Thoughts

I had a very productive dialogue with the Matt's Barcelona Blog Board - they gave me some great critical feedback, and suggested that I write more about differences between Spain and the US, as well other topics that weren't necessarily places I've been.

One difference is that the President of Spain isn't nuts. In fact, Zapatero is great. His first action in office was to pull troops out of Iraq. He's a socialist, and believes that there's a democratic solution to pretty much any problem. For example, he offered to open talks with the separatist Basque terrorist group, ETA. In return, they've declared a partial truce and promised to not attack political targets. Apparently, there are other ways to deal with terrorists besides bombing them and everyone nearby into oblivion.

Another difference is presence of national pride within the individual states of Spain. Barcelona is in Catalunya, which many Catalunyans consider to be a separate country (of sorts). A good example of this is the use of Catalan - a language that sort of sounds like Spanish and French combined. People use it in homes, especially, and they insist that every child learn Catalan in school (even though it is spoken in no other place on the planet).

There is a huge Catalunyan autonomy movement going on here - thankfully it's completely peaceful, unlike the separatist movement in the Basque country. Zapatero has offered that, if 90% of the parliament votes for it, he would let the state keep more of its own taxes, etc.

Spain has some interesting contradictions. 1) Despite the liberal, progressive thoughts of most people I talk to, there is still a lot of racism. North African immigrants have been coming here illegaly in waves that is causing a lot of resentment. Ironically, I imagine the North Africans resented it when Europeans invaded their countries during the colonial era. The same is true for South Americans - I've spoken with a lot of people about Mexicans in America, and pretty much everyone says something like, "Those people are lazy."

2) I sat and gossiped the other day with Robi, her sister, and her niece. We started talking about the Church, and I was surprised to hear about their brand of religion. Instead of devout Catholics, the three of them think the Church is too political and that spirituality should be individual - something I didn't expect from three Spanish women with an average age of 50. However, both Robi and her sister have candles burning constantly in front of little figurines of the Virgin Mary. I guess the rituals of the Catholic life stick with people a long time after they stop going to church.

Rupit [roo-PEET]

At first, Spaniards gave me a bad impression because strangers can be pretty rude to each other. No one gives each other friendly nods on the street - a disgusted glare is more common. However, I've realized that they're incredibly warm and open after a quick conversation, or because of the slightest relation.

For example, all of Robi's relatives have been exremely kind - every time I meet someone, they end the visit sincerely wishing me a good stay in Spain, and telling me that I can come to them for help if I ever need it.

Recently, after talking with a Spanish couple for no more than fifteen minutes, we exchanged phone numbers in order to meet and practice our languages. A day later, they (David and Sheila) invited me and a friend on a day trip to nearby Vic to visit the market there.

*David has group photos from the trip; I'll insert one here once I get it from him.

The four of us, along with two others, left around 9:00 AM so we could still have plenty of time to spend there after the hour and a half drive. At Vic, we were told there was no market that day, and so we proceed to Rupit, which is another nearby town that is a perfect example of an old, quaint Spanish town.

This picture, like most of mine, is a poor representation of something incredibly beautiful:
We then went looking for a 'nearby' lake to have a picnic - "Pantano de Sau" [Sau Swamp] is a reservoir that was made despite the fact that there was a town in the valley - Sau. We spent about an hour in the car, with David pulling up beside every hiker and asking for directions. Driving through the countryside, probably lost and definitely hungry, is a lot easier when the countryside looks like this:
We eventually gave up and set up the picnic next to a cow pasture... We didn't pack utensils, which mattered little to most of us. JuanJor, however, had bought a sausage in Rupit that he wanted to cut to make his bocadillo [sandwich]. He dug around in the trunk of his car, and this was the best option he came up with:That's a hacksaw, and he didn't just joke about using it. He cut his tomatoes with it too.
Here is the Pantano de Sau - that is the church steeple sticking up above the water. David told me that, during the summer, more of the town is above water, which is neat to see, but also means that there's a bad water shortage...

All in all, the day was wonderful. I would really like to see a lot of Spain while I'm here, and having local friends that know the best places is a huge plus.

Parc Guell and La Fuente Magica

This past weekend was pretty productive in terms of getting out and seeing the sites. We went to Parc Guell, which is a park Gaudi designed in an attempt to create a park that doesn't interrupt nature. It's in a really high part of the city and is absolutely gorgeous. Here's a look at the climb you have to make from the metro station:Sure, a lot of it is escalator, but there must be at least... forty stairs.

This is a really neat walkway - those are stone pillars. Thus far, this was probably one of the coolest features of the park I've seen... We didn't spend much time there, as it was getting dark, so I'll be back to explore with my family and Ann Marie.

La Fuente Magica is out in front of the National Museum of Catalonian art [see below]. On Friday and Saturday nights, for an hour, they turn on all the fountains on both sides of the street leading up to the Museum as well as the main fountain, which puts on an amazing display including colored lights. Also, they have seven or eight search lights turned on behind the Museum - the whole effect is incredible, and really is nothing like the pictures I took. Here's one shot:If this photo weren't so blurry, you'd be able to tell that this is a view from the Museum, looking out on Plaza Espanya with the Fuente Magica in front and the side fountains lining the street.

That's all for now; everything is going very well here. My wrist is covered with red lines from Chester's onslaughts, but I'm developing a sixth sense about when he's going to strike.

Classes are very enjoyable. Not having the pressure of daily assignments definitely makes it easier to appreciate them, but we'll see how I feel when I have to write papers summarizing three months' notes.

I'm not decided for sure on which classes I'm going to take, and will be posting more about them when I am.

Andalucia.

Sorry for being out of touch recently; I spent the last week in Andalucia with the group as part of our orientation. We spent two days each in Granada, Sevilla, and Córdoba studying different styles of architecture.

Everything was wonderful. I learned a bunch about architecture, though I still appreciate cathedrals primarily because they're huge. Here's my favorite picture from the trip; this is the cathedral in Sevilla:

The city was really beautiful, as well as Córdoba. Both probably have less than ten streets that are more than six feet wide. I only saw one SUV during the whole week, and had to duck in a doorway so it could pass on the street.

Here's a picture from inside the Alhambra, looking at the famous Sala de Leones. Notice the thin pilars with corinthian-style capiteles, which were utilized to create more space. But how can there be likenesses of animals in Arab architecture? Anyone knows that it's against Islamic law to represent God (and also to use animals in art). Well, this palace is the mudéjar style, which means it was built using an Arab style but for use by.....

Just kidding. I thought I'd give you a taste of what class was like all week.

The amphitheatre at Itálica, an ancient Roman city outside Granada.

Chester, Robi's insane cat, hiding in my suitcase and planning his next attack.

Another view from outside of the Alhambra, and probably one of the prettiest places I've ever been.

Other than the trip, there's not much to report right now. Classes start tomorrow and I'm sure there will be more to report soon.

Bit by bit, my Spanish gets better...

During the last couple of weeks, Robi has asked me a couple of times if I'm a little "constipado." I was always a little bit surprised when she asked me this, as I thought the meaning was a little private. Probably just a cultural difference, I thought; Robi is pretty concerned about my well-being.

Today I finally realized that "constipado" refers to being stuffed up in the head, as I've had a bit of a cold recently. Boy was I relieved...