Arriving in Barcelona Spain

Ok, I'll admit it... I Have fallen under the Jet Lag spell! For those of you who are not familiar with "jet lag" it is an extremely deadly disease. Ok, so it's not a deadly disease, but it feels like it! Jet lag is a term for feeling exhausted and tired because of the time change from a flight. I arrived in Barcelona yesterday at about 10 am (which is about 4 am in the USA) after having about three hours of scattered sleep on the plane (I will try not to blame it on the larger woman sitting next to me who took up her seat and half of mine) and did not go to sleep until 11:45 ish (that is 4:45 pm in NC). Nevertheless I didn't get a chance to blog last night. So now I will recap yesterday and later tonight I will blog about my awesome day today :)

So after being greeted by a Travel for Teens counselor at the airport i realized how many differences there are from the USA and Spain. The Taxis are black and yellow and the ambulances look more like clown cars than emergency vehicles. Even the toilets are different... They have a push button flush! Barcelona is like nothing i have ever seen...it is a busy city like NYC but the architecture is exquisite and intricate and there is a definite beach feel since we are on the water. Jonny and I took a taxi back to our place of residence...my first Hostel! The hostel we are staying at is very nice and modern. Each room has 3-4 beds and it's own bathroom. It feels like a hotel minus the usual amenities. When the rest of the Travel For Teens group arrived I met my roommates- Tia from Texas and Rina from Manhattan. They are both really. Ice and we have gotten along great!

Everyone is sooo tired from jet lag, but we get some sandwiches for lunch (kind of like subway but the bread is harder and there is no mustard tear tear) and then we go on a catamaran ride (a type of boat). It was really cool to see the city by sea. There was an amazing saxophone player playing really relaxing music...maybe too relaxing because most of the group fell asleep!

I am soo glad I brought so many clothes because at this rate i will be going through 2 or 3 outfits a day! It is so hot in Barcelona and after  a few hours out we all feel the need to shower and change. Las Ramblas is the name for a long street in Barcelona filled with cool shops, street artists, musicians and performers and we went here after freshening up. Keep in mind that by this time it is about 5:00 pm in Barcelona but it feels like 11:00am to me...and I had slept less than three hours in the last day-and-a-half.. We strolled along the town, everyone almost falling asleep, and socialized. I am meeting people from all over the country and counselors from all o er the world! If you keep reading i am sure you will hear more about them. Eventually went back to the hostel and changed out of our nasty clothes (again) to go to dinner. 

Barcelona is such a cool place and I'm trying to capture the vibe with my pictures (which I will upload when I get back). We walked about 15 minutes to dinner and past some cool buildings I wish I could show you. It's funny that on the monument of Christopher Columbus he is pointing his finger to what is supposed to be america, but a month after it's construction was completed the Spanish realized Columbus is actually pointing towards Africa! Well anyways, we ate at this Argentinian place that is owned by two cooks. It was delicious, but the bad thing about traveling with a group is that it takes forever to get food. The result is eating tons of bread baskets before your meal comes out! It was worth the wait though because those guys really know how to cook!

The 15 minute walk back to the hostel seemed like 15 hours, but I am still entranced by this beautiful city. By the time I got back I was completely exhausted. I sent my parents a quick email and crashed into the deepest sleep on the most uncomfortable bed I've ever sat on, but hard beds dont even matter, por que soy en espana!

Until tonight,
Jess