This past week I found myself constantly asking, who is this person? That’s a demerit for being unprofessional? For jaywalking? For chewing gum? I call on students even when they don’t raise their hand?  As a student, I dreaded being reprimanded and being called out.  The very things that I once dreaded as a student, I am enforcing at MATCH High School.

After two weeks of training me, and 43 other recent college grads, stood at the entrance hall of our school, dressed in professional attire and unaware of what we were getting ourselves into. With about ten days of school behind me I have officially hit the ground running: with a hall pass in my bag and my computer to frequently log demerits and check the 1, 000 e-mail I get each hour from school.

Without the energy to type a lot, I will tell you this. These days ten have been tough, but every day I get to know the students and the school a little better, I realize that I am so excited for my year here.

It’s a Saturday night and I just finished dinner with my roommate. Our dinner conversation? How we want it to be Monday so we can see our students.  Many more stories to come about that topic…

2) Also yesterday when I was walking on the sidewalk, a planter from an apartment porch fell and smashed into hundreds of pieces directly in my path. I walked the rest of the way home with my head up and ran into a roller-blader. Actually, he ran into me. Mark was right–I should wear a helmet at all times. You just never know.

3) I was granted microwave privileges a few nights ago. Isabel and Louis trust me enough not to burn the house down. Finally, it only took 6 weeks. Yes!

4) This weekend I experienced the most equally horrible/wonderful nights of my life: Ice Barcelona. Because, really, what’s a Saturday night without losing some toes? Ice Barcelona is a little bar by the beach that is -12 C inside. I knew that we would be provided warm clothing, so I didn’t think much about what I should wear. Apparently I was misled by the amount of clothing that would be provided for us. I wore a dress and sandals. We only got a jacket and gloves. I don’t know why I assumed there would be snow pants for us too.  Seems appropriate? The fact that we found the bar was a huge success for my friends and I. It is rare that we leave with a destination in mind and actually make it to that destination. It was a victory, and I was determined to go into that freezer box bare legs and all. I only lasted about twenty minutes, and couldn’t feel my toes for a few hours after but it was worth it. AND I would just like to add for all pointless purposes that my onesie would have, in fact, been very useful for this night and I am disappointed I did not bring it.

This past weekend is the second to last one before Emily and I have visitors almost every weekend for the next month and a half. We love visitors! And after that begins our travels! We are almost at the half way point and I can’t believe it.

Now, there is a spider in my room. I have to go find Emily so she can take care of it. Eeeeeeek!

Thanks for reading!

Love,

Alison

P.S.- Cait, if you are reading this I hope you got the reference to Homestar Runner.

Because most everything is closed on Sundays, I usually have a lot of free time to do a lot of nothing. Sometimes when I am forced into boredom like this, I get nostalgic about things from my past life (which is what I like to call it these days because so many things about my life now are just so different here). What do I miss today? Being able to sing in my car or anywhere, really. I think that doing so here- on the street, in my home stay or at school (which are pretty much my only options)- would be frowned upon. Although, Louis does blast ABBA and sing “Mama Mia” on repeat while cleaning the house so it’s a little unfair. I’m just saying..

Love,

Alison

The truth is, a lot has happened over the past two weeks that I have failed to write about so I don’t really know what to say or where to start. I’ve dug myself into a little bit of a hole I guess. Here’s what’s been happening most recently:

Aside from traveling to the South of France, which was a lovely break from the bustle and smog of the city, participation in local cultural events never ceases to fascinate me.  Two weeks ago, for instance, we celebrated Festa Nacional de Catalunya, which commemorates Catalunya’s inability to gain independence from Spain. I love it.

Anyway, since we arrived (almost four weeks ago, can you believe it?) there have been constant reminders of Barcelona’s infamous Festa de la Mercè (23 septiembre-27 septiembre). Ahora! I find it odd that none of my teachers offered an explanation for the holiday so I inquired on my own.  Here is a little history lesson for you:

In 1637 La Madonna de la Mercè, the Madonna of Largesse, saved Barcelona from a plague of locusts, and her status as patron saint of the city was assured forever more.  The festival in her honor – Mercè – was apparently a tame festival until a few years ago. Under General Franco’s regime it was limited to a couple of pallid processions. After the dictator’s death in 1975 (ending 35 years of repression of the language and customs of Catalunya) Mercè took off and is now an expression of Catalonian identity.

