Reisverslag Taalcursus Barcelona 2019 Week 1
Door: Maxim Scholtes
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Maxim
21 Juli 2019 | Spanje, Barcelona
Back in Barcelona!
Hey guys, it's been a while (a whole year to be exact) since my time in Málaga. And now I'm back where it all began for me three years ago: in the beautiful city of Barcelona (kind of like my second home). This EF language course will be my fourth (and potentially last) so I'll be sure to live life to the fullest while I'm here. For the newcomers: The first three blogs will be written in English and the last one completely in Spanish just to show you guys the progress I've made in four weeks! With that being said, let's get started.
Sunday, July 14th: I took the train from Sittard to Schiphol Airport at noon. I arrived at the airport around 2.30pm, checked in my luggage, went through customs, bought a present for my host family and awaited boarding. Around 4.15pm I boarded the plane and around 5pm we were airborne. The flight was quite pleasant (no specific complaints) and around 7pm we touched down in Barcelona. Having picked up my luggage I was picked up by my driver and he drove me to my host family (there was, besides the driver, one other person in the car with me: it was a girl who actually sat next to me in the plane). I arrived at the host family's place around 8pm. I had a nice chat with the family and after exchanging pleasantries and gifts I went into town around 10pm to meet up with a fellow EF student from Switzerland I've been chatting with for months now. We went for a walk through the centre and chatted about a lot of stuff and ended up in a tapas bar (coincidentally it was a bar I had been to before over 10 years ago). I had a really great time (I hope the person in question did too but I'll leave that up to him/her) and I got home around 1am and went straight to bed.
Monday, July 15th: First day at school! We had to be there by 8.30am so we had to get up early. Once we arrived at school we were sat down in a classroom with all the new students. First there was an introductory lecture, then we had to do a test (reading, writing and speaking) to determine our Spanish level, after that we did a tour of the neighborhood, next up was a one and a half hour break in which me and some of the new students got some lunch (I actually met a girl from Germany that I had met in Málaga last summer during the Paddle Surf activity) and last but not least we had our first Spanish class. When the class was over we received our timetables and I ended up in level B1.2 which was a slight increase compared to last year's B1.1 which I was quite pleased with. Around 2pm school was over and we were free to go. I just sat down in the school lounge, went for a walk through the city and eventually went to the beach. Around 6.30pm my roommate and I went home to get some dinner and around 9pm we got back to centre for the Welcome Drinks Party. I met a lot of new students, had several drinks but above all a great time. Some things happened which I won't elaborate on (what happens in a bar in Barcelona, stays right there!). I got back home around 3am and fell asleep straight away.
Tuesday, July 16th: I slept in 'till 10am 'cause of the night before and because classes didn't start until 2pm. I went into town around noon to get some breakfast/lunch and got back to school for classes which lasted 'till 6.20pm. After school I went back to my host family to get some dinner and afterwards went to the beach with some friends to have a drink. Most of the people went home early because they had classes early the following day but I stayed with a guy from Flanders and we talked for quite a while (I tried to adopt the Flemish accent as best as possible but it probably failed completely). When I was in the bus back home I noticed a familiar face: I recognised a guy who was a former EF-student as well. But he wasn't just any EF-student, he and I actually were in the same class in Barcelona three years ago. Just to think: he was just there on vacation with friends, sitting in a bus at two in the morning, under the influence of 'something' talking to an old friend. What a coincidence!
Wednesday, July 17th: I didn't get much sleep 'cause I had to be at school at 8.40am. Classes lasted until 1pm. Me and some friends went straight to the beach to get some lunch and also because we were going to do an extremely cool activity: we rented a banana boat for six people! So basically, you take place on the boat, a speedboat pulls the banana boat into open water and once that has happened the speedboat starts going full throttle (with speed up to 80 km/h). I tried clinging on to the handle as long as I could but eventually I fell off of it five times but nevertheless we had such an amazing time and we're sure to do it again sometime! After that spectacular activity we had a drink and I went home afterwards to get some dinner. Around 10.30pm we went to a bar called Summum (it's the same bar I used to go to three years ago) where we had beers and shots 'till 2am.
Thursday, July 18th: I slept in until 10am 'cause classes didn't start until 2pm. I went into town around noon to get me some churros (unfortunately, they weren't very good). After that, I went back to school. During one of the classes we were told that as of next week we would be promoted to level B2.1 without having to do anything! Classes were supposed to last until 6.20pm but I had to skip the last one because I signed up for my first activity: Stand Up Paddle Surf! I had done it before in Barcelona and in Málaga as well! My good friend from Switzerland signed up as well which was kinda like a déjà vu moment for me (for those of you who don't know: check my second blog from Barcelona 2016). Unfortunately, my trip got cut short when I was stung by a jellyfish! Anyway, after the activity I went home to get changed because I was gonna have dinner with that same friend from Switzerland. We went once again to a tapas bar around 11pm and stayed there 'till 1am. Afterwards we went for a walk and around 2am we parted ways. I once again had a great time!
