Trick or Sweet Potato..?

     So, it’s been a little while, and in that time I have: greatly increased my Spanish language abilities, survived midterms, met with the Associate Director of Penn State Education Abroad Dr. Kristi Wormhoudt, bothered my brother with editing my papers before turning them in, attended a debate concerning the independence movement in Cataluña (and wrote a paper about it, too), bought many Christmas gifts for those that I get to see in December (only 47 days left), celebrated my 21^st birthday in Barcelona, discovered the best place for smoothies and crêpes, and counted down the days until I am in Mexico (55 days, just in case you were wondering).

     Classes are keeping me busy, 19 credits will do that to you! I had an A on my Spanish midterm, so I am very happy to be succeeding in my main goal of studying abroad here in Barcelona. I try to converse in Spanish as much as possible, with my homestay parents, shop owners, servers at cafés, and with my Spanish teacher. Being immersed in the language is definitely speeding along the process of learning. I am excited to take SPAN 003 at Penn State University next semester and to be that girl in the class that has been to both Spain and Mexico. I swear this is all just a dream sometimes, I never thought that my life would bring me to these places, but I am very grateful for all of these opportunities that I have worked so hard for!

     Last weekend, many directors of education abroad programs for various universities in the United States ventured to Europe, southern France and Barcelona, for meetings and conferences. I was invited to attend a reception, free tapas and drinks, to meet the representative from Penn State. It was a lot of fun to sit down, eat tapas, and converse with the directors. My roommate attended with me and we found that many of the directors were very animated and have had their own fair share of adventures around the world. They even asked for our advice on what to see in the city during their one free day before they had to leave. The Penn State Associate Director of Education Abroad, Dr. Wormhoudt, was very nice and I am so glad that I went and got to meet her! She really listened to me speak about my own experiences here in Barcelona and wanted my recommendations on what Penn State could do to help during my time abroad. I told her how rough it was in the beginning, but that I stuck it out and have been doing much better since. She was highly impressed with my initiative, coming from one of Penn State’s satellite campuses where studying abroad is not very popular, never having lived in a big city, and knowing no Spanish at all, to study abroad and live with a Spanish family. The event reminded me of back home because all that I heard was a lot of English and it sounded so sweet to my ears for just one evening!

     The debate was between two professors in political science from a local university here in Barcelona. The desire for independence from the rest of Spain for the area of Cataluña has been around ever since the fall of Dictator Francisco Franco in 1975. On the map below, Cataluña is located in the upper right of Spain where Barcelona serves as the capital. Cataluña feels that it is a separate nation because they speak a different language: Catalan, hold different beliefs than the rest of Spain in regards to their ban on bullfighting, and have a supposedly different culture than the rest of the country. They also feel they are being overtaxed because they are one of the richest areas of the country. But, not everyone that lives in Cataluña feels that it should be separated from Spain. People here are very open about their political views and opinions. My RA (Resident Assistant) was telling me about her opinion, revealing the strong involvement of the younger generations in politics very much unlike the United States. She said that the people of Cataluña just want the opportunity to express their voice and for the Spanish government to listen to the people and the Catalan government. There will be a vote held on November 9, 2014 here in Barcelona to gather the public’s opinion. While it will not count for anything, it will dictate the actions of the Catalan government based on the results. I have witnessed countless political demonstrations during my time here in Barcelona, and while they have been peaceful, I just hope that a decision will be made that takes the best interests for all involved into account.

Location of Catalunya on a map of Spain. Madrid (center) is the capital.

     I should really stop wandering around Barcelona when I know that I have euros in my purse, for I have this unfortunate tendency to stop at stores and just browse. I promise that my initial intentions are always to just browse, but that browsing does not always conclude with me leaving the store without anything in my hands. I think I better justify my purchases because the large majority of them are for others, not myself. It feels better buying gifts for others, but I’m sure my parents would not appreciate that feeling: Lo siento mis padres! I am beginning to forget the cost of items back in the United States. It’s an eerie feeling, forgetting about elements of home, and the worst part is I have adjusted to the food here and I forget what a real Kit-Kat (made by Nestle and not Hershey’s in Europe) and other foods taste like back home! My favorite part of the food they sell here in the super markets is that the labels list calories as energia! Energy, they call it energy, how brilliant! I need a lot of energy for my busy days, complete justification for the large amounts of chocolate I eat.

