New Apartment and New Sights!

I just spent my first night in my new apartment in downtown Barcelona. Surprisingly, it became really comfortable much sooner than I would have imagined. I got here in the morning, after sleeping in and showering at the Colegio and then checking out. I barely unpacked when I got here, and then went out and explored for a good 7 hours of so, pretty much walking throughout all of Barcelona and getting a feel for the neighborhood, and connection to the rest of the city. When i got home I talked with my Dad and sister on Skype, and then ate dinner with my roomates and their friends that they invited over. Teresa made a dish that is popular in her town near Valencia, that her grandparents used to cook for her. They were basically a version of pizza. She hand-made the dough from scratch and then made two types: one with a pool of olive oil on top and an anchovy laid across the top, the other with a mix of cooked vegetables and garlic and spices. I just had the veggie one, and it was really really good. They also made a lot of appetizers but I wasn't hungry enough to partake. We didn't eat dinner until 11:30pm!! The problem was I was STARVING at like 7pm, because I just had a bread role from the Colegio for lunch, and so I ate peanut butter and snacks around 7 which is my regular dinner time, and by the time it was time for actual dinner I was stuffed and ready for bed. I still have a lot of adjusting to do! The dinner crowd was quite eclectic. A guy from Brazil, a girl from Madrid, an English guy who was couch surfing with another Spanish guy who was also there, and my two roommates. At 12:30 when dinner was over they all went out to the bar and to go dancing, but I had to go right to bed.
Today I met up with Rachel and Catherine from my program and we went walking through the Gothis Quarter. Today is the Day of Catalunya, which basically marks their loss of the war in 1714, quite the masiquistic holiday if you ask me, but since it is more of a government holiday than anything else, the government building of the Generalitat de Catalunya were open to the public! They are only open 3 or 4 days a year, so it was really cool to see. Here are pictures from the buildings:

After walking through the building, we went to a free photography exhibit by Eugeni Forcano, a Barcelona-born artist who captured the regular and mundane people of the street in 1960's Barcelona, although in such a strange and captivating way. Dad--check him out! Then we walked around the barrio for a while before parking at a cafe on La Rambla. BIG MISTAKE. I have been fuming over this ever since. Okay, so we pass by a cafe and notice that the cups are really big, like mugs, full of diet coke. So i'm thinking, Great! Finally you get what you pay for. So we sat down and ordered. When we were ready to go, we get that check and...

They charged us almost 23 euro for TWO diets cokes!!! We were so pissed off, there was no drink menu, so there were no prices listed, but this was so ridiculous, that's about 30 dollars! I had all of the money with me that I have for a week, and it was supposed to go towards groceries, but NOOO, it all went to one friggin diet coke. I hate La Rambla, and from now on am protesting the entire street. Hurumph!

Anyways the rest of the afternoon was quite lovely, we saw a really pretty cathedral, and cute outdoor cafes at every corner.

Afterwards, Rachel and I went over to Claire's new apartment to have a BBQ with her and her roommates and their friends out of their roof-top terrace. It was really fun, they were all really nice. Although when I went over to get food, everyone watched as I got a piece of bread, put hummus on it, and then put what I though was tomato slices on-top which were actually hunks of raw meat. However no one said anything until I raised it to my mouth about to take a bite, I guess they didn't consider the fact that I am too daft to tell the difference between vegetables and hunks of beef...

Rachel came back to my apartment to hang out and watch movies and Catherine is about to join us. I just took a shower and to get hot water you have to go to the kitchen, open the gas tank, and light the pilot. The hot water works really well, I like that its different than what i'm used to. Then (THANK GOODNESS) I got to do my laundry. The machine is out on the balcony, and then I hung up my clothes to dry on the lines hanging over the balcony, careful not to send an innocent pair of socks accidentally into the abyss of lost laundry on the bottom floor. Over all it has been a great day, and tomorrow our plan is to head to the train station around 10, look at the map and pick a place that looks appealing for a fun day trip. More pictures to come!

Barrio Gotico

All of these photos are the inside of the University!

