Castelldefels

(written August 8th, 2009)

It has been a long time since I wrote last, unfortunately, because I couldn’t get my computer to work in London. Funny thing though, I got to Spain and my cousin Matt was able to make it work instantly. So here I am, Espana, Espana!

It is just past 11 o’clock, and it is still quite warm here. Woo! What a change, to come from foggy, London town to hot, humid Spain. I am staying in a small town outside of Barcelona with Matt and Olga’s parents, called "Castelldefels." It is about five minutes away from “la playa.” I am excited to see the beach, it’s been so long! Almost a month now.

London was absolutely fabulous. I’ll have to look back at my journal entries and log them in. As far as my flight into Barcelona, it was nice and short. We got a meal, which makes me bummed that I spent four pounds on what I thought I needed to get because I’d be starving had I not. Silly me, I should have checked before hand. I checked my boarding pass, saw what I thought was “Gate 26.” I waited by the gate, that continued to say “Gate Closed,” for the entire time that I sat on the cold, concrete floor. Thankfully I went to the front entrance, once more, and saw that my Barcelona flight was to go to Gate 24. Ha! I was at the wrong gate the entire time! Had I not gone to the front to check once more, I would have missed my flight! Boy, would I have been upset. That would have been horrible! By the time I finally figured it out and went into the gate, the majority of the flight was waiting to board, only ten minutes later. Close call, Christina!

We boarded onto two buses which took us to our plane. I sat next to a very young couple--I can’t imagine them to have been over 21--from the states. They were with the boyfriends parents, who sat in front of them. I was quite sleepy for the majority of the flight, you know, the long one and a half hour was exhausting! Upon arrival, the majority of the flight went to Terminal A (where we thought we were supposed to retrieve our baggage) only to find that after 15 minutes of waiting we were at the wrong baggage claim! Oy, again! We went on this big goose hunt, searching for Terminal B. Matt had even called me saying, “You’re picking up your baggage from Terminal B, so where are you?” We were sent, by the airport employees, what seemed to have been all the way around the airport, going through the security once more, arriving at Terminal B. FINALLY! We thought for sure they were pulling our chains, sending us in the wrong direction. We finally got there, I saw my lonely bag strolling along the conveyer belt and snagged it before it went away for good. Phew! I met Matt at the front of the airport waiting by the gate and we were off…not so fast! His ticket (which was given in order to pay for the airport parking upon leaving) was not working in the automatic payment area, so that was an adventure all in itself again! Why the world is relying so heavily on machines rather than humans is beyond me!

Finally, we arrived to the flat that Olga’s parents own. Everyone that I met, her tios y padres are absolutely wonderful. Everyone is so warm and friendly. It is frustrating that I can not communicate with them because I don’t speak Spanish. I mean, I did take those three years of Spanish, but give me a break--it's been about 8 years! I find my English is already starting to mix into “Spanglish,” if you will. We had a delicious meal; pollo, arroz, lechuga, and some of Olga’s calamar con gamabas. All so good! Topped off with a little, mini-me sized Haggan-Daaz (sp?). Delish! Which reminds me, before dinner was prepared, Olga had asked me, “Do you eat like your brother,” trying to decipher how much she needed to cook. Haha!! It’s so nice to see familiar, and yet new faces at the same time.

It is quite a different experience being in Spain after two weeks in London. I can’t wait to see what else is in store. I can’t wait for tomorrow. And I can’t wait until martes when Martin and Aunt Nancy both arrive into Barcelona. Family reunion! And the Svec kids will begin to take on Europa! Can’t wait! Hasta luego, cheers…