A Whirlwind of Travelling - Condensed Campbell Soup Edition

HEYYYYYY :]

so i'm embarrassed at my lack of posting but believe it or not I actually have to STUDY while abroad!

so because of that it's been hard to actually fit in the blog in between our internships that we now have, class, class WORK, extra curriculars, travelling and of course taking in the lovely city that i'm in.

i'm currently on a study break from this annoying thing called a research paper that's due tomorrow and decided why not use this time to update BGA with what i've been doing.

I've hit three countries and 6 cities in a matter of a few weeks so let's hash it all out right here, right now:

First stop: ITALY <3

Most that know me know that I've been obsessed with Italy for as long as I can remember. It's the land of sun, food, the style, the art, and a few other things ;] I've always wanted to visit this lovely country and I finally did during my midterm break (and was happy to finally be able to put my semesters in Italian to good use!). I was supposed to visit Milan and Rome but due to some passport/visa difficulties I was only in Milan for a few hours but it was still amazing to be there. We ended up going out to see how the locals hang and there is a square called Piazza Socialare meaning exactly that - a social square! It's huge and it's just a bunch of young people drinking and socializing, there are a ton of bars around the area that are very cheap and I love nothing more than to people watch so it was a chill way to start off my Italian adventures.

Then we headed to Rome for 3 days and all I can say is, if someone told you to choose a place to teleport to for the afternoon CHOOSE ROME! The weather is beautiful and the skies are something out of a picture book. Everyday we ate pizza, pasta, and gelato and trust me, I was never tired of it. Yes there was a bit of suspect behavior...as in people did look at us funny, I mean we were the only consistent group of minorities strolling around town (2 blacks and one asian) and I got "Obama!" shouted at me a few times oh and let's not forget the jerks at one of the gelato shops who wouldn't let us exit through one door but for some reason everyone else could...smh. However, the sights, the weather and just the vibe easily made Rome my favorite place so far. p.s. THE VATICAN MUSEUM IS AMAZING! i'm not even into museums like that and i easily would pay 35 euros all over again to see it

 

SPAIN
Oh Barcelona, how relaxing and carefree you were. I felt Spain was very much like Italy in the sense that the weather was BEAUTIFUL, yes, even in late October and the food was so culturally distinct and the people just had their own sense of style. There were also a lot more black people in Spain! Like, in Italy most of the black people were there from Africa to sell things and caught  a lot of flack from the local police but in Spain they were treated more like citizens than nuisances. And the Spanish men are down, let's not forget that! LOL Anyway while in Spain, I met up with two of my good friends from school and stayed with them which gave me a much more cozy view of Spain. Partying doesn't start til like 1 in the morning and the party don't stop (trust me)! Definitely check out this small club called Otto Zutz or Opium if you ever make it out there! And did I mention the beach? I'm from California so I was missing the beach and Spain's was beautiful.Also, another CAN'T MISS landmark is the La Sagrada Familia. It's the most unique building in terms of architecture I've ever seen and they've been building it for over 100 years. IT'S AMAZING! Google it (and check some of my of my pics below).

GERMANY
My sophomore year of high school I hosted a student in Germany for two weeks, her name is Kathrin. It's been practically 5 years but we've always kept in touch online and I consider her a good friend of mine. Anyway, so since I'm in Europe I was like "I have to visit Kathrin!" We planned it out and two weekends ago I went. When I told people I was going to Germany, a lot of my friends were skeptical about the "diversity" or "race relations" in the country. I had my reservations as well but I'm open minded so I wasn't going to let anything I had heard about Germany stop me from going and having a good time. I landed in Frankfurt and OMG the diversity is crazy! So many different people from Africans to Indians to Italians to Americans to Spanish people it was dope and I was happy that the ignorance about Germany I had in my head had been proven wrong. We went to Brilon which is a small town in Germany and also Kathrin's hometown (a lot less diverse) and I got to meet her beautiful family and stayed with them for 3 days so I got a nice local view of the area. All I can say is the Germans have been the nicest people I've met during my entire abroad experience, hands down. I felt less novelty here than I did in Italy and boy do they know how to party (I honestly don't remember Saturday night, smh)! It was such a gorgeous country (but let's not get it twisted it was freezing!) and Kathrin's hometown was a nice rural break from the city life. Everyone was so excited to use English again and Kathrin was such a good host for helping translate everything for me and showing me her hometown. Also, her mom is a maven in the kitchen and I got to eat traditional homecooked German food which was sooooo good! Schnitzel, anyone?  I can't wait to go back!

Anyway, wow that was super long lol. Me and London will be leaving each other in a little over 2 weeks so I'm trying to make the most of my 2nd home while I'm here.

-Emm

stay tuned

cuz we're back! ...at least i am. i know it's been a minute, but things have been hectic over here. school is getting real. i don't know about the other girls, but i've had to work my ass off - a couple of my classes have been completely ridiculous. but, i'm not here to complain because i'm in fucking barcelona!

it still hasn't really sunk in that i'm here and that i've been here for over two months! there are only 5 1/2 weeks left before i go back home. i'm still not quite sure how i feel about that. i miss my family and friends (and most food back home), but i love barcelona and there's so much i'm going to miss when i go back.

anyways, this isn't the farewell blog cuz i'm still heeeerrrrreee! i guess this is the what-i've-been-up-to blog. well, aside from the hum-drum of school, i've just been living life. nothing too exciting. the highlight of the past month or so was halloween weekend. not because of the holiday, itself (i didn't dress up), but because anayo and nimo came to visit! i don't think they realize how excited i was for them to come. i'd missed them (and black people in general) so much!

i grew up in a predominately asian neighborhood, went to schools that were predominately asian (or PI), and currently go to a predominately white school. however, in all of those areas I either had my family or a group of friends to add a splash of black in my life. in barca, there is a good number of black people - at least more than i expected before coming here. most immigrated here from various countries in africa, like nigeria or senegal, others are french. nonetheless, i don't know any. so, with the exception of my new friend, kiah, i don't hang out with any black people. there are only 6, including myself, in my program of 200 or so (reminds me of high school).

the girls were here from wednesday night through monday morning. they ended up ditching their hostel and stayed in my homestay for most of the trip. we tried to do most of the touristy stuff. we went to la rambla, the harbor, placa espanya, parc guell, sagrada familia, parc de la cuitadella, and arc de triomf. we also explored the night life and hit up el gato negro, one of the infamous chupito bars; my favorite discoteca, otto zutz, and a couple of the clubs on the beach - shoko and opium. i'll let one of them blog about the details...

btw ladies, i only have two regrets. 1) that we never got sangria! unacceptable. i can't even describe how lame it is that you came to spain and never drank sangria. smh. 2) that we couldn't find a legit paella place. tell me why, as soon as you left, i found 2 restaurants that sell big paellas for two for 12 euros! on top of that, imma's making paella again this sunday.

i had so much fun and it was cool showing them around and revisiting places like parc guell which i hadn't gone to since i first got here. it also gave me a greater appreciation for the city and made me realize that though there's a lot that i know about barcelona, there's still a lot for me to discover. so, home, i miss you, but i'll be back soon enough. i only have a little time left in barcelona and who knows if and when i'll be able to come back. so, i've got to make the most of these last 5 1/2 weeks.