...Morocco?? Yes. So I know that Morocco is technically in Africa and all, but it's not real Africa. Just a European subdivision. And I am headed there tomorrow on what may be the most spontaneous trip I have ever endeavored. I'll be there til Sunday with 4 of my friends from the program and I am extremely excited and also a little bit nervous. The plan was as spontaneous as walking past a travel agent store front, strolling in, and telling the lovely agent that we'd like to go somewhere this weekend. anywhere, to be exact. And Marrakesh it was! And so in a matter of an hour I went from having a weekend with no prospects due to a fieldtrip cancellation, to having a full 3 days and nights set to go for me in Morocco. Boy I love travel agents. I am sure it will be an amazing time and Morocco was definitely on a list of places to go here. SWEET.
In other news, I realized that I haven't been posting any news on here. That may be partially due to the fact that I purchased a rather adorable little journal at an adorable little corner shop in an adorable winding alley with an adorably aging man with crooked specs. And since then I have been writing most of my thoughts in it. I'm sorry! I also just realized that people can post comments on here, which I was completely oblivious to...so those of you who have posted, thank you for reading my journal! And I will respond in the future. I hope you are all well : )
Onto a little recap here...Tomorrow marks my 3rd complete week in Barcelona, and I'm already beginning to forget what it was like pre-Barcelona. My complete fear to even move around the city and use my spanish is only vaguely clear in my mind now. Yet I know for fact how potent it was just 3 weeks ago. My spanish is also definitely improving. I find myself just saying small phrases and responses in spanish without thinking about it at all. Things like, "i don't know," "i'm sorry," "I like that," etc just come out in spanish. I've also gotten a lot of remarks from friends at home about the rapid deterioration of my spelling and grammar skills. Still, I don't feel as though the language immersion is intense enough. Partially because I don't read spanish everyday. Everything is written in the Catalan language here in Barcelona. Which i'd love to learn but I need to learn spanish first. Mostly because all of my classes are in english! It's very frustrating because before I started classes my spanish was making leaps and bounds and now I feel as though it has tapered off. I guess I just have to put a lot of time in on my own.
Speaking of classes. They are pretty good. Even though they are all in english it's good to know spanish because the language barrier gets a little fuzzy with a lot of my professors at times. And despite the lectures being maybe a little dry, the subject material is all very interesting on me. Right now i'm taking a comparative class on Catalan Nationalism, Politics of the Mediterranean countries, a class about Migration, and a class about the construction and planning of Barcelona, in addition to my spanish class. My favorite thing about my classes has to be the little quirks that each of my professors possess. My spanish professor is hilarious and was definitely meant for the stage, and is constantly acting out the words we don't understand in spanish, and is ALWAYS playing something on youtube for us. The other day he randomly showed us a video he acted in which one of his teenage children must have made. It was an incredible experience. My migration professor is legitimately crazy. He is an american trying way too hard to be european. And is very anal retentive about conduct in his classroom. I don't dare walk in there late. I also suspect that he doesn't actually speak spanish very well. When he was trying to pronounce some Argentinian names and tripped over them a bit and ended his thoughts with "I have trouble when switching languages." Yeah, okay. you're not fooling anyone! My art history professor is she insanely cute with her language barrier issues, and we spend all class looking at pictures of the world she has taken herself more or less. Makes class time at least a little more interesting, and allows me to be a bit forgiving when the hour and a half long classes start crawling.
Outside of class....I have two roommates now! They moved in a week ago today. I was initially upset about my space being interrupted and losing all of my face time with my host mom, because we had become close, and also because i had grown perfectly fine with traveling places on my own. They're move-in at the beginning felt mildly like an invasion I suppose. However, they are both surprisingly nice. Surprising because I had low expectations. But I think that everyone is a bit happier with a little more life in the house. It is still a bit weird because they ere an inclusive set when they arrived and still are, but have taken care to ask me how I am from time to time. Appreciated : ) Other than that home life is just dandy and I definitely don't think i'm going to lose any weight in this place. I am also beginning to want a dog. real bad. Pancho is adorable and a lot of times I just walk him myself when Maria is running late or something. We are pals, Pancho and I. Pals because he helps me pick up cute Spanish men on the street....just kidding!
I'll post some pictures on here from my recent travels around the city. During the week I like to amble around town when I don't have class. (Clearly, I am doing so much studying here.) The city is really beautiful. I was very skeptical at first I suppose because I don't have much to compare it with. But I get the feeling that when I leave is going to be the point at which I actually realize what a great city i've been living on.
