With only four hours of rest after a night out in Cordoba, I headed to the bus station for the first leg of my first trip of the program. Destination? Barcelona, a prized city in the northwestern portion of Spain. Three bus rides and a flight later i arrived in the early evening with Mariko at an apartment of a friend that is currently living and studying in the city. So began our adventure in this new, and in my opinion very strange place.
Barcelona is, in reality, a very precious city. Its main squares, the plazas,are adorned with magnificant fountains, eateries, and local shops that extend for what it seems to be miles. This weekend was exceptional in that it was the festival "La Merce", which means that these areas were even more bustling and lively than usual. Add an array of concerts, events such as "the fire run", the creation of a human wall, plus a whole bunch of mimes wandering the street and trying to entice different crowds, instead of a city you got yourself a gigantic fiesta to end all fiestas. My Saturday here was full of sightseeing. A good friend of Mariko's is studying in Barcelona as well and her knowledge of a lot of the different places here is astounding and really helped us really see the city for what it truly is. The main attractions here are the many different construction projects done by the famous artist Gaudi, and man are they some sort of spectacular. My favorite one? Of course the prized church "La Sagrada Familia." This church, although construction began a way long time ago is yes, still under construction. The continuous building of this monument is dependent on public donations, so when the public gives more money, more can get finished. Even though this monument is still unfinished, it is still impossible to not stare at it with mouth and eyes wide open. Towering high above you in the clouds, it is filled with various carvings of Biblical stories. The whole church is like 50 million eye-popping sculptures. I'm not even an art history buff but tears easily came to my eyes when I saw this place.
Like I said the city of Barcelona is precious, although, in my opinion something a little different can be said about the people.(Before i left, Poli, my senora warned me that while the city is beautiful, la gente? she says, son feas!) A lot of my knowledge of this place, like i said is only drawn from being there for a little more than a full day and a half, but was assisted a lot from hearing the experiences with the people and the place told by Mariko and I's friends that live there. So, here it goes. Barcelona is the capital of the region of Catalonia in Spain, and apparently there is a lot of political drama involved with this region and the rest of the country. Catalonia considers itself to be a "separate' region from the rest of the country. This can be easily viewed in their creation of a different language Catalan, their "diverse" or "unique" form of dress, their elimination of bullfighting in the region and as it seemed to me, their bad attitude towards everyone that is not from Catalonia. (This whole rebelious desire to be independent stemmed from the conquering of this region by Spain like over three hundred years ago. I guess they like to hold grudges.)
I like to think of the relation of Catalonia to the rest of Spain in this way.Say you have a family that is really close knit and loves each other a lot. Then there is like one son that is always a problem, and has been rebelling since he was like fourteen, for really no reason at all, except now the son is like forty, and his only contact with his familiy is when he stumbles in late and really drunk every year on Thanksgiving, and always picks a fight with his older sister or something. Just imagine the derranged son is Catalonia and the rest of the family is Spain. The youth of Catalonia are what cracks me up. Their appearance can be described in the way. If you take a teenager in the U.S who is going through his punk phase in high school, add some lip piercings, a rat tail, or an intense mullet, whichever you prefer, plus a good amount of negative shower time, you have a teenager from Catalonia. (My favorite sight was a mullet made out of dreadlocks, que guapa!)( I got super excited this weekend too because I got to see many many baggy pants, something i dearly had been missing in the U.S.) I mean it's cool I guess that they want to dress that way, different cultures have different views of what defines beauty, so i can't judge the mullet right?? Gahh it's so hard!!
