A tale of three moms

When I was interviewing (yes, a legit 45-minute interview) to move into my current flat, my roommates sat me down and said they were different, and that they live like a family. Since they are from all over Spain and don´t have family nearby, it was important that home feels like home. I loved the idea, and I now know why...

I have three moms in Spain. My roommate Elena, since we don´t have heat, constantly tells me "Abrigate!" ("Cover yourself!") and to eat my vegetables. She even force feeds me new weird Spanish vegetables which are great when you know how to cook them.

My roommate Cristina is the fruit nazi. I love fruit, but she commented last month that she never sees me eating any. So, I know show her my banana and clemintine peels, apple cores, and pineapple scraps everyday. It´s become a ritual...I think she´ll be grossed out soon, but she asked for it.

Maria, the ED Director who I work most closely with, is awesome. Last week, she asked if I got my flu shot. I hate unneccesary shots/medications, but she, like my mom, made me get one. She physically dragged me to the department, told her I was an employee (lie), that I was willing to receive the shot (lie), and watched the nurse inject me with the vaccination.

Afterwards, she invited me to her house for Sunday lunch to meet her family and show me her town. Her family is perfect. They live out in the suburbs in a 5 (yes, 5) story house. Her husband is a doctor and the CEO of another hospital in Barcelona which I will visit in February. Her two daughters are adorable...Carla is 5 and Gabriela(?) is 14...they asked me to be their sitter when their parents go on date night (terrrible idea). Her husband, Rafael, cooked up a vegetable soup, baked corbina fish, a veggie cassarole, and homemade pizza-bread. I brought homemade brownies for dessert, which the kids ate up. We took a stroll afterwards, played frisbee, and visited the Catholic Monestary in town which dates back to the 12th Century. Her kids asked if we had anything that old in America, to which I responded, no, we have no history.

I sent her a thank you email last night for their hospitality to which she responded: "Espero que mis hijas algún día, dentro de 10 años, encuentren un chico como tú! Ja, ja." ("I hope that my daughters, one day, in 10 years, find a boy like you! Haha!"). Always the bridesmaid, never the bride...

Some friends and I met up to watch the Barca game last night and realized we only have 5 months left here. I have so much left to do and see...it´s hard to imagine how quickly time has flown by. I know I have a life to get back to, but I´ll never forget my 10-month Mediterranean siesta.

This weekend I´m heading to London, Oxford, and Brighton to see a slew of UNC and Winston friends.

Next weekend = Barcelona Half Marathon

And the following week, I´ll be "working" from the Canary Islands. Spring Break #1, here I come...

Talk soon

The Show Goes On

Today, I finished the last of my grad school applications. Tomorrow, I celebrate by taking a trip up to Andorra to visit a few friends and ski fresh powder in the Pyrenees.

I've been in Barcelona for a little over four months and I'm wondering where the time went. I think I've accomplished a fair amount so far, most importantly gaining the respect of the department heads. When I started out at the hospital, they were pretty skeptical (as was I) as to what my purpose would be. Now, they are sometimes worried if I don't show up. The secretaries are my favorite, as we often tell jokes (mainly at my expense) and chat about the hots and nots of barca-life.

The next few months here will be pretty exciting. Most of my research travel is around Feb-March so I can finish my papers in April-May. Aside from that, I'll be gone at least 2 weekends a month until June.

It's been awhile since I spoke with some of you…just know I think about my friends and family back home a lot. But also know I can't imagine myself anywhere else.

One of my friends suggested doing a year-in-review through your Facebook posts. My status on September 28, 2009: "Barcelona was amazing…I'm going to live there one day"