Time has just been flying by. It seems like just the other day when this trip, and by extension, this blog, were an exciting novelty for me. Every experience was new, and every day promised a new glimpse into the strange and multi-layered world of Barcelona, which to my American eyes, might as well have been Mars. Having spent more than twice as much time here as I did in Mexico, I can say that Barcelona is my home. And along with all the positive things that entails (comfort with city's labyrinthine streets, hometown pride, etc.) it also means that it doesn't surprise me like before, and doesn't inspire me to document my experiences within it like I felt compelled to before on this blog. Not only that, but time became scarcer and scarcer. Far from the glorified vacation of studying in Morelia, the life of foreign student in Barcelona is difficult and I read Spanish novels at about one-eighth the speed that I can in English. Add to that a job teaching English to kids twice a week, an internship at an Alt-weekly newspaper, and, lest I forget, a serious relationship, and I started to feel the hours in my shrinking. I settled into the routine of a student trying to keep his grades up, this blog started to feel routine too. Instead of looking forward to posting my next update, I began to dread blogging as if it were just one more item an my never-ending checklist of "Things I have to get done." Eventually, it began to drop off the list completely.
Meanwhile, things were changing. My relationship with Cristina got ever-more serious, and I started to worry increasingly about my post-college plans. I started to consider the possibility of getting a job in Barcelona and to continue my travels in Europe before settling down with a long-term career in the United States. The heady rush of being in a new, exotic locale gave way to feelings of homesickness and disillusionment about never seeing some of my old American friends again. The Christmas break, our traditional season for reuniting, made me feel their absence more than ever, and since all of my friends in Barcelona (American or otherwise) went home to their respective families as well. As you can see by the pictures, my family came to me, but seeing the city through their eyes - more or less as a tourist - made me question just how I knew about this place, and how capable I would be at living here.
But the most dramatic change is happening right now: after my apartment had no hot water for two weeks (preventing me from having my family stay with me there and forcing us to rent an costly hotel) made me realize what my roommate Andrea had long said: that we have to leave and find an apartment with a sane owner who will provide healthy living conditions. However, although everyone in the apartment had originally expressed the desire to come with us, it now appears that only Andrea and I are certain that we will leave. Alejandro, our relatively new Chilean roommate, is tentatively coming along with us to look at new apartments, but Magalie, Pablo and Ruth have all decided to stay. Thus ends the seemingly perfect family that we had all come to form over the past few months, and although we all saw it coming, it's a rather sad moment. Magalie's decision to stay, in particular, took me by surprise - she had been one of the most adamant about finding a new apartment for all of us to move to. And while I plan on visiting her and the others, living with them and feeling their warm kindness and support is something I'll miss dearly. It feels like yet another sign that, whether I like or not, my life is leading me in a new direction.
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