Let’s Start Easy: Where is Ashley now? BARCELONA 💃 🎵
Getting Here: Honestly, I don’t remember much. It seems like so long ago, and I guess some parts of my travels are a blur now. I think I landed, took the train to the hostel, and then I was given a tour and some spaghetti? Then, I called my family and said Merry Christmas. I was so tired, that first night in the hostel was probably one of the best sleeps I have had my entire travel period.
Where I am staying: BED & BIKE BCN.
B&B BCN is a hostel in the Eixample district of Barcelona. It is a charming place with a big communal space, bikes available to rent, free bike tours (given by your’s truly), and nightly group dinners. Also, there is a guitar!
It is a calmer hostel, and I really appreciate that. I am not a huge clubber, and I like to be in bed before 2am, so this location is definitely a better match for me than some other hostels might have been.
For the first few days while training, I stayed in the 16 person room. When the old volunteers moved on, I moved into their room. That night, my other volunteer, Michelle, also arrived. Although I hardly knew what I was doing, I then spent 3 days training her.
Michelle is a medical student from Mexico on her holiday break. She is really awesome, and she doesn’t snore! What more could a girl ask for in a roommate?
My Job:
- Bike tour each morning! Despite being incredibly directionally challenged, I have managed to learn the bike tour route, and I think I give a pretty good tour! No one has gotten lost or died yet, so I call that a win.
- Dinner each night! Ashley cooking? I guess Europe has taught me some culinary skills. Dinners at the hostel are free for any guest who want to sign up. There is somewhat of a menu but lots of room for flexibility. We do pasta, burritos, hot-dogs, rice dishes, and tapas (my fav night). I go shopping for ingredients and then cook for anywhere from 7-18 people
My New Meditation Habit:
The first week was a lot, and I spent chunks of the day laying in my bed…..orrrr shall I say….meditating? Just today, I decided to rename my “laying in bed” to my “meditation time”. It makes me sound kind of cool and wise, doesn’t it? Also, in some ways, listening to deep brain waves and breathing is basically meditation. (If you are meditation guru, please do not take me off my high horse right now.)
I am still not sure why I am so tired. Or, at least that’s what I ask every time I go to “meditate”. In reality, I am trying to speak a new language, learning a new city, constantly meeting new people, have very little alone time (can get into the ups and downs of that later), averaging like 19,000 steps and at least 6 miles on the bike, responsible for cooking dinner for 7-15 people, and I am also dealing with my self-imposed pressure to do everything all at once. Why on Earth would I be tired?
What gives me some relief is that my roomie is not running laps around me. When I go to meditate, she is often resting as well. I don’t think either of us are sleeping great, and that is a little frustrating. I wish I had limitless energy to explore this city, but hopefully the exhaustion won’t last forever?
Speaking of which. I am going to go meditate now.
Creating Space 
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