Week 5

3/11

After being fully incapacitated for 10 days I woke up today and realized it's already the middle of March. I was warned about how fast time moves when you're in a foreign country and it's finally starting to show it gritty teeth. On the other hand, my arrival here feels like years ago rather than just a month. I have 3 months left and with the ways things are going right now, they're gonna go by in a flash.

On Tuesday I met some friends at my favorite club in Barcelona. Shoko. We had some drinks and left to go to the beach. Arshan (from Atlanta) decided to jump in the water but got out after a few minutes because it was too cold. One thing led to another and next thing I know Arshan is fighting in the sand with a bunch of frat guys from Utah. There was blood everywhere, but Arshan held his own in the fight until we got over to them to break it up. I guess tensions flare when people are drunk. Who knew! The worst part was that I got blood all over my white shoes and my light blue pants. It was the first brawl I've been apart of during my time here, and in the end, a complete waste of time and energy.

It's crazy how different clothing styles are in Barcelona. Every guy wears nice polos and dresses as if he were going to an important interview. Even going to the clubs everyone dresses like they're the plus one for a wedding reception. I came to Barcelona with my nicest 'American' clothing. Lots of over sized shirts with cool designs and jeans or

sweatpants. To my surprise I stick out like a sore thumb everywhere I go. I get stares from old Spanish ladies on the bus, and even in the gym I get awkward glances from people watching my form or gym style. I am tempted to go to Zara and purchase a polo shirt and some new cuffed cargo pants, but I'm really trying to budget everything I do and I don't know if this would be a waste of resources.

I have been sticking to my budget very consistantly. Staying under $1000 a month, including rent and excursions, has proven difficult but not impossible. For the month of March I am at around $800 including rent so far, I'm right around where I want to be.

3/15

The weekend was fairly low key. I went to the Barcenoleta with some Americans, got some Chips de Alcachofa (I do not recommend) and played basketball with some Barcelona

natives. My roommates brought me to a Spanish house party on Saturday night and it was great. As a foreigner you're automatically the life of the party just based off the way you speak. We played all sorts of party games including musical chairs with shots. Americans can handle their alcohol much better than Spaniards. I took twice the amount of shots my roommates did and smoked some weed, yet at the end of the night I was the one carrying him home.

I got a massive haircut this weekend for about half the price of a small trim in San Francisco. I finally look like a Spaniard. It's still curly on the top, but the sides are cut short and the back and front are clean. People finally see me as a Spaniard just based off that, but the way I dress still confuses them. To go to a store or to the market Americans wouldn't put too much thought into what they're wearing. Maybe some sweatpants, a hoodie, and some socks and slides. Europeans can't stand this. It's as if your expected to dress up in a suit and tie just to go and get a slice of pizza at the local Pizzeria. I wore a hoodie to class the other day and was absolutely roasted by my friends for it. Mental.

A lot of my Spanish friends know a lot about California, but when I ask what they think about San Francisco they say three things consistantly. Homeless people, wind and the golden gate bridge. It's so sad that this is what my hometown has come to. They tell me stories of their visits to San Francisco and how they were assaulted or spit on by crackheads in the street. I don't know how San Francisco got this way (well drugs and bad governmental decisions) but something needs to change. Even the streets of Barcelona are cleaner, store

front owners clean the street in front of their stores to make it look nice and friendly. There's hardly any trash along sidewalks and even metros and public restrooms smell relatively normal. The one thing about Spain is the construction. Every street corner has fenced in concrete slabs and metal pillars jutting out from from broken down buildings or sidewalk maintenance. Some buildings have been demolished, but it looks like the construction company just left it there and hasn't put up any signs or caution to stop people from entering.

It's the middle of the week and Greg is coming down from France to visit for the day. I think his girlfriend has online work so we're going to drive down south along the coast since I have the day off from uni. It'll be good to get out of Barcelona for a while and enjoy some sun and fresh air. We might even get dinner with Jeff tonight, but we'll see what happens and if the celebrity can make an appearance.