     Halloween in Barcelona, and probably the rest of Europe, is nothing like it is in the United States. While I did see a few people walking around in costumes, there is no trick-or-treating here. A few cafés, restaurants, and clubs were decorated with spider webs, skeletons, witches, and vampires, Halloween is a way of marketing for their venue for this weekend. At dinner last night (my roommate is currently exploring Rome, Italy), I sat down to find an odd looking fruit on my dessert plate. I looked at it and asked "Qué es esto?" [What is this?] and I had no idea what my host parents told me in Spanish except for the word patata [potato], but she did explain that, to my lack of knowledge, sweet potatoes are common to be eaten in the United States for Halloween... This was news to me! First, sweet potatoes would never qualify as a dessert to me, no matter what you do with them! Second, I don't know where the previous girls that studied abroad here were from in the United States, but in Pennsylvania we do not eat sweet potatoes to celebrate Halloween (occasionally for Thanksgiving, though). Third, she ended up giving me a manzana [apple] after I tried the sweet potato and did not like it (She said she was expecting me to not like it. I'm really glad she understands me!). The holidays that are acknowledged here in Spain and other Spanish countries are All Saints’ Day, All Souls’ Day, and the Day of the Dead. There is a fundamental belief that there is a prayerful spiritual bond between those in purgatory, in heaven, and the living.

     I was wandering around tonight and took the metro to a random stop that I knew was beside the beach. I am still in awe of my ability to go from city streets, to unique alleys, to the boardwalk, to the sand on the beach all in the same day. The sun was setting and the sky was darkening, but soon strands of lights began to light up at the marina, in the cafés and restaurant, and along walkways. I’m beginning to feel like I might miss this place, a little bit. I am never going to fully understand the rollercoaster of emotions that I have felt in the two months that I have spent in Barcelona, but I know that I will be a stronger, more understanding and open-minded person because of it.

     "Don't tell me how educated you are, tell me how much you traveled."

-The Prophet Mohammed

FC Barcelona, Flamenco, Parc Güell & It's The Little Things That Matter Most

       I was talking to a girl from my program this morning on the bus on our way to Parc Güell. We had only just met, and were discussing our hometowns, colleges, trips we were planning on taking, and how much Spanish we knew before arriving in Barcelona. She seemed shocked at the idea that I came here to Barcelona with no prior knowledge of the Spanish language, chose to live in a homestay, and selected a big city as the location of my study abroad semester. She noted how it must be not only culture shock, but the shock of going from a small town to a city in itself that has affected me. Yeah, I guess you could probably come to that conclusion! I’ve been handling it much better, and even my roommate has commented that I have adjusted to the city well and it seems like I have been here for a long time. I appreciated her compliment that night!

       On Tuesday, I had a field trip for my Sports and Society in Spain class to the FC Barcelona stadium, Camp Nou. Coolest field trip ever. We went on the Camp Nou Experience Tour and Museo: access to the pressroom, the visiting team’s locker room, the press box, the stadium seating, and the edge of the field in front of the players’ benches. I can hardly call them benches as they were far more similar to airplane seats, courtesy of their largest sponsor Qatar Airways, with cup-holders on the armrests! We toured the stadium from bottom to top, then to the museum (so many trophies in there!!), and finally ended in their three-story team store. Messi plays at that stadium! I could have been standing in the exact same spot as him and all of the rest of his teammates. How awesome is that?

