I do my little turn on the catwalk...

Some would argue that Spain has an easier workload than Knox.  I would agree in terms of homework, but I think in terms of learning new things, my brain has been on overload since I got here.  I didn’t really think about having to relearn how everything works in a house for example, but in every household there are systematic ways of doing things.  Some families watch TV during dinner, some families ask their kids to run errands/do chores, and some families like to have family outings once a week.  Other families don’t.  Imagine relearning the way a household works…and at the same time relearning how everything in the entire country works.  The government, the transportation system, restaurants, school…everything here has been a learning experience, right down to the public restrooms.  And when you think you get the basics figured out, you still have to learn and deal with the cultural differences… which brings me to my point – European fashion. 

Ah, European fashion.  Known worldwide for being trendsetters in the fashion industry, Barcelona loves to keep up with the quickly changing pace of the fashion world…and I use quickly changing here in the sense that sometimes I see the fashion here and hope it will change quickly, because quite frankly sometimes “the look” here is just ridiculous.  Overalls are in.  Mullets and rattails are thriving among young men (and women!?) in Barcelona.  A combination of flipflops and boots are the popular footwear.  The worse two patterns clash, the more fashionable the look seems to be.  And then we have parachute pants with the crotch down near your knees or lower. 

Does this stop me from wanting parachute pants?  Absolutely not!  I just think they look a little absurd and ridiculous…but oh so comfortable!  However, the fashion here is taking me a little bit longer to get used to than the rest of the cultural aspects.

Disclaimer: I know I was a little sarcastic (really?) in this post...I don’t think that all Europeans follow awful trends or that all European fashion trends are awful or anything like that.  But in all seriousness, mullets will never ever ever be okay with me.  Ever.

Quick updates:

*I had a lot of fun this weekend at La Merced, a weekend-long festival celebrating the patron saint of Barcelona. (See pictures on Facebook)

*Still no Spanish boo

*David Villa got red carded on Saturday night for hitting someone in the face.  The man he hit deserved it.

*Lionel Messi will be back soon!  (He was injured in a very dirty game on the part of Athletic Madrid)

*I went to my first ever futbol game in Barcelona and learned quite a few useful words lol. 

*I finally uploaded some pictures to Facebook from the first few weeks in Barcelona!

Lots of love,

Mandita