As my time here comes to a close, I have a few things that I have been meaning to ask you...
Where did you all learn to walk? I know that this is simply a culture difference, but I am always amazed at how you seem to mosey along as if time doesn't exist. I can honestly say that it has made me late to class more than once! (Honestly though class never starts on the hour anyways) In addition to this admirable nonchalance, you have a very odd concept of personal space. Since I've been here, I have been poked in the face by umbrellas more times than I can count, stepped on, bumped into, and leaned against. Normally this wouldn't be so bad, but why don't you apologize? I'm starting to get bruises!
What is your cholesterol like? I have no idea how you can drown literally everything in olive oil and not gain any weight. Don't get me wrong. I love the tortillas, paella and croquetas, but I am not able to stomach an egg fried in a full pan of oil.
On another note, heels? In a city? Where there are cobblestones? And you walk a ton? I think maybe European women were just born more fabulous. Please write back to confirm.
What do you do on Sundays? I recently learned that only 4.7% of people between 18 and 24 and only 17% of the total population here consider themselves practicing Catholics, so why is everything still closed? Conchi (my host-mom's niece) told me that all you can do on Sundays is go to church, eat tapas, or go to movies. Is this really true? What if you need some groceries or to buy medicine at the farmacia?
Where do you study on weekends? Since the libraries are closed on Saturdays and Sundays, I have found myself in bar-like cafes trying to get homework done. While I realize that most people don't equate studying with studying abroad, I have found that the workload isn't as light as expected. The smoke-filled air and loud conversationalists aren't really conducive to studying either. Is there a secret, quiet building somewhere in the city that I haven't found yet? Finals start on Monday and it would be very helpful to know this.
One last question...How do you possibly expect me to leave? This place is beautiful, exciting, and so different than what I'm used to. There are a million things (and people) that I miss from home, but I know that after a while of being back, I'm going to miss this place in the same way.
All that being said, this culture-shock whirlwind has been difficult, overwhelming, fun, and life-changing. Thank you for the conversations (and for not making fun of my grammatical mistakes), the good food and wine, and the experience of a lifetime.
Con un abrazo fuerte,
Liz
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Let's Get Down In Barcelona
Janelle, her parents, and I packed up from Granada and headed north to Cataluña (more specifically Barcelona) for the weekend.
As you can see, the weather was hardly what I expected/hoped, but the city was beautiful nonetheless. We walked down La Rambla and stopped to explore one of the coolest markets I've ever been in: the Boqueria.
These pictures hardly do it justice, but just imagine...sheep heads, pig legs, homemade chocolate, whole eels, and fruits I've never even seen before! We moseyed down to the waterfront, grabbed a Starbucks (this seems to be a theme when I travel), and then headed to the Picasso Museum. After being in Spain, I feel as if Picasso and I are great friends! He had such an interesting life, and his work is so intriguing. For those who care, here's a brief history lesson...
Born in Málaga in 1881, Picasso began studying art at age 7. If you're interested, I suggest google imaging some of his earlier works..you'll be just as surprised as I was! Even at this age, he possessed a talent for detail and technique. His work was broken up into a few "etapas;" his early works, blue period, rose period, cubism, and surrealism. (He did some other styles too, but in my opinion these are the big ones). They are all unique and worth studying. One of my favorite things he did a critique of was Las Meninas (a very famous piece by Velasquez that I got to see at Prado Museum in Madrid).
He did a ton of pieces in this revolutionary cubist style. This one was my favorites:
Okay. Enough of the Picasso talk.
While in Barcelona, we had the opportunity to go tho the movies...IN ENGLISH. I know, I know..I'm here to learn Spanish, but if you hadn't seen a movie in English in four months, you'd jump at the opportunity too..I'm sure of it! We saw Alicía y el País de Maravillas (Alice and Wonderland) and Shutter Island (for some reason the Spaniards didn't translate this one). We found our way to the one theater that showed un-dubbed movies in Barcelona and immediately realized it was not a healthy place to watch a scary movie. The place was dark (the lobby AND the theater), they didn't sell concessions (BIG red flag), we were the only ones in the theater, and there was a black line on the screen. Even though it was a terrifying experience, I recommended seeing it if you like thrillers..and I won't ruin the end for you!
Back to the Spanish stuff...We also saw the Famous Sagrada Familia; Gaudís last project. This massive church looks (from the outside) like a melting candle and (from the inside) a vast cave.
We learned that it is scheduled to be completed in 2026 (at which time I will be almost 40!) and agreed to come back. Feeling on a Gaudí kick, we went for a walk to see some more of his famous houses and buildings.
