4th of July in Barcelona and other things

Hola y'all. That's great Spanish right there. I'm sorry I haven't been the most dedicated blogger the past week or so. I had a little homesickness slump this past weekend where I was feeling very sad and missing my parents and a lot of my favorite things from home. It seems silly to me to feel homesick when I'm having the summer of a lifetime and I'm in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, but sometimes I just couldn't help it. It's hard not to miss a family as great as mine and a city as amazing as Austin, Texas. Kinda gives Barcelona a run for its money/euros. Anyhow, I think I'm over it. Last night we went to a bar in Plaza Urquinaona (everyone's favorite impossible-to-pronounce name) called George Payne with about 200 other American study abroad students to celebrate the 4th of July. It was strange to be in a place where I could understand everything everyone was saying and I knew how to order a drink and people said "I'm sorry" or "excuse me" when they stepped on me! That's refreshing. Strangely, I ran into not one but two people I recognized from back home. One was a friend from A&M's little brother and another was a guy I know through Sam and other mutual friends. Small world, seriously. We also made a couple of new friends that are in a different program from Texas, too.
So on my last post I said we were going to this event called Montjuic de Nit with all the free entries...and it kind of failed. We didn't end up going because Becca misplaced 100 euros and was feeling bummed out and I was acting weird because I felt homesick, so we went next door to the TexMex place and I had queso, she had guacamole, and we went to bed like losers. Oh well. We still want to go to Montjuic and see the fountain light up, which they do every weekend, and there will be lots of other events similar to that because it's summertime. Also, Sam comes to visit us next week, and we have a couple of things planned for that. 1. We haven't been to Camp Nou, soccer stadium yet because I want to wait to see it till Sam gets here because he's a boy and boys like sports. Everyone knows that. 2. Montserrat, a big hike up into the mountains where there is a really old monastery. Looks awesome in pictures I've seen from other students who have gone, and I think Sam would enjoy it. I also really can't wait for this weekend, the beaches of Sardinia are calling my name and I don't want to lose the tan I've gotten the past couple of weeks.
We've asked Mama Fina if Becca's boyfriend Eric can come over for my birthday dinner at the house. He arrives on my birthday, so we were going to let him sleep all day (aren't we nice?) and then invite him over to meet the host parents and celebrate my bdayyyy.
I sure do miss everyone! Keep reading my silly blog and e-mailing me, it makes me happy.

Love,
Leah