Urban Life

When I applied for CIS and my study abroad, I stated on my application that I wanted to study urban life, and get a feel for what living in a huge city center is like. Well, I have surely gotten that experience here. Living on a avenue that is always busy and is always noisy, having people everywhere, and not being able to get away. With that, there are pickpockets, sketch people, and the ever drunken crowd of party people along the beach and along Las Ramblas. I've learned the reason behind why people call it a concrete jungle, and why I probably will never live in a city ever again in my life.

But with that said, it has its nice points.

I have instant access to supermarkets, cultural sites, and historical places. I have tons of people to watch and observe, and I have access to anywhere without a car, which is nice, and I'm getting a lot of exercise. I am living on my own, faced with my own decisions, but my apartment mates will not clean their dishes, which is one downside to the whole collective side of living. My classes are a perfect gateway to look into the urban lifestyle, and to see how it connects with everyone around and their lives. It explains a lot, and how to deal with that in a modern context.

Yet, I've explored all of those routes.

I've observed all that I can for now, my brain is full. I've seen a lot of places, and I'd like to see more, but they always cost to get in, which I can't afford. I sort of miss driving my car, and I don't like having to depend on a system (even if it is wonderful and fast). My classes are an entirely new view of academics, but everyone in them is not, and that gets on my nerves a bit, because I know they can just throw around five to six thousand dollars for a "vacation".

This is not a vacation. This is an active participatory event, one which you must use to your fullest potential. But you know, whatever, to each their own. I just wish there were more people like me to hang around, and possibly talk with in Spanish, yeah?

But with all of that said, I still have three weeks in this wonderful city. Three more weeks to go see what I can, and see all that I can. I need to get back on my regular schedule, because this weekend has thrown it off by a lot. This must be the slump that they say you go in during study abroad, but I don't think it is because of cultural misunderstanding and frustration between me and the Spanish people, I think its because of cultural misunderstanding and frustration between me and my classmates and fellow "students".

-Nick Ford