Hello again friends! It’s been about a week and a half since I last updated the blog… Since then I have worked at Betty Ford’s twice (the last two Sunday nights). I am elated to get to work there, even if it’s just one shift a week so far; it is such a cool bar with quality co-workers. Needless to say, I am learning a ton whilst working there as a waitress/ bartender. Until around 11pm the bar offers a limited food menu consisting of half a dozen types of burgers and fries with a homemade ranch sauce that is to die for. Spaniards do not seem to share the same universal affinity with ranch that Americans do. Anyways, when I take orders it’s usually about 60% Spanish orders, 40% English; every now and then someone will initially speak to me in Catalan, which spurs my deer-in-the-headlights-look and then I have to admit that I don’t speak Catalan. It has been cool to use my Spanish in this new context – last night I learned how to say the different degrees of cooking a burger patty.
Along with working at Betty Ford’s, I have been doing a few individual English lessons lately. Last week I had my first meeting with Martín, a cool guy from Cordoba, Argentina who works at the ISA office here in town. He has a substantially high level of English already so I am looking forward to continue to work with him weekly. I also do a weekly lesson with Abril, Damian’s little half-sister. Abril is almost four and has absolutely won my heart. This Thursday two of her fellow preschool classmates will join her for the lesson so that will be interesting I’m sure! She has a brain like a sponge. After our lesson last week, Damian, Abril, and I walked to the Diagonal Mar indoor mall that is super nice; I had never been there before and it was a fun time. We took Abril to the indoor play-bounce-area before eating at the mall. When I took her to the bathroom in the restaurant, she surprised me by asking if she could come in the stall with me, to which I responded “Claro q sí!”
Last Saturday night Cass, Gabi and I hit up Catwalk for their “hip-hop night” – it was a blast. Talk about throwback jam after throwback jam. I felt like I was back in the lunch room at LSW. After we broke it down like it was 2008 for a while, we met Damian and his friends at Olympic. I think the next time we went out was this last Wednesday night, as we couldn’t possibly pass up another opportunity for a free “welcome” dinner at Shoko. Hence, Fino, Britt, Cass, and I made sure we were there right when the doors opened and we feasted on croquettes, paella rice, sushi, patatas bravas, bunuelos, and all you could drink wine and cava. As the night went on and Shoko transformed from dining facility to discoteca, we made our way up to the open bar (for girls). By the end of the night, we were toasting goblets of Redbull vodkas with a handful of guys from Dubai who had bottle service in the VIP area of Shoko. I ended up telling one of them that I didn’t have Facebook or any other form of social media in order to prevent future communication.
This week Cass and I walked to “the bunkers,” which is actually the old bunker structure from the Spanish civil war in the 1930s… Nowadays it is a park and offers the best 360 degree view of the entire city. It was a bit of a hike to get all the way to the top but the spectacular views are well worth the sweat.
This last Friday, Cass, Sergi, and I went to La Maquinista – a huge, outdoor shopping mall. Neither Cass nor I had been there before and it was a perfect fall day to do some much needed shopping. I ended up getting some desperately needed tights, a pair of booties, a blanket for my bed, and a few warm things to wear as the weather continues to cool off here. Friday night, Cass and I met up with Damian and Rodrigo before going to Sotavento together for the guest appearance of Mike “The Situation” from Jersey Shore. I have never considered myself a fan of his but the other three really wanted to see him so I was along for the ride. It was surreal to take a photo with him in the club and see him in person; he is even uglier than on TV. After the ritual Olympic last stop, we ended up at a Donor Kebab shop in the Port, where Cass and I proceeded to eat more than the boys. I had falafel for the first time ever and loved it!
After hanging out with Damian most of Saturday, I eventually ended up making Puppy Chow finally! I had been waiting for the Chex cereal in the care package from my mom that arrived this last week. Although I was nervous for how it would turn it out since I had never made it on a stovetop before, it came out perfectly and was a huge hit at the BBQ on Sunday with the Sant Cugat crew. For that outing, Sergi kindly picked up Cass and I and then we drove to Caldes de Montbui for a Sunday afternoon filled with BBQ-ing, Ping-Pong, futbol, y good company. We got lucky with great weather yesterday too. The menu for the BBQ consisted of roasted/ grilled chicken, pan y aioli, patatas, sangria, y puppy chow for dessert!
Random tid-bits and /or updates: the lack of central heat in our apartment is starting to get old… quickly. I have discovered my favorite bakery in the city…, which is far too conveniently, located a 2 minute walk from my apartment. Damian and I are dating now! We have three guy friends of Cass staying at our apartment for the next week so it’s a full house here! We are hoping to hit up Da Greco, Rosa Negra, and Oveja while the boys are in town. I’m hoping to go to Damian’s game next weekend. We might go to Sitges on Wednesday if the weather is as good as the forecast is projecting currently! I am hoping to invest in a leather jacket and thick socks soon. And that is about all I know! Until next time people.
SAMHOPEHANSEN 