This week has literally been flying by. We have been so busy running around trying to get stuff organized, while still leaving lots of time for exploring and having fun. I went to academic advising yesterday and several of the classes I chose will not be offered this semester because on the online MyEAP that I used, they have classes listed going back 20 years ago, so it wasn't the best way to search. Anyways the legal studies class still works, I will be taking a Spanish Lit class, and two anthro classes and Catalan. I will write the details of them later when I am for sure registered. Last night a group of about 10 of us went to an Irish pub down the street from the Colegio. 

I tried my first Guinness! I only ordered a half pint, and drank about 1/3 of it, but it was really good! We hung out there for a while and then walked back to the colegio around 12:30. Today we woke up early to meet at the UB for our field trip. We went to the Museum of Catalan history. It was such a great museum! It was three levels and really modern. It was really interactive with great displays, and things like a mock barricade underground with footage inside of the Germans warplanes flying over, and people running into the metro stations for shelter. There was also and old-style cinema that showed war propaganda and news reels that played before every film. On the way to the museum our class walked through the Gothic quarter, which was BEAUTIFUL! The architecture is amazing, and the history is so perfectly preserved. I look a lot of pictures, but here are some of my favorites:

So many beautiful sights, I want to go back as soon as possible and just get lost in the maze of small corridors and passages. It really is incredible, and I will undoubtably have to take everyone who visits me to this area.

After our field trip Claire, Catherine and I went to (the dreaded) IKEA to get stuff for our apartments. I had to buy a comforter and a pillow, and they had to get a few things. Just like any other IKEA it was super crowded with everyone pushing and shoving and it took hours to get through the display rooms because we couldn't find the exit. Looking online I saw so many perfect comfortoers for only 8-15 euro, but once we got there I saw they were all duvets, so its 5 euro, plus 45 for the inside piece. The selection for regular ones was very slim. Anyways I bought a blue shiny one for 25 euro (It's hard to explain, but i'll post pictures once I get my room organized), and a light blue fleece blanket for 2 euro. I also bought a pillow for 5 euro, and a cute little leafy plant for 2 euro. I went to this chain called Carrefour (a lot like Walgreens) yesterday to buy cheap sheets, and the only color they had was a god-awful orange, but for just 10 euro for the whole set, I don't mind being tacky. So in my new room absolutely nothing will match, and it will look like a rainbow threw up on my bed, but I'll live. 

Teresa is picking me up today around 6:30pm and I am moving everything to my new apartment. I will stay there tomorrow night after dinner here I think, but this was the best time for her to drive me. I will take pictures as soon as I am settled, so you can see what my room is like, I am actually really excited to "Meg-a-fy" it....i'm about it get real creative seeing as I have almost no extra money, and can't take any of the decoration home. Anyways, this week will be very new, move-in tomorrow, school Monday! We want to take a trip this weekend, and I am feeling ambitious. Depending on the others, we might go as far as the Basque Country, or Madrid, but also might continue to explore within Catalunya. More soon! Love, Megs

Sitges!

I haven't written a blog in two days so i'll have to catch you guys up really quickly. Friday night we went out to a new discoteca called "Razzmatazz" which was a lot crazier than the first. There were several rooms, fog machines, tons of people and loud music. They had a live performance on a huge stage at about 3:30am too. Although Barcelona's time schedule runs much later than I am used to, the public transportation system doesn't work so cooperatively with the schedule. The metro stops running at 12 on weeknights, and 2am on weekends, and doesn't open again until 5am. I guess a lot of people just plan on staying out that late, but if you want to get home between 2-5 you either have to take like 3 different busses and still walk a ways, or take a taxi. There are tons of taxis around every corner, and since we haven't figured out the bus system yet, we always end of having to pay 15-20 euro just to get home each night, since the colegio is so out of the way from everything. Once I live downtown though, it will be easier to just walk everywhere. Yesterday basically the entire ILP group went to Sitges for a day at the beach. It is so easy to get there, I seriously want to go back every weekend. It was so cute, really quaint and clean, but really fun too. After a short 25 minute train ride, we got there around 2pm, and laid out on the sand for a while. The beach was so crowded, everyone and there mother was there! The beach itself is not that great, just because of how many people are jammed into a small space. Since everyone smokes, they pretty much use the beach as one giant ashtray, and there is lots of garbage all over. If you want to sit on a lounge chair, you have to pay 6 euro, and people come by you constantly to sell necklaces, t-shirts, or hair braiding. But, if you lay down and look asleep no one bothers you. The water was AMAZING. Bright blue, white sand, so picturesque. It is so salty that you float so easily and there were rolling waves so it was a lot of fun to play in the water. While floating there looking out over the Mediterranean Sea, or glancing back along the coast I couldn't believe that this is actually my life right now, I definitely am getting really comfortable here. The entire coast is so pretty, and there are tons of beaches within that area, so going back again I would probably look a little harder for one less crowded. Here is a picture of the beach: (Those big slide things are paddle boats that you can rent for like 14 euro and hour and you take the out a ways to play on, there were a lot out in the water)

