Barcelona

         Hola students! Sorry I haven't posted in a while, but I have been very busy traveling and settling back into my home in Eastbourne. Let's jump back to the week before I left for Barcelona. 

On Monday and Tuesday, I met with my coordinators from England. They helped the other student teachers and I get settled into Brighton University and showed us the ropes. We also met with a woman named Kate who taught us all about the British school system. The two systems are very similar, with a few distinct differences,which I will discuss in later posts when I am actually in my school. On Wednesday, I met my cooperating teacher and new class. I will be teaching at Hawkes Farm Primary School in Hailsham, East Sussex.  (http://www.school-portal.co.uk/GroupHomepage.asp?GroupId=268730) I am teaching in year five, which is the same as fifth grade in the states. My class is a little bigger than ours at Whittier. There are 30 students in my class with one teacher's aide. One other difference is that I will be sharing the classroom with another student teacher from my program. I will be sure to post pictures of my class as soon as I start on Tuesday, November 2nd. 

I also traveled to Brighton, East Sussex right before I left for Barcelona. Brighton is an amazing town that is right on the South Coast. It is a very popular tourist destination in England. There are many restaurants along the beach and many places to shop, which I thoroughly enjoyed.  

So finally, last Wednesday I left Eastbourne for the brilliant city of Barcelona. My friend Bonnie and I had to stay in the airport over night in order to get the best deal on a flight. We arrived at our hostel in Barcelona at about noon on Thursday. We made some friends about two hours after we arrived and decided to explore the city. We walked down Las Ramblas (as seen in my lovely, high quality video) and found ourselves staring at the AMAZING food in La Boqueria, the Spanish market. La Boqueria is full of fresh meats, fruits, vegetables, delectable candies, and hundreds of other items.  

After drooling over the delicacies in La Boqueria, we decided to go grab a bite to eat. (Now before I describe my meal, you have to understand that Spain  has a COMPLETELY different schedule. The people of Barcelona wake up around 10 am, eat lunch from 1-4, take a siesta(nap), eat again from 8-11 pm, and then go out on the town until very late at night). With this being said, the meals at restaurants are set up a bit differently. My friends and I sat down for menu del dia, which involves the restaurant choosing three courses that they serve you for a set price. After I sat down and had my meal, I was ready to do my American thing and rush to pay the bill and leave the place.Wrong again! 

In Spain, and in most European countries, it is rude to leave abruptly after a meal. You are expected to sit and enjoy the food and your company. So you are suppose to sit for hours to enjoy a multiple course meal and then take a nap? Sign me up! I enjoyed several delicious meals in Barcelona, many of which included their signature dish: Paella. 

The rest of my trip to Barcelona included a lot of sight seeing( and more taste testing, of course). The Spanish artist, Antonio Gaudi, had a huge influence on the city of Barcelona. His amazing buildings can be found throughout the city. We visited La Sagrada Familia, a church that Gaudi designed but was unable to finish before his death, first. Then we ventured to Park Guell, an amazing park adorned with beautiful mosaics designed by Gaudi. While hiking through the city, we stumbled upon several other buildings Gaudi designed as well. The man was a genius artist! (Other Spanish artists include Pablo Picasso and my personal favorite Salvador Dali). 

I was only in Barcelona for five days, but I felt as if I was able to grasp a sufficient amount about the place. Barcelona is an amazing city with a culture to match. I will post more pictures when my computer stops acting up. 

I hope you all are enjoying your Halloween festivities. What are you all dressing up as? Let me know how it goes! I am going to London tomorrow to celebrate! Hopefully I can find people as enthusiastic about Halloween as we are!