Tag Archives: While Abroad

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“There’s something happening everyday, but I’m too tired and lazy to write it all down.” ― Anne Frank

More like too busy! I shall do my best to briefly (I know, you can laugh and scroll down to check if I succeeded) rehash my life so far with the help of my daily Facebook updates. I’m hoping from now on, I’ll have a lot less updating and a lot more focus/discussion to my posts. But since “Life is happening faster than I can write about it” (-myself, in previous blog) I can’t make any promises.

Anger’s Chateau

Classes and Excursions summary: I’ve included a zillion pictures so that if you’d rather just skim, you’ll still get an idea of my September highlights.

At first I kind of forgot I was here for school… but not to worry, classes whipped me into shape fast enough! And soon it was brought to my attention just how much you forget so quickly. There is not much, more frustrating that knowing you have learned something (perhaps more than once) yet you just cannot remember. All of the grammar and vocabulary we are going over is always on the tip of my tongue! It gets better every day, but it would be great if I could just remember what I’ve already learned.

By the end of week 1, my brain was in pain. The reward, however, was tickets to the Puy du Fou light show! This was basically a huge outdoor history of France show after dark. I mean huge. Props included actual buildings, enough space for jousting and battles and a fountain show.  Oh and horses doing tricks and fireworks and group dances.  I guess it is famous and very popular in France, I had no idea how lucky I was to have tickets. I also had no idea what it was going to be. We just got on the bus and then walked a bit and sat where they told us to (in huge bleachers things where several thousand people did the wave for what felt like several thousand times). I knew it was a light show, but I didn’t know it was a story too! Basically from the moment it started, my mouth fell open and stayed that way for the next, oh, hour or so. The costumes, sound, animals and lights were phenomenal. I didn’t quite follow all the French, but I got the gist. I know enough history to follow the portrayed events. And well, it’s not hard to tell when it is the sad part, happy part, romantic, suspenseful, etc. So basically, it was beyond enjoyable and I was thoroughly impressed by all of the volunteers that coordinated the event.
More information, if this link works in the States: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puy_du_Fou 

Best picture I managed to get at Puy du Fou. Have videos but those don’t post well.

On Saturday the 6th of September, Angers’ annual festival “Accroche-Coeur” was in full swing. My friends and I wandered around town and went shopping a bit. In the evening we got to watch some acrobatics but had to climb through some bushes to be able to see!

In the park. It was a sunny day for wandering around. And all my pictures of the festival didn’t turn out.

Catching your breath was not on the schedule for September. Sunday was as full as the rest of the weekend. There was a lot of bus riding but a good deal of walking as well.  We visited the famous for its beauty and lack of accessibility, Chateau Mont Saint Michelle.

To the right you can sort of tell that this is basically on an island.

View from higher up. Tiny shuttle bus on the road and low tide pictured.

For the most part, you can see views better than the pictures I’m posting on the internet. But you can’t see me with a giant jar of Nutella on google images!

From there we went to the little town of Saint Malo, where we were looked up and down and overheard “Elles sont tourists” (They are tourists) behind out backs. I wonder how often that happened in German speaking countries and I had no idea! Anyhow, I enjoyed time on the beach in the sun and wading in the Atlantic Ocean for, I believe, my first time ever!

The beautiful beach where we took off our chaussures de tennis and walked around. That path you see was full of green slime and french kids. I got a picture of Jocelyn swimming, parents sunbathing and a kid in midair jumping off that diving board.

The start of the week included the restarting of dancing! Ballet class in Angers, France! Having that opportunity improved my life here a great deal. For September, the only class I can make it too is not advanced but it is better than nothing and it felt SO GOOD to dance. It had been far too long and I had gotten way out of shape. In class,  I met some local French girls that I can’t wait to get to know! Plus, since the names of ballet steps are in French, it is interesting to hear them pronounced by a local speaker and to hear how the rest of class is taught using the same language! A wonderful learning opportunity!

The front door to the studio.

