Observations as of 09/11/2007 (From a London-trained, Colombia-born exile)

So I´ve been here in Barcelona for a day. Slept most of the morning as the last few days/nights in London had been hectic. I´m staying with an old friend of mine(Mónica) who lives in what used to be an environmental social centre with a hippie vibe which she and her now ex-boyfriend put into motion. The centre is ertswhile "closed until further notice" so we´re sleeping in the ground floor while four other people sleep in the rooms upstairs. It is quite cosy to be surrounded by so many earthy colours and indian tie-dye.

I dedicated my afternoon to riding Mónica´s bycicle (which will be mine when she travels to Brazil in three weeks, woo hoo!) around the streets of Barcelona, starting from Gracia which is where we live down towards the centre, taking in the Raval, Ramblas, Barrio Gótico and then all the way to Plaza Espanya where she and her argentinian beau Alejandro are working nights giving information about the trains. Apparently something´s going on with Spain´s major rail network Renfe and there´s a big demonstration happening today against the company as well as the exploitation of workers, the rise in property prices and God-knows what else. Two of my new housemates spent the whole evening making placards and flyers to wave around today. Is this a sign of things to come? Will I get back to my hippie, demonstrating, politically active, spliff-smoking roots? Only time will tell. Haha.

During my bike-ride around the city, I noted a few things that probably only someone who looks at the city with fresh eyes would notice and a few more obvious ones but which I thought would still be good to mention:

• It is actually a lot warmer here (sorry about the bragging, couldn´t help it!)
• The best-dressed men are all gay.
• There´s a pharmacy practically in every corner. (Do Spanish people get sick more often or is it just for the aesthetic pleasure?)
• Tourists are all the same, in every country.
• Same goes with posh people.
• It´s not trucker caps like Vice said. It is "The Skullet" with a dread finish that will never go out of fashion in Spain.
• Toilets are easier to flush.
• Catalan sounds quite funny (No offense to catalunians, I´m definitely planning on going on catalan lessons)
• There is an active reaction to fur-wearing. Or at least that´s what I gather from having been scolded about my coat in the street by a complete stranger. He just yelled behind my ear: "Oooh, freshly-killed rabbit!"
• As much as I´ve made it a resolution to not think about boys (don´t snigger), I can´t help but notice I´ve only seen one fit (straight) boy in the whole day. What will happen when I do start thinking about boys?

OK so that´s it for now. I won´t go into how much I find myself comparing everything and everyone to London, or how it made me cry to see its lights below me from the plane, or how much I miss everyone I left there. That´s too cheesy and like, what´s the point in that?