It's been awhile since my last post, and certain people have been bugging me to write, so here it is:
Let's see, my life in the last 3 weeks has been above all, BUSY. The weeks have slipped by in a whirlwind of homework (finally... what?), vending machine coffee and procrastination. I have finals coming up in less than 2 weeks so I've finally begun to do some work. Keep in mind, I am not doing nearly as much as I could/ should be doing. The Spanish procrastination bug has hit me hard. But I do tend to spend my time outside of class attempting to do work of some sort.
Lots of this time is also taken up by prep for the interviews I've begun for the research project I'm trying to do about the underground electronic music scene here in Barcelona. Conclusions so far: I need to learn Spanish (interviewing someone in Spanish is very very hard) and according to my first interviewee, Victor Nublas, in reference to my difficulties finding the music scene: "Well, it's very underground." Thank you for that. I have my second interview tomorrow so we'll see how that goes...
In contrast to the weekdays, my last 3 weekends have been chock-full of amazing vacations! I was lucky enough to see Rome, London and Spain's Costa Brava (although I hardly spent enough time in any of these places). Rome was by far the coolest city I've ever been to. The food was amazing (and somewhat cheaper than Barcelona) and I was thrilled to be able to walk through an amazing city and then all of a sudden stumble upon a three thousand year old ruin. A few highlights from the trip included walking back to our friend's apartment along the Tiber river at about 4:30pm after a rainy day at the Vatican and seeing a gigantic bird exodus as the sun set, wandering around the last night with Elena looking for the synagogue but instead finding a huuuge ruin of some sort of theater and stumbling upon a beautiful fountain in a hilly neighborhood while lost trying to find our way back in the dark. Basically I really want to go back to Rome.
London was cool because Celia and I tried couchsurfing for the first time. Contrary to popular predictions, we did NOT die. Terry (the dude we stayed with) was really nice, had an entire extra bedroom for us, and made us tea and curry! It was really fun to skip the hostel and meet a new friend. London was cool but very rainy and cold so we really didn't end up seeing too much. But we did walk around whenever it wasn't pouring. Also, the absolute highlight of this trip was when Celia and I went to see St. Paul's Cathedral- we get there (humming "feed the birds") and hear Motown music being blasted from around the corner so naturally we go investigate. We come across a temporary carnival set up right next to the church and, after observing the rides, Celia decided she reallly really wanted to go on the scrambler so she coerced me into going with her. IT WAS THE FASTEST SCRAMBLER RIDE EVER!! And it kept feeling like we were going to smash into the side of St. Paul's. Basically it was the most fun I've had in a long time!
Last weekend, CASB (my program) took us to Cadaqués and Figueres to follow the "Dalí Route." We went to Dalí's house in Cadaqués, a beautiful beach town with white houses located at the intersection of the Pyrenees Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea, the Dalí museum in Figueres, and Dalí's lifelong love Gala's house (which was actually an old castle). After this trip I can conclude that A. There is no question that Salvador Dalí was absolutely insane and B. He was pretty much the shit. His house was decorated soo weirdly, with many taxidermied animals. There was a round room in which you could hear your echo like you were standing next to yourself and talking. He had a phallic-shaped swimming pool. He also lived right on the water and I could totally see how his landscapes were influenced by what he saw out his window. Pictures will come soon to facebook.
And that's basically it. I should be prepping for my interview tomorrow so I'm going to sign out. I feel a little sad that I'm leaving this place so soon-- I only have a month left. I feel like there's so much that I haven't done that I should have. Barcelona is amazing but I really do miss everyone and can't wait to come home!!
Monday, November 23, 2009
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Half-Done
The last few days have been very significant for me. Wednesday, October 28th, was the exact middle day of my stay here in Barcelona. I got here on August 28th and I leave on December 28th. So, yes, October 28th was an important day. Completely by chance, Wednesday was also the day that I got to see Wayne Shorter, my all-time favorite jazz saxophone player. I couldn't find anyone to go with me (nobody knew who he was!) so I splurged and got 50-euro, SECOND ROW seats. The view was incredible. I was literally 30 feet from my jazz idol for an hour and a half.
Before the concert started I had taken out my camera to take some pictures of the venue, and the Spanish guy sitting next to me asked me if I'd email the pictures I took of the concert to him. I was more than happy to do so, and we struck up a conversation about Wayne Shorter and jazz in general. He, like me, had come alone to the concert because none of his friends liked jazz. By chance we had both paid the extra euros and gotten seats next to each other. I considered meeting Miki a significant event for October 28th because it was the first time I'd just started talking to a Spaniard and received such friendliness in return. We were able to maintain a decent conversation, despite my sub-par Spanish and his probable preference to speak in Catalan. The concert itself was incredible. Wayne Shorter has still got it going on even though he's like 75 years old or something. His band was really tight and they had the whole place groovin’. I’m still in shock that I actually got to see him. He has been my favorite jazz artist for years.