Another day that stood out to me was of course September 11th. It was interesting experiencing such a significant day for America while in a different country. I got to read an article about it in the local French newspaper and shortly after that, we discussed country specific “holidays” in my class.
On a lighter note, later that day I also learned how to spell animal noises in French! That was amusing, especially hearing the teacher demonstrate them.  The final reason that day stands out is that dinner that night was a success!  It was the first time in a few days we all ate together, and I learned my French seems to improve a bit after a little wine.  My housemates and I successfully learned about our host parent’s kids/grand kids (ah-hem, there is one, named Pierre who is 24 and single) AND we planned a movie night. Go us! I look forward to that and will forever be amused by my host mom’s attempt at pronouncing “Gene Kelly” without a French accent. To be fair, she was amused by my inability to distinguish between the word for dessert and for desert in French.

Friday the 14th of September we toured the Troglodyte sites, their homes and farms (if interested, read the “In France” section: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habitat_troglodytique). It was interesting to learn about how these people used to live in caves and why while seeing first hand their bedrooms and farming equipment!

Bed in a cave bedroom.

Farming tools

This tour was followed by a tour of a winery, where we had a classy tasting of three different local wines.

1st glass of the tasting

And finally, an underground dinner in a cave restaurant! Here we got another two bottles of wine (for 5 people) and bottomless bread! The meal consisted of local mushrooms. Les champignons. And more mushrooms. Mushy mushrooms, chopped up mushrooms, full size mushrooms, brown mushrooms, and other mushrooms.  Dad, and others that know the smell of sautéed mushrooms is enough to make me gag, I’d like you to know that I tasted some. Painfully. But I was under the influence of peer pressure, wine and my adventurous Europe spirit. I’m sorry to report that I didn’t enjoy it one bit and proceeded to consume only bread and the wonderful, mushroom free white beans provided.

What I DID enjoy eating!

Saturday my friends and I bought bread, cheese and fruit and we had a lovely, sunny picnic before exploring in town a bit.

Lunch in the park!

Good thing that Saturday was not too hectic because on Sunday, we got up and the crack of dawn to get on the bus and visit THREE Chateaus in one day. For the sake of time, yours and mine, I won’t say much more than it was a long day with lots of busing, walking and picture taking. These grand, beautiful places actually exist a bus ride from where I’m studying as opposed to just on posters in French classrooms.  The guides kept us moving at a quick clip and I didn’t get to enjoy the peaceful gardens as much as I’d have liked. Luckily (because we were rushed), each chateau is approximately the same story every time; king’s quarters, queen’s quarters, lots of sitting/meeting rooms, grand halls, spiral staircases and a kitchen.  We just missed personal details in our speed walks through the excessive number of rooms.

Chateau d’Azay le Rideau

Chateau de Chenonceau

Chateau de Chambord

The 17th was another eventful Monday following another eventful weekend. I acquired a French friend, French cold and French tickets to Ireland!!! I met a girl in my ballet class and we made plans to hang out! She offered to show my friends and me around Angers. I also picked up an obnoxious head cold that is probably due to lack of sleep and dehydration and finally, we purchased plane tickets to spend the break in Ireland! The week that followed was average, going to class,

My class!

practicing French, eating cheese and bread, the usual with the exception that our director Sue came over for a fancier than usual dinner on Tuesday night. We had looked forward to that evening and it lived up to our expectations!

Aperitif!

Friday, we only had a half day of school, a surprisingly decent lunch at school, and a whole afternoon to rest and organize my stuff! To top off the week, after a small dinner…homemade CREPES! French family style with all the Nutella I could dream of.

I’m so darn lucky! On Saturday we had our final September excursion, which was a nippy boat ride in Le Golfe du Morbihan with great views to get to another town.

Note the person on the right on the bank. We decided she was a famous author at work on a new book being inspired by the gulf.

All the boats made me think of my “other dad” Randy!

Our lunch spot!

Post-lunch pass time. Collecting souvenirs!

We visited old mysterious rock formations (Carnac) which were huge stones set up in long rows.

Les Alignements de Carnac

In the perfectly European town of Vannes, I had a tasty crepe that turned out to be difficult to order. I wanted Nutella and banana, which was not on the menu, asking for changes in the dish is a social no-no and we found ourselves negotiating with an unhappy waitress. Eventually, we came home to a yummy and healthy home cooked meal before finishing up the night in town with friends and meeting some locals. Not to mention, perhaps one of the best things about my day was getting a picture of my complete rubber duckie collection from home!

Duckies!