Until then I might try to get some sleep tonight. I'm not actually sure when Barcelonians sleep. I mean I usually finish dinner by 11:00 and I wake up at 7:30 every day to go to class. And I clearly don't sleep immediately following dinner. I mean a lot of people do this! Crazy! Anywho, sleep tonight, class in the morning, Morocco by tomorrow night!!
besos,
Caitlin
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Els Quatre Gates, El Gato Negro, y Catwalk
In regards to the title of this post, there seems to be a trend in the names of places I find myself in...revolving around the theme of cats. Els Quatre Gates ( a catalan name) by the way is a famous restaurant where Piccasso used to hang out. Sweeet! This title of course has nothing to do with the entry really. Just a few places i've been in the past couple days.
In a continued theme of trends and observations about Barcelona:
The music. I have heard very few of the classical and traditional tinny and classical guitar towns I supposed would be normal for Spain. How easily I forget I reside in a cosmopolitan city. Everyone here listens to american music. Not really sure why. I suppose a good majority of the youth of Spain understand some english, though in my travels I have not met very many people here who have a good grasp of english or at least to understand lyrics of a song. For instance the other day my host mom had the tv on and Celine Dion was on. She mentioned that she loved Celine Dion despite the fact that she couldn't understand any of the lyrics? Sometimes I chuckle because she is so like my mom, only 2 years apart. Scary, really.
Everyone here looks so cool. Seriously. If they are not dressed incredibly smart or sophisticated, they are pulling off this awesome alternative look, complete with dreads. And then here I am. Honestly, for the past week and a half i've been here I have felt incredibly uncomfortable with my appearance and existence in the city. I've been trying incredibly hard to blend in with the people of Barcelona. But I think it hit me that I might never do that, so I should just be who I am and go with the flow. It's kind of a scary experience to be such a minority. And a bit embarassing. I guess the easiest way to be okay would be to blend in. I'm not so sure anymore. I do know that the hardest part of overcoming that particular insecurity has been curbing my ridiculous want to buy all of the cute clothes and leather boots found on every street corner in this city. However I must remind myself that there are more important things to spend money on here in Europe. haha.
On a high note, these past couple of days have been really fun. I finally found the courage to leave my nest and do some moving around the city by myself. It's been so hard to find this courage because I am further out in the city than most of the students in my program and am without a roommate. Thus doing anything when I am not already with kids from my class, means doing it alone. The upside of this is that I have really formed a good relationship with my host mom, and I know we agree on that sentiment. The downside has been a real hard time establishing good relationships with other students in my program. But right, on Thursday my host mom took me to see a movie with her. It was very nice of her to offer me her second ticket, and so we went. The movie was however in french, with spanish subtitles. Additionally, we met up with some of her friends there who all speak catalan. The movie was one of those abstract artsy movies and was pretty good. I was just proud I understood some of the jokes. However by the end of the night my head was swimming with all the languages I had heard and used that day, being english, spanish, french, and catalan. ay dios mios.
Friday was a fun day, and I suprisingly found myself spending the afternoon with an acquaintance from school who is really to be thanked for bringing me out of my funk here in Spain. He made me realize that even though I may not be best friends with anybody here I don't need to be. It's all about being in the moment and just becoming one with the situation you are in. I just need to let go my uneasiness about the people i'm surrounded with and take it for all that is. And SO Friday night I finally went out. Yes, yes, I know I have been here for over a week but okay so I went out. Ridiculously fun. The nightlife here is amazing. We went to a place called Chupitos (which is the spanish word for shots) where they had at least 200+ kinds of shots. To name a few we tested, Topless, Harry Potter, Finding Nemo...etc etc. At around 2:00 we headed to Catwalk a nightclub, which of course was playing copious amounts of american music. At the end of the night (4:00am for me and pretty early by spanish standards) my feet were tired from my furious dancing skills and I hailed a cab back to my barrio all by myself! The cab ride home was pleasant, I was just bold enough to hold a conversation with my cabbie about what else...the weather...the economic crisis...and of course our president-elect mr. obama! A good night I plan to repeat.
Today I got up and did some sight seeing around the city (pictures to follow) and I think I might just be falling in love with the city! It really is an experience for me to live in a big city because I have never lived in a situation like this at all. I'm not sure I will ever want to either, I know that I do like to have nature so eminent around me. But I feel like there is no better time like the present, when I am young, to go live in a big city. Tomorrow there is more touring on deck for me. But I think i'll get started a bit earlier tomorrow before the cold starts to bite again.
Monday starts classes and I am surprisingly excited. I guess probably for the fact that it's a chance to meet more people. aaah, I hope 4 months doesn't go by too quickly! Though my host mom reminds me every day that I will blink and it will be gone.