Significant event number two came on Thursday morning (the 29th). I had to give a presentation in my Medieval History class completely in Spanish. Now, I’d been worried about this presentation since the start of class and, honestly, if I had had to give the presentation three weeks earlier I would have been screwed. But my group and I (all Americans) managed to pull off a decent presentation, if I say so myself. I felt really good about it.
And the third yet very significant event took place the very next day on Friday. I finally made myself do some work on my research project (electronic music scene in Barcelona) and sent out a few emails, asking for interviews/ info. One of the two emails I spent half an hour writing and was directed to la orquesta del caos, or the Orchestra of Chaos. It’s an experimental music orchestra, headed by one José Manuel Berenger and in addition to creating music, hosts workshops and works with the cultural center of Barcelona to put on events. So I’ve gathered that it’s a pretty big deal. Crazily enough, José Manuel Berenger himself emailed me back within 2 hours enthusiastically suggesting that we meet sometime in the next few weeks!! So now I’ve accomplished something with the project (sort of) but that means I actually have to start thinking of questions to ask, which is sort of freaking me out. I’ve never even interviewed anyone in English before! But I’m really excited that I’m making headway.
So yes, three significant events right around the middle of my stay here. Overall I’m beginning to feel more comfortable in my day to day interactions, so I hope these events are just a hint of what’s to come in my last two months!
Oh yea, and I met a shepherd
Before the concert started I had taken out my camera to take some pictures of the venue, and the Spanish guy sitting next to me asked me if I'd email the pictures I took of the concert to him. I was more than happy to do so, and we struck up a conversation about Wayne Shorter and jazz in general. He, like me, had come alone to the concert because none of his friends liked jazz. By chance we had both paid the extra euros and gotten seats next to each other. I considered meeting Miki a significant event for October 28th because it was the first time I'd just started talking to a Spaniard and received such friendliness in return. We were able to maintain a decent conversation, despite my sub-par Spanish and his probable preference to speak in Catalan. The concert itself was incredible. Wayne Shorter has still got it going on even though he's like 75 years old or something. His band was really tight and they had the whole place groovin’. I’m still in shock that I actually got to see him. He has been my favorite jazz artist for years.
Significant event number two came on Thursday morning (the 29th). I had to give a presentation in my Medieval History class completely in Spanish. Now, I’d been worried about this presentation since the start of class and, honestly, if I had had to give the presentation three weeks earlier I would have been screwed. But my group and I (all Americans) managed to pull off a decent presentation, if I say so myself. I felt really good about it.
And the third yet very significant event took place the very next day on Friday. I finally made myself do some work on my research project (electronic music scene in Barcelona) and sent out a few emails, asking for interviews/ info. One of the two emails I spent half an hour writing and was directed to la orquesta del caos, or the Orchestra of Chaos. It’s an experimental music orchestra, headed by one José Manuel Berenger and in addition to creating music, hosts workshops and works with the cultural center of Barcelona to put on events. So I’ve gathered that it’s a pretty big deal. Crazily enough, José Manuel Berenger himself emailed me back within 2 hours enthusiastically suggesting that we meet sometime in the next few weeks!! So now I’ve accomplished something with the project (sort of) but that means I actually have to start thinking of questions to ask, which is sort of freaking me out. I’ve never even interviewed anyone in English before! But I’m really excited that I’m making headway.
So yes, three significant events right around the middle of my stay here. Overall I’m beginning to feel more comfortable in my day to day interactions, so I hope these events are just a hint of what’s to come in my last two months!
Oh yea, and I met a shepherd
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
My thoughts...have been organized
So I decided to apply for a nonfiction writing seminar at Northwestern for next quarter. For the application I wrote a piece that basically sums up my current state of mind here, but organizes them a little more eloquently. Here it is:
I sit alone in a crowded bakery not three blocks from my dorm in Barcelona and, out of the corner of my eye, observe the Spaniards in their natural habitat. It is 5 o’clock on a Friday afternoon and this seems to be the time to gather for a late-afternoon tallat (small coffee with milk) or a croissant. Two small children play loudly with toy cars at the table next to me while their chatting mothers look on, occasionally interjecting the raucous game with commands to quiet down. Directly in front of me sits a boy slurping chocolate milk and squirming under the unrelenting attention of an older couple whom I assume are his grandparents. On my right, a mother consoles her sobbing daughter with kisses and coca-cola. I cower alone at a table that is pushed against the wall, clutching my tallat in both hands— a symbol that I know something about the culture here. A stained glass sign above me lets me know that this café is called Oriol and has been in business since 1927.