All in all I definitely think going to Barcelona was an experience worth having, but I sure did miss my Andalucians. When my final bus arrived in Cordoba Sunday afternoon, and I walked in the door to have Poli greet me, man was I glad to be.....home? Yes, home.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
I came here not knowing what to expect. Not knowing whether I would get totally lost trying to get here from a bustling Madrid. Not knowing who I would meet along the way, or even scarier what was waiting for me in a place that can easily be considered a completely different world than the one I have been living in. My Spanish language skills? minimal at best.My knowledge of Spain or the Spanish way of life? nonexsistent. My stress level? THROUGH THE ROOF
The first few days mirrored that of move-in day freshman year except five times more insane. Meeting 60 something new people at the same time is crazy in itself .When you add thoughts like which of these people will actually be my friends? what will school will be like? where am I going to travel to and who with? Do I have enough money? I still need to find an electrical converter, a gym, a place with internet, and what seems like a billion other things, where the hell do I go??; and, when you're in a place that is totally new to you, where the only familiar face that exists is on a facebook page, and where everyone around you speaks a completely different Spanish than the one that you have learned and heard for years, these thoughts start getting really scary.And to add that it is over a hundred degrees outside :)
Things start to ease a little when I meet my "senora", the women whose house I will be living in and the woman who I will be eating all of my meals with for the next three and a half months. I got lucky in that I got placed with another student from my program, Mariko someone who has become my top buddy in Espana. We each have our own room, and live with Poli, an incredibly sweet, joke-cracking SPANISH teacher in the local secondary school, and her "perrito" Elena. Poli has been hosting international students for over fifteen years, so she knows exactly what to expect in that she already knows how late students stay out, what they like to eat, the best places to shop and eat, the best clubs(I liked this one) and most importantly to speak the slowest Spanish possible for us so we can understand.She immediately explains,that she is fluent in Italian and French however that she neither desires nor can speak English. (Crap! Oh wait yes! more practice right?) yet another exciting challenge, and it's only day two here!!!.
I never thought it would happen but I am finally settled in here. (You could not imagine how many Zoolander who am I? emotional up and down moments I have had in the past few weeks.) I am finally not only getting used to but really truly starting to appreciate the way of life here.
I go to school from 9:30-3 Monday-Thursday at the special wing of the school called the "enfermeria"(I thought the name was pretty silly). School is great here. Great teachers, small classes, and a homework load that probably equals that which I had in elementary school. Heyoh! I just like to consider that to be a purposeful push to really spend time immersing yourself in the culture and in the city, and what can I say it is working! One of my favorite pastimes during the week is watching dubbed over American movies in Spanish with Poli and Mariko, and practicing my Spanish.
I joined a gym that has evening cycling classes. I now go twice a week to listen to a buff Spanish man in skin tight spandex shout and scream a colorful variety of Spanish commands while I sweat profusely. I cannot tell you how awesome it is. To add to it I made my FIRST Spanish friend at my FIRST class. Check.
The free internet cafe I have found? It's called Cafe Niza, a loud, smoke filled place with ringing casino slot machines and all male employees who only communicate with me in cat calls, but who at least give me a free churro every time I come in. "For the guapa" they say. (Apparently most Spanish men are this forward, really it just seems that women are their type.)
This second whole week, I finally not only start making friends with some of the locals but also really start liking a lot of my fellow UC students I am here with. Weekends (really only two so far) are spent resting, "botelloning"(Spanish word for pregaming) in the local park, and going to the "discotecas" until 5AM.(the norm for the Spaniards is 7AM, apparently we tuck in early)
The life of the people here follows such a nice pattern, it flows, and since I am so new to it it seems like it is almost musical, a breath of fresh air. Why? Here are my reasons
Primarily I think it is because family is so important here.When kids are done with school, and people done with work(around 3) they go home and spend time with their familiy. Everyone eats lunch together,talks, and after takes their daily "siesta", a planned nap and Spanish custom(seriously all the shop close from like 3-7:30), together. People enjoy spending time together here. There is no such thing as a "togo" coffee or meal. You sit down outside with someone, and talk and enjoy what you're eating. From about 9 PM-12 you can find all of the plazas here packed with people and families just sitting here and talking.
I have not met one stranger here. Everyone you make an effort to talk to or make friends with makes that effort right back. The Spanish friends I have made here have been a result of completely coincidental events. My first friend at the gym? Maria, who asked me before the cyclying class if I was American, which turned into a long conversation after class and a facebook exchange. You start trying to talk to a group of Spaniards in Spanish? They talk back in Spanglish, happy to meet an American to practice language with. (Thats how I made Spanish friend # 2, 3, 4, and 5). They have names don't worry.
To add to this these people have some of the best fashion sense I have ever seen.I don't even remember what flip Flops, saggy dude pants, and shorts that make your butt fall out look like. Talk about culture shock when I get back to the U.S. Both girls AND GUYS put in the effort to look nice. I have seen some old ladies that are better dressed than I have been on many occasions.My Spanish teacher does not once hesitate to apply her super fly makeup and wear her heels every day to her job. Looking nice is part of the lifestyle, it's not considered to be petty or silly or a pain.
To sum it all up? what an adventure, and my full month here has not even finished.