This is my host mom's dog, named Pancho!
The famed Sagrada Familia by architect and artist Antoni Gaudi!
a little closer.
This is Tibidabo, and is one of the highest points in the city that is home to this beautiful cathedral and an amusement park, all in one! I plan to return. And apparently this part of Barcelona is featured in that movie Vicky Cristina Barcelona.
This is a view from atop the cathedral. The day today was a bit hazy and the church stone is so white that it almost felt like floating on a cloud today.
And here is another view from Tibidabo, with me. Just to prove that I am in fact here in Barcelona!
besos,
Caitlin!
In a continued theme of trends and observations about Barcelona:
The music. I have heard very few of the classical and traditional tinny and classical guitar towns I supposed would be normal for Spain. How easily I forget I reside in a cosmopolitan city. Everyone here listens to american music. Not really sure why. I suppose a good majority of the youth of Spain understand some english, though in my travels I have not met very many people here who have a good grasp of english or at least to understand lyrics of a song. For instance the other day my host mom had the tv on and Celine Dion was on. She mentioned that she loved Celine Dion despite the fact that she couldn't understand any of the lyrics? Sometimes I chuckle because she is so like my mom, only 2 years apart. Scary, really.
Everyone here looks so cool. Seriously. If they are not dressed incredibly smart or sophisticated, they are pulling off this awesome alternative look, complete with dreads. And then here I am. Honestly, for the past week and a half i've been here I have felt incredibly uncomfortable with my appearance and existence in the city. I've been trying incredibly hard to blend in with the people of Barcelona. But I think it hit me that I might never do that, so I should just be who I am and go with the flow. It's kind of a scary experience to be such a minority. And a bit embarassing. I guess the easiest way to be okay would be to blend in. I'm not so sure anymore. I do know that the hardest part of overcoming that particular insecurity has been curbing my ridiculous want to buy all of the cute clothes and leather boots found on every street corner in this city. However I must remind myself that there are more important things to spend money on here in Europe. haha.
On a high note, these past couple of days have been really fun. I finally found the courage to leave my nest and do some moving around the city by myself. It's been so hard to find this courage because I am further out in the city than most of the students in my program and am without a roommate. Thus doing anything when I am not already with kids from my class, means doing it alone. The upside of this is that I have really formed a good relationship with my host mom, and I know we agree on that sentiment. The downside has been a real hard time establishing good relationships with other students in my program. But right, on Thursday my host mom took me to see a movie with her. It was very nice of her to offer me her second ticket, and so we went. The movie was however in french, with spanish subtitles. Additionally, we met up with some of her friends there who all speak catalan. The movie was one of those abstract artsy movies and was pretty good. I was just proud I understood some of the jokes. However by the end of the night my head was swimming with all the languages I had heard and used that day, being english, spanish, french, and catalan. ay dios mios.
Friday was a fun day, and I suprisingly found myself spending the afternoon with an acquaintance from school who is really to be thanked for bringing me out of my funk here in Spain. He made me realize that even though I may not be best friends with anybody here I don't need to be. It's all about being in the moment and just becoming one with the situation you are in. I just need to let go my uneasiness about the people i'm surrounded with and take it for all that is. And SO Friday night I finally went out. Yes, yes, I know I have been here for over a week but okay so I went out. Ridiculously fun. The nightlife here is amazing. We went to a place called Chupitos (which is the spanish word for shots) where they had at least 200+ kinds of shots. To name a few we tested, Topless, Harry Potter, Finding Nemo...etc etc. At around 2:00 we headed to Catwalk a nightclub, which of course was playing copious amounts of american music. At the end of the night (4:00am for me and pretty early by spanish standards) my feet were tired from my furious dancing skills and I hailed a cab back to my barrio all by myself! The cab ride home was pleasant, I was just bold enough to hold a conversation with my cabbie about what else...the weather...the economic crisis...and of course our president-elect mr. obama! A good night I plan to repeat.
Today I got up and did some sight seeing around the city (pictures to follow) and I think I might just be falling in love with the city! It really is an experience for me to live in a big city because I have never lived in a situation like this at all. I'm not sure I will ever want to either, I know that I do like to have nature so eminent around me. But I feel like there is no better time like the present, when I am young, to go live in a big city. Tomorrow there is more touring on deck for me. But I think i'll get started a bit earlier tomorrow before the cold starts to bite again.
Monday starts classes and I am surprisingly excited. I guess probably for the fact that it's a chance to meet more people. aaah, I hope 4 months doesn't go by too quickly! Though my host mom reminds me every day that I will blink and it will be gone.
