We left for Barcelona last Friday. None of us went to school because we had to catch the AVE at 12.30. The AVE is this crazy fast train that goes 300 km/h so instead of getting to Barcelona in 6 hours we got there in 3. The train also has a really nice cafeteria car so we hung out in there for a while and watched all of the cute Spanish pueblos pass by the windows. Two AFS volunteers met us in Barcelona and we started a walking tour of the area. One of the volunteers told us that the only way to explore Barcelona is to get lost in the side streets. There are a ton and even though most of them spell like pee they are all very distinct and have awesome graffiti all over. After the short tour we headed to the beach. To say we were excited to be there is a huge understatement. We had all missed the beach so much just the feel of the sand almost brought tears to my eyes. I'm not even a huge beach fan and I got legitimately emotional. After a short time on the beach we stopped at a market that was full of meat, fruit, and these delicious 1 euros smoothies. Then, we got on the metro to head to a colorfully lit fountain show. It was a beautiful way to end a very satisfying first day in Barcelona.
The next day we met up in the morning in the very center of Barcelona. We spent the whole day walking and sight seeing. After walking from a cathedral to Güell Park and then back down to the metro I was considering just sleeping on the ground where we
all had to meet up the next morning. However, me and my friend made due for a couple more hours so we
could spend more time appreciating the beach.
Next morning we were all up bright and very very early to go participate in a color run. My energy spiked
as soon as I saw the crowd of more than 1,000 runners and heard the extremely loud music they were
playing before the run started. It was a 3 km color run so basically every km they showered us with another
color of paint. Going through all of the checkpoints gave me a feeling of stress, discomfort, and delirium.
There is so much paint flying around in the air you can barely see or breath. However, you want to get
colored with as much paint as possible (so the pictures will look awesome) so you stick around for a couple
of minutes trying to get covered as much as possible. Some people were picking paint off the ground
and just spreading it on their face and arms... After the run was a concert and lots of booths giving away
free things (yay!) We hung out at the concert for a few hours and then headed to clean up a little bit before
continuing the day. Because the run was so early and our train wasn't until 9 that night we had quite a bit
of time to kill. We all went and got lunch and then headed to the beach (again.) After that we walked and
hit up a couple street markets to pick up trinkets for our host families and friends. After, we headed back
to the train station to get food and just to make sure we wouldn't be late. We got back to Madrid around 12
Sunday night, so tired it hurt to keep my eyes open.
If anyone going abroad next year is reading this right now my advice would be to definitely go on the trips AFS offers!! They are super fun and even though they aren't always perfectly organized you get to meet and hang out with the other exchange students who 90% of the time are the most amazing people you will ever meet. The cities you visit are places you WILL NEVER FORGET and the experiences are some of the best of your exchange year.
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