To me, my foreignness is palpable. I notice myself leaning into the wall, as if to cloak myself in its solidity and discard the temporality that tugs me away. I have been living in Barcelona for almost two months now and, while I am finally beginning to notice an improvement in my Spanish, I still feel constantly out of place. At first glance, I could be a plausible Spaniard, decked out in my flashy Nike tennis shoes and oversized gray sweater. I even like to think that my quarter of Sephardic Jewish blood gives me some physical resemblance to the people here. Sadly, any cushion of physical advantage I’m fond of imagining bursts as soon as I open my mouth. My accent is nowhere near perfect, the words come out too slowly and because of this I have perfected the blank stare of incomprehension when I’m spoken to. I find it hard to completely throw myself into learning this language when I know I’ll be gone in two more months. My visit here is only a blip on this city’s history—and mine.
The United States is younger by millennia than the oldest Roman walls of Barcelona. In Spain, families have been rooted in the same towns for hundreds of years. Cataluña, the autonomous community in which Barcelona is located, is known for its people’s fierce national pride. The people here feel their legacy in their bones, a legacy that is intricately intertwined with the fact that they have occupied the same land for centuries.
Home was a concept I never fully understood until I left it behind for college. Nor did I realize how important my hometown is to my identity until I came to Barcelona. When I introduce myself, the first thing I want people to know about me is that I’m from Ann Arbor. Not that I’m the oldest child out of 3 girls, not that I go to school at Northwestern, not my political beliefs and certainly not that I’m American. Only the rare souls who have been there, or those who know someone from this Midwest mecca can understand what I mean when I say I’m from Ann Arbor, Michigan. I wear Birkenstocks, eat tofu and ride my bicycle as much as possible not because I want to emit any sort of image, but because it feels comfortable to perpetuate the culture I’ve been steeped in since birth.
I have always assumed that as I grow up, I will move away from Ann Arbor, leave my family and friends to pursue a career and form my own life. America was built, and still runs, on the ideas of immigration and mobility. In contrast, Spanish culture relies much more heavily on concrete traditions, objects and places, just as the residents of this barrio rely on Oriol for their daily caffeine rush.
I’m either becoming more affected by Spain than I thought I was or something in me has changed because now I’m not so sure that I need to leave my home, my identity, in order to grow as a person. Meeting Spanish university students who either still live at home or go home to their families every single weekend demonstrates to me the—until now—completely unexamined path my life could take if I choose. Living alongside the proud Catalonians has shown me that instead of uprooting myself, maybe I’ll just grow in a different direction.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
Venice
I've finally got pictures up from Venice on facebook, but here's a quick peek at some highlights.
Erin and I spent a very long time sitting outside a cafe in Piazza Santa Margherita. Luckily for us, we managed to pick a square that was having a Saturday morning market. This flower guy was super awesome. He was very sprightly and kept bursting into song. He totally charmed all of his customers (and me and Erin from afar). I am ridiculously upset that someone's head got in the way of this picture.
After leaving the cafe, Erin and I walked all the way around the outer point of Venice. It was threatening like mad to storm the whole time but the real downpour held off for a few hours. I love this picture because it's so deserted. Later in the day, and the next day which was sunny and beautiful, this street would be mobbed with tourists.
I really like this picture. This was one of the most beautiful places I found in Venice.
View from the bridge i stood at for an hour. I feel like this picture is on alot of postcards
A dilapidated old building... has definitely seen some water damage.
Erin and I spent a very long time sitting outside a cafe in Piazza Santa Margherita. Luckily for us, we managed to pick a square that was having a Saturday morning market. This flower guy was super awesome. He was very sprightly and kept bursting into song. He totally charmed all of his customers (and me and Erin from afar). I am ridiculously upset that someone's head got in the way of this picture.
After leaving the cafe, Erin and I walked all the way around the outer point of Venice. It was threatening like mad to storm the whole time but the real downpour held off for a few hours. I love this picture because it's so deserted. Later in the day, and the next day which was sunny and beautiful, this street would be mobbed with tourists.
I really like this picture. This was one of the most beautiful places I found in Venice.
