Just getting over jet lag...

 Some people argue that first impressions are the most important. I would have to disagree. My first impression with Barcelona was less than ideal. Four years ago, my family and I were traveling through Europe on vacation, and we ended our trip by staying in a hotel off of La Rambla for three days before returning home. To be perfectly honest, it was my least favorite part of an otherwise amazing trip. I was less than impressed with the shopping (which everyone had previously raved to me about, thus instilling very heightened expectations), the city appeared dirty and crowded, and everywhere I turned I expected to get pickpocketed. 

It might seem surprising that I would choose to return to a city that I so passionately disliked, for an entire summer no less. While I may hold fairly strong opinions, I am pretty good about giving second chances. Therefore, when I went through the initial steps of the interview process with Intrax back in the fall, I decided to keep an open mind by not ruling Barcelona out entirely. I told myself that as long as I found an internship that I loved, I could grow accustomed to living just about anywhere. Barcelona definitely had its advantages: it would give me the chance to further develop my ability to speak Spanish, my friends who have previously studied here all loved it, and it has a beach. After interviewing with Desigual and receiving word that they wanted to offer me a position as a summer intern, I was determined to ignore my previous conceptions of Barcelona and look at the city with a new light. 

Upon my arrival, I decided to go for a walk around the city right away. I even went back to the aforementioned La Rambla. Now, four years later and with a different mindset, I am better able to appreciate the beauty and charm of this city. The buildings are all incredibly old and have some of the most intricate architectural details I have ever seen. I have even gotten better at dealing with pickpocketers....simply ignoring them and maintaining a firm grip on my purse works fine. 

The day after I got settled into my apartment, we had our first orientation with Jenna, the program coordinator who will be located onsite with us all summer. She is great. We already nicknamed her "Mama Jenna", because she really is kind of like our mom here, away from home. During orientation she reminded us to mind our manners and demonstrate proper work etiquette (apparently you should never refuse a coffee date if someone asks you on one at work), and on the first day of work she took pictures of us, just like my mom used to do on the first day of school each year. She even took it a step further than my real mom, by accompanying us to the office, and having us pose not only on the metro, but also under the Desigual sign. No joke. 

It's nice having Jenna and the other students in the program around. They make living in such a huge and unknown city for an entire summer less overwhelming. My Spanish is fairly decent, but several of the other students have stronger speaking skills. One of the guys in our group has studied abroad here before, so he showed us how to take the metro as well as some of his favorite bars. Overall, I think we have an awesome group and are going to have an unforgettable summer together.