For example, when a patient is sick with Crohn´s disease, they might need surgery to remove a part of their intestines, where our food is digested. When this happens, I go to the hospital to get a piece of their intestines (with the patient´s permission), and bring it back to the lab to break up the tissue into its main components, called cells. Sounds pretty gross, right? I get to use lots of machines and wear a white lab coat. Most nights, I go to the gym, then eat dinner at home with my host family.
The first few weeks of living in a new place with new people were difficult. I missed my family and friends back home, but I quickly learned to love the area and all that it has to offer. For example, right down the street I can walk and get ice cream, crepes with nutella (these are like mini pancakes covered in chocolate!), or a cheeseburger! Everything is within walking distance, so I am always moving around. Sometimes, I walk about five miles a day just finding my way around the city or my neighborhood.
In Sarrià, there are many parks or city squares where people sit and eat lunch or bring their dogs to run around. There are always so many dogs here, and they are allowed to go inside restaurants and stores!
I also have been particpating in running races in the community to meet people and to exercise. This past weekend, I ran a race called the Correbarri, which means "neighborhood run." I represented my barrio ("neighborhood") with a red shirt, and my friends wore the shirts for their barrios!
Everybody in the community speaks Catalán or Spanish, so I try to speak Spanish when I go to the grocery store, the gym or work.