View from the bridge i stood at for an hour. I feel like this picture is on alot of postcards
A dilapidated old building... has definitely seen some water damage.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Getting into the swing of things
I've kept meaning to write another post, but somehow 2 weeks have flown by. In that time, I spent an amazing weekend with Laury and Ton in Holland, started classes, and probably wasted a lot of time doing nothing because I can't remember anything else at the moment.
One thing I've been doing a lot of is walking. Possibly not the best idea because my ankle is still not healed almost a month after I sprained it, but I really cannot help it. The best way to see the city is by walking. I've realized that I spend a lot of time sitting in my room and being unproductive so my solution is to walk somewhere new every chance I get and spend my time discovering new places. This past Saturday I rambled over the entire old city, from there headed towards the beach and then back to my dorm which took me about 3 hours. That walk in particular was empowering because my ankle hardly bothered me and what's more, I knew where I was the entire time! Maybe I hadn't been on the specific streets before, but I could locate myself in the scheme of things and that was very satisfying. I also ended up walking by the Sagrada Familia two nights in a row, once on purpose and once by chance. The church at night is even more magnificent than by day. The towers seem to loom into infinity and the old side is especially terrifying; the façade looks like the gaping mouth of a monster. Only by seeing it at night could I begin to grasp how ridiculous the church is going to be when completed. It looks surreal, unearthly and made me feel extremely insignificant. Trying to imagine the church standing twice as high as it does now only confounded me more. All I know is that to be alive to see this church completed would be one of the most amazing things I could think of. And that might happen, because apparently the projected date to have it finished by is 2026!
While I think I'm beginning to understand more about this city and can get around on my own and feel comfortable doing it, I still have a lot of trouble with feeling like I stick out like a sore thumb. I know there's nothing I can do about looking American but I feel like I aggravate the problem every time I open my mouth-- my language skills are a dead giveaway that I'm not from here. It's been 5 weeks since I got here, yet my Spanish has not improved as much as I'd hoped. I still feel awkward using the language, I know my accent is awful, and furthermore, my friends and I speak in English most of the time just because we find it hard to have meaningful conversations in Spanish. It's also really hard to understand lectures in Spanish when the professors speak fast and have different types of accents. I'm working on it though... Now I'll be in classes taught in Spanish 17 hours/ week and I'm starting a language exchange tomorrow with a Spanish girl named Emma who wants to practice her English. So we'll see, hopefully I can hone those Spanish skillz a little more before I have to leave.
So I think that the theme of my life now is just to really start learning the city, culture and language here. It's high time for me to start being proactive.
One thing I've been doing a lot of is walking. Possibly not the best idea because my ankle is still not healed almost a month after I sprained it, but I really cannot help it. The best way to see the city is by walking. I've realized that I spend a lot of time sitting in my room and being unproductive so my solution is to walk somewhere new every chance I get and spend my time discovering new places. This past Saturday I rambled over the entire old city, from there headed towards the beach and then back to my dorm which took me about 3 hours. That walk in particular was empowering because my ankle hardly bothered me and what's more, I knew where I was the entire time! Maybe I hadn't been on the specific streets before, but I could locate myself in the scheme of things and that was very satisfying. I also ended up walking by the Sagrada Familia two nights in a row, once on purpose and once by chance. The church at night is even more magnificent than by day. The towers seem to loom into infinity and the old side is especially terrifying; the façade looks like the gaping mouth of a monster. Only by seeing it at night could I begin to grasp how ridiculous the church is going to be when completed. It looks surreal, unearthly and made me feel extremely insignificant. Trying to imagine the church standing twice as high as it does now only confounded me more. All I know is that to be alive to see this church completed would be one of the most amazing things I could think of. And that might happen, because apparently the projected date to have it finished by is 2026!
While I think I'm beginning to understand more about this city and can get around on my own and feel comfortable doing it, I still have a lot of trouble with feeling like I stick out like a sore thumb. I know there's nothing I can do about looking American but I feel like I aggravate the problem every time I open my mouth-- my language skills are a dead giveaway that I'm not from here. It's been 5 weeks since I got here, yet my Spanish has not improved as much as I'd hoped. I still feel awkward using the language, I know my accent is awful, and furthermore, my friends and I speak in English most of the time just because we find it hard to have meaningful conversations in Spanish. It's also really hard to understand lectures in Spanish when the professors speak fast and have different types of accents. I'm working on it though... Now I'll be in classes taught in Spanish 17 hours/ week and I'm starting a language exchange tomorrow with a Spanish girl named Emma who wants to practice her English. So we'll see, hopefully I can hone those Spanish skillz a little more before I have to leave.
So I think that the theme of my life now is just to really start learning the city, culture and language here. It's high time for me to start being proactive.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)