Beautiful. Epic. Insane. Correfoc.

Today is one of those days where you have to slap yourself before you go to bed to make sure you haven’t been dreaming.  I just don’t even know where to begin on all the adventures and just pure goodness that went down.  First, Joanne and I went to the International church again which has just been such a blessing with so much life and encouragement every time we visit.   Then the church had a potluck type lunch for the young adults with homemade paella!  It was delicious and the house we ate at was beautiful up in the peaceful hills way out of the city.  So beautiful and so serene.  Once again, we’re seeing a different Spain.

Can someone say PAELLA?! 

The beautiful view from the courtyard of the home.

Then comes the extreme craziness!  This weekend, in Catalunya, there was a festival called La Mercè.  This four day festival occurs throughout the city in every plaza around town.  There are so many events and different things to do and see that you are forced to choose between the best ones ‘cause news flash…we haven’t figured out how to be in two places at once quite yet.  All these events serve to display Catalan and Mediterranean tradition. 

The bunch of events I went to were all great fun, but tonight just was just thrown over the edge.  Here in Spain they close off the festivities with a parade and fireworks.  Sounds normal right?  Nope.  In this parade called the Correfoc, people (dressed as devils) light huge sticks of fire, similar to those 4^th of July sparklers times 10, and run through the streets of Barcelona.  Thousands of people show up to watch and participate in this celebration.  The devils run around with the fire as people run and dance underneath the flames.  I can’t even really describe it or do it any justice, but google images or youtube Correfoc and witness the insaneness for yourself.  There is no way anything like this would ever happen in the US.  Just this about the Correfoc, a government sponsored/funded parade where they shoot fire at their citizens.  Yup.  This would just not be an option is the US. 

Before all the action hit

Yup.  That's my silhouette in there right by that fire

 The action on the streets

Post running through fire.  Can you tell it was exhilarating?

After my two friends Leslie and Ally and I ran through the fire and followed a fire breathing dragon the entire parade route, we went on a mission to get to the roof of our RA’s apartment before the fireworks began.  This journey to her house was an adventure by itself running through the streets with people everywhere and taking the jammed packed metro with no room to move an inch.  But we made it all the way to her roof and spent the next hour marveling at the beauty and adventurous city of Barcelona while gazing up at the lit sky just over the Plaza de España.    

Beautiful.  Epic.  Insane.  A night to remember.

Viaje a la Costa Brava con mi Escuela

As I sit here at the University of Barcelona with the hum of Spanish and Catalan coming from local students filling the air, I take a look around unsure of where I actually am.  Am I on a college campus full of people on a similar journey as me?  Or am I in a foreign country, isolated by the language barrier that will always remain? 

Last weekend I went on a trip up the coast with everyone from my school.  It was the same area I went with my mom earlier in the month, but we went to totally different places.  The trip started out bright and early at 7:30am with sleepy students hastily entering 5 buses headed to 2 different locations.  Joanne, Shelby, and I were all on different busses going in different directions, so this weekend was great for us to get to know lots of new people.

We started the trip in Figures at the Salvador Dali museum.  Here is his website if you have no idea who this awesome artist is (mom and dad). http://www.salvador-dali.org/en_index.html.  The place was just surreal.  I don’t really consider myself a museum person, but this place was mind blowing.  I have no idea how one person could create so many obscure images in one short lifetime.  Every detail in this museum, that he created himself, was pronounced with meaning.  Here are a few pictures:

A painting of Dali's wife inside who other than good 'ol Abe Lincoln.

A raining car.  It rains literally inside the car.

After that we rode to Cadaqués to see the town where Dali grew up and to have lunch and soak up the sun right on the beach in this small town with little car access.

The next day we spent in FRANCE!  We followed the same path of the Spanish exile on the way and stopped in Jonquera at the exile museum.  This event imitates the Holocaust and occurred after the Spanish Civil War when Franco ruled, so you could see how this would not be the most pleasant of experiences.  But it was very enlightening and gave a whole new perspective on the Catalonian Empire and why Catalunya is so important to the people of Barcelona. 

Then came France, which was so breathtaking!  How many people can say they just skedaddled over to France for the day?  Not many.  Except there’s the problem that no one knows one word of French.  When I went to go buy postcards this nice lady smiled and had an entire conversation with me in French while I just smiled and gave her way more Euros than I had to just in case.  Then I said, “Merci” and walked away.  During that entire conversation I wished my friend Scotty would pop up beside me to translate, but nope.  He never did. 

Also in France there was this beautiful castle right on the Sea.  It was the craziest home I have ever been in.  I entered this underground tunnel on accident and after walking a while I popped up on some other side with another amazing view.  There were underground secret passages in every direction and the views out of the large castles walls were to die for!  Sea in every direction.

