Synchronized Skating Summer Update: Kelly Smith
6/18/2009 12:00:00 AM | Synchronized Skating
Kelly Smith--June 18, 2009
Buenos Dias from Barcelona, Spain!
 Brandon Wilson and Kelly Smith in front of a Gaudi designed door  | |
Eventually, I will have to stop moving at 1,000 kilometers per hour while I am living here in Barcelona; eventually. Until then, I am seeing beautiful places, meeting the most genuine people, learning a beautiful language and eating the most unusual food.
The perfect word to describe my entire time so far in Spain is random. When my alarm goes off at 8 a.m., I leave my eighth floor apartment with the host family I am living with and head to class. After that, I never know how my day or weekends are going to end.
The best purchase I have made in this country is the 47.00 Euro unlimited monthly metro pass. I literally am living on the metro getting around from one end of the city to the other, from one beach to the next, traveling from mountain to mountain, to a neighborhood for a "Discotecha" dance club, to an art museum to see Dali and Picasso, or a midnight coffee in a local plaza.
 Catherine Wilson and Kelly Smith at a Cava vineyard, "Codorniu" by Sitges, Spain | |
You really appreciate a good pair of shoes here, especially since I have already had to make a visit to the local doctor for infected blisters due to my endless walking and exploring. Good thing I mastered the art of how to wrap my feet from our Miami athletic trainer (Megan Shaw)!
My journey began in Madrid where I toured for two days and then traveled to Toledo, Spain after Barcelona won the Futbol Champion League here in Barcelona. After Toledo, I traveled on a bus for seven hours to Barcelona where I am living for 65 days of my 20th year on this earth.
I realize that life is all about embracing the little moments: The moment where I was swimming out in the Mediterranean Sea by myself feeling at peace with the world, the moment I started dreaming in Spanish, the feeling I felt while staring at the famous Sagrada Familia Cathedral, and looking around and laughing on the beach with the great friends I have already made.
I love the humid Barcelona air, the foreign smells, the beautiful coast line I see everyday, the hot sun that shines in through the windows from the terrace outside my room, the socializing, and the bocodillo (sandwich) and coffee I have every morning. I realize that Barcelona is beautiful and life is beautiful.
This is a continuation in a series of updates from the Miami University synchronized skaters throughout the summer.