Wednesday evening, our education abroad program offered a free flamenco show and dinner at Palacio del Flamenco. Dinner was a roll, paella (Spanish rice mixed with vegetables and sometimes including meat or seafood), and ice cream for dessert. The flamenco show was very neat to watch! Flamenco is not as popular of a tradition here in Barcelona as it is in the rest of Spain, like the traditional city of Madrid. I really enjoyed watching the power of the women as they danced to the music from the live band. The one man dancing was extra serious the entire time to the point it was a little scary and it felt like he was staring straight into our souls, but it was very intriguing nonetheless! I would love to learn how to dance, but knowing my abilities on the dance floor, I could not imagine that going well at all.

Parc Güell is an area of land laid out and designed by Antoni Gaudí. Gaudí is a famous architect of the modernisme period of architecture here in Barcelona. He was not very well known until after his death: he was hit by a car and left on the streets for two days as people walked by him mistaking him for a homeless man. Now his work is legendary. Oh, the cruel jokes of life. Parc Güell is free to the public, except for the cool parts: the famous mosaic bench, mosaic lizard, garden, Casa del Guarda (small museum), gift shop, and spiral columns. It offers beautiful views of the city as well. There is a public school located right in the center of the park where kids were enjoying recess, this public school was built prior to Gaudí designing the area. There were also many elementary students on field trips to the park holding hands in their matching uniforms.

Part of Gaudí's mosaic bench in Parc Güell.

I like to walk places. The metro is fun, but there’s something about just walking through the streets trying to find your way. There is so much to see if you take the time to look. Countless people like to fall asleep on the benches in the green zones. The same homeless man sits at the corner two blocks away from my apartment building blasting 80s music on his stereo with his beanie babies drinking from a dog dish with a few euros inside. I’ve been witness to a poor child roller-skating who fell and bruised his tailbone (that hurts!!). I’ve been the target of a child’s super friendly “Hola!” while he was bored playing near his mother and her friend at a café, which led to a mini conversation before I continued on my walk. I have been stopped for directions, which I usually have no means of helping the poor people that ask me in Spanish! I’ve witnessed the very awkward PDA (Public Displays of Affection) of various couples, lots of butt-grabbing and making-out with no shame at all here in Barcelona! I have been stopped by a group of older couples that asked me to take a picture of them by the Arc de Triompf, which led to another mini conversation in my bad Spanish. Sometimes you can hear the birds chirping in the trees, not the pigeons (they’re annoying and don’t fly away when you walk near them) but the small green parakeets. I get to see parents walking their children to school every morning, usually carrying the child’s backpack and holding their hand the entire way to the school building. If I had not walked by myself to the Tibidabo mountain, I would have never met that man that helped me with directions to reach the top. The metro hides all of these little moments underground in the pitch black tunnels below the city. I don’t typically walk much back home, never really have a reason to as everything is much less accessible than in a city, but it has been an enjoyable experience walking everywhere and getting to appreciate the environment I am in. This attitude is one that I hope will transition with me back to life in the United States: appreciating the little moments a little more.

Oh, Español!

     I don’t know the right words to describe how I feel anymore. I am content, but left with this eerie feeling in my stomach like I am being haunted by the desire to just hop on a plane and come home. I mean, I do like it here: there’s lots of things to see and do, much to be explored, a new life here. But I want my old one back. My high school friends, my family, my boyfriend, my dogs, American food and eating a lot more than I do here, the fall weather, and the opportunity to celebrate my birthday as it quickly approaches. It’s a good thing this isn’t permanent, because I don’t understand how people can just up and relocate to a new city or foreign country. Props to you adventurous souls that can grab that bull by the horns! (I had to, I am in Spain…)

     On a different note, I had an interesting and busy week! Tuesday I had a field trip to the Olympic stadium. Barcelona hosted the 1992 Summer Olympics. The Olympics really changed the dynamics of the entire city. The beach never existed, it was just factories all the way up to the shoreline until they decided to renovate and add a few kilometers of sand for tourists. After the ’92 Olympics, tourists flocked to the city and have not gone back home since. Many locals get frustrated with this part of Barcelona, especially the ones that have been living here for a very long time. It doesn’t help that tourists are always up to some crazy antics (Like a group of Italian guys that decided it would be fun to run around the city in the nude for a few hours). I have seen banners hanging from balconies stating they don’t like tourists being here, but I don’t believe the tourists will be leaving anytime soon.