The festivities range from carnival giants, free museums, traditional music and human towers.  Emily and I went on a mission yesterday to see all of the above. Mission status? Accomplished. Well, almost.  Since the first week we arrived, there has been much desire among our group of friends to see a Man Tower. We joke about it all the time, and yesterday our time had finally come.

We arrived in Placa de Sant Juame, where the event was taking place, only to find mobs of people (which is a ridiculous understatement). Emily and I have these two little problems called not planning ahead and not leaving early. This is what we were supposed to see:

This is what we actually saw:

Luckily, Man Towers are common around here so we have three more months to plan ahead and leave on time. By the way, I forgot to mention that the people on the top of the towers aren’t actually men like our coined name implies. Those are small children.

That’s all I got for now. I promise to be more responsible and write on this more often!

Thanks for reading!

Love,

Alison

P.S- I can’t believe I forgot to write about this, or at least tell Emily (which I don’t know how I didn’t). But, a common theme we had during the first couple of weeks was “Look up.”  Like a normal city traveler, I always tended to stare at the sidewalk and plow through the crowds when walking anywhere.  That is until I remembered where I was and made a conscious effort to, instead of stare at the dirty ground, appreciate my surroundings.  So last week on my way to school, in an attempt to see something other than the ground, I was successful. However, I failed to see the miniature construction site on the sidewalk and face planted!  On my way down to the sidewalk I may or may not have brought a construction worker with me. It was so much fun and not embarrassing.

This past weekend was our “Mandatory Fun” program trip around Costa Brava. I was actualy pleasantly surprised that it was, in fact, fun. Alison and I turned out be on the same bus, too, which was a nice surpise. Friday our bus went to Southern France (Colliere) for the day. It was gorgeous and I had a huge baguette sandwhich for lunch and bought peanut butter. We then had time to walk around and check out the work of some local artists. I also realized I don´t remember more than two words of French. It was strange to suddenly feel out of place because no one was speaking Spanish.

Saturday was all about Girona. We had guided tours in the morning (which I truthfully find a bit tedious, but afterwards am always glad I went on them and learned things/was efficient about going to lots of different places). Highlights included a huge cathedral on a hill and arab baths. Later that day we climbed the huge wall that surrounds the city… it was a bit of a trek but the views were great. The city is surrounded by mountains, so it was gorgeous.

We went to several towns Sunday, but Figueres was the most memorable to me. We visited the Dali museum. I found it interesting, but in truth I do not love his work. His “unconscious” subject matter seems calculated to me, and I perceive the majority of his work as more random than creative. Some of his later stuff was more to my likeing, I suppose, but the layout was also not organized well in my opinion. The mix of large corridors, multiple stories, and winding hallways with random rooms as offshoots made it hard to see the development of his work over time. Still a fun experience though…Dali is quite the character and even if you are not interested in art it´s an entertaining and visually stimulating environment.

Another highlight of the trip was the all you can eat buffet style breakfasts at our hotels. YUM! scrambled eggs! salmon! chocolate croissants! a coffee maker!

And now it is Wednesday, the last day of the work week for us because Merce starts tomorrow! Merce is a big festival in the city, and “the most important holiday in Barcelona.” Therefore, no classes Thursday or Friday. Instead we are free to go around the city and see the different celebration events…parades, human towers, a marathon, dancing, live music, wine festival, fireworks, etc. Only this one class standing in the way between me and the long weekend, now.

-Emily

the labyrith peeks through the foliage

So Sunday marked the close of our long holiday weekend.  The night before Alison and I went to see a guitarist play at one of the old music halls. It was a really cool show (he made the guitar sound like a bird and other things I have never heard it sound like before) and a gorgeous building (despite my preference for 2-D works, I may be gaining a stronger interest in architecture from being here).  So that was fun but left me wanting to do something cheap on Sunday.  Hillary was nice enough to invite me to tag along with her and some of her friends to this Park in Barcelona that has a labyrinth (we of course had to make some jokes about Pan’s Labyrinth…we are in Spain AND there was a labyrinth!).  It was an enjoyable walk up there and it was fun getting lost in the maze.

Monday classes started. For reallll. I was all signed up for all of my classes-4 at IES and 1 at UB. However, last night I got an email saying that my class at UB had been cancelled due to under enrollment. Sadly many of the other   was interested in didn’t fit in my schedule and the odds of receiving credit for the others seemed minimal. So that just wasn’t in the cards, I guess.  However, this unfortunate turn of events did lead to….

