Enjoying Some Sun in La Costa Brava, Gift Shopping, and Finishing My Work!

As I said before, I went to Barcelona last week! It was all fairly normal and, in reality, it was a pretty calm weekend. I just hung out with some friends and went to a couple of pubs. I even found a pub that serves you popcorn when you order a drink, which was probably the greatest thing that I have ever seen, hands down. I also got to catch up on some sleep, which is quite a rarity in Barcelona.

On Saturday, one of my friends took me to a part of La Costa Brava that I have never seen before. Although I truly don’t know where we went (exactly), it was gorgeous; completely unreal.  I don’t even believe the pictures that I took. It was simply like nothing I’ve ever seen and was also fairly remote.

We ended up walking something like 20km that day, which was an absolute killer on my poor legs, but it was worth it in the end.  Afterward, we drove to a nearby town to see fireworks, which in reality were a bit of a letdown. I guess these were just okay since we do extreme fireworks in the US. Even so, it was hilarious to hear the kids go crazy for the fireworks; they shouted non-stop and cheered (I love their enthusiasm here). After the fireworks, we went back to my friend’s house, which was a literal villa or mansion. It was three stories and had an electronic gate with a private pool (so rare here)…. truly a marvel. I was blown away.

In other news, I’m trying to buy gifts for my friends and family members back home, which is surprisingly hard. I hate just buying normal souvenirs, so I end up spending a ridiculous amount of time looking for more personalized gifts (granted at this point I don’t even know who I’m buying for). And just as it did last time, buying gifts for people in another country has really forced me to explore; it makes me search for a specific type of store that’ll carry a specific type of item. I almost wish that I bought everything at the start, so then I would be able to explore more of the city sooner rather than later.

My final days of working here are winding down. My office closes for August, so everyone is supposed to work from home for the final days, which means that my last day is tomorrow.  Overall, it has been a wonderful experience. It has been truly eye-opening to work and live in another country for this summer, and I really hope that I get the chance to come back. Also, although I won’t be completely done with my job until next Friday, it really feels like it’s coming to an end, that’s why I’m saying all of this. I’ve learned quite a bit in the past months and I’m extremely excited to be able to take my work experience back with me and be able to put what I’ve learned here in a different context. After tomorrow, it will probably be a lot more relaxed because I’ll just be finishing up a couple of my projects and then I’ll be done. It’s amazing to see what I’ve been able to accomplish this summer as I look back through my completed projects.

Anyway, I’ll touch back in next week after I’ve finished my work (or at least most of it), and I’ll also talk about saying my final goodbyes to Madrid.

See you then!