Happy National Day of Catalonia!!

and Rip victims of 9/11.

Here, 9/11 is a big holiday..the province of Catalunya has wanted independence from Spain for a while now, and its autonomous government declared today a holiday in 1980. It often does feel like a country apart from Spain..Catalán, the language, is the first language on every sign, and most menus are in Catalán, with a second translated menu to Spanish. The language is very much like a mixture of Spanish and French. Everyone here is at least bilingual with Catalán and Spanish, but a good number of people are also trilingual, with English.

up a little earlier today, bout to head to the gym and then the beach to do a little tanning! my Charleston summer skin has definitely faded!

fact: Barcelonians often skip "to the east" or "to the west" when giving directions and instead use "a las montañas" or "al mar" to the mountains or to the sea!

another random tidbit..one of my roommates here is vegan, and has inspired me to go back to my no red meat, mostly vegetarian ways from high school, (did this my sophomore and junior years). She is really good at creating these awesome vegetarian and vegan meals and i'm learning from her!


C
also missing my familia and cant wait til they can come visit!!