     The Olympic stadium was impressive, but unfortunately is not used for anything anymore. There is also a museum located a block away about the history of sports. There was more to see than there was to read, so it was a quick walk through, but the exhibit with all of the old soccer cleats was one of my favorites! By the end of the field trip as we were standing outside the Olympic stadium, the drizzle started to turn into a heavier rain and our professor encouraged us to find our way home as quickly as possible. But, he was far too late in his encouragement! I was heading to a wine tasting about a 30 minute walk from the Olympic stadium with a friend of mine. As we were walking, it started to pour! EVERYTHING was soaked by the time we walked into the building for the wine tasting… clothes, purses, hair, shoes had that squishy feeling every time you took a step. So, I got to attend a wine tasting absolutely drenched, I guess I can’t complain too much because it was wine. I just wish I liked wine!

     We got to try five different types: Cava (a sparkling champagne), two red wines, a white wine, and a moscato. The only type that I actually somewhat liked was called Albet i Noya petit albet 2013 Penedés. But it is probably a fair conclusion that I am not a wine type of girl. What I did find very amusing though was the beginning of the evening started out very quietly, nobody said a word. By the time it got to the 4^th and 5^th wine that we were tasting, the girls would not stop talking and it got very loud in the room. I found it very humorous how the atmosphere had changed and ended with a bunch of very tipsy ladies trying to find their way back to the metro. Judging from my dislike of wine, you can definitely conclude that I was not one of those ladies!!

     On Friday, I was supposed to meet up with a group of students for a guided hike up Mount Tibidabo, but as you can tell from the word “supposed”, that plan did not go well. Google maps did not cooperate and by the time that I arrived at the meeting place, the group had left. So, instead of just heading back to the apartment, I decided to just hike up the mountain myself! Wonderful idea, I know… First, I had to figure out where I was going because I had no idea which trail to take. So, after awkwardly standing in the same spot and watching people walk by me, an older gentleman kindly said, “Buen dia. [Good morning.]” to me which unfortunately opened up the opportunity for me to make him my victim of bad Spanish. Luckily, I still had service on my phone, so with a mix of my bad Spanish and google translator, he was able to show me which direction to go. The last thing he translated on my phone was “do not be ashamed of asking a question”. I guess it was obvious that I did not feel comfortable approaching someone, but he was very nice about it and I got to practice a little of my Spanish in the real world.

     I don’t know how long the trail is, but it was all uphill. There were many runners and bikers passing me as I made my way up the dirt/rock road to the top of the mountain. There are some spectacular views of the city as you make your way up and I stopped to take plenty of pictures! I saw a lot of those little brown lizards (the ones you can buy at the beach that are sometimes green but change colors) running across my path into the wooded areas for safety. At the top of Mount Tibidabo is an old amusement park and a huge cathedral. There was also a restaurant, café, 5-star hotel, and lots of stray cats that a homeless man was feeding. I took my time wandering through the souvenir shops, stopping to eat my packed lunch, and took even more pictures. The way back down was a lot nicer than the way up, at least it was all downhill! I didn’t realize there was a metro and bus that reach the top of the hill, but I was happier to get some exercise and to enjoy the peacefulness and serenity of being in nature. It was my first chance to get out of the hustle and bustle of the city.

     I guess I am starting to appear more Spanish, or at least look like I belong in Barcelona, because I am getting stopped by people that ask for directions in Spanish. Of course, my first instinct is to say “Ingles? (English?)”, but they usually don’t speak English so we must carry on in elementary-level Spanish. It’s really fun to speak Spanish for a purpose, not just in the classroom. The best part is that I will be continuing my Spanish education beyond just my time here in Barcelona, so I am dedicating a lot of my time and energy into absorbing as much of the language as possible.

     I have a field trip to the FC Barcelona stadium and museum on Tuesday (I am so excited to be able to stand on the field/pitch!) and a free dinner and Flamenco show on Wednesday evening, so expect more on those later! Thank you for reading and please feel free to ask any questions! J