This is my host mom's dog, named Pancho!
The famed Sagrada Familia by architect and artist Antoni Gaudi!
a little closer.
This is Tibidabo, and is one of the highest points in the city that is home to this beautiful cathedral and an amusement park, all in one! I plan to return. And apparently this part of Barcelona is featured in that movie Vicky Cristina Barcelona.
This is a view from atop the cathedral. The day today was a bit hazy and the church stone is so white that it almost felt like floating on a cloud today.
And here is another view from Tibidabo, with me. Just to prove that I am in fact here in Barcelona!
besos,
Caitlin!
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Four months in Spain!
Hola everybody!
I have been in Spain for about a week now and I decided that is probably a good idea to start a blog (albeit a little late). For those of you who do not know, I am studying in Barcelona for the spring semester and will be in this lovely mediterranean location until May. Here I am studying local and regional politics along with the spanish language, as well as taking some time to admire the beautiful architectural and art history of Barcelona! Hopefully this blog will keep everyone updated and in contact with me because I have a tendency to be pretty bad with staying in touch over long distances. But nevertheless, here is my blog for the duration of my stay in Spain!
The journey to Spain was long and tiring. The morning I was to begin my trip I barely spoke to my parents for fear I might just throw up if I tried to say anything. Sorry Mom, Dad, i'm pretty sure you knew I was nervous and not trying to ignore you! So between Syracuse, O'Hare, London, and BCN, airports I lost and found my cell phone, found and spent some time with a friend from school (Leah Taylor!), learned that I am easily preoccupied, and spent about 28 hours altogether in a plane or waiting for one to arrive/be fixed and about 3 hours actually sleeping. I am not a great flier. When I arrived at the airport in Barcelona all my nervousness was replaced by relief that I didn't have to spend more time in airport. From there my trip to my homestay was quite hysterical because it is a testament to my naivety about my trip. No my taxi driver didn't speak english, nor did he know where my homestay was actually located. Long story short, between some shotty exchanges of my rusty spanish, and some prior knowledge from googlemaps, I finally made it to my homestay. And just in time to meet my host mother walking down the street with her dog! What a scene, me trudging up the 45 degree street with my massive suitcases, and my madre coming down the street at the same moment. We meet, we exchange dos besos (kisses) and then I realize she speaks abslolutely no english! surprise! Boy was I naive. That night I settled into my room a bit uneasy, realizing later on that I would also have no roommate, because for one reason or another she decided not to come here this semester. That first night was the hardest. There as absolutely no way to establish a connection to home. Not even with language.
The next morning I awoke to my senora softly knocking on my door to wake me up for my orientation meeting. I had no idea where I was or why someone was speaking to me in Spanish. Day two. Round two. I managed to have the good fortune of meeting two american girls who showed me to the metro and ti Placa Catalunya (about 4 metro stops away) which is where my program center is. The metro is really simple to use but the first time I rode it back to my homestay alone I was a complete wimp about it. And that is a good example of how things have been going for me.
As I said i've been here for about a week now. My homestay is great. I believe I lucked out with my senora, my madre, because she is really accepting and patient of our language barrier. She also understands what is like to have your family so far away. For me, having never traveled overseas, or been away from my family for a very long time, she has been a blessing. We have a dog named Pancho who is still a puppy, and we spend a lot of time talking and cooking and playing with Pancho. I am completely comfortable here. It is however a different story when I leave the building. haha. The biggest problem is not having a roommate because any traveling I do to and from the big centers for school or entertainment must be done on my own. But as with everything, there is a first time for everything and then it is smooth sailing from there.
This week I have had spanish classes and orientation events everyday. And in my free time i've been able to go shopping and see some of the most famous sights in Barcelona. We have already had a little excursion to the medieval towns of Besalu and Vic. And I have had some time to explore a little bit of Park Guell, which I live very close to. It is a very famous park with architecture by Gaudi. I plan to spend a lot of time there, as it has nice architecture as well as a great view of the city and sea. hooray! Next week starts the real work, when all my other classes start, but for now I am content to wander around the city making a complete fool of myself when I need to buy anything or ask anybody a question. Really, feeling like a fool has become a full-time job for me.
Tomorrow I have plans to get up a bit early and buy some cute boots and a few more stylish articles of clothing. As it were, I may never blend in with the Spanish people if not for my complexion/hair/eyes, but because the Spanish people are endlessly stylish. It is immediately known that I am not european as soon as you look at what I wear. So that is my my goal. I only have my spanish class tomorrow and then the afternoon and evening are free. How glorious. I love not having every hour of my day scheduled, like is usual for me. I also however have no idea how to fill the time. But I suppose that is the beauty of it!