After the beach, we walked around the town for a while. I love this town, I would permanently live here in a heartbeat. But, like most other places we went to, it is catered mostly to tourists, and very expensive. Every little street was so adorable, the street signs were all ceramic with delicate paintings on them, and the buildings were so colorful and unique. There were several markets and fruit vendors, and hidden cafes every few steps. Here are a few pictures from wandering around:

We went into a little cafe at one point to get a cold drink, and looking on the menu we saw a bunch of juices. A girl asked for melon juice, and the bartender went to the back, and came back with a whole melon in her hands! We watched her as she literally cut out 1/4 of it, cut off the rind, put it through a juicer, added a straw and voila! I don't think you can get much fresher than that. By the way, the melon here is amazing, its a different kind then what they grow in the states, its green outside, white inside, and is really juicy and tastes a lot like cantaloupe, they have it at the cafeteria a lot. Which reminds me, I thought I would show what the food is like here, so I took a couple of pictures last night.

This is the "salad" that we have every night. Its actually really good with just some balsamic vinaigrette. 

Here is the fruit and bread that we load up on, as alternative to the fried mystery meat.

Last night after dinner a few girls came over and we got candy at the OpenCor market down the street and watched "The Hangover" on my laptop. 

Tomorrow we have classes, and Thursday is the last day of ILP! Wednesday we are going to the Museum of History of Catalunya for our field trip and then I move out the next day! I have academic advising on Tuesday to officially enroll in classes, and after the field trip on Wednesday I am going down to the police station to apply for my student residency. I just found an English bookstore close to the University, so I am going there tomorrow after class to get a new book. (Spanish is great to immerse yourself in all day everyday, but its nice to be able to really read a book when you are tired or just relaxing and don't need much brainpower.) I am trying to get involved with volunteer work or an internship because I know I will have a lot of free time. I have e-mailed several Fair-Trade organizations here to see if there might be openings, but haven't heard back yet. I'm planning on joining the UB gym too so I can take yoga and pilates classes and use the pool. I am excited to start a regular routine and get as involved as I can, it seems like there is so much out there to join into. 

Scoping Around Town

Today in class we watched a really old Spanish movie called "La Colmena" based on the novel by Camilo José Cela. The movie takes place in Madrid 1942 and has a really huge mix of characters all representing various aspect of the Franco regime, while they are experiencing the hardships of post-war first hand. I think I would like to read the book when I get the chance because it was extremely confusing but really interesting. I think it would be entertaining to dissect and learn more about the Spain that was extremely divided and repressed during the Franco years.
After class Claire and I took the metro to Grácia (where her apartment is) to look for cheap bedding at what her landlord described as "Chinese stores". Basically they are stores that carry everything you can think of for really cheap. Although we didn't find what we were looking for, they were interesting to walk through. Here is a picture of one aisle inside:

Then we wandered around the area for a while, and until the last store we didn't even know the word for "comforter", and had to awkwardly demonstrate what we were looking for with our hands. In case any of you run into the same problem....the word is "colcha". Remember it.