And the last day we stayed in Girona and had a walking tour of the city (in the rain) before we took the bus home.  One jammed packed weekend full of fun, bonding, and little sleep.  Many more to come!

Are you there?

Have you ever felt as if someone took over your body?

Have you ever caught yourself not acting as yourself?

Could you figure out why?

Did you revert back to the true you?  Or begin a new identity?

Have you ever walked into a room and not known a single soul?

Have you ever known me to walk into a room and not know a single soul?

How did you feel not having someone at your side to talk with?

Unsure?

Curious?

Excited that new friends are to be made? 

Isolated?

What do you do next?

Introduce yourself to the next group of people you see?

Wait for someone to approach you through the crowd?

Walk through the room pretending you know what is going on?

Have you ever felt as if your heart abandoned you?

Is it back in California?

Is it here in Spain?

Has it always been inside waiting to be noticed again?

When you turn, Jesus is always waiting.

For you.

For ME. 

A companion for life.

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”  –Jeremiah 29:13

and the days keep going and going

So here’s the deal.  Every day when I walk around the city here I think to myself “Wow.  I can’t wait to blog about this.”  Then you got it.  I either never remember that thing again or the day just goes on so long that I don’t feel like writing anymore.  And then after too many days go by (and the days feel like weeks here) I have no idea where to even start up again, so I guess here is a quick recap of a few of the things I’ve done since I last blogged.

-          Joanne and I went on a day trip last Friday to Sitges, a small beach town about half an hour south of Barcelona.  It is truly gorgeous there and is exactly what Joanne and I pictured when we originally thought of Spain.  There are small Spanish streets with old looking shops overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.  And the good news about this little place is that it is FREE for us to get there on the train with our metro passes, so we will definitely be going back soon before it starts to cool off here.

-          The weather is still super humid with little breeze.  The nights are a struggle with no air conditioning.

-          My host mom is the best and craziest human alive.  She just talked to fast in her Castillian accent that it’s hard to understand, but I get the jist.  And, let’s just say that I would hate to be on the other side of the phone when the internet at our house goes out.  She definitely gave that automated machine a run for its money.  Basically she’s hilarious.

-          Joanne, Cynthia, and I saw Swan Lake  the ballet performed by the Nation Ballet of Cuba.  Or well, should I sat El Lago de Las Cisnes?  Good thing there are no words in a ballet.  I saw the ballet before with Christine at the San Joase ballet, so I was familiar with it, but there was a different sort of elegance with this production which made it almost like I was watching a different ballet with the same elements.  It’s funny how the same choreography and story line can tell a totally different story just through the motions of people’s bodies and the passion they place into the dance.

-          Went shopping and Joanne and I bought these matching totally European pants with the baggy look.  We might be sporting them back in the US…just a little warning.

-          My host mom made Paella for dinner.  DELISH!

-          Joanne and I found a church in ENGLISH!  And met another girl, Audrey, studying here from Texas.  The church was a hit and we will definitely be going back even thoughmy host mom does not really approve at all and called it a ummmmm I’m not too sure what but probably something I shouldn’t be repeating. 

-          What else have I been up to this week besides school and actually having to start studying here?  This isn’t just a vacation after all is it?

-          Hmmm.  Joanne and I (can you tell that I’ve basically been doing everything with Joanne?) went to see a movie totally in Spanish and we pretty much understood it all.  Success.  It was a little, well a really not pleasant movie, but at least we understood what was going on the whole time ¿Right?

-          Then I guess going back to school, classes have been a lot of work already, but I’ve been enjoying them all, so that’s a good thing.  I’ll write about those later (hopefully I remember) but for now I have to go read for a class starting in 2 hours.  ¡Adios! 

My Little Oasis

The past few days, locals have been telling me I could easily pass as Catalan without a problem and I actually fit in very well here.  I just keep telling them it’s great as long as I don’t open my mouth!

This has definitely been the best morning I’ve had here so far…and I’ve been by myself most of the time.  Who woulda thought?  I had an early class this morning (that I will probably switch out of this week because it doesn’t count for anything).  And after class I explored a little on my own and successfully went to 3 stores and bought things while successfully having conversations with people!  The first store, a school supply store, a mother told me all about her kids in Spanish and I don’t think she knew that I don’t really speak very good Spanish the entire time until the end of the checkout when the cashier said something super fast and I had absolutely no idea what she was talking about.  I’m thinking something about a membership card, but I just gave her a big smile and my 20€ and we both laughed. 

