Beginning of Week 1: Orientation and First Observations
After 8 hours of air travel and an hour and a half on a bus, we officially arrived in Tarragona, Spain on Monday, July 6th! Since we had all been awake for around 24 hours straight, all we wanted to do was plop on our beds and sleep forever. The only problem was that it was about 2pm local time (8am Boston time). So, we persisted and lasted through the rest of the day – we had a lot left to do!
After we were assigned our rooms, we had a short orientation with the program coordinator here at Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Blanca, as well as our professor, Ron Willey. We learned about the history of Tarragona as well as a little about the modern culture. Blanca kindly explained the city bus system to us, as we need to use the bus to get to class. She told us about El Corte Inglés, which she called “the Spanish Macy’s” It’s actually even better than that nickname implies – you can get almost anything there, including groceries. Blanca also suggested that we go to the beach, as it is only a 15 minute walk from our dorm. So, after stowing everything in our rooms, that’s exactly what we did! All 20 students, plus Professor Willey and our TA Victoria, spent the rest of our afternoon swimming and sunning off the Punta del Miracle. I’m not a huge fan of the beach, but I could not have survived my first day in 90+°F Tarragona weather without a dip.
We finished up the day with a dinner of delicious authentic Spanish tapas, which are various appetizer-size dishes, perfect for sharing. And finally, the longest “day” I’ve ever had was over! Sure enough, after so much traveling and excitement, I fell asleep that night as soon as my head hit the pillow.
After less than three full days in Tarragona, I think I’m in love with the city already! My first impressions were technically what I saw from my seat on the bus ride from Barcelona, where the airport was. I happened to sit on the left side of the bus, which meant as we drove south on the highway, I caught some glimpses of the Mediterranean through the hills. The landscape is so much more hilly here than I’m used to – climbing up steep side streets in the heat is no fun! I spotted plenty of neighborhoods built into the hillside, full of white houses with beige and orange stucco roofs. As we drove into the city, I noted the high number of rotaries, the tight and cramped streets of Oldtown, and the historic architecture of the city buildings. My favorite part so far is the road-sized “sidewalk” in the middle of the two lanes on Rambla Nova, the main road near our dorm. There are so many pedestrians that the actual sidewalks, already cramped with outdoor seating for the street’s many restaurants, just aren’t big enough. I love going on a late afternoon walk after class down the middle of Rambla Nova, and just taking in and enjoying my beautiful surroundings. Can I please stay here forever??
