I ♥ Barcelona

I've been living in Barcelona for 3 months now, which seems almost impossible - it's amazing how quickly time flies by! It's really been in the past month that I have come to love living here. I liked it at first, but was really missing Sevilla. I missed the size and ease of walking everywhere in Sevilla, as well as friends, bars, and restaurants.

I remember talking to Anna about this and her wise words (as always!) about how Sevilla would have become too small for us; another year would have been too long there. When she mentioned that, I didn't really believe it at first. However, in the past few weeks, I've realized how right she was. What I've fallen in love with here is the diversity - in people, in food, in style, and of things to do. It's just incredible!

There are people from all of the world who live here, which makes for an interesting mix of languages, personalities, and style. (And, of course, many, many guapos! :) You can get all types of food - NY style pizza, Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, and more. There are so many places to go and things to see, from museums and shops to bars and nightclubs. I have a feeling one could live in Barcelona for a decade and still happen upon new places all the time.

Yep - Barcelona has worked it's magic on me. What an incredible place to live!

If you were an animal . . .

what animal would you be?

This question game provided many laughs while we were in Tunisia this past weekend. For some reason, I've been thinking about it ever since! It's a silly question, but such an interesting one when I really think about it. It's not a matter of what animal you would like to be, but what animal has a personality that's like yours . . . It takes a bit of reflection to figure it out!

Within our group of teachers, we had an alligator, a tiger, a crab, and a silver-backed gorilla.Although I didn't want to say it aloud at first, I had to admit that I think the animal that I'm most like would have to be a golden retriever! Why? For a number of reasons, I think - I'm happy almost all the time, I'm usually up for something fun, I like to hang out with people, I'm a morning person, I'm loyal, I usually do what I'm supposed to, and I have a lot of energy (most of the time). Although it's not too exotic to say, I've decided I kind of like being a golden retriever.

It's been pretty funny to think about this over the past few days! It's a pretty silly question, but it's one that makes for a very interesting conversation. So . . .

which animal are you?

Tunisia

This past weekend I was lucky enough to attend a conference in Tunisia! It was the MAIS (Mediterranean Association of International Schools) conference, which is held every year. It was SO wonderful to be part of professional learning again and was made even better by the fact that it was in Africa!

My trip to Tunis was my first experience in an Arabic speaking and Muslim country - it was fascinating! I don't think North Africa is the "Africa" most people think of - it's drastically different. The main languages spoken are Arabic and French - neither of which I understand much more than a word of! Just looking at signs, listening to the radio in cabs, and trying to understand people when speaking was an experience. It was so interesting to see how some women were completely covered, while others wore very modern clothes.

The architecture, colors, spices, pottery, shops, and food were wonderful. There was so much to see and do, even in the short time we were there. This brief trip made me even more excited to go to Istanbul in two weeks and confirmed that I must get to Morocco soon. Oh, the places I hope to go!

So many of the doors in Tunis and

Sidi Bou Said were picture worthy!

Beautiful (and cheap!) pottery could be found in many souks.

I loved the colors and smells in the spice shops!

I think Arabic looks so beautiful.