelon after dinner, but it's no wonder I'm not seeing any fat Spaniards!

Cornelius Fudge at My School

   Today, I walked into the university and saw . . . Cornelius Fudge.
   Okay, not exactly. You know in the fifth movie when that huge banner of Cornelius Fudge is hanging in the Ministry of Magic? Yeah, my school has a smaller one hanging outside the main entrance in a cobblestone paved plaza.
   Only it's not Cornelius Fudge. But he DOES have a hat on similar to the iconic bowler! So, anyway, the guy is actually Pompeu Fabra, the guy my university is named after and more importantly, the creator of the first official Catalan dictionary. He solidified many of the grammar rules followed in Catalan.

Bookworms, Unite!

   I had boring meetings in the morning, but I got to see what clubs and sports are offered at UPF (my school). Summary: theater is an option; softball is not.
   Moving on: the library here (from the pics they showed us) looks like the library at Hogwarts, so being the nerd I am, I can't wait to see it! A big part of our university is renovating and using old buildings, and I think they said the library used to be a textile factory. It looks like it has high ceilings and brick walls. #EnglishMajor #DorkingOut

La Sagrada Familia

   My feet won't thank me for the walking I did today.
  The most exciting part of my day was walking around with some of the girls from my program. We walked around Barcelona, exploring the streets. We saw the outside of La Sagrada Familia, which is indescribably and complicatedly beautiful. The Gothic architecture is amazingly detailed. It was designed by the famous artist Gaudi, but he died when they were not even close to done. The city has been trying to finish it for years, and it is estimated to be done  in 2026.
   We walked the streets more - wherever they took us really - and looked in some shops. Then, we walked down to the beach and sat there and talked a while. It was all really cool, different, and pretty! It's still kinda weird to see a lot of restaurants and shops closed during some periods of the day (for siesta or dinner time).

My Housemate

   Oh! And, I hung out a bit with my housemate. She's super cool! And, she wants to be friends, not just housemates, which I really appreciate. I just hope I am getting off on the right foot with her. I don't want her to think, "Great. I'm stuck with you. I guess we'll be friends." When I get excited, I blab. A lot. I know I was doing it earlier because I was so excited to get to know more about her. She'll probably get me duck tape for my birthday. I hope it wasn't too annoying.
  She said she really misses her family (she's been away from them a couple weeks) because they are close-knit, which sounds like mine. I want to make her feel . . . not so alone. Hopefully, hugs will help! :)

I am . . . feeling much more adventurous than yesterday.

**Haven't gotten permission to use names of people yet.