I'm tanner than you are

This weekend, I went to Mallorca, the largest of Spain’s Balearic Islands. It was a wonderful, relaxing weekend (which I clearly need because my 9a-2p, T-F work schedule is very stressful). I wish I could say I saw lots of beautiful sights, explored the island extensively, and came back a changed woman. In reality, I spent almost all my time on the beach and got a killer tan. However, there were a few highlights. The second day I was there, I decided to rent a bike and explore the island. Two Brazilian girls from my hostel, Ana and Tatiana, were also renting bikes and they invited me to join them on their adventure.

Before we go any further, I’d like to say one thing. People who steal stuff are awful. Especially people who target young tourists. We’re already young and strapped for cash. Please don’t take our credit cards and cameras.

Moving on. The Brazilians had heard about nice beaches north of where we were staying, so we decided to bike there. We spotted a potential spot, so Tatiana first went to check it out, then Ana and I went while Tatiana watched the bikes and bags. When we came back, Ana noticed her purse was no longer in her bike’s basket. While we were gone, a guy approached Tatiana and started talking to her about really random stuff. Because of how he was situated, she was forced to turn her back to Ana’s bike and presumably his partner snuck behind Tatiana and snatched the purse. What a jerk. The most terrible part, though, was that Ana had been robbed on the beach just two days before.

Ana called the bank and then we hit the beach and got a little lunch later. All in all, it was a really fun afternoon despite the robbery.

That night, the Brazilians invited me to join them and a few of their friends who also happened to be in Mallorca for the weekend to a club. All in all there were seven girls from literally all over the world (Canada/Argentina, Morocco, Brazil, US) and all but one are studying abroad in Barcelona. So this is great news…new friends! (Don’t worry CIEE girls, no one can replace you all).

Despite mostly lazying around all weekend, my trip to Mallorca was fantastic. I love spending time with other people my age, but it was also such a treat to have a little alone time. I did a lot of reading, writing in my journal, and thinking about my next steps. I’ve already proposed this to Crosby, my brother, but I’m thinking that we move to Mallorca and open a sibling business. It’ll happen.

So I’ve been back in Barcelona for a few days and there are only a few things to report. I FINALLY finished my 40-page document translation for the Agency this week. That took foreverrrrrr. Also, there have been various elections going on in Spain (I wish I could say I’ve been following the details, but that would be untrue), and as a result, there have been lots of protests in Plaza Catalunya and in various neighborhoods throughout the city. When I asked Juan Antonio what the people were protesting about, he explained that it was mostly discontent regarding the political system in general rather than the results of the election. I’m going to do a little more research on this and try to figure this out.

Well…¡hasta!

Current obsessions: my checkout lady, Susana, at Mercadona (my supermarket) who calls me “guapa” every other word, being tanner than YOU MAYA KOHLI, my new Brazilian friends, and the book "Barcelona" by Robert Hughes