Halfway through our Spanish Adventures!

We have been in Spain for two and a half weeks thus far and we already have so many memories and inside jokes! It is really difficult to tell if it has felt like we've been here forever or the blink of an eye! We've tried so many yummy restaurants, went to the movie theatre, shopped, sightseen, gotten lost, played in a band, and even have had some time to do some research too!

On Monday after our day at the office, we went and explored the market downtown and it did not disappoint. So many stands with foods of every variety! First, we tried some freshly made frozen juice (Figure 1).

Figure 1: So many different mixtures of fruit juices, in a cold and refreshing form!

After we enjoyed our frozen fruit juice, we adventured more and absorbed the sights and atmosphere of market. Our group went to an empanada stand for a quick snack. We then went to the candy stand (Figure 2), which had about every type of candy that you could ever image, and then some!

Figure 2: Almost looks too good to eat (key word there is almost haha)

Finally, we went and admired and fruit stand (Figure 3), which had some familiar fruits and some which we never even knew existed. Some of the stands had some very impressive stacking methods, because I had no idea how all the fruit didn't avalanche all over the ground.

Figure 3: Fresh fruit everywhere!

Yesterday was laundry day, so we were unable to go anywhere fancy for dinner, but that did not stop us from enjoying some delicious food. Shiloh and myself were on cooking duties, and we managed to make two giant batches of macaroni and cheese. The recipe was in US units, so we were kind of guessing with what quantities of ingredients to put in. However, we knew our unit conversions and were able to create a tasty dish. We may have miscalculated the quantity of cheese to put in by a little bit because it was extra cheesy (Figure 4), but that's okay!

Figure 4: Two giant pots of mac and cheese were crafted. Leftovers were inevitable

Today we got to celebrate Xavier's birthday during our workday (Figure 5)! We got to enjoy socializing with the students and faculty of ICTA and enjoy some pastries too!

Figure 5: The ICTA crew enjoy a break from work for a birthday party!

If the second half of this research experience is as good as the first, we are in for a treat the rest of the way! It has been so much fun getting to know my UT team (Figure 6) and exploring Barcelona with them!

Figure 6: Band practice with the UT team!