Aquí!

Hola!

After months and months of anticipation, paperwork, and a trip to Chicago to apply for a visa, I am FINALLY here! It seems surreal that I won't actually be leaving here for the next four months...especially as I sit here typing this in my cramped European hotel room. We will be in a hotel for the rest of the week, so maybe the reality will start to sink in after I meet my host family on Friday (which I can't wait for)!
I haven't seen much of the city yet--we were picked up from the airport and brought directly to the hotel. Macie and I wandered for a couple of blocks this afternoon looking for un banco, but the jet lag is hitting us hard. Hopefully with a bit of rest, we'll be able to quickly adjust to this jump forward in time.
One of the neat things about Barcelona is the language that is spoken in this region of Spain. In Catalonia, people speak Catalan. I heard it spoken for the first time during the safety video  on the plane last night, and it really is a beautiful language. I want to try to understand the jist of it while I'm here too, so here is my Catalan word of the day...
"emocionat"  It means 'excited'  :]
Tomorrow we'll get to see the one of the campuses of the University of Barcelona where our classes will be taking place. I can't wait to explore more of this city--it's so sprawling, I'm glad I have the whole semester to learn all about it (though it feels like you would need a lot longer than that).