Photos

Finally some photos. You can double-click on any to make them bigger, which I highly reccomend for the first two.















On top is the National Museum of Art of Catalunya which I found by accident on Wednesday. On the bottom is the view from the top of all those stairs. Absolutely worth the climb.

This is my host mom Robi in her apartment.
Here are four of my closest friends here; from left to right we have Alyson, Sam, Colleen, and Caroline.
I just thought this sign was funny.

The elusive Mediterranean.

Wednesday, after morning class and with about 6 hours to spare, I decided to head down to the sea - I haven't seen it since the plane landed. So, I picked a road that looked like it was headed downhill and decided I'd take it all the way... I didn't want to get lost because I don't know that neighborhood very well.

About two hours later, all I had found was a "sea" (wordplay) of apartment buildings in an "interesting" (euphamism) neighborhood. I was determined to make it to the Mediterranean, but gave up after every new twist in the street just revealed more apartment buildings.

Luckily, I found a bus that would take me back to Plaza Espanya, where I knew I there was a metro stop. This was my first time above ground in Plaza Espanya, though, and I found out one road out of the Plaza is a gorgeous broad avenue that leads to the National Art Museum of Catalunya, which is a gorgeous palace with a gorgeous view of all of Barcelona.

I didn't find the sea but at least I had a really great time walking around the museum and the nearby Montjuic. Once I find a way to add pictures to my blog, I'll show you why it was so worth it.

The Biggest Cultural Difference.

On the stall walls in bathrooms all over campus at DePauw, the most frequent messages include: ATO RULES or BETA SMELLS (edited for content). The stall writings at the Universitat de Barcelona include: "When all violence is of the state, we are all terrorists," and "Long Live Art."

I wouldn't say that one is better than the other, but at least the messages here give you more to sit and think about.

Globalization

How's this for globalization:

Last week, in a Spanish hotel, one American (me), four British guys and one Swedish girl sat up watching an Australian tennis tournament broadcast on a German TV network.

First Entry

Barcelona thus far has been wonderful. Our group stayed in a hotel for the first week, and we just recently moved in with our host "families"which are mostly single women. I live with a wonderful divorcé named Robi Nuñez. She has a son and daughter, both of whom live nearby and visit occasionally with their children.

Besides me, Robi only lives with a cat (Chester) and she fusses over us both. I really feel welcome in her home and she does everything she can to make me happy. Chester has become jealous since I moved in - now he's not the only one in the apartment that has pet names. ("Oh mi guapo... mi matito").

Tonight I went to an FC Barcelona game; it was a blast. The stadium has a capicity of 98,000 and pretty much every seat was filled - even around the very top of the stadium where I was sitting. FC won 2-0 and both goals caused a huge roar in the stadium.

My favorite part of the evening was probably when I handed my ticket to the wrong person (a security person standing at an outer gate) and he looked at his friend, smiled, and ripped my ticket anyway. Luckily, I wasn't embarrassed at all becuase it took me until long after I was through the gate to realize I had just been the center of yet another joke.