C’etait un bon weekend! Sunday was as perfect as I could have imagined!
1. Slept in, in my big warm bed and made arrangements for Ireland. I was about to burst with excitement because one of my favorite people in the whole world will be meeting us in Dublin!!!!! It’s been too long since I saw my WOU roommate!
2. Huge, delicious, 3.5 hour lunch with some other host parents and a sweet Japanese student, sitting in the sun getting slightly tipsy.
3. Long, leisurely walk through the French countryside looking at the trees and giant cows while learning new words and finding myself thinking in French.

Just one view from the afternoon…

I’m pretty sure I experienced a stereotypical Sunday in France (minus getting to hear the Organ in the cathedral this morning, that’ll have to be next week).

The next Monday was not quite as good. First of all, it was Monday, the weather was stormy, I have heaps of studying to be done and topped off with upsetting news from home. But, even with all of that working against me, moods can be cured with a good homemade French quiche and two incredibly caring housemates. Additionally, the fashion standards here are seriously exhausting. Oregonians, wear your rain boots, rain coats, yoga pants and practical backpacks proudly! September was winding up and I realized my little sister turns 18 on Friday and I go to Ireland on Saturday! Someone pinch me. I was sad to be missing my sister’s birthday but decided we’d just have to celebrate again when I get home. Then next hurtle, is concentrating through the last week of school before taking off to wander around a cheery green island.

I really love learning, and traveling, and I wish this time could last forever. But of course I don’t reeeally. I love learning about a culture I studied for so long and I’m now immersed in. I love learning history from interactive museums and historical sites. And meeting people from all over. I love staying up too late because of heart to heart conversations and not being the only one with coffee in class the next day. I love that this experience abroad is changing me and helping me appreciate so many little things. I’m glad that when I go home I’ll have a new perspective and a better understanding of certain aspects of the world. I’m looking forward to the classes I’ll be taking at home in the winter. And that technology allows me to stay in touch with the diverse friends I’ve made. I plan to keep traveling and keep learning.

My friends from class! (I decided a picture of us with the textbook was better than the one of us deciphering our horoscopes in the french paper)

Appreciating every moment and attempting to take nothing for granted is a wonderful way to live and learn, but it’s very very exhausting.  I sort of miss “wasting time” sleeping in or just chilling and not going. But the heightened senses I’ve been using here is something I want to take home with me. I’ll just need to learn to find a balance.

“There’s something happening every day, but I’m too tired and lazy to write it all down.” –Anne Frank and Emily

Scousers and Rollers and Brollies, Oh My!

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I know, I know, I got behind. I had nothing to talk about last week, and the longer I waited, the less I felt like writing. So after a week and half I feel very little like writing, but now that I’ve started I’m alright.

I suppose one of the little cultural quirks here that I’m still figuring out is the perception/portrayal of Liverpudlians (I don’t think anyone from England will read this so hopefully no one will get offended). The colloquial term for a person from Liverpool is “Scouser,” after “scouse,” a popular dish in Liverpool pubs. From what I’ve been able to figure out, “Scouser” isn’t really an offensive term. Slightly derogatory, maybe, but only as much as “redneck,” or possibly “trailer trash.” I’d say, actually, that Scousers (how they are usually portrayed) are the closest English equivalent of rednecks. (Like I said above, I’m not trying to offend anyone. Just telling it like it is.) I’m not really sure, specifically, why Scousers are often portrayed negatively (crude, uneducated, “blonde,” etc.). I know the Scouse accent is often made fun of, because it is significantly different from that of the rest of the North.

A couple weeks ago I watched an episode of a show called Red Dwarf. It’s a cult sci-fi comedy. Very British. One of the characters in the show, Lister, is supposed to be from Liverpool, and the show uses this as an opportunity to make Scouse jokes. I only saw the one episode, but at one point, when things got heated between Lister and another character, Lister put the cigarette he had been holding completely in his mouth.

“Did he just eat a fag?” One of my fellow-audience members asked (and in case you weren’t aware, fag=cigarette, inoffensive).

I had my own pictures, but lost them all in SD-card-related technical difficulties. Also you can click the pic to read an article/blog about the rollers in public.

“Yeah,” another audience member answered.

“Why?”

“Because he’s a Scouser!” As if this should have been obvious.

