Te lo agradezco por todo

Wow, so much has happened this past week! To make it easier on y'all I shall seguir with the same format as before :)

> I moved! Yes, I didn't really express that much discontent with my homestay in my previous posts, and it wasn't that I was that unhappy or anything, it's just that something better became available, so I took it. It actually is just a huge, huge blessing and I am so thankful to God for His faithfulness because I have no doubt that this was only possible because of Him. My two friends who I go to church with here actually had a single room open in their homestay. A girl was going to move there before, but then she decided not to. So I decided to move because I'd rather live with friends. It was tough telling Nury, but I think she understood. It just kinda stinks because I think my other roommates were planning on moving as well... but oh well. I am so much happier here because it is closer to the metro, there are more things around this area, and I actually know other people who live closeby!

First dinner with my roommates, Alexis (left) and Katie =D

But anyway, my new hostmom is a real hoot. Her name is Begonia, and yes her house does smell like flowers. When I first met her, she immediately reminded me of an older version of Julie Andrews in the role of Mary Poppins. She likes to speak Spanglish to us, and make sure that we completely understand her so she repeats the different things that she needs to tell us multiple times in both languages. She is also very hospitable and, if you have been on gtalk, you will have already known from my gtalk status that she keeps buying us this delicious Chocolate ice cream and my roommates and I cannot stop eating it. She also has a nice assortment of nuts (of the hazel, almond, and walnut sort) which I enjoy placing into the pint of chocolate ice cream and eating together (no more almond hunting in my Starbucks Coffee Almond Fudge, for those of you who know about my previous self-destructive quests... hahaa) Another example of Begonia's extreme hospitality is that a couple days ago, my roommate, Katie, told her that my parents may be coming to visit me during my Spring break here in April. Yesterday, she told me that she would like to invite them over for dinner and then proceeded to ask me if I knew whether they would prefer red or white wine?
Basically, she is precious, and I am sure that I will have many other stories to share about her.
One more story: the other night I entered one of my laughing fits at the dining table, and Begonia actually hit me playfully and said "No te ries!" (Don't laugh!) but in a kind of reprimanding way which I understand of someone like her who may not have ever been exposed to someone who is as easily amused as I am.

> I started classes! Speaking of being easily amused, which is a true statement in and of itself, either it's because of that characteristic of mine, or that I just happened to pick the classes with highly amusing professors, but I have something to say about most of them! Two of my professors have repeatedly scolded themselves in the third person during class (i.e. "Ay, Rosa! Por que lo hiciste!" or "Toni, por favor! No gritas!") My Spanish professor, Rosa, is highly amusing and has already simulated two fiestas during our class, including this morning when we did a round of speed-dating in a class of 9 girls and 1 boy. Then there is my professor, Toni, who I have for two classes back to back at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona--one is "Politics, War and Economy: History of Globalization" and "Barcelona: City-Planning and Architecture." This would probably be a bad situation save for the fact that he is a dynamic professor who is teaching me two completely subjects, aka he is incredibly intelligent. I have not felt one bit of doubt about his expertise in either subject. He also reminds me of the genie from Aladdin, NO JOKE. He has a very hearty laugh and that line-beard-cut thing that outlines his jaw (I know there is a term for it but, lo siento, I am not American-cultured enough to know it.) He also enjoys sprinkling bilingual explicits into his vocabulary quite often. Also, he only says "vale" to further prove my point from my previous post. And then, there is my Art History professor who I have also made mention of in my gtalk status if you've been keeping track (because that seems to be a trend for people who have me on their gtalk lists. Apparently sometimes I provide amusement through the things that I express on my statuses...) He is the professor who is a Spanish-accented, highly-sensitive George Clooney, I kid you not. We shall see how I fare in this class, which is actually really, really interesting, not just because of the professor. It's "Iberian Peninsula: Cultures and Religions Through the Arts" and focuses on Islamic art, which is something that I've just never learned about and it's so interesting because it focuses on the social contexts and meanings that can be interpreted through arts. It's very soulful. And it is being presented to me through an excellent medium ;-)

> So city. Some of you may know Kathryn McCaleb, but something that she has made note of many times before is with regard to the embodiment of "being city." And although her definition differs slightly from the topic on which I am about to write, it goes along with the same theme. Since I've gotten here, I've just realized how much of a city-dweller I am, and how it is an identity that I've never really taken ownership of in the past. I lived in Hong Kong until I was 7, moved to Boston (which, in comparison, is really a town. But my theory is only further proven because I really am not too much of a Bostonian...), go to school in NYC, and now am studying in Barcelona. I've been able to make so many comparisons especially between Barcelona and Hong Kong. It is fascinating how similar, yet completely different, the two cities are. I guess that is a large reason why I am excited for my Urbanism and Architecture class in which we will be discussing the characteristics of a city. There have been so many times in the past two weeks when I have told other people "Wow, this feels like Hong Kong." Like the train system: here, just like in Hong Kong, they have two companies who operate the underground system, so there are two different types of Metros, one of which is a little more like a railway train than a subway train. Then the two neighborhoods that I've lived in have felt like Hong Kong to me as well, specifically the two neighborhoods that my maternal and paternal grandparents live in. Tibidabo, which is where I live now, reminds me of Ho Man Tin, which is where my grandma lives. And Les Corts, which is where I lived before, reminds me of Sha Tin, which is where my grandpa lives. But then I've also been able to compare this city to New York. For example, there is this district here called Gracia, which definitely reminds me of Brooklyn. It's a hipper area where many hip locals hang out and there are little bars on small streets. And, just like how Brooklyn did not used to be a part of New York City, Gracia did not used to be part of Barcelona until it got annexed by the city a little while back. So the people there are more likely to participate in protests and be more politically active.

> ¡"Amigos" con subtitulos en Español! Last night, my roommates and I watched the Friends DVDs that I stole from Sarah Kupferberg and made it an educational experience by putting on the Spanish subtitles. I thought y'all might enjoy some of the excellent vocabulario that I gained from the night (this is from the episode when Chandler and Monica watch Phoebe's sister's birthing video)
¡Diablos! -- Damn!
Pornografía fea! -- worst porn ever!
Hambriente -- ballsy (to be)
Coquetarse -- to hit on
Now you are all well-equipped to come visit me in Barcelona!

> More sappy Spanish songs: On the flight here, I listened to the music offerings of Continental Airlines. Of course, I looked at what Latin music there was, and one that I found was the Luis Fonsi's album. When we were eating dinner last night, I ventured into the kitchen to turn on the radio for some mood music and went against the current to search for the radio station that actually played Spanish music! And whaddaya know, Luis Fonsi came on. So because I'm not sure if there is anyone else in your life as obsessed with cheesy Spanish pop music, I am eager to fulfill my responsibilities as your friend who does and provide you with the link to his cheesy music video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PG7k9fSYDvA. Enjoy! jajaa :)

> Photos: In response to your demand, and because I want to share with y'all anyway, I will be uploading some photos soon onto my Picasa site. And then also will eventually be doing some facebook album-creating.

**Sorry this was so long. It was quite rambling, I apologize!!!