Friday, July 19th: I had to get up early once again because classes started at 8.40am. When classes finished at 1pm I went to have lunch with a friend from Germany and one from Belgium (Flanders) at a tapas restaurant. We got back to school around 3.30pm because yet another activity was about to get underway: a tour through the 'Born Neighborhood' with our very own EF guide! It was very interesting and different than other parts of Barcelona. We went back to school around 5.30pm to play a game of pingpong but unfortunately there was no ball to play with. So we just hung out in the lounge 'till the school closed at 6.30pm. I actually got a text from my very dear friends who live in Barcelona asking me if I wanted to come to Calafell on Saturday to spend the day in their summer home. I originally planned to go to Montserrat and Sitges but I couldn't let this offer slide. Afterwards I went back to my host family to have dinner and after that I went back into town to bar Summum around 11pm to the EF Goodbye Party in honour of the departing students. It was once again a lot of fun and I went home at 2am.
Saturday, July 20th: I woke up at 8am and left the house around 10am to go and visit my beloved friends in Calafell. I arrived there around noon. So I'm standing in front of their door and I noticed after a while that they weren't home. As it turned out: I misread one of the messages I received from my friend. I was supposed to go to their home in Barcelona and drive with them to Calafell. So I had an hour spare time and decided to head to the beach where I drank two beers before going back to the house. We actually arrived at the house simultaneously so at least it was a sudden surprising reunion (I hadn't seen 'em for three years). After we caught up a bit we went swimming in their swimming pool for hours, had a big lunch, played some games, had some laughs and in the evening we went to a restaurant to end the day. It was a great day overall despite my error!
Sunday, July 21st: I actually stayed the night in Calafell with my friends. I woke up at 9am and had churros for breakfast (my favorite Spanish food). I took the train back to Barcelona at noon and got back to my host family around 1.45pm. I didn't have much time to rest because I was supposed to meet a friend from Poland who I've also been chatting with but nowhere near as long as the other one and a friend from Canada. My friend from Poland had also brought an American friend with him/her. When we were complete we headed to Montjuïc by cable car. We saw the castle, botanical gardens, Olympic Stadium and Plaza de España. It was a lovely afternoon and I got back to my host family around 7.30pm to have some dinner. Then I rested a bit and around 11pm I started writing this blog for two and a half hours!
Alright, folks. That's all for now! That was one hell of a week!
Be sure to leave a comment and I will see you guys next Sunday!
¡Hasta pronto!
Max
Hey guys, it's been a while (a whole year to be exact) since my time in Málaga. And now I'm back where it all began for me three years ago: in the beautiful city of Barcelona (kind of like my second home). This EF language course will be my fourth (and potentially last) so I'll be sure to live life to the fullest while I'm here. For the newcomers: The first three blogs will be written in English and the last one completely in Spanish just to show you guys the progress I've made in four weeks! With that being said, let's get started.
Sunday, July 14th: I took the train from Sittard to Schiphol Airport at noon. I arrived at the airport around 2.30pm, checked in my luggage, went through customs, bought a present for my host family and awaited boarding. Around 4.15pm I boarded the plane and around 5pm we were airborne. The flight was quite pleasant (no specific complaints) and around 7pm we touched down in Barcelona. Having picked up my luggage I was picked up by my driver and he drove me to my host family (there was, besides the driver, one other person in the car with me: it was a girl who actually sat next to me in the plane). I arrived at the host family's place around 8pm. I had a nice chat with the family and after exchanging pleasantries and gifts I went into town around 10pm to meet up with a fellow EF student from Switzerland I've been chatting with for months now. We went for a walk through the centre and chatted about a lot of stuff and ended up in a tapas bar (coincidentally it was a bar I had been to before over 10 years ago). I had a really great time (I hope the person in question did too but I'll leave that up to him/her) and I got home around 1am and went straight to bed.
Monday, July 15th: First day at school! We had to be there by 8.30am so we had to get up early. Once we arrived at school we were sat down in a classroom with all the new students. First there was an introductory lecture, then we had to do a test (reading, writing and speaking) to determine our Spanish level, after that we did a tour of the neighborhood, next up was a one and a half hour break in which me and some of the new students got some lunch (I actually met a girl from Germany that I had met in Málaga last summer during the Paddle Surf activity) and last but not least we had our first Spanish class. When the class was over we received our timetables and I ended up in level B1.2 which was a slight increase compared to last year's B1.1 which I was quite pleased with. Around 2pm school was over and we were free to go. I just sat down in the school lounge, went for a walk through the city and eventually went to the beach. Around 6.30pm my roommate and I went home to get some dinner and around 9pm we got back to centre for the Welcome Drinks Party. I met a lot of new students, had several drinks but above all a great time. Some things happened which I won't elaborate on (what happens in a bar in Barcelona, stays right there!). I got back home around 3am and fell asleep straight away.
