Day 18: Some familiar faces

Inside the Chinese restaurant

At work I wrote the article based off the interview I got from the CIRCA co-founder. My boss told me that she plans on having me help her with the upcoming print editions of various Le-City Deluxe franchise magazines for the future starting next week. I’m really excited!

After work, I went to Spanish class for my fourth day and learned some more transportation terms and how to tell time along with time phrases. I definitely feel that my Spanish is strengthening!

Some friends from UA who are studying abroad in Madrid, Spain came to visit Barcelona for this weekend and I met them at the train station and helped them locate their hostel as well got dinner with them. We went to a really nice Chinese restaurant and shared a lot of great laughs. It was nice to see a familiar face and also make a new friend.

When we received our check at the restaurant, the waiter also brought us each a necklace + earring set as well as this interesting sweet wine like substance to drink in tiny little goblets. It was very different. I guess that necklaces are their version of fortune cookies? It didn’t cost any extra and we were all surprised by the random present. All in all, a very nice evening.

Day 17: Lo intento!

Pizza I had for dinner on Day 16

I learned in my Spanish class that in Spanish, “lo intento” means “I try” and seems to perfectly describe how I go about each day here.

My Spanish School

On day 17 of my experience, my internship supervisor had me conduct an interview with a jeweler. The company is called CIRCA and basically they buy jewelry, renovate it, and resell it, though their main focus is on the buying part. The man I interviewed is one of the co-founders of the franchise and he was a native of New York like me. My boss doesn’t speak fluent English so I conducted the interview wholly while she observed and made a few remarks here and there. Actually, there were five of us in the hotel lounge where the interview was held: A press secretary, the other co-founder of CIRCA, Mr. Chris Del Gatto (the man I interviewed personally) and my supervisor. It was a really good experience and it was cool to be trusted to do that kind of work. My boss also had me take pictures for the story I will write, so the work is wholly mine.

After work, I went to my Spanish class and learned terms to help me describe my neighborhood and different household terms. I really do feel that my Spanish is getting better and better each day which is a really exciting feeling.

Near the beach in Barceloneta

After class, I went to a tour led by some staff members of the program I am a part of and walked around the Barceloneta area of Barcelona. I was in this area recently when I went to the Aquarium but it was really cool to get a tour of the area and learn what restaurants to consider eating at in the future. Along with me and some interns that have been here for a while, a majority of this group was new interns that recently arrived on Monday. It was nice to meet some more new people and hear about their future plans and excitement. After the tour and some amazing ice cream, some of the new interns and some older interns went to get some Tapas.

Mango ice cream I had. It literally tasted like I was eating a whole mango rather than flavored ice cream. Fantastic!

For those who have never been to Spain or heard of Tapas, if you ever come visit, that’s definitely a major thing to add to a to-do list. Tapas are basically like appetizers and are absolutely delicious. My group, including myself, was 6 people and we ordered a random variety of Tapas including things like “Patata Bravas” which are like cooked potatoes with mayo and some type of hot sauce on them, absolutely delicious. We also had fried Calamari, a Ceviche salad, Tortilla, Cheese, Pan con tomate y oregano among a couple of others. It was about 7-8 euros when we divided it out and we were all full in the end. It’s an excellent plan for anyone who wants to try a variety of Spanish food for a low price and all of it is very tasty.

This particular day was very long because of all the nonstop things I did. I left home at 8:30 in the morning and didn’t return until 11:30 p.m., definitely long.