Grácia is a popular neighborhood for Mediterranean/Middle Eastern immigrants, and there was no shortage of delicious restaurants. We made it about 3 blocks down one of the main roads packed with open restaurants before we were lured into an attractive little Lebanese cafe. We just parked ourselves for a little break and enjoyed some pita and hummus before continuing to shop around. Here are some pictures from around the neighborhood:

There was a lot of beautiful "graffiti" done by artists that the owners of these shops had commissioned. The often cover the iron gates that are drawn once they close shop for the day, and add some neat variety to the average street scene. (Although I doubt the skull painting was commissioned by anyone...) Also, I wanted to list off some interesting things I have learned or noticed about Spain since I have been here:

• No one on the street smiles. Once they get to know you they are friendly, but you definitely won't get warm welcomes into stores or restaurants, they seem to get straight to business, skip the niceties. 
• You never know what to expect on the metro. I suppose that is the beauty of city public transportation. One day an old, blind gypsy lady came walking through the metro cars with her cane, holding a cup for spare change and singing songs about her woes and troubles. Another day we were riding along extreme Barça fans on their way to a match, all sporting matching jerseys colorful flags and signs. Today, two old men played the accordion and clarinet right in front of us. However, you aren't supposed to watch them or smile or bop along, because they will most certainly expect you to feed their money jar once they make their rounds. 
• Don't expect to get anything done from Friday night-Tuesday afternoon. Everything is closed! Even Starbucks goes by its own agenda here!
• The beach here, Barcelonetta, is man-made with sand brought from Egypt. They have to bring ship loads of sand every summer after the winter and spring rain wipes out the beach again.
• The eating schedule is so confusing. I think mostly because here at the Colegio cafeteria they are mixing country's schedules. They give us breakfast from 7:30-8:30am like in the U.S., no lunch, and then serve dinner from 8:30-9:30pm, which is pretty standard here. I am never hungry that early, but starving by 4! I am happy to have my own kitchen soon where I can go by my own schedule! Or at least stick to a consistent one.
• Dessert isn't a big deal. Don't get me wrong, Spaniards love their sweets, but not at appropriate times. You'll find the most decadent pastries in the world, but all sold as breakfast! After lunch gelato is a popular choice, but I think that's generally as far as they go. I'll have to do more investigative research...

Well I know there are plenty more that are escaping me right now, but i'll write them as I remember them. I know all of these things will become habit soon but it'll be funny to look back and see the things that shocked me the most at the beginning :)
Talk to you all soon! Love, Megs

UB Classes!

This will be a short post because it's only 12:30pm and I haven't done much yet today but go to class. However, we had a brief tutorial today about enrolling in classes at the University of Barcelona, and I have just completed choosing the classes that I will propose to take. All are taught in Spanish are are upper-division courses. If all works out, the following will be class schedule for the fall semester:

Anthropology: Origins of Human Behavior

This course is a multidisciplinary exploration of the evolution of human behavior studying geological context, the approximation of hominid behavior from an ethnoprimatological perspective, biological evolution and cultural evolution of humanity. Topics covered include human behavior, genetic inheritance, and the transmission of information through cultural mechanisms; homogeneity and heterogeneity, similarities and differences between past and present human society; social organization and human ontology; perception of the world, religions, values and morals. 

Anthropology: Anthropology of Genocide

This course examines the contribution of specific normative symbolic systems in the configuration of the politics of genocide and how the very idea of genocide is arranged in particular cultural concepts. The primary emphasis of the course is the examination of the role played by culture, together with other factors, in the configuration of genocide. Topics examined include definitions of genocide and terminological clarifications; state, culture, and genocide; culture as symbolic normative structure in genocide; extermination of indigenous peoples; case studies including the Armenian genocide, the Holocaust, and Rwanda; elements for comparison, such as political power and bureaucracy, war and genocide, the role of ideologies shaped by science and culture, processes of exclusion and dehumanization of victims, planning and execution of genocide, technology and genocide; the politics of recognizing and denying genocide; pain and the politics of memory, the situations of survivors; and literature and genocide. Assessment is based on literary and film commentaries and a final exam. 

Legal Studies: International Protection of Human Rights

This course provides a study on international human rights law. Students are familiarized with international organizations and the mechanisms involved in the protection of human rights, and in particular those with whom an individual can approach for legal action and recourse. By the end of the course, students are expected to be able to formulate legal arguments for the defence of human rights, using their knowledge of texts relating to human rights as well as international legal cases brought to human rights courts. 

