Cautionary Tale

I started my classes in Monday and it has so far been a really good idea. What works for me is that I am listening to Spanish with knowledge if what the conversation is all about. The format if the class is there are two instructors. For the first two hours Catalina speaks much slower and does a lot of descriptive gestures. We are allowed to speak English so the slower pace if helpful. The second two hours us spent with Veronica and she speaks rapid quick fire Spanish! First day I understood about 20% of what she said...the rest of the tine I was a deer in headlights...lol! It's gotten better and today I'd say that I comprehend about 70% of what she is saying. The class is an interesting mix. Two americans, one Indian, a Brit, two girls from holland and a girl from lithovania. During my second day in class during the break we started sharing about our experinces to date in Barcelona. The Indian guy had been mugged by 5 guys, the Brit was stuck living in an apartment with no lights, hot water and shower curtin. He said taking a "cold" shower included a mop up afterwards...lol! I shared about my Harper drama and lost passport. As I listened to them I started wondering why we all came and were attempting our level best to learn the language so we could remain and interact with our new friends and neighbors. Farah (the Indian guy) was retelling about an article he read that said that barcelona was the city you were most likely to get robbed in...lol! I watched his face as he told the story and you couldn't miss the hopeful light that still showed bright in his eyes. He obviously was still enthralled with the city. My thoughts wandered to all the stupid things I'd done in the 17 days since arriving that could have sent someone packing for home? The first and most obvious is the missing paper work for Harper. I can admit that there were moments that I did not think he was going to be able to enter Spain. Those are really big events but I´ve also done some smaller actions that can make you scratch her your head with wonder. I had been doing my shopping at a grocery store on the Ramblas which is too far from the temporary flat, probably and 15 minute walk. But imagine carrying groceries...UGHHH! Well for the first week here I pretty much only traveled in a straight line around my neighborhood. I did not venture down to many of the calles because honestly they just looked scary. Well one day I got up the nerve to do it...I was with Harper and he doesn´t let anyone get to close to me without them earning a growl or a bark (I love that dog!), anyway the calle that I could see from the balcony of my flat actually led to another grocery store! Yes there was another larger mercado less than 100 yards from where I was staying!!! If I´d just walked side to side I would have discovered. I felt pretty stupid about that one. Another situation was buying Harper´s dog food. One of the shops down from my flat was a small pet shop and I walked in to buy dog food. The brands sold in the US really aren´t offered here so Harper was going to have to change. I did not want to buy a huge bag of dog food just in case he did not like it. Well I got something that looked okay but when I got the counter to pay the women pulled open a notebook. I felt a bit of dread. She ran her finger down the column, looked up and smiled at me. I´m not sure what the smile really meant but I´m interepting it as¨SUCKER!!¨ She rings me up and the dog food is 18euro...which translates to about $25.00 US Dollars for a small bag of dog food!!!! Before I left the states my friend John told me that dog food in Europe was very expensive but crap!!!...my groceries for the week had only been 24 euros...at this rate Harper had better food than me. I was thinking this dog is going to eat me out of house and home...luckily I found another store that sells less expensive dog food and Harper likes it! So what have I learned from my not so pretty situations in Spain...well one is a walking a straight line limits your experience and narrows your view! Anyway...I feel a bit like my friend from class...the city still enthralls me despite the momentary setbacks:-)