So for now I am going to bed and looking back I realize that this entry hardly covers everything that happened in a week and I probably should have started this blog earlier...but alas. I am in Spain, and I am alive and well! and really cannot believe I am here! More to come, stay tuned!
Dos Besos,
Caitlin!
I have been in Spain for about a week now and I decided that is probably a good idea to start a blog (albeit a little late). For those of you who do not know, I am studying in Barcelona for the spring semester and will be in this lovely mediterranean location until May. Here I am studying local and regional politics along with the spanish language, as well as taking some time to admire the beautiful architectural and art history of Barcelona! Hopefully this blog will keep everyone updated and in contact with me because I have a tendency to be pretty bad with staying in touch over long distances. But nevertheless, here is my blog for the duration of my stay in Spain!
The journey to Spain was long and tiring. The morning I was to begin my trip I barely spoke to my parents for fear I might just throw up if I tried to say anything. Sorry Mom, Dad, i'm pretty sure you knew I was nervous and not trying to ignore you! So between Syracuse, O'Hare, London, and BCN, airports I lost and found my cell phone, found and spent some time with a friend from school (Leah Taylor!), learned that I am easily preoccupied, and spent about 28 hours altogether in a plane or waiting for one to arrive/be fixed and about 3 hours actually sleeping. I am not a great flier. When I arrived at the airport in Barcelona all my nervousness was replaced by relief that I didn't have to spend more time in airport. From there my trip to my homestay was quite hysterical because it is a testament to my naivety about my trip. No my taxi driver didn't speak english, nor did he know where my homestay was actually located. Long story short, between some shotty exchanges of my rusty spanish, and some prior knowledge from googlemaps, I finally made it to my homestay. And just in time to meet my host mother walking down the street with her dog! What a scene, me trudging up the 45 degree street with my massive suitcases, and my madre coming down the street at the same moment. We meet, we exchange dos besos (kisses) and then I realize she speaks abslolutely no english! surprise! Boy was I naive. That night I settled into my room a bit uneasy, realizing later on that I would also have no roommate, because for one reason or another she decided not to come here this semester. That first night was the hardest. There as absolutely no way to establish a connection to home. Not even with language.
The next morning I awoke to my senora softly knocking on my door to wake me up for my orientation meeting. I had no idea where I was or why someone was speaking to me in Spanish. Day two. Round two. I managed to have the good fortune of meeting two american girls who showed me to the metro and ti Placa Catalunya (about 4 metro stops away) which is where my program center is. The metro is really simple to use but the first time I rode it back to my homestay alone I was a complete wimp about it. And that is a good example of how things have been going for me.
As I said i've been here for about a week now. My homestay is great. I believe I lucked out with my senora, my madre, because she is really accepting and patient of our language barrier. She also understands what is like to have your family so far away. For me, having never traveled overseas, or been away from my family for a very long time, she has been a blessing. We have a dog named Pancho who is still a puppy, and we spend a lot of time talking and cooking and playing with Pancho. I am completely comfortable here. It is however a different story when I leave the building. haha. The biggest problem is not having a roommate because any traveling I do to and from the big centers for school or entertainment must be done on my own. But as with everything, there is a first time for everything and then it is smooth sailing from there.
This week I have had spanish classes and orientation events everyday. And in my free time i've been able to go shopping and see some of the most famous sights in Barcelona. We have already had a little excursion to the medieval towns of Besalu and Vic. And I have had some time to explore a little bit of Park Guell, which I live very close to. It is a very famous park with architecture by Gaudi. I plan to spend a lot of time there, as it has nice architecture as well as a great view of the city and sea. hooray! Next week starts the real work, when all my other classes start, but for now I am content to wander around the city making a complete fool of myself when I need to buy anything or ask anybody a question. Really, feeling like a fool has become a full-time job for me.
Tomorrow I have plans to get up a bit early and buy some cute boots and a few more stylish articles of clothing. As it were, I may never blend in with the Spanish people if not for my complexion/hair/eyes, but because the Spanish people are endlessly stylish. It is immediately known that I am not european as soon as you look at what I wear. So that is my my goal. I only have my spanish class tomorrow and then the afternoon and evening are free. How glorious. I love not having every hour of my day scheduled, like is usual for me. I also however have no idea how to fill the time. But I suppose that is the beauty of it!
So for now I am going to bed and looking back I realize that this entry hardly covers everything that happened in a week and I probably should have started this blog earlier...but alas. I am in Spain, and I am alive and well! and really cannot believe I am here! More to come, stay tuned!
Dos Besos,
Caitlin!
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