Tuesday, July 16th: I slept in 'till 10am 'cause of the night before and because classes didn't start until 2pm. I went into town around noon to get some breakfast/lunch and got back to school for classes which lasted 'till 6.20pm. After school I went back to my host family to get some dinner and afterwards went to the beach with some friends to have a drink. Most of the people went home early because they had classes early the following day but I stayed with a guy from Flanders and we talked for quite a while (I tried to adopt the Flemish accent as best as possible but it probably failed completely). When I was in the bus back home I noticed a familiar face: I recognised a guy who was a former EF-student as well. But he wasn't just any EF-student, he and I actually were in the same class in Barcelona three years ago. Just to think: he was just there on vacation with friends, sitting in a bus at two in the morning, under the influence of 'something' talking to an old friend. What a coincidence!
Wednesday, July 17th: I didn't get much sleep 'cause I had to be at school at 8.40am. Classes lasted until 1pm. Me and some friends went straight to the beach to get some lunch and also because we were going to do an extremely cool activity: we rented a banana boat for six people! So basically, you take place on the boat, a speedboat pulls the banana boat into open water and once that has happened the speedboat starts going full throttle (with speed up to 80 km/h). I tried clinging on to the handle as long as I could but eventually I fell off of it five times but nevertheless we had such an amazing time and we're sure to do it again sometime! After that spectacular activity we had a drink and I went home afterwards to get some dinner. Around 10.30pm we went to a bar called Summum (it's the same bar I used to go to three years ago) where we had beers and shots 'till 2am.
Thursday, July 18th: I slept in until 10am 'cause classes didn't start until 2pm. I went into town around noon to get me some churros (unfortunately, they weren't very good). After that, I went back to school. During one of the classes we were told that as of next week we would be promoted to level B2.1 without having to do anything! Classes were supposed to last until 6.20pm but I had to skip the last one because I signed up for my first activity: Stand Up Paddle Surf! I had done it before in Barcelona and in Málaga as well! My good friend from Switzerland signed up as well which was kinda like a déjà vu moment for me (for those of you who don't know: check my second blog from Barcelona 2016). Unfortunately, my trip got cut short when I was stung by a jellyfish! Anyway, after the activity I went home to get changed because I was gonna have dinner with that same friend from Switzerland. We went once again to a tapas bar around 11pm and stayed there 'till 1am. Afterwards we went for a walk and around 2am we parted ways. I once again had a great time!
Friday, July 19th: I had to get up early once again because classes started at 8.40am. When classes finished at 1pm I went to have lunch with a friend from Germany and one from Belgium (Flanders) at a tapas restaurant. We got back to school around 3.30pm because yet another activity was about to get underway: a tour through the 'Born Neighborhood' with our very own EF guide! It was very interesting and different than other parts of Barcelona. We went back to school around 5.30pm to play a game of pingpong but unfortunately there was no ball to play with. So we just hung out in the lounge 'till the school closed at 6.30pm. I actually got a text from my very dear friends who live in Barcelona asking me if I wanted to come to Calafell on Saturday to spend the day in their summer home. I originally planned to go to Montserrat and Sitges but I couldn't let this offer slide. Afterwards I went back to my host family to have dinner and after that I went back into town to bar Summum around 11pm to the EF Goodbye Party in honour of the departing students. It was once again a lot of fun and I went home at 2am.
Saturday, July 20th: I woke up at 8am and left the house around 10am to go and visit my beloved friends in Calafell. I arrived there around noon. So I'm standing in front of their door and I noticed after a while that they weren't home. As it turned out: I misread one of the messages I received from my friend. I was supposed to go to their home in Barcelona and drive with them to Calafell. So I had an hour spare time and decided to head to the beach where I drank two beers before going back to the house. We actually arrived at the house simultaneously so at least it was a sudden surprising reunion (I hadn't seen 'em for three years). After we caught up a bit we went swimming in their swimming pool for hours, had a big lunch, played some games, had some laughs and in the evening we went to a restaurant to end the day. It was a great day overall despite my error!
Sunday, July 21st: I actually stayed the night in Calafell with my friends. I woke up at 9am and had churros for breakfast (my favorite Spanish food). I took the train back to Barcelona at noon and got back to my host family around 1.45pm. I didn't have much time to rest because I was supposed to meet a friend from Poland who I've also been chatting with but nowhere near as long as the other one and a friend from Canada. My friend from Poland had also brought an American friend with him/her. When we were complete we headed to Montjuïc by cable car. We saw the castle, botanical gardens, Olympic Stadium and Plaza de España. It was a lovely afternoon and I got back to my host family around 7.30pm to have some dinner. Then I rested a bit and around 11pm I started writing this blog for two and a half hours!
Alright, folks. That's all for now! That was one hell of a week!
Be sure to leave a comment and I will see you guys next Sunday!
¡Hasta pronto!
Max
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Je kunt nu ook Smileys gebruiken. Via de toolbar, toetsenbord of door eerst : te typen en dan een woord bijvoorbeeld :smiley
