Woke up this morning and could hardly believe I only have 2 more mornings here in Barcelona. Days here seem to take forever but time as a whole is going ridiculous fast, not quite sure how I feel about it. I had a horrid dream the other night about going home and everything was exactly as I left it, and it made me feel incredibly anxious. I think I'm just the kind of person who is slightly apprehensive of change yet craves it at the same time. I know things will be different, I guess I'm just not ready at all to go back yet. Which is good that I have about 5 more weeks here in Europe.
This weekend was filled with fabulous Gay Pride events, such as the Mr. Gay Pride Barcelona contest in Plaza Espanya which featured 7 incredibly ripped men strutting their stuff in colourful underroos and the crowd cheering as loudly as possible to vote for their favourite gay hunk. #7 won, in case you were wondering. The there was a foam party which was a bit chaotic but ridiculously amazing, especially when they started blasting Gaga and the crowd went wild, and started dancing in the fountains, much to the surprise of all the tourists who were in Plaza Espanya to check out the Magic Fountain display that happens every weekend.
Sunday was the Gay Pride parade which was reaaallly hot (as in weather) and featured dancing men on huge floats as well as about a million people marching with various signs in Catalan. It was hilarious because the crowd was so excited, they kept moving closer and closer into the street and the parade walkway so it was like the crowd became part of the parade, really funny. Definitely a good Gringo Domingo!
I went to Castelldefels beach yesterday by myself, mostly to shake off that cripplingly real dream I'd had about going home. It's a gorgeous beach, flanked by huge mountains and crystal clear water. I like doing a lot of things by myself, I've discovered here. And it's such an important discovery to me, it's part of what I'd hope would happen when I was here (this sentence feels grammatically wrong). I felt more clear headed afterwards, and even went to a bar alone to watch the Brazil vs. Chile game before meeting Jenny and her parents for delicious tapas in the Born area of Barcelona. Jenny has more time than me here so she can't understand exactly how I'm feeling but knows she'll probably feel the same way- it's a very hard city to leave.
Barcelona is everything I'd dreamed it would be- intoxicating, gorgeous, a little bit annoying, but ultimately a great place to live. I'm so glad I chose this over Madrid or some other town back when I pointed randomly to a map of Spain and landed on Barcelona. I hope by Friday morning I'll be packed and mentally ready to go to Paris to begin the traveling portion, but find myself clinging to everything. Which is exactly what happened when I left Boston, seeing a pattern here..
Today the goal is to pack somewhat, go through my clothes that I am SO SICK of and figure out what will not be coming back to the States with me, and to go to the Spain vs. Portugal game with the Canadians, who were in my TEFL course and I haven't seen them since. Good things, going to savour every moment!
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