…An Inpromptu Scavenger Hunt!  Because I needed to pick up a class, i got to IES early this mornign to enroll for the Women in Mediterranean Literature Class which was supposed to start at 9:00. They gave me a copy of the reader and the room number. Room 3.3, easy enough.  I was a little bit early so I sat around in the third floor lounge with a group of kids who I assumed to be my new classmates. This turned out to be an incorrect assumption- this was one of the Spanish classes for people who were already essentially fluent. Oops. Luckily, one of the girls was nice enoguh to point me in the direction of my classroom.

Unfortunately, the classroom didn’t yield much success either. The lights were off and no one was in there, even though by this time I was five minutes late for class.  I went in anyway and saw on the board the dreaded words: “Field Trip Today!”…My new class was on a field trip. Normally that is where I would have gone back home and napped. But, Ies has a policy that you can only miss three classes before it affects your grade. I had already missed Monday because I thought I was in the UB class instead, and there was no way I was going to have a 9:00 class without a safety net. Luckily there was a phone number. I called it and was told they were at the Museum of Contemporary art, only a short 15 minute walk away! So i set off to find the Museum.

After a bit of asking around, I was able to find it. All that directional practice in the labyrinth had paid off! I was really proud of myself because I’d been given the directions in Spanish, and I am horrible with directions in any language. So I raced inside only to see…. nothing. No one was there except the lady behind the desk. I called the number again and was informed that the group was now down the street and around the corner looking at a building. I raced there where I finally was able to meet up with them and win the grand prize…a chance to fill out a worksheet about all the places we were visiting!

So that story had a happyish ending…the syllabus for the class seems kind of interesting and the kids in it seem nice. Spanish class is sort of continuing as it has been…thoguh we did all have to get Twitter accounts so that 7 times a week we can tweet( is that the correct term?) about what we are doing…in Spanish!  Cross-Cultural Psychology seems alright…I am sure I am going to be hearing tons about people’s feelings. We had a grueling first day where we had to break into groups and discuss what our expectations are for the course. I am genuinely excited for Oceanography…our next class period is at the Aquarium and we have two fieldtrips at nearby fishing villages where we will check out marine life and such.  I’m also looking forward to taking anohter science based course…I miss using that side of my brain. However, my favorite class so far is probably Sustainability: Challenges and Responses.  Our teacher is funny and its a subject I have been interested in for a while. It is already making me want to be a vegetarian, or atleast a “meat minimalist”(thank you, Kelsey).  However, that will have to wait until I return. I would have an interesting time trying to do that here where I can’t cook for myself.

-Emily

In the past few days we had a sailing tour of Barcelona, which was kind of neat and I also went on a tour that centered around the spots Picasso had hung out in the city.  I really liked the walking tour which took us to areas in the city I had already explored but had had no idea had any connection to Picasso (such as a pub where he hung out or the place he had his first exhibition). We ended at the Picasso museum, which I had a lot of fun exploring.  It’s always fun to see paintings you have studied and read theory on in person.  However, after the two hour walk I was a bit exhausted and I can’t wait to go back sometime when I have a bit more energy to engage with everything.

Yesterday was National Day of Cataluna, so we didn’t have  “class”.  Instead we spent the afternoon picnicking and then went to explore La Pedrera, one of the buildings designed by Gaudi that happens to be on our walk from school.  The inside was pretty cool. The entrance had some colorful paintings with washes of color and inside upstairs were some models of the architecture Gaudi built in the city. However, the really amazing part was the roof, which was it’s own little world of architectural feats, complete with monster-esque sculptures. It was open so that you could walk around on it.  I had had no idea that all of that was up there, only a little over half a mile from where we live.

Today I woke up and decided to have a lazy day exploring the city some by myself.  I passed by a pottery fair that had some pretty inexpensive vases and pots. Some were really gorgeous and I had a lot of fun looking around. I hope they have them every Saturday because I would like to go back sometime with money. After that I tried to find one of the streets from the tour that had a lot of galleries, but failed.  I did find one gallery though!  It had some interesting portraits done with different blocks of color signifying different planes of the face, shadows, etc. There was also some interesting contemporary photography as well as some pretty boring landscapes. Hope to explore some more of these on other days off!

