Yoyo

In pure Month of Molly fashion, we begin this time of fabulous festivities with a friendly and fantastic visitor: Yoyo, or so my roommates liked to call her.

Yoyo

Indeed, my fellow IG and good friend Jojo arrived on February 1st to help me bring in my favorite time of year. She came to me from London, as she was in the middle of her tour through Europe before studying abroad in Vienna for the semester. She stayed for a hearty week in the guest room at my apartment, and we did all the sightseeing we could in between my classes. Since she was here for a longer stay, we didn't feel pressure to wake up at dawn and cram everything in during the day. She had also been here before, so she was a bit familiar with the city already. So we were able to take our time, explore new neighborhoods, hang out with my roommates, and cook yummy food.

Casual zip line at a park we stumbled upon
Why in the world do we not have these in the States?

Spanish hot chocolate and very rich chocolate brownie

More playing in a park near my apartment on our way to the beach

Cool clock on the side of the big office building where I have one of my classes

Our yummy hedgehogs from the market!
Almost too cute to eat. Almost.

Yoyo and Molly at the cathedral in the Gothic Quarter

All of our exploring was a lot of fun. But for me, probably the best (and certainly the most amusing) part of her stay was how much my roommates took a liking to her. The first time I told them my friend Jojo was coming to stay with us for a while, they immediately started to laugh rather uncontrollably at 'Yoyo's' funny name. Then, once they finally got over that, and met their new temporary American roommate, we continued our week in laughter. Jojo brushed up on her Spanish skills, which actually proved to be quite satisfactory, and freely conversed with my roommies, provoking many giggles at her Spanglish phrases and funny stories about our college days in Madison. To this day, they still rave about her visit, declaring that she is the coolest of all my friends, and wonder when she will visit again.

She also gave me my first birthday present. She said she wanted to get me one that looked like it could do a lot of damage, evidently in order to match my own personal fierceness. I obviously love it and cherish the little gal very much.

My Birthday Cactus

Fierce, indeed.

It felt really good to have a really good friend around. And especially to have her around for more than a week! Not only is it an obvious treat to have a fellow Badger to hang out with and do some sightseeing, but she also helped me to map out my new Spanish life. My classes are now beginning to really pick up, and I've even started some new ones. My schedule is getting busier, with no real end in sight. And so now, new challenges are beginning to surface that I had not before considered. For example, how many hours of work do I really want? And how many can I handle? What's the best travel route between classes? Where am I going to keep the money I make since I do not have a bank account here? Will a shoe box under my bed do? (definitely didn't think THAT would be a problem when I was living off of 10 euro per week) And of course, the question of all time, How long will I stay here in Barcelona? 

Lucky for me, Jojo, like many of my fellow IGs, is an excellent problem solver. We thought of all the angles to all my worries, and at least came up with a temporary game plan. She helped me to see some perspective, calm down a bit, and think through some things. Of course, I've had the great fortune in my life to always have an enormous amount of support from my family and friends. And of course, that continues today. I regularly Skype with people close to me to talk about the progress of my life and ask for advice. On top of that, I have my new Spanish roommates to help me through my new Spanish problems. Yet even so, it was great to have someone sitting across from me at the table--someone who knows me very well, and someone with whom I can easily speak to without a language barrier, which sometimes can make things a tad complicated. Needless to say, as Jojo left Barcelona running to catch a bus to Madrid, I was left feeling quite reassured of my current path, and excited for the future. I suppose good friends usually have that effect.

And so now I join my roommates as they reflect and sigh, "Ah, Jojo. She's so great."