Barcelona!

So I flew out of Airlingus which I was convinced didn't exist because noone had ever heard of it. But it did luckily. When I got the JFK and sat down at my gate, I looked around and noticed this girl sitting across from me who looked very familiar. I figured that it couldn't be who I thought it was. What are the chances I'd know someone flying to Dublin out of JFK at 10 pm? But when I saw the book she was reading I knew it was her. I'm not going to name any names but her initials are...no just kidding. I had no desire to talk to her as I was never a big fan of her in high school. Then I noticed someone else in the same gate who used to work at Danbury High School. Wierd.

So anyway I get on the plane and this cute little old Irish woman sits next to me. She is from 200 miles outside of Dublin and she visited the states to go shopping in New York City because "everything in New York City is so cheap!" Note to self: Never go shopping in Ireland.

Anyway I didn't think the ten hour layover in Dublin would be so bad. I had a Guinness at one of the many bars in the airport because I had never had a Guinness before. And it was so embarrassing. I go up to the bar and don't make fun of me but I go "how much is a beer?" and the bartender says "what kind?" and I said "Guinness" and he said that Guinness was a Stout and I felt so dumb.

The layover wasn't that bad but what makes me so mad is when people get on the Superman walkways and just stand there. Um HELLO. The whole point of the Superman walkway is that when you walk on it you go really fast and if you put your arms up in front of you you look like Superman, but you go fast and thus get to where you need to go faster because everyone is supposed to be in a rush at the airport. You get on the Superman walkway and walk and you go really fast. If you go on it and stand there you go twice as slow as you would if you just walked. How lazy can you be? You were just sitting on a plane for 5 hours. Walk or get the hell off. The Superman walkways were not made for your lazy ass.

Grr. I get on the plane to Barcelona. There are not one, but two screaming children who scream for 3 hours. Seriously they were never not crying. I feel sympathetic. I know you have a baby on a plane you can't shut them up it's not your fault or their fault, but still. Oh my god. And it didn't help that the stewardess gives my seat away that I hand selected online and it is the best seat the plane had to offer, whatever, I don't care. So on the plane to Barcelona, I figure I should actually read the Get Set! guide that I was supposed to have read months ago. Now's the time! In the guide it says that most host mothers aren't very friendly and are kind of awkward and don't feel bad if they aren't very friendly. So I am a little dispirited but I figure we'd warm up to each other eventually.

I am like the last person in the program to arrive because my flight got in so late so I have to call an emergency number and a cab. The cab driver used to work at the U.S. consulate and that while New Yorkers are very very friendly, most people in Barcelona are "not so kind." I am interested to see if I find this to be true.

I get out of the cab and three people come running over to me. An old Spainsh lady is yelling at me "Ca-ta-rine! Ca-ta-rine!" and talking to me in espanol. "Mas tarde!". She kissed me on both cheeks and is wearing some crazy outfit. She is loud and inviting. She is CRAZY. I freakin' love it. She wears crazy clothes and is very...eccentric. Perfect match. And her cooking is amazing.

The best thing is that I've been here less than a day and I've been asked for directions three times. I look like a tourist. At one point I was walking around carrying a big leaf that I found on the ground. Tourist. I do not look like I know where I'm going.

Oh and one last thing. We went to get lunch at a cafe and I was trying to say "me too" as in I would have the same thing but I said "tiempo" instead of "tambien" so I accidentally said "the weather." Americana estupida.