Blitz box

Blitz box - that's the photo booth in the bar Nevermind, where I've been three times with my roommate. The word has burned itself permanently into my memory, it not only sounds cool but also describes what this volunteer year and Barcelona symbolize for me. All of this is my own little Blitz box, all the new experiences, feelings, and impressions are like little flashes, pleasantly electrifying but sometimes unpredictable and therefore difficult to process. Every day I experience amazing things that I am grateful for and that I will surely remember for the rest of my life. However, sometimes I also long for the stability that I had at home in Münster, especially this week my feelings are very paradoxical. On the one hand, I feel infinite freedom, joy of life (alegría de vivir) here, and I am so active here, like I never was in Germany, but on the other hand, there are also days like today, when I receive photos of my family cooking and going to the movies and think to myself: Man, I would also like to be there. Or when my Snapchat memories show me photos from a year ago during theme week. But I think that's perfectly normal and fortunately, such feelings go away relatively quickly. Nevertheless, it is all the better that I can see one of my absolute favorite people next week. My best friend who is doing her volunteer year in Paris! But enough of philosophizing, you are actually here to find out about the most important events of the last 10 days.

At the moment, I am getting a lot of information about studying both in Germany and in Spain. Most likely, I will study in Germany and then do an Erasmus semester in Spain. Although I don't really want to leave here, my Spanish is probably not good enough for studying here and there is not exactly the field of study that I want to pursue. That's why I will apply in Germany. However, fun is not left behind amidst all the research. I still go to Barcelona as often as possible. I really love the city and by now I also know a few good spots. Last Friday my roommate and I went out again, this time to Jamboree, which in our opinion is the best club we have tried in Barcelona so far. We liked it so much that we went there again this week. Coincidences happen again and again, because in the club we met three guys who came from Münster and one even from the same district as me. He also knew people from my year. It was really funny, the world is small. After dancing a bit with them (although the dancing came more from us than from them), we went back home relatively quickly because we had a lot planned for the next day. After 6 hours of bad sleep, we drove to Barcelona full of energy to go shopping. We also found some nice things. After that, we had dinner at my trusted Indian restaurant and the Aperol there only cost 5 euros. On Sunday, I went up into the mountains with my roommates because the three of us are currently housesitting and the family showed us the house. The house is very beautiful, so I will probably spend a few nights there after Paris. After that, I decided that it's time to pursue one of my hobbies again. So I painted a picture, which really relaxed me. The weekend was over so quickly and the last week of work before the vacation started.

On Monday, I was extra motivated to go jogging after 3 months, so I was as slow as a snail. Well, it happens to the best of us. I still enjoyed the sun and the beach. As a reward for my efforts, the next day we went back to Barca, this time to a different neighborhood (Gracia), which is really beautiful and I didn't know before. My roommate showed me Shabwara because she has Syrian roots and wanted to show me typical food. Even if she claims that I am a picky eater (lies), I love trying new food from different cultures. To make it less foreign, we also snacked on a pretzel and a Franzbrötchen, because by chance we discovered the store: "Brotzeit - Barcelona". The pretzel was a solid 10 out of 10. They even had Limo from Münster in the store, the Liba. I could hardly believe my luck. Because I'm a sporty boss, on Wednesday I went jogging again in blustery wind, which gave me earaches afterwards. But the beautiful view of the sea more than made up for it. Although Thursdays are usually the less honorable days at work, this one was really cool. I was at the library with the children and first read for an hour there. A book from my childhood was also included, The Gruffalo. I borrowed Peter Pan and we briefly went to a park where I could pet a cute cat. On the way back to school, many children wanted to hold my hand and I walked with a girl. When a group of boys about my age appeared next to us, she got all excited and didn't want me to look over there. So she covered my eyes and said she wants to protect me from mean Spanish boys, which was somehow really sweet and funny. In the afternoon, before the vacation, there was one last Bona Tarda or lunch. There, I had another nice conversation with my coworkers. The positive attitude of Berta (colleague) is like a breath of fresh air every day. She is such a warm and lovely person, I really like her a lot. In the evening, surprise surprise, we went back to Barcelona to have a drink in a nice bar near the Arc de Triomf. On Fridays, we were busy at work cleaning up the school, but at least we were allowed to leave at 2 p.m., which was very nice. I did the only sensible thing: took a 2-hour nap, I was so so tired. But the energy came back and Marie and I went out. This weekend is also a bit quieter because I sometimes get nervous before traveling. Yesterday, I went to a viewpoint and cleaned up my room. Today, I'm going to the beach with a friend who is an au pair here, and in the evening, we might go to Barcelona. Vamos a ver. The next post will be from Paris, I'm really looking forward to it :).