Also, if you haven’t heard of Desperate Scousewives, it is worth looking into. It’s basically the Liverpool version of Jersey Shore. One of the trends the women in the show follow is wearing curlers (or rollers) in public. This isn’t an exaggeration. When International Society went on a scavenger hunt in Liverpool, we were told that we would get five points for every picture of a woman in rollers. My team saw around ten, half of which were all together as a group of friends. It’s an interesting trend, one that I’d be curious to know the origins of but which would be difficult to actually track down. It’s another one of the things that Scousers may be made fun of for in the media.

That’s all for now, I suppose. I’ll keep it short. I think I’m having trouble finding things to write about because I’m starting to adjust more. I hit the trough of that acclimation graph on Thursday night, though, and I hit pretty hard. I had been starting to worry that I wasn’t more homesick, but on Thursday, I suddenly really wanted to go home. I’m alright now though; I already started to climb back up. Overall, I think I’ve become pretty well-adjusted, and I’m finding it harder to be surprised.

Bonus fun fact:
umbrella = brolly

Marissa

Week 5: Birmingham and the flu

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Well this week has been high and low! It began with a weekend trip to Birmingham with a friend I made at Uni. I had a great time staying with her, eating real home cooked meals, and learning about the second largest city in England! On Saturday we went to a famous shopping center known as the bullring that had some interesting new architecture:Image

This was the outside of a store known as Selfridges, which has pretty much anything a person could want. Not only was it for food and clothing, but there were also restaurants in this specific store. Another funny thing my friend pointed out as we walked through Selfridgers was that this store had a lot of imported goods that one is not able to get elsewhere, specifically the Lucky Charms cereal!! It was interesting to see the thing that the English people were so interested in from America, and to think Lucky Charms could be such a commodity!

ImageMy two friends outside the bullring!

We had a good time walking around the shops, and after the day was done we went to have dinner at McDonalds, real adventurous I know!

Now, Birmingham was great fun but unfortunately I got very sick my last day there. On Sunday I had a fever and a killer cough, but made it home to Ormskirk by train safely. Pretty much the rest of the week I was bed ridden and stuck to doing homework and going to class. Apart from that I didn’t get much done or see many people because I was afraid of getting everyone sick, even though everyone seems to have what they call ‘freshers flu’ at this point. Just the general sickness that all the freshman (or ‘freshers’ here!) get when they first pack in to the halls on campus.

Looking forward to this weekend though, got another Liverpool trip lined up and lazer-tagging English style! See you all next week, hope you are well!

Summer

The Exploration Continues…

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Magic Fountain.. again!

Post for July 22, 2012

I can’t believe my program is over in less than a week! I have some final exams coming up and a 7 page paper to write that I’m not looking forward to at all. Even though I want to get that over with I also don’t want my time here to be done. I’m kind of sad actually just to think that it’s almost over. I was actually thinking today about the stuff we talked about at orientation about jet lag, culture, shock, and homesickness and I’ve realized that I really haven’t felt much for any of those. I also think it may be because I’m only here for a month so maybe it just hasn’t had time to take effect but I’m kind of glad that I’ve enjoyed almost everything about my study abroad so far. Last Thursday I went back to see the Magic Fountain again because it has become one of my favorite places to go at night. I have so many pictures of the fountain and they all look pretty cool. I went with Shelby and Christal and we just walked around and took a lot of pictures. The picture below is of me posing by some of the fountains in front of the Montjuic palace.

Posing in front of the Montjuic Palace
An epic basketball game.

The picture of the poster above is an announcement of the basketball game coming up soon of the US national Olympic team versus Spain’s national Olympic team. I can’t wait to watch this friendly game because, aside from the US, Spain is a world champion in basketball and during the Beijing Olympics the finals were between USA and Spain, in which the US received the gold medal and Spain received the silver medal. The game is going to be here in Barcelona! I looked up ticket prices and unfortunately I think they are too expensive because the cheapest tickets start at 70 euros and I think that’s too much for me. Instead I am planning on watching here with my host family.

The Luxurious W Hotel

This week has been pretty relaxed. On Saturday I didn’t do much. I slept in and spent some time with my host brothers for most of the day. In the evening I had plans with a few friends to try  to go up to the “discotheque” on the 23rd floor of the W Hotel but that was quite the failure. We dressed up really nice because we have been told the people there are very picky and it took us forever to get to the hotel but once we were there and ready to go into the elevator, a lady with a clip board asked if we were invited. We were so confused because apparently you have to be on the guest list on weekends to be allowed up. The lady said our attire was appropriate but that we should instead return on a Monday night or Thursday night because it was more likely that we’d be let in. After that we kind of just walked along the beach until we got tired and went back home.

