¡Hola! To kick off this month, I started taking classes in the international students department known as “La Casa de las Lenguas.” Currently, I am enrolled in four classes; Oral Expression, Spanish History, Spanish Literature, and Hispanic American culture! I am continuing learning a ton about Spanish life and culture, but inside and out of the classroom. Furthermore, this month, I have continued traveling to cities throughout the country. For example, two weeks ago, I flew to Barcelona for the weekend. While there, I saw some beautiful architecture such as La Sagrada Familia, La Catedral de Barcelona and El Parque de Güell. Without a doubt, my favorite of those was el parque de Güell. Architect Atoni Gaudí designed the buildings in this “park” as well as other forms of structures, like his infamous benches overlooking the park or the “dragon” statue with gold and red stripes that represent exoticism. Regarding La Sagrada Familia, it is interesting how construction for the building started in 1882 and is not set to be completed until 2026! In continuation, I visited the Sidra Museum, the cave of Tito Bustillo and Santillana del Mar. If you are unfamiliar, “sidra” is a fermented drink made from apples that is native to Asturias. This drink can probably be compared most closely to wine. With respect to the cave, a guide led us through the landmark to a spot where we were able to see 14,000 year old cave drawing of different animals like horses, cows and reindeer. Aside from that, one of my goals this semester was to become fluent in Spanish and so far I am on track! I have been learning more colloquial phrases and vocabulary as well as becoming a more confident speaker in the classroom and while on the street. I am excited to see what November brings!