Art History: Spanish Contemporary Art

This course covers the Baroque period of the 17th century and the Rennaissance through the 20th century. Students examine specific art and architectural masterpieces and are introduced to the social, political, and historical events indirectly responsible for specific artistic manifestations and movements. Topics discussed in class include cubism, surrealism, and informalism, and the works of Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Velazquez, Goya, Gaudí, Picasso, and Dali. Assessment is based on a midterm exam and a final exam.

The University of California-Illinois program offers classes through the Study Center, which still uses UB professors, but are more closely structured to the UC, UI courses in the U.S.. We are recommended to take at least one class a semester from this program, so my Art History class will be taught through the Study Center. Also I will be taking another Catalan course first semester, so I can take a few of my classes next semester in the language. I really hope these courses are approved by my program, because I think it could be a very diverse and stimulating semester. 

On an unrelated note, the weather here has really shifted. It's been much cooler the past few days, and overcast. Today it even sprinkled rain on my while I walked home from the metro. I have decided today is a good indoors day, and I am about to recruit some of my floor-mates to join me on a quest to find a welcoming cafe with comfy chairs, and churros con chocolate. Ciao!

School and More New Sights!

I am sorry I didn't write a post yesterday, but it was really quite an ordinary day without enough material to merit a blog. But today, I will catch up with more pictures and stories! Thank you to all the avid readers out there too, it's nice to know there are people at home keeping up with my trip so far! So today we got our student id cars, which look like cheap little laminated play-things, but are at least somewhat official, and will be a cool souvenir for when I get back. Tomorrow we will get academic advising and learn how to apply for our student residence card and sign up for classes. We toured around the University a bit more today when we had a break, the top floor is even more beautiful than the bottom area that we pass through every day. Here are some pictures:

The second floor corridor

Library. In the left top corner you can see a railing, over there, above the ground level they have glass display cases of ANCIENT books that are barely held together anymore. I would love to check them out more closely when I get the chance.

After class, my roommate Claire and I walked to the Arc de Triomf which is past the Plaza Catalunya and i'm sure generally a huge tourist trap. However, this week began the first week of the post-summer Spain, where most Spaniards are coming back from vacations and opening up shop again. Taking the tram home from school I was so excited to see lots of new clothing stores and cafes that have previously been hidden by a metal cover, now open for business. The pace of life seems to have changed too. Traffic is crazy, you always see lots of business men and women in suits riding their mope-heads, and everyone seems to have somewhere to go. When we got to the Arc de Triomf, there were only a dozen or so tourists in the entire plaza, which was a refreshing sight. Here are some pictures of the Arch:

From the street view.

Unfortunately the fact that we were still in a tourist zone, even once the tourists are gone, tourist prices remain...hence a 3.50 euro diet coke at a cafe down the street. Whatever the ambiance was worth 10 time that! So today I went to meet with my roommates and pay my rent and deposit and I got my keys! Claire is doing the same tonight with her roommates and since neither of us were going to be home in time for dinner, we stopped at the Corte Ingles store for groceries. What I love so much about Spain is that delicious bread is the cheapest thing in the world! Much cheaper than water! So bread has been the main staple in my diet since i've been here (Emily, this is great news for you, the bread is the best I have ever had, and costs close to nothing!), we also got gross peaches (they offer lots of great fruit options here, but they are all shipped from South America when they are still green and EVERYTHING from apples to peaches to plums to kiwis are super duper mealy and yucky.), and peanut butter (I couldn't resist). I also bought a bottle of rosé for my roommates to toast! So later this evening I went to my apartment and got all the keys, tried them out, a brought a small suitcase of clothes just so it wouldn't be as difficult to cram all of my stuff into my suitcases a second time. We toasted and then sat around and talked for quite a bit. I took a few pictures which I will post too. They are super friendly, but for some reason thought it was so funny that I brought a list of about 15 questions about the apartment to ask them one-by-one. But hey, a girl's gotta be informed! I will move in on September 9th, and Teresa has a car so she will pick me up with my stuff so I don't have to worry about hauling my luggage on the metro or paying for a taxi. Here are the pictures:

Laundry machine, and wire for drying. I don't know what their solution is to the rainy season...