At the next store, I bought some shoes and I successfully asked 2 people to get me different sizes to try on, talked with one person if she liked them and how comfortable they were, and checked out without anyone talking to me in English once!  What I feat!  I was so excited haha.  Then I took the metro part way home and on my walk to the grocery store spotted this little park oasis from the corner of my eye.  What a nice find!  I sat there in the presence of tons of screaming children and talking parents while I read a book for about an hour.  In Barcelona, you don’t really see very many kids around the city, so it was a nice treat to be surrounded by so many at once.  Definitely my type of place with my type of people.  I will definitely be visiting this little park (pretty close to my house) again as my little getaway.

Then at the grocery store, I talked in Spanish with this man in line and had a pleasant little encounter with the cashier.  To say the least, there was a little bounce in my step when I left the grocery store and a smile on my face.  That instant was a dead giveaway that I’m actually not Catalan after all.  The Catalans rarely smile and definitely don’t walk down the street smiling for no reason.  I guess there are some things I can never conform to in this country.  

It's the Start of Something New

So, sorry I really slack at this.  I really have no excuses though expect for that I’m in a new country trying to get into the swing of things.  Well I guess I haven’t written much yet because there is just so much I could say.  But I guess I should start with my host family and the place I’m living.  I have been here about half a week and I already love this house.  Here, I am living with Shelby, my tennis partner from school and we are definitely in this together.  My host mom, Imma, is really lively and speaks Spanish at the speed of lightning.  She tells great stories (when I can understand them) and is super helpful when Shelby and I ask her for any help at all.  There are also 3 more girls from Mexico living with us.  Two are in high school and one is in beauty school here.  As you can see, it is just one big (well kinda cozy) house full of chicas!  Everyone is awesome!  We have all bonded really well and I love every one of them.  I’m really excited to get to know them even more as the months go by!  And they have been really helping Shelby and me with our Spanish which is awesome!

At a birthday dinner in our house for Daniella with her 2 friends from school.

And Imma telling her to blow out the candles mas rapida before the ice cream cake melted all over the place.

I have snapped a few pictures of our room, but not too many.  Our room is cute and we have a great balcony with glass French doors.  Really pretty!  And mom this is for you…crown molding and one of those tin things on the ceiling of our room.  We also have a tv (all is Spanish) and a fairly large closet.  The apartment is en el primer piso, so we have a sunny terrace as a backyard, which most people don’t have in this city and is a nice place to relax.  All great stuff!

The closet before Shelby moved in...

...and after.  muchas cosas!

After we moved the big table to do some p90x in our room.

and the beautiful French doors

Hmm other than my house, Shelby and I have gone on a few adventures.  We went up to the top of the mountain yesterday for an awesome view of the entire city.  The atmosphere up there is a lot different than the atmosphere where we live downtown.  It is very laid back and super peaceful.  I will definitely go there often to get some peace away from the hustle bustle of everything down here near the beach. 

Today, we went to the Arc de Triomf after class and found this beautiful park right near the heart of the city and only one stop away from school on the metro.  It looks like a great place to sit back and enjoy the grass with a little homework while the weather stays warm!

El Arc de Triomf 

Life size Mammoth in the park 

Pretty fountain in the park

Well, there’s a lot more stuff to talk about like food, venturing outside my comfort zone, transportation, topless beaches, the people at IES…I could go on and on.  Maybe I’ll write about that later, but for now dinner is calling.  ADIOS!

La Ciudad con la Mayoría de los Pickpocketer

Safety Safety Safety Safety.  So, I have been under the care of IES Abroad Barcelona for almost 2 days now and with one day of orientation down I have heard nothing but talk about safety precautions all day.  Is this to mean the city of Barcelona is the most dangerous city in Europe?  No?  I was assured this was not the case many times as well.  But apparently it is the 3^rd city with the most pick-pocketers in the world behind London and Paris.  The police who came to speak then went on to inform us of the many numerous ways the “professional thieves” carry out their “jobs.”  I never knew a person could be a professional thief, but apparently there are many of them and they do the most insane things usually in a team!  One example the policemen demonstrated (in Spanish I might add) was for males in the Metro; one will distract you, then another will “accidently” bump into you from behind and slit right underneath your pant pocket and the wallet pops right out without you knowing.  Clever right?  Then there is another one where one person presses the emergency button on the escalator coming up from the Metro and another person strategically placed behind you takes everything out of your pockets when the escalator stops unexpectedly and everyone falls forward in utter chaos.  So, if you followed any of that, basically any distractions or one minute off guard can result in all your belongings being taken away just like that.  Well, with that in mind I’m keeping close attention to my purse at all times, especially on the Metro, but no problems so far!  Let’s cross our fingers.