Castellers! Finally I found one!

Today I was quite the busy guy. Even though I should be studying for my final exams I took the opportunity to go see Barcelona’s Castellers (human towers) performing on the outskirts of the city. I had heard a lot about them but this was the only time that I knew of them performing anywhere nearby. It was such a cool thing to watch because men, women, and children of all ages were present to be a part of this tradition. I’m not going to lie though, I was scared for the children that made their way to the very top of the towers because it looks so dangerous. In one of my classes I learned that the children our now required to wear helmets because there have been too many injuries and even deaths from falling. I was very scared when I saw two of the towers fall. One of them had a girl who hit heard mouth when she fell and was bleeding and crying and another one had an older girl who was taken away by the ambulance but I don’t know what happened to her when she fell.

Amazing

After the Castellers performance was over I made my way to a park that my host mom recommended that I visit today. It was a very tranquil park with some sounds of small green parrots that are not originally from here. My host mom says they escaped some zoo and started to procreate and nest in the parks around the city.

I found a squirrel!

During my exploration of this park I spotted Barcelona’s only squirrel!! I’m kidding. But still. My host mom was surprised when I showed her the picture of this squirrel because she said they are very rare in Barcelona and she is surprised that I saw one. Honestly I don’t think I ever saw any other squirrel since I’ve been here.

My first ever Labyrinth

After the park I went to visit a labyrinth on the northern part of the city which was supposedly paid for by some rich old guy back in the day to entertain his guests when he threw parties. Now it’s a park you pay to go into but it’s still pretty awesome. There are is so much romantic scenery  there. I saw couples everywhere and even a bride and groom taking wedding pictures throughout the park. Regardless to say that I had quite the nice weekend and now I’m supposed to study for torture I will be receiving in class this week.

Sincerely,

Jose

Home Away From Home

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My lovely host family in Barcelona.

Now I would like to take a moment to talk a little bit about my host family and my (day to day) experience/observations while living here.

(Rather than just write about what I’ve done or have seen.)

My host family has been super kind and generous. I will now be talking a little bit about them but for their privacy I will not be mentioning their names. I want to start off by mentioning how wonderfully welcoming they are. My host mom always has good things to say and she treats me as a friend. I like her because she is so accommodating and considerate of my needs. Just the other day I was feeling sick and she gave me some suggestions on what I should do to feel better and she was not offended when I could not keep down my dinner. Instead, she thoughtfully made me some tea that I think really helped to settle my stomach and after a good night’s rest I felt much better the next day. My host mom also gives me lots of suggestions on what to do around the city and it’s evident that she wants me to enjoy myself and truly puts effort in helping me figure out my explorations of the city. My host dad is a great cook and even though I don’t see him often I enjoy talking with him when he is home. He seems like a very nice person and a great father to his two boys. Both my host mom and dad are super encouraging and in no way have they put any unreasonable or strict limitations on me.

My two host brothers are really fun to spend time with. I think they are funny. The older one is very smart and talented. He loves to read and play music and he pays lots of attention to detail. The younger one is super creative and quite the character. He is always super curious about stuff and has his own way of doing almost everything, including the way he reads the Harry Potter book series. Both of my host brothers are a bit obsessed with Harry Potter so I introduced them to Pottermore online and I think they liked it. I have also enjoyed having small conversations with them and playing small games of soccer on the terrace.

My roommate has been fun to spend time with and talk to, although I don’t think we have much in common. He is still a very outgoing guy though. And the two girls from India were only here for a short amount of time and I only got to spend time with them during dinner some times. Unfortunately they are leaving today.

One of the things I have noticed about Catalonia is that people here are super friendly and easy going. I don’t think I have met any locals who I thought of as rude or anything but nice. The other thing I really like is that people don’t seem to be very stressed about anything, and time is not such a big deal. I kind of like that because it’s liberating in a way. I also love seeing so many old couples out on the streets walking together or just sitting on the benches. I think it’s nice to see that relationships here are still so long lasting and that it’s a norm. Even old friends sitting by a deli just having some juice or coffee. I see it so often and it warms my heart. I don’t know what it is about the way of life here, but it creates a peaceful ambiance and I really like it. It also seems to me like people here have a different approach to life but I still can’t quite tell what the difference is. I’m trying to figure it out.