Small but cozy eating table

Little kitchen with everything you need.

Bathroom

Balcony view (Teresa's room)

My room, now occupied (and messy-fied) by Teresa

Living room, Teresa is the one on the couch in the blue

Street view from balcony, other direction

So I am excited to move in, and really getting to know the neighborhood, which is seriously in the center of EVERYTHING. There are so many new thing still everyday, and I am still enjoying every moment immensely:)

Claire and I are planning to see Sitges this weekend and just hang out by the beach. I will take lots of pictures to post of course. I miss you all and look forward to hearing from you soon! Much love, Megs

Barcelona Discoteca

So last night after coming back from Tarragona, we decided to take a long nap, since we had been up since 7 am, and then leave to check out the night life that we had heard so much about. Well, still unaccustomed to the later schedules of Spain, we painfully had to wait until 1 am to even leave the Colegio! As opposed to the regular upbeat music and high energy that usually accompanies getting ready to go out, we peacefully read our books and I listened to Sting's "Windmills of Your Mind" on repeat for the more or less 4 hours that we were waiting until it was appropriate to get to the club. We left at about 1:30, to walk to Club Bikini which is one of the must popular discotecas in Barcelona, and conveniently only 3 blocks away from where we are staying. To get into the clubs here are super pricey, like up to 20 euro! Apparently on some of the less-popular days like Sunday or early week, you get in for free before 2am or so. This one was 16 euro per person, which includes one drink once you get inside. Well, we didn't have enough money once we got there, but the nice lady behind the door let us in for 8 euro total, and we walked in to check it out. There were two different rooms, one with salsa music, and one with techno/house music. The salsa room was deserted when we got there, so we went into the other and sat at the bar. The bartender asked us what we wanted for our free drink, and we both ordered rum and coke, mostly because I was just so excited to see a diet coke without a 3 euro price tag! We sat there for a while and mostly people watched. It definitely caters to all ages, and I mean ALL ages. A group of ladies standing near us at the bar reminded me of my 5th grade teacher Mrs. Sanders, and and old man with serious arthritis was clinging to the bar as he wrapped around to order his drink. We must have been the youngest there, but I'd say the average age was 27-33. Although music was playing, people didn't scoot onto the dance floor until around 2:30am! We got up from the bar and stood by the door for optimal people watching, and went to the dance floor when one of our favorite (and ONLY decent song of the night I might add) song started playing. I should have mentioned, people here, or at least at this club, DON'T dance. I don't mean they can't, they just flat out don't! The fact that we danced when we heard a good song earned us plenty of awkward looks, like we were completely out of place to be dancing....at a DANCE club. Once the floor was packed full, the most movement I saw out of people was the occasional knee-buckle or shoulder sway. And nobody spoke to anyone, or approached anyone. It was like 6th grade western dance class with the girls on one side and the guys on the other. But then, the most bizarre sight I have seen in a while: A very large, nerdy guy with huge glasses, and a FANNY PACK on, gets onto the empty stage behind the dj and starts dancing like a maniac! I wish I had a picture of this guy, it was unreal. At any club in the U.S., he would have been boo'ed off the stage immediately, or had a shoe thrown at him or something, but noooo! People we head-bobbing and cheering for him. He did the same 4 moves over and over, best described as variations of the Macarena. He danced the whole time very seriously with his mouth hanging open and his hands on his hips. It was the most awkward, unappealing thing I have ever seen in my life. But he was the frickin God of the club! We didn't know if we should clap or laugh and point...

Anyways we later went back to the salsa room to watch the couples for a few minutes (they were really good, and the music was great, but neither of us have a clue as to how to dance salsa), and then we decided to call it a night. We got back home at about 3:30am, and went to sleep around 4. We shut all the windows and blinds so today we slept in until about noon, and then have been working on homework for tomorrow ever since, except for a Starbucks frappuccino break. So I really don't know if our experience is pretty standard and representative of the nightlife here, but I gotta say, Barcelona could use some serious pointers.