Next, we caught a bus to the Park Güell. This was my favorite place in Barcelona. (For any America's Next Top Model fans, you'll recognize part of it, I'm sure). This park was actually built to be a sort of Homeowners Association for the rich. Its creators Gaudí and Güell included common space, a covered market area, a fence surrounding whole community, and two gingerbread-like houses at the entrance. Unfortunately, Gaudí and Güell were about 70 years ahead of their time and people weren't interested in this style of living. Because of this, they had to convert the HOA into a park (lucky for us!).
...As a sidebar, Dad, if you're looking for some business in Spain, you might be able to convince somebody to return the park to its original use!
We did some more exploring, shopping and eating in Barça before attempting to go home. Unsuccessful all day Sunday, we finally managed to get out Monday and were even bumped up to Business Class (and believe me, this means a lot when you've been flying on airlines that don't even have pockets on the backs of the seats) Que Suerte.
Well avid readers. I wrote this entry pre-Morocco trip, but failed to type it up before I left. Marrakesh update to come soon, I promise!!
Oh. I know this has nothing to do with anything, but today is Mother's Day! In honor of the holiday, here are a couple picture of my momma and me!
Happy Mother's day to my wonderful mom and grandma! Love and miss you both
As you can see, the weather was hardly what I expected/hoped, but the city was beautiful nonetheless. We walked down La Rambla and stopped to explore one of the coolest markets I've ever been in: the Boqueria.
These pictures hardly do it justice, but just imagine...sheep heads, pig legs, homemade chocolate, whole eels, and fruits I've never even seen before! We moseyed down to the waterfront, grabbed a Starbucks (this seems to be a theme when I travel), and then headed to the Picasso Museum. After being in Spain, I feel as if Picasso and I are great friends! He had such an interesting life, and his work is so intriguing. For those who care, here's a brief history lesson...
Born in Málaga in 1881, Picasso began studying art at age 7. If you're interested, I suggest google imaging some of his earlier works..you'll be just as surprised as I was! Even at this age, he possessed a talent for detail and technique. His work was broken up into a few "etapas;" his early works, blue period, rose period, cubism, and surrealism. (He did some other styles too, but in my opinion these are the big ones). They are all unique and worth studying. One of my favorite things he did a critique of was Las Meninas (a very famous piece by Velasquez that I got to see at Prado Museum in Madrid).
He did a ton of pieces in this revolutionary cubist style. This one was my favorites:
Okay. Enough of the Picasso talk.
While in Barcelona, we had the opportunity to go tho the movies...IN ENGLISH. I know, I know..I'm here to learn Spanish, but if you hadn't seen a movie in English in four months, you'd jump at the opportunity too..I'm sure of it! We saw Alicía y el País de Maravillas (Alice and Wonderland) and Shutter Island (for some reason the Spaniards didn't translate this one). We found our way to the one theater that showed un-dubbed movies in Barcelona and immediately realized it was not a healthy place to watch a scary movie. The place was dark (the lobby AND the theater), they didn't sell concessions (BIG red flag), we were the only ones in the theater, and there was a black line on the screen. Even though it was a terrifying experience, I recommended seeing it if you like thrillers..and I won't ruin the end for you!
Back to the Spanish stuff...We also saw the Famous Sagrada Familia; Gaudís last project. This massive church looks (from the outside) like a melting candle and (from the inside) a vast cave.
We learned that it is scheduled to be completed in 2026 (at which time I will be almost 40!) and agreed to come back. Feeling on a Gaudí kick, we went for a walk to see some more of his famous houses and buildings.
Next, we caught a bus to the Park Güell. This was my favorite place in Barcelona. (For any America's Next Top Model fans, you'll recognize part of it, I'm sure). This park was actually built to be a sort of Homeowners Association for the rich. Its creators Gaudí and Güell included common space, a covered market area, a fence surrounding whole community, and two gingerbread-like houses at the entrance. Unfortunately, Gaudí and Güell were about 70 years ahead of their time and people weren't interested in this style of living. Because of this, they had to convert the HOA into a park (lucky for us!).
...As a sidebar, Dad, if you're looking for some business in Spain, you might be able to convince somebody to return the park to its original use!
We did some more exploring, shopping and eating in Barça before attempting to go home. Unsuccessful all day Sunday, we finally managed to get out Monday and were even bumped up to Business Class (and believe me, this means a lot when you've been flying on airlines that don't even have pockets on the backs of the seats) Que Suerte.
Well avid readers. I wrote this entry pre-Morocco trip, but failed to type it up before I left. Marrakesh update to come soon, I promise!!
Oh. I know this has nothing to do with anything, but today is Mother's Day! In honor of the holiday, here are a couple picture of my momma and me!
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