My last week of school went from crazy and borderline stressful to not crazy and not stressful when I learned that the one really scary hard test I had set for the end of the week "wouldn't be ready" so I would "get" to take it "remotely" back at Cal Poly for my "convenience." Are you kidding. So now I have the "fun" "opportunity" to go beg a professor when I get home to email my Catalan professor and obtain the test and administer it to me. And it's the class I so deeply dislike and was soooo looking forward to being done with. But that week still allowed me to pretend I'd been studious the whole semester and I cranked out a thirty page paper, twenty minute presentation, two projects, and another test in just a few days. Probably going to add "Fluent in Spanish Excel" to my resume after the endless struggle I overcame with that horrible entity. I'll definitely keep in touch with a few of the pals from school, and am excited for the day when I come back to Spain and get to visit so many great people. My last day with YoungLife at the instituto saw an improvement in my basketball skills and a little bit of a sad goodbye to some of the sweet and funny girls we've been making friends with over the past few months. Luis and Bri (the YL pals I go there with) have been the best part and were such a bummer to say goodbye to. BUT, they both have plans and dreams to come to America, and Luis is learning English, although right now it's pretty much limited to Will Smith (Was Smith) jokes.
The one plus of not having as much studying to do during my last week was I had much more time to resume my position as American Tourist and drag my large camera and bright red tourist backpack everywhere. All I was missing was a fanny pack and hat with a propeller. I finally caved and spent the fortune required to visit Casa Batllo, one of Gaudi's most outstanding works (I would say second only to the Sagrada Familia). Totally worth it. Every piece of the design was inspired by nature (as is all his work), with the majority reflecting the ocean's vast radiance. I also went back to Museu Nacional d'Arte de Catalunya and did the other
half that Mariko and I didn't have a chance to get to and discovered
they had some gr8 Gaudi designs on display. Learning that I really love
Gaudi. I timed it so I had just enough time to go get a paella and
sangria dinner and march back to Plaza Espana to see the Magic Fountains
of Montjuic in all their splendor again. Another fun last week in Barcelona find was Hospital San Pau, Barcelona's best non-Gaudi architecture. It's a mini-city built on nine square city blocks, that up until the 90s was a functioning hospital. The hospital has since expanded to another portion of the cite and the remainder is a cultural center. It was designed by Lluís Domènech i Montaner, the same architect who designed the Palau de la Musica in Barrio Gotic. I really love his work as well and could have spent forever wandering around the grounds. Probably the first and only hospital that I will ever say that about. 
My last Sunday was one of my favorite days of my entire sabbatical. I went to church in the morning with my wonderful friend Bri and her sister. Since it was the last Sunday before Christmas, they did a special Christmas skit which was the most hilarious thing. Explaining it won't come close, but it was parodies of Frozen songs, involved a hunchback named Igor, a guapa puerta (beautiful door), and a thousand tiny children who had balls of yarn stuck to their shirts that were too distracting to allow them to sing. I was crying. After church, I met my friend Ivan to hike along el Camino de aigues, which is a path that stretches the entire length of the hills in Barcelona. So, when I was backpacking in western Europe, I was hiking through the hills of mount Tibidabo... But besides the initial part where Ivan told me to wear jeans and then we ended marching for twenty minutes straight up a hill that was not appropriate for jeans, it was great. The path has amazing views of the entire city and the Catalunya coastline for kilometers. Then we hunted (and I mean hunted, it took forever and Ivan kept getting us lost) for a Mexican restaurant for dinner, which was gr8 because it meant excessive amounts of my soul food: cheese. He gave me a Spanish kiss goodbye and I was kind of suddenly hit with how sad I was to have to start saying goodbye to everyone that I love here. Ivan's been a great friend. He's one of the only ones who gets me, and by that I mean thinks I'm funny, and by that I mean is gracious enough to pretend that the sense of humor I think I have in English translated to Spanish. So fun.
I've gotten to spend the last few evenings with my roommates Rocio and Mariko (honestly don't think I'll even see the other one before I leave. I've seen her once during the month of December) and have loved every minute. Precious Mariko has cried a couple of times thinking about me leaving and I'm going to miss them both so dearly. It's been so easy to forget that we're all different ages (like V different ages) and have such such vastly different interests and lives, but we came together and lived together for four months and they're my best friends here. They're some of the only people that I've been able to share conversations that go deeper than just the present. My last day with Mariko we went ice skating in Plaza Catalunya and it was absolutely hilarious. She had never been ice skating in her life and was so scared, but in typical Mariko fashion did it anyways and shined. So so funny though to skate around holding hands with a 36 year old Japanese woman and surprise everyone that our common language is Spanish. Recently this past week there have been so many moments with her where I've gotten to encourage her (and be infinitely more encouraged by her), laugh with her, cry with her, and be blessed by her that have made me think I could have done nothing else here and my time would be so full and so worth it because of Mariko. She also told me that before I came when she heard an American girl was moving in, she was scared because she thought all Americans were like 90210. Apparently, I shocked her initially with how much modest clothing I wear (LOL) and how nice I am and how the only times I'm loud are when I laugh. She's since said that she now wants to learn English and come to America because of me. Praying and waiting for that day. Seriously though, they've both blessed me immensely in challenging me to constantly practice my Spanish, humbling me with how patient they are with my mistakes, and showered me with constant kindness, encouragement, and friendship. Leaving them will be the hardest part.
But then my family came and rescued me from my 5x7 hovel and we immediately began their welcome to Barcelona with sangria and paella. I saved my actual tour of the Sagrada Familia for when my family was here, because that too costs a fortune. It's supposed to be finished in 2028, and I will most certainly be back for opening day. Hands down my favorite thing I've done in Barcelona. Casa Batllo is a pretty incredible and astounding, but it's a boring lump of coal compared to the Sagrada Familia. And traveling through Europe, it's easy to get a little bit jaded and have all the cathedrals melt together in your memory. But not with the Sagrada Familia. Gaudi again designed every single detail with unbelievable foresight, and everything is filled with natural light, reflecting creation, and giving this holy, sacred atmosphere. The church itself is a beautiful hymn, with few straight lines and few dark corners. Working there would be one of the best jobs since I think you could spend a hundred years staring at the interior and still miss things. The nativity facade is almost overwhelming and it's a struggle to take it all in--Gaudi designed the holy family, the wise men, the shepherds, the angels, scenes from Jesus' life and ministry. Then the other side of the cathedral depicts the passion from Judas' kiss to casting lots for his clothes to the crucifixion and resurrection. It's also crazy to see the juxtaposition of the old construction and new. The parts that were built in the 1890s (ya what) are blackened with pollution and some parts are starting to look worn. This all next to the sparkling new pieces, some of which I've noticed new since my arrival, which is pretty surprising since it almost never looks like they're actively working. Then, we toured the nativity tower which was the most hilarious experience. You walk the spiral stairs on the way down behind two hundred Asians who find each curve novel and thrilling and take pictures at every turn. So every time they stopped to replicate the same picture for the thousandth time, we stopped and took the same picture too. I couldn't stop laughing at how hilarious it was to look down the spiral and see a hundred heads popping out to look down or up too. So so hard to resist spitting. 
We spent the rest of the day walking ourselves to death down Las Ramblas, past the other famous Gaudi houses, souvenir shopping, tapas tasting, and dining at my dad's favorite kebab place (been there five times now with him). One of the good things about my family being here is it
meant that today when a bird pooped in my hair, I had a gagging sister instead
of a stranger there to help clean it out.
We're off to spend Christmas in Italy, maybe you'll hear from one or more of us on the other end.
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