Hello readers!
I have arrived!! It's now... *thinks*... Tuesday, and I arrived on Sunday night after a fairly stress-free journey (although unfortunately the packing and farewells were never going to be stress-free!) Once I arrived, although there were no problems, it did seem like a wee bit of an anti-climax. After all of the build up, I was just alone in my room unpacking with no working phone and no internet (obviously, they're fixed now!)
Since then, it has been HOT. Too hot for shorts, even... but don't worry I haven't given up wearing clothes just yet. Basically in the full day and a half since then I've been just getting myself organised with the essential things, I went to IKEA to buy bedding and kitchen utensils, and then almost DIED carrying bags of groceries back to my residence from the big Alcampo supermarket in Diagonal Mar. For those of you who know the Barcelona metro, there's this really annoyingly long walkway in Passeig De Gràcia... I had to stop at least 4 times in there alone because bags were breaking and stuff was falling out! What drama.
Today I did more wandering around really, I went to a bank to open a bank account (Bancaja... even though La Caixa is right outside my door, Bancaja seem to have more accounts without charges). Thankfully I understood most of what the bank lady was saying, and to cut a long story short, she photocopied my passport and took my details, and I've to go back tomorrow to sign the forms. I also bought a "T-Jove" - an unlimited metro pass for the next 3 months.
I'm quite happy with where I'm living though, everything is really convenient. I have needed a sink plug, a potato peeler and a bottle of eye drops... managed to find all of them on my little sidestreet! The metro station Paral·lel is very close which gets me to the Universitat station in only two stops. Incidentally, there is also some sort of sex show place at the end of the street with a big naked woman sign sticking out of the side of the building. Don't think I'll be going there.
Now that I feel kinda organised to survive living here, I'm anxious to get on with some proper University life. Orientation week starts on Thursday, and I have to go to Uni tomorrow to inform them of my arrival and enrol for Catalan courses. Never mind the education, I need to meet some people!!! That is now a priority. People seem to have started arriving in the Residencia so it's time to start knocking on some doors methinks.
I still haven't got my room looking homely or organised enough, but I will soon, and then I'll put some photos up for you to see.
Until then, this is the view from my window, out onto Carrer Nou De La Rambla.
Hasta luego,
Fraser
