Champagne Tales

I can't believe that in less than 12 hours I will be leaving Barcelona to travel home to Chicago. I simply can not believe that somehow 70 days have passed since I have last stepped foot U.S. soil. I can not believe how much I have learned this summer. I can not believe how much I have grown as a person. I can not believe this part of my journey in life is coming to an end. I can't believe it and I don't want to believe it. I do believe that I will never be the same person after this summer. I will forever have a different output on life with how I see the world and how I interact with people. I do believe that this was the most incredible summer and trip of my life. I embraced every moment and opportunity and opened up my heart for it to change: and it did change. I don't cry very much in life but know that when my taxi picks me up at 6:45 AM from my apartment that tears will be pouring down my face. Even as I travel on my 3 planes to head home, or sit in the Frankfurt

I did my body a huge favor today: I went for a run. Well, a run with occasional walking. I ran along the boardwalk of the beach before dinnertime and absolutely loved it. I found out that I sweat just as much here in Barcelona as I do at home. And what else would my day be without a little bit of exploring? I found the neatest park with a river, metal sculptures, awesome real estate surrounding the park, and the most unusual benches. Best part of my day: sitting on a swing meant for children about 100 pounds less than me and swinging next to my friend Brandon. The coolest thing I saw were these metal boxes that you could step on and hit different music notes with. It basically would have been my childhood dream playground =) After that we found a fantastic mall with restaurants that I know I am going to hit up soon and then proceeded to hop on the tram to get home. I had no idea the tram even existed until today. Funny how life just continues to surprise me.

A piece of my heart will always be in this place, Barcelona. A piece of how I think for the rest of my life, how I view the world, how I talk with foreigners, how I talk in Spanish; it will all be impacted by this country. I go to class at 9:30 and done at 1pm everyday. I absolutely love it. My English is starting to get pretty bad with how I speak. I keep laughing at the odd phrases I say or the interchanging Spanish I use. Afterward class, the day is mine. I'm free to explore, hit the beach, check out the huge sales that Barcelona is currently having in this extreme heat, and make it home in time for a cold shower before my cena (dinner) at 10pm. I'm laughing a lot with the people I'm with, I'm smiling just looking around me at all the ironic or beautiful places; I'm loving it. I wish I could take all the people I love so much from home, my friends and family, and ship them over here for one night. I would take them up to a beautiful view of Mount Juic , dri