Second day of class and a second parade!

I woke up at 6 today. That’s progress! I took my suitcases over to my new home. I rang the bell and the door buzzed so I pushed it open. Turns out I’m living on the 5th floor and there is no elevator. I started to take my things up but my new apartment mate, Rik, came and took them up for me. I didn’t really see much of the apartment, because I had to go to class and it was rather dark. I hardly even talked to Rik. His English WAS fluent and he talked maybe even faster than I do. His coloring was similar to mine—reddish blonde hair.

At school, our first lesson of the day was on eliciting information from the students. Then we had a practice teach. Dalia, my partner, did NOT follow our lesson plan. She was forging ahead on her own and then expecting me to come in and pick up where she left off. It was a disaster. I felt a bit embarrassed.

Then we had lunch. Dalia, Steph, Mikaela and I went to a sandwich shop. Today’s was warm sandwiches and overall much better than yesterday’s. Dalia asked the shop owner if the parade was today or tomorrow. She was sure it was tomorrow and I thought today. I was right.

Back in class, we went over our essay on our foreign language learning (the Czech lessons). Then we had some time with our partners. I talked to Dalia about how she how the warm-up and the rest of the lesson were supposed to go (AKA not how they went!). Then we got out early because of the holiday.

After school, I went home with Steph and Mikaela. We figured out where the parade was and headed out to see it. We took the metro to Passeig de Gracia, the main shopping street near my house. The subway stop was a bit further down though.

We walked through a square full of fountains and statues and went into a store/mall. It was 5 stories tall, each story with its own sort of theme. It had lots of cool clothes that weren’t obscenely expensive. It was interesting to see which things each of my friends looked at. I was learning about their style.



Then we went to Café Zurich. Inside, it was tres Euro-chic. The building was all in white material in shapes and the waiter had on a fancy white coat. He didn’t give us menus. Steph and I had hot chocolates. They were SO rich! Like a mousse or a fudge sauce. We also ordered a croissant and a pain au chocolate, but got a chocolate cake instead.



After our snack, we went outside to wait for the parade. It was cold and drizzley. We got ourselves a prime viewing location and then waited and waited. We did let some kids stand in front of us because from what we understood, the parade was mostly for them.









The parade was a much larger version of yesterday’s! This one was televised and massive crowds gathered to watch. There were huge floats with the kings and all sorts of entertainers in the procession before the kings. There were horse riders, giant balloons, dancers with flowing skirts attached to their arms, big balloony shaped creatures, lanterns, stilts-walkers, bubbles, real camels and a variety of other things. Each king had a procession before him and gifts and lanterns that followed him. At the end, there was a sort of fire-y display.



After the parade, we cut across the street in front of the street sweepers and went to the Hard Rock Café for dinner. I had a side Caesar Salad and a side of Twisted Macaroni. We talked about the class and how none of us are sure what we’re doing after it. My friends aren’t sure they’re getting their money’s worth on the course. I think as long as I come out of it with a certificate, I am. I feel I’m learning things that will help me—sort of like hints as to WHY I should do things in certain ways.

After dinner, I walked home. It would only have been one subway stop for me. I had trouble letting myself into the apartment building. I wasn’t pushing hard enough on the door. Up the 5 flgihts of stairs, there was a note for me, “Kathy,” detailing some information about spaces for my things and how certain others work. Inside, I was alone so I looked at everything. The master bedroom is at the front of the building with a mini-balcony and a view of the street. There is an office-y room next to it. Those are to the left of the front door. To the right, there’s my room and then a living room and the kitchen. The bathroom is against the farthest wall. The apartment is very European and slightly hippie-dippie. Its décor is homey, with fabrics draped here and there and wallpaper in sections in random places. There are pale posters on the walls. It’s nice, but probably not what I would choose. It’s certainly not bad. It’s hard to explain.

My room is a small rectangle. My bed and a metal shelf (the short way) fit along the wall under the window. To the other side of my bed, there’s a rack for my clothes and a small nightstand. There’s a fold-out table on the wall opposite the bed. I unpacked my suitcases and went to bed. The door doesn’t quite close, so I just left it cracked.

*Pics of flat to follow...