My, how the time flies

It's really hard to believe, but today marks the T-3 weeks countdown. It's not as though I feel like we got here yesterday, but it still feels strange to be nearing the end. It's also weird because suddenly, we have serious homework. Most of our classes boil down to one final — mine count for 40, 50, 80 and 100 percent of my grades — and so crunch time is no joke. On the other hand, now is the time when I feel like I should be taking in as much Barcelona as possible. To reconcile these two conflicting needs, I've been trying to find cafes with Internet and other creative solutions. What's nice is that even though doom is looming, I have five full days after my finals end and before I have to leave. I already have a list going of all the things I want to try and cram in. (Suggestions are welcome!)

But first I have my final travel hurrah — also my longest, farthest and most exotic trip. Both Sunday and Tuesday are holidays, so Monday is counted as the puente, or bridge, so we have a full five days to travel. I'm heading east to Istanbul, where I'll get to be on two continents at once (not to mention four countries in five days (we have connecting flights, I'll argue that counts)). In the attempts of making a political statement of some sort, the Barcelona Public Library filed the "Turquia" travel books in the Asia section PLUS I get my first passport stamp of the semester. I think I can say with some authority that this trip will be quite different than any of my others this semester.