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.
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!
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