Long story short, I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to come this far and get to experience life in this wonderful city and to be with in the company of such great people.

Jose

A Taste of Spanish Culture

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Cooking up some gazpacho.

Post for July 18, 2012

On Monday after school I got to take a cooking class where we learned how to make some typical Spanish dishes. We made gazpacho which is like a cold tomato soup, chicken paella, tortilla de patata which is like a potato and egg “pie”, and crema catalana which is kind of like cold pudding with hardened melted sugar on the surface. It was pretty fun getting to cook up such yummy food. The best part though, was definitely getting to eat the food we made.

Catalan Reapers

During my Spanish Culture and Civilization class today we took a field trip to a museum where we learned a little bit more about the Catalan people and their history. The image above shows a depiction of the Catalan men who fought against invading Spanish troops during the revolution before Franco took power. These men are known as the “reapers” because they were men who worked in the fields and used their tools as weapons during their revolt. I also learned that the Catalan people have a very strong sense of identity separate from Spain and that a lot of Catalan’s wish for independence from the rest of Spain.

Barcelona’s Soccer Stadium (The one I live right next to but won’t get to watch any games at)

After school we took a field trip to the oh-so famous Barcelona soccer stadium. I was super excited to go to this because I had not had the chance to go inside yet. I’m extremely upset that I won’t get to watch any games here because Barcelona won’t be having a home game until August 23rd. Either way I am happy that I got to get a tour of the stadium for free. Now I’m kind of exhausted so I’m going to take a nap and then probably wake up for dinner.

Jose

Valencia!! Who knew?

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The surprisingly artistic streets of Valencia.

Post for July 16, 2012

WOAH!! This past weekend was the BEST OF THE BEST!! I don’t think I have ever had so much fun in that short amount of time.

Magic Fountain

It all started with the end of last Thursday night when I went out to go see the Magic Fountain. Which, by the way, was in itself one of the coolest things I have seen. (I feel like I say that about everything here.) But it was mesmerizing to sit there and watch the fountain show. I was supposed to meet a friend, David, there but I never saw him and instead ran into Yianni and Lauren there. After the fountain shows were over we were on our way to meet other friends from our program near some bar when a pick-pocketer tried taking something from Lauren. When I looked back the guy looked super nervous and he tried to play it off by asking if we spoke Italian, but he quickly turned around and walked away. Luckily he did not manage to take anything from Lauren’s bag. Eventually we found our friends outside a bar called “The Dow Jones”. One of the girls convinced us to go to a club she heard about called Razzmatazz.

Razzmatazz: Crazy Night of Dubstep (Interesting Experience)

At Razzmatazz we waited a while because none of us wanted to pay fifteen euros to go in but eventually one of the club promoters came out and let us in for six euros and one free drink for everyone with us. The whole hype for Razzmatazz was because it supposedly has 5 different floors where they play different music, but when we were there they never opened up any of the other rooms so we were stuck listening to dubstep the whole time. I swear about half the people there must have been on acid or ecstasy or something because they were so crazy! But it was also kind of fun and wild just to jump around and act like them, or even just watch how strange some of the people in there were.

The Huge IMAX Movie theater where we watched a documentary about the Nile River in Africa.

The next morning we had to be at our school ready to leave for Valencia which was difficult since we spent most of the night out and about. I think I only got like two and a half hours of sleep. Valencia was SO FUN!! When we first arrived we went to a small restaurant for lunch and the food was delicious. Unfortunately, I sat next to the most annoying, spoiled, ungrateful girls I have ever met (which kind of ruined my lunch) but I tried not to think about it. It’s clear how overly privileged they are, because they were so picky and rude to our waiter and all they did was complain to each other about everything. Anyways, the ice cream we had for dessert was very good and I made a great effort to stay away from those girls during our trip from then on. After lunch we went to a really modern-looking museum of arts and sciences and my favorite exhibition was the one of Marvel Comics. We also got to watch a documentary about the Nile River in an IMAX theater. During our free time Shelby, Christal, and I went to see how much the aquarium cost but it was close to thirty euros and none of us wanted to pay that much so we went back to the museum and on our way we got free Sunny Delight t-shirts at a children’s recreational event.

