Skiing...

A few weekends ago (ok, more than a few, it was the 12th of February), I went skiing in the Pyrenees with some friends from church.  We woke up really early in the morning, took a train for 2.5 hours to the mountains, got off the train and asked where the snow was, proceeded to board a bus that took us to the ski place, found the snow, and hit the slopes.  We had a blast!  Needless to say the snow wasn’t nearly as good as the snow in Michigan but the view was a little better.  It was an interesting experience for me to ski in warm weather.  Normally, I have to go inside and thaw out every few hours but here I took off my gloves and hat on every chair lift.  Also, I have the greatest host family.  They gave me a snow suit and gloves to use and insisted that I wear one of their turtlenecks (I really hate wearing turtle necks but I couldn't refuse...haha).

 

Zach and Rebecca on the train

 Tyler and Rachel

Just a view while skiing, no big deal

 Me at the top of one of the runs.  Those mountains in the distance might be French, depending on which direction we were facing at this point.

 

Another view while skiing.  I loved this one!

View from the Gondola

Me in my "mono" as my host dad calls it.  This really doesn't look as bad as I thought it did.

Another view.  Rough life.

Tibidabo...

Ok, so, I missed a couple of days... let's be honest, we all knew that would happen...haha.  Anyway, on to the good stuff.

Yesterday I went to a part of Barcelona that is know as Tibidabo.  Before I went, I knew it was an "old-fashioned" amusement park at the top of a mountain however, I didn't end up spending anytime in the amusement park.  There are also two churches, or basilicas rather, built at the top of the mountain; one on top of the other and they're different styles.  The base was built in the Islamic/Romantic style while the top was built in the Gothic style.  In case you're not familiar with the different styles, Islamic/Romantic has rounded arches and is often more dome-shaped.  The Gothic style arches come to a point, and the walls are always smooth.  (I'll post pictures when I finally put them on my computer.) So, I ended up spending the majority of my time in these churches, examining the differences.  The rest of the afternoon was spent eating lunch, and talking with friends while overlooking the city scape of Barcelona. 

Classes...

A lot has changed since I last updated you about my classes.  I've started 3 new classes, taken mid-terms, written papers, given presentations and finished the only classes I had when I last wrote about my classes. So what's new?

Historia del Mediterraneo Antiguo...

I’m done with this class!  I took the final last week Thursday and this week I have been blissfully sleeping in when I normally would have been at this class.  I got a 7 (out of 10) on the final.  I know, you’re probably thinking 7 out of 10, not your best work Leah but I was shocked I did this well.  First of all, this is my class with other Spaniards so I figured if I was able to understand and regurgitate half as much as they could I was doing well.  Secondly, during the exam, there were two questions 1)describe the founding of Rome and 2)describe the Mycenaean trading in the central Mediterranean.  Foundation of Rome, ok, pretty standard.  Mycenaean trade routes?  We never talked about trading! We talked about things found in graves and to be honest I always zoned out during that part because I never thought it was important.  (Side note: I took me 3 weeks to figure out what micénico was.) So during the exam I had my three or so (short) paragraphs about Rome and maybe 5 bullet points of things that were found some place (which I pretty much made up) while the Spaniard next to me was on the back of her third page.  This really didn’t instill confidence in my answers…  And finally, I already knew that the 2 other Americans in my class got a 4 and a 4.5. So, in short, I feel great about my 7! (I also might note that a 7 here doesn’t exactly translate to 70% in the US)

Other classes…

I don’t have nearly as much to tell about these classes: Art and Artist, Contemporary Spanish Literature, and a Spanish Grammar class.  I’ve taken 2 mid-terms, given 2 presentations, and written a paper (along with a few smaller activities).  Overall I really enjoy my classes. 

Sorry...

I know, I know, I haven't written in forever.  I'm sorry. You see, in the past month and a half, I've been out enjoying Spain, spending time with friends both new and old and, well, actually studying.  This leaves me with a crap ton of stories to tell, little desire to spend several hours writing a monstrously long blog post, and still more studying (that is what I came here to do after all), not to mention all the fun things still left undone.  So, I have a proposition.  I will not spend my time on a wall of text for you to read, instead I will post something everyday for the last month that I'm here.  Sound good?