The first few days mirrored that of move-in day freshman year except five times more insane. Meeting 60 something new people at the same time is crazy in itself .When you add thoughts like which of these people will actually be my friends? what will school will be like? where am I going to travel to and who with? Do I have enough money? I still need to find an electrical converter, a gym, a place with internet, and what seems like a billion other things, where the hell do I go??; and, when you're in a place that is totally new to you, where the only familiar face that exists is on a facebook page, and where everyone around you speaks a completely different Spanish than the one that you have learned and heard for years, these thoughts start getting really scary.And to add that it is over a hundred degrees outside :)
Things start to ease a little when I meet my "senora", the women whose house I will be living in and the woman who I will be eating all of my meals with for the next three and a half months. I got lucky in that I got placed with another student from my program, Mariko someone who has become my top buddy in Espana. We each have our own room, and live with Poli, an incredibly sweet, joke-cracking SPANISH teacher in the local secondary school, and her "perrito" Elena. Poli has been hosting international students for over fifteen years, so she knows exactly what to expect in that she already knows how late students stay out, what they like to eat, the best places to shop and eat, the best clubs(I liked this one) and most importantly to speak the slowest Spanish possible for us so we can understand.She immediately explains,that she is fluent in Italian and French however that she neither desires nor can speak English. (Crap! Oh wait yes! more practice right?) yet another exciting challenge, and it's only day two here!!!.
I never thought it would happen but I am finally settled in here. (You could not imagine how many Zoolander who am I? emotional up and down moments I have had in the past few weeks.) I am finally not only getting used to but really truly starting to appreciate the way of life here.
I go to school from 9:30-3 Monday-Thursday at the special wing of the school called the "enfermeria"(I thought the name was pretty silly). School is great here. Great teachers, small classes, and a homework load that probably equals that which I had in elementary school. Heyoh! I just like to consider that to be a purposeful push to really spend time immersing yourself in the culture and in the city, and what can I say it is working! One of my favorite pastimes during the week is watching dubbed over American movies in Spanish with Poli and Mariko, and practicing my Spanish.
I joined a gym that has evening cycling classes. I now go twice a week to listen to a buff Spanish man in skin tight spandex shout and scream a colorful variety of Spanish commands while I sweat profusely. I cannot tell you how awesome it is. To add to it I made my FIRST Spanish friend at my FIRST class. Check.
The free internet cafe I have found? It's called Cafe Niza, a loud, smoke filled place with ringing casino slot machines and all male employees who only communicate with me in cat calls, but who at least give me a free churro every time I come in. "For the guapa" they say. (Apparently most Spanish men are this forward, really it just seems that women are their type.)
This second whole week, I finally not only start making friends with some of the locals but also really start liking a lot of my fellow UC students I am here with. Weekends (really only two so far) are spent resting, "botelloning"(Spanish word for pregaming) in the local park, and going to the "discotecas" until 5AM.(the norm for the Spaniards is 7AM, apparently we tuck in early)
The life of the people here follows such a nice pattern, it flows, and since I am so new to it it seems like it is almost musical, a breath of fresh air. Why? Here are my reasons
Primarily I think it is because family is so important here.When kids are done with school, and people done with work(around 3) they go home and spend time with their familiy. Everyone eats lunch together,talks, and after takes their daily "siesta", a planned nap and Spanish custom(seriously all the shop close from like 3-7:30), together. People enjoy spending time together here. There is no such thing as a "togo" coffee or meal. You sit down outside with someone, and talk and enjoy what you're eating. From about 9 PM-12 you can find all of the plazas here packed with people and families just sitting here and talking.
I have not met one stranger here. Everyone you make an effort to talk to or make friends with makes that effort right back. The Spanish friends I have made here have been a result of completely coincidental events. My first friend at the gym? Maria, who asked me before the cyclying class if I was American, which turned into a long conversation after class and a facebook exchange. You start trying to talk to a group of Spaniards in Spanish? They talk back in Spanglish, happy to meet an American to practice language with. (Thats how I made Spanish friend # 2, 3, 4, and 5). They have names don't worry.
To add to this these people have some of the best fashion sense I have ever seen.I don't even remember what flip Flops, saggy dude pants, and shorts that make your butt fall out look like. Talk about culture shock when I get back to the U.S. Both girls AND GUYS put in the effort to look nice. I have seen some old ladies that are better dressed than I have been on many occasions.My Spanish teacher does not once hesitate to apply her super fly makeup and wear her heels every day to her job. Looking nice is part of the lifestyle, it's not considered to be petty or silly or a pain.
To sum it all up? what an adventure, and my full month here has not even finished.
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