Valencian Paella with chicken instead of seafood.

After the museum we all went back to our hotel and had free time for the rest of the night. Some of us just went out for a walk to find a place to get dinner and we found a really nice gellato shop and a cheap pizza place that had very interesting types of pizza. I tried a slice of pizza with french fries and egg as the toppings. After that, we spent a little bit more time in a bar near our hotel and then went back to sleep. The next morning we went to the beach and had another delicious lunch of Valencian paella (made with chicken) and then went swimming in the ocean and played on the beach. It was quite a blast, but it was only the beginning to my favorite day so far. When we got back to our hotel, some of us were hungry again so we searched for a restaurant and we found one where we tried deer meat and strange sausages. After that we were running to make it back for a parade of drummers called the “Parade of the Monsters and the Big-headed”. No one ever explained the significance of the monsters or the reason for the tradition to us but it was quite the spectacle to watch. After that we waited for a firework juggling show that started around 10:30pm.

Parade of the Monsters and the Big-headed
Surprise Concert

After the jugglers show was over I was supposed to lead a group of people to a street with several clubs in Valencia because I knew the way, but by pure chance we stumbled into a small concert out on the streets. It was a free concert full of people and cheap drinks and the music was great! The band played Portuguese, English, and Spanish music and I was surprised that I recognized a lot of it (including one Portuguese song). We danced and cheered the night away with several other strangers who were also there just to enjoy the music and have a good time. I will never forget that night. I had such a blast.

Firework Jugglers
Valencia’s Falla Tradition Gallery

Yesterday, before coming back home, we stopped by a museum/gallery of “Fallas”. Fallas are basically giant statues made for one of Valencia’s annual festivals in which they depict significant events from the past year with satire and humor. The Fallas are made of paper and are displayed at the center of the city for the entire festival and the last day they are set to flames for everyone to celebrate around. The museum/gallery we visited had some salvaged parts of the 30 foot high Fallas on display from every year since the tradition started. All of the fallas were very well made and quite realistic at times.

We made it back “home” to Barcelona!

This last picture is from when we finally made it back home. The shirts Christal, Shelby, and I are wearing are the Sunny D shirts we got near the science and arts museum we first went to.

(Pardon all the pictures but there was so much to show from this weekend.)

Jose

Living the Dream

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Ruins of the Underground Roman Market in Barcelona

Post for Thursday July 12th

I am definitely enjoying myself more than I could have imagined. I love it so much here! My host family has been amazing. And Barcelona is just winning my heart more and more each day that I’m here. This week I have done so much during school and outside of school that I wish I could live like this always. On Sunday, I went out to see the ancient underground ruins of a Roman market. There are parts where it is said people traded salts/spices, wine, and fish. It was pretty cool to see such tangible historical artifacts.

Barcelona’s Harley Davidson Festival

Then on Monday after school I accidentally got off at the Plaza España metro stop and decided to get out of the station to look around. I am so glad I made that random choice and that I had gotten off at that station because the Harley Davidson festival was going on in front of the Palau de Montjuic. There were so many bikes! And bikers! There were fair rides, food, music, and people just seemed to be in such a great and friendly mood. I enjoyed just walking around and taking pictures of stuff. Eventually I went home though because I was still tired from the long day at school.

Everyone settling before the movie starts.

On Tuesday night we were invited to a movie by our program directors. It was such a cool experience because the movie took place on top of Montjuic beside the castle. I guess they only show movies there in the summers. We got to watch True Grit which at first I thought was going to be in Catalan because that’s what most people speak here but it was actually shown in English with Catalan subtitles so that made it easy for us to enjoy at least. The ambiance was so delightful. Before the music there was a small band playing music. People were laying in the grass or settling in with their lawn chairs and getting their snacks out. It felt so stress free and informal. I LOVED IT! Afterwards, the walk back to the shuttle buses was nice because it was dark and you could see the cities lights shining in the night.

One of the buildings at the entrance of the park.

