First days in Barcelona

After only one full day here, already so much has happened! My first night, I stayed in a hostel called Kabul. I immediately made friends with my roommates. After dinner together and a few rounds of beer pong, one guy who has been here for a few weeks took us to about 5 different night life spots. We started at a shot bar, where they have a wall covered with names of different shots they make, all for $2.56 CAD. They had an interesting one called the "Monica Lewinsky". It was even more humiliating than I imagined! One of my roommates, Mike the med student, got suckered into it. I'll let your imagination finish this story, and if you really want to know, you can ask me ;)
After the shot bar, we went by the sea to a quiet Irish pub where they had 2 for 1 drinks. We then proceeded upstairs to a dance club overlooking the sea. It was quiet until about 2am. We then went to a larger club a stone's throw away from the hostel. We danced there a while, then headed back to the hostel, outside of which is a square with a fountain. Many people were gathered there to enjoy the fresh air at the end of the evening. Police were there, just making their presence known, and everyone was relaxed. I spoke to one of the officers, and I realize why my travel agent said not to expect help from cops. It's not so much that they're crooked, though they are, but it's more that they can't be bothered to deal with trouble. They don't have the power trip syndrome you see so many cops in Canada have (no offense Riley!). They were nice, but just wanted to relax. I slept for a couple hours after that night.

The next morning, I had to check out and move to a hostel across the street called Ideal Youth Hostel. Compared to Kabul, it's kinda dumpy, as far as hostels go. I did manage to find an individual full bathroom there though, and enjoyed a leisurely shower. After I checked in, I sneaked back into Kabul to meet my friends and head to the beach. Almost as soon as we got there, there were offers for massages by Asian women. I got a wonderful 20 minute full body massage by the Mediterranean Sea for a mere $14.30 CAD. After falling asleep in the sun and splashing in the water for a couple hours, I returned to the dumpy hostel for a sweet siesta. Later on, I sneaked into Kabul again and met with some other friends I had made along the way. We went for quick bite in the square then went to a bar that serves absinthe. Some other friends met us there and we walked next door to what looked like a hole in the wall (they always do!). Inside was busy and full of life, and we enjoyed a couple drinks and some dancing. My friends walked me back to my hostel after that.

Today, I continue the hunt for an apartment. I'm going to walk to areas I've seen apartments advertised so I can get more familiar with the regions and know where I will be comfortable. I've also found a place I can get a Spanish cell number and hope to take care of that today. The hostels I'm at now are located on Las Ramblas, which is similar to Yonge st in Toronto, but significantly more catered to tourists and more crowded with people as opposed to cars. I'm thoroughly enjoying myself so far and everything is as I expected, or better! I haven't taken many pictures yet, but once I find a place and stop dragging so much luggage around, I will more frequently have a free hand to do so!