Our first entry!!!!

Howdy yall! We have been in Barcelona 1 week today and it's just amazing. I don't want to brag, but yes I do. We've gone to the beach a few times, which is kind of crowded but worth it because Texas beaches are gross. By now, we've gotten the hang of using the metro and are starting to wonder why we don't have them in Texas. It's so convenient and fast. We drink Sangria almost everywhere we go because it's the same price as beer and tastes better. Also makes it feel like we're on vacation and not going to school. The other night we went to watch the FC Barcelona-Man U soccer match at the Arc de Triomf with like 10,000 crazy Spaniards. When we won 3-1, the whole town went insane. Everyone was setting fires, marching around with megaphones knocking stuff over, and shooting off fireworks. One of the best nights here for sure. The only problem with Barcelona is we are burning through money like crazy -- it's hard to keep track of it. And the exchange rate sucks, which I keep forgetting.
School is alright. It's pretty hard because our teacher is very serious and of course speaks no English. I have to say I have already learned more here than I have in a semester of Spanish at school. My intermediate class is 5 hours a day 5 days a week - way more than I'm used to! But at least I'm learning a lot and it's helping us with conversation skills. Yesterday we learned how to give directions and ask for directions with a map -- pretty helpful stuff. Becca is in advanced level, which I will take next session in July.
Our host mom, Fina, and her husband Juan Antonio are so so so nice to us. They talk to us at meals and are patient with us when we try to express things in mediocre Spanish. She is a great cook and we have a great central location in the city. We live right by the same metro station I used last time I was in Barcelona in 2005. I think we got really lucky as far as our situation here goes.
Well, we are about to go out and buy our 1-month metro passes for June and go on a walk. We will both update this as much as we can! Love you all and we already miss everyone. FYI I will be back July 30th, and Becca will be back Aug 17th.

Sincerely,
LKP