Yesterday I finally got to go visit Parc Guell! It was the most intricate and amazing park I have seen so far. The only downside was that it was such a hot day and there were so many people there that it was hard to get good pictures of some of the things I wanted to photograph. The park had so much to see. It was so artistically designed that it made walking through its long routes bearable, especially the uphill parts. The top peak of Parc Guell also has a great view of most of Barcelona. I also got to take a picture of the iconic lizard/iguana at the entrance of the park that is featured in so many Barcelona tourist pamphlets.

Our little “business meeting.”

Today has been an exhausting day but it too was full of wonderful new sights. During my International Marketing class we took a field trip to the Creu Coberta Commerce Association office where we got to listen to a member talk about how the association works and the benefits it provides to the community. We were treated like business men and women. At one point they almost gave us champagne but our professor discouraged them to do so because we are not supposed to drink alcoholic beverages during program activities. After our visit to Creu Coberta, our professor gave us an optional tour to “Arenas de Barcelona”. Arenas is Barcelona’s newest shopping mall which is less than a year old and was built from the old bull fighting ring that used to be there before Barcelona’s ban on bull fighting. It is round 5 story shopping center with very cool and trendy shops. But it’s also quite pricey.

Later I’m finally going to get to see the famous Barcelona Magic Fountain at the Palau de Montjuic. I’ve been anticipating this, but the fountains are only on for the music and color shows on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights, and I missed them last week so I’m making sure I get to see them at least once this weekend.

Jose

Girona and Salvador Dali

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A beautiful excursion through Girona.

Post for Saturday July 7th, 2012

Yesterday was an interesting day. Our entire program took an excursion to Girona, which is just about an hour away from Barcelona. We went to tour some ancient castles and learn a little bit about Catalonia’s history and the wars it waged. Girona seemed to be a colorful and tranquil city. We got to eat lunch there at a very nice restaurant that served delicious food. I also found a place with amazing gelato. After our visit to Girona we went to another city called Figueres or Figueras in Spanish. In Figueres we visited a Salvador Dali museum. I am not much of a fan of art nor am I very knowledgeable of art but this museum blew my mind! Everything in this museum was by Dali, and the museum itself was planned and designed by Dali. It was obvious from his work that Dali was kind of a genius but at the same time he was kind of crazy. My favorite thing about this museum though was that it was apparent that Dali had a very interesting sense of humor. Dali’s sense of humor was evident in some of his work. I loved walking through the entire place because everything was so cool to look at. If I could, I would definitely return to this art museum. After a long day of walking we finally came back to Barcelona and I had plans to go to Pamplona.

My plans to go watch the running of the bulls kind of fell through the cracks when I missed the last bus which left at 10pm and not midnight as I had originally thought. Either way I had a good night’s rest at home and I enjoy spending time with my host family. In a bit I’m going to go out for lunch with my roommate and his friend and then we are going to visit the Barcelona soccer stadium for the first time (even though we live right by it!). In the evening I have plans to go see “La Sagrada Familia” which is a huge unfinished church designed by the famous artist Gaudi.

Sincerely,

Jose

Class Field Trips, and Personal Field Trips

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We explore as much of Barcelona as we can every day.

Post for Thursday July 5th

This week has been full of field trips. On Tuesday we had a field trip after school to Barcelona’s Cathedral, Wilfred the Hairy’s castle, the origin of the Spanish Inquisition, and to Barcelona’s biggest market “La Boqueria”. It was a guided tour but unfortunately I don’t remember much of what our guide was saying because she spoke so softly and un-interestingly. Yesterday some of us went out to find Barcelona’s Arc de Triomf and to take pictures around a beautiful park called Parc de la Ciutadella. At this park we found a man made pond in which we got to row boat for a half hour. We also found a random elephant statue that we climbed and took pictures on. The coolest part of this park though was the fountain with many statues of horses and a golden chariot led by three horses at the top.

Today for my International Marketing class we took a field trip to a toilet and bathroom gallery by the successful company called Roca. Roca is an important Spanish company that is gaining world recognition for its high quality bathroom appliances. It was an interesting visit because I never thought toilets and sinks could be so fancy. After Roca, we visited a Harley Davidson shop because apparently there’s a large biker population in Europe that is loyal to the Harley Davidson brand. I guess Barcelona will also be hosting a large Harley Davidson event soon too.

Tomorrow we will be going on an excursion to Girona and Figueres. I am not sure yet what we will be doing there but I’m excited to go.

Sincerely,

Jose