-Emily

1) Someone who spoke Spanish asked ME for directions…in Spanish…about navigating Barcelona! Coolest part? I was able to:

a) understand what they asked me

b) respond without a five second pause or a stutter (which is what normally happens)

c) lead them in the right direction (I am almost 100% positive)

2) I made my señora laugh. Not the kind of giggle I usually elicit when I make a stupid grammatical error, but a genuine laugh. Don’t get me wrong, my señora is a very kind and fun lovin’ lady (she’s actually kind of sassy and witty) but I made a Spanish joke and she laughed. I had Spanish sarcasm and she understood. It was definitely a moment we shared at the dinner table.

If you were here with me though, you may think that I am getting a little bit ahead of myself as far as thinking I fit in. I don’t and there are clear signs of that everyday. For every one time someone may ask me for directions, there are three times a day I am reminded that yo soy de los estados unidos. What tips people off you may wonder?  Of course, when I speak spanish you can tell my accent is not one of a native but I don’t have red hair, pale skin and freckles is all I am saying. You know what I mean?

I don’t think I dress like and American. Maybe it’s the North Face backpack I carry on my walk to class every morning or the Princeton Lacrosse shorts and Swarthmore t-shirt I wear when I am running on Diagonal, one of the busiest streets in the city. I might as well strap on a fanny pack, carry a map, and wear a name tag that says Jane Smith. But even when I lack the most obvious signs of an American, I am still usually not perceived to be a native.  The people here are very nice and patient with my efforts to communicate with them. But, somehow, even when I am mute my “I am an American” light is flashing. When this happens locals try to help me out by speaking to me in Enlgish but I wish they wouldn’t. Make me stutter and take a second or two to make sure my conjugations are correct, people! I don’t mind. When my friends and I go out to eat sometimes, most of the waiters automatically give us the English menu (if it exists). Then we spend half of lunch trying to figure out what tipped them off. It’s times such as these that make my accomplishments of the week so precious. I feel more at home when I am treated like this is my home.

More importantly, this city continues to be amazing each day I live here. I feel like a time traveler. I live in the heart of the city and can take the metro two stops and be on a beach.When I walk to class, the style of architecture changes from building to building on each block. I see and learn something new everyday.  I think so far that has been my favorite part about living in Barcelona. I can walk aimlessly and be sure to see magnificent architecture.

Next on my to-do list (because you know I have one on a sticky note): I hope to explore more of the Arts. After all, Barcelona is a city where some of the greatest artists, such as Picasso and Miró, laid the foundations of their careers. So.much.to.see!

In other news: I just saw a pigeon on the street with one leg. Only in Barcelona, probably.

I miss ya’ll and thanks for reading!

Love, Alison

After that whole debacle, Alison and I trekked over the La Sagrada Familia, a church that Gaudi desgined. It´s craziness. It´s comprised of huge pillars jutting into the sky and is overworked in every aspect. I can´t decide whether it´s awesome or horribly ugly…I am leaning towards both.  Pictures to come.

Yesterday I took an excursion a bit outside of Barcelona with my friend Hillary (who I went to elementary and middle school with and who happens to be here studying, too!) and some of her friends from her program. We took the train south  along the coast to Sitges, a beach town with a reputation for being very gay friendly.  The weather was perfect. We spent the morning at the beach and when we got hungry we wandered around the town until we found a lunch place we all liked. We got bread, big salads topped with tuna, mustard chicken, coffee, and a glass of wine all for really cheap. Of course we HAD to get gelati afterwards (tartufo and white chocolate mix, for me).  It was nice to have a chance to see a different part of Spain, a little bit out of the way of the city. It was like a vacation (from this vacation).

This mornign I had a meeting with my academic advisor. I´ve been feeling like our program is a little too insular, so I am thinking about dropping one of my credits at IES and taking an outside class or two at The University of Barcelona (in spanish, a bit intimidating). Now if only I can get Swarthmore to decide they want to give me credit for this…

-Emily

We are living in a really nice area of the city. Our classes are about a 40 minute walk away, but it goes by pretty quickly and there are some cool buildings and views along the way. People in this city are so well dressed and it is also fun to see what everyone is wearing. Tonight we are going out with some friends we met from our program…but hopefully not before I fit a nap in somewhere!

-Emily