Best Parts About Today (so far…)
I’m pulling an Elise here…
- “Breakfast” (cafe con leche) at the top floor of the Catalonian History Museum overlooking the water and city.
- Finalizing plans for dinner at the Textile Museum Cafe tomorrow.
- Three beautiful scarves that have found their ways into my life.
- Finding the “perfect street;” an inner courtyard-type square that most blocks of the Eixample plan were supposed to have, of which few have survived (this might be the only one…). Benches, trees, a water tower and swimming pool, unnoticeable to the passerby. (Found thanks to LeCool, pictures and descriptions to come)
- Realizing my name is the same in English, Castellano and Catalan. Juanjo, one of my study abroad program directors, pointed this out today when I jokingly suggested Libby, our other program advisor who is due in February, should name her daughter “Karina.” I think the name tidbit is symbolic.
- Seeing Brigitte, Carla and Carla’s roommate again for a few hours and meeting Brigitte’s 17-year-old brother. They’re both wonderful - Brit and her brother - I hope my kids are just like them.
- Making plans to take them to my favorite cafe tomorrow (La Granja).
- Figuring out the perfect Christmas/goodbye/thank you for everything gift for Brigitte, of which I cannot write here because she reads this!
- Buying a Christmas present for my parents I know they’ll love. And having a Corte Ingles employee wrap it for me.
- Finding a 10-Euro bill on my walk home to write this post. That’s like $13. That cancels out one of the scarves I bought today. It was in the middle of a crosswalk and I noticed it in slow motion, bent down, picked it up, looked up disbelievingly (and to check if anyone was claiming it) and saw a man on a bike smiling at me in my dumbstruck state. Yeah, it’s a big deal.
Hardest Parts About Today
- Having to say goodbye to Juanjo and Libby and realizing this is it. Fighting tears after leaving the CASB Building.
- Unintentionally playing a game with myself on the walk to CASB and then to meet Brigitte that went something like “Goodbye, Diagonal. Goodbye, CASB. Goodbye, annoying metro construction. Goodbye, permissive tardiness…”
- Realizing I have one day left.
- Realizing I still have a lot I want to/need to do.
