A week in BCN

Day 51 – October 18th – Saturday
Today was not a bad day, but not a good day either. I woke up earlier than I would have liked and only got about twenty minutes of siesta. We had a great meal for lunch of chicken and potatoes and onion rings. Also, I broke out the ranch dressing and A1 steak sauce that my parents had sent me and had Fernando and Teresa try it. They really liked the ranch, both taking the bottle for a second round. The A1 was liked, but not quite as much. I cleaned my room up after lunch, as it had been getting a little out of control and then Matt and I went over to school to utilize the internet for a while. I also got to talk to a few people from home which was nice. Apparently, nothing is happening in Columbus, but I still really miss it. Its strange because I have looked forward to coming here ever since I began to take Spanish classes and now that I'm here, I want to come home, though I am gathering quite a variety of stories. I will always have something to talk about for the next few years and Spain has also given me a new perspective on a lot of things. The world is definitely much larger than we think and the impact of decisions in the United States is very far reaching. The world has fallen into an economic crisis and I somehow feel like much of the blame falls on American shoulders. I know that the reasons are very complex, but the effects are simple. Prices keep climbing while salaries stay flat. In Spain, it is very hard to find a job right now and young people who have no experience are having even more trouble. Capitalism worships the dollar or the euro or the pound or what have you, and it teaches people to do whatever they can to get it. There is nothing wrong with this unless it causes people to do things that may be a little gray. I feel like I am going to live through a very interesting time in history and I hope that I do not become so apathetic that I stop watching. I will see the end of oil, which in itself will be an adventure. The world is already over populated now and I also believe that I will witness a world-wide pandemic, of which I will hopefully not be a victim. Every day life is definitely the best television program out there. Its been on the air for many seasons and each year it gets more and more complicated and emotional. Its better than any book I've read and more thrilling than any roller coaster. I've just gotten on and its just started to get good and I'm happy to be here, though each day bring more of a sense of fear. Change is coming and there is nothing that will stop it. Get ready. Its going to be an interesting century. I don't really know why I got into all that, but now I can barely keep my eyes open. Good night.
Day 52 – October 19th – Sunday
I woke up to paella today, which was of course delicious. I also met Fernando's sister whom had just returned from Italy. We had a nice little lunch and then watched an indoor soccer game. It was actually the final of the Indoor World Cup. Brazil versus Spain, and Brazil won in penalty kicks, but it was a very evenly matched game. Brazil is, of course, the super power, having won three cups in a row. I also did a practice run on my bike to school today. It took me eight minutes, much faster than the metro, which i have been using habitually. Now I can really just take my time in the morning. I remember last year when my roommates would leave a full 20 minutes before me, walking, and I would pass them on my way to class. The magic of the bicycle. After that, I headed over to my new friend Xavi's house to go on a little bike ride. Him, his roommate Sergio, and I went all over the city, hitting the beach, the sea, the Fórum and various other interesting places to ride. I'm definitely seeing the city in a new way. After riding for about two hours, I headed home and caught the end of the Barcelona soccer game, which they won 1-0 in a hard fought match against the Basque team of Bilbao. After dinner, it was off to do homework, as yet another week of classes is tomorrow. I will probably not get to ride to class every day. They do say that it is supposed to start getting cold eventually, but its still way up in the 70s every day. perfect riding weather, especially after the sun goes down.

Day 53 – October 20th – Monday
I rode to class for the first time today, which permitted me to leave the house fifteen minutes later than normal. It was nice not having to be in a rush in the morning. I got to do everything slowly. Eat breakfast, brush my teeth, go to the bathroom, etc. I got to school with minutes to spare, even though one of the straps to my pedals broke along the way. After class, I just rode around for a little while and explored a nearby park and then headed back for my last class. Then, I headed home, bought some stamps, and chilled out before dinner.

Day 54 – October 21st – Tuesday
That first number keeps climbing higher and higher. Thursday is halfway. Hard to believe. Sometimes it feels like I've only been here a week, other times, like I've lived here for years, but most of the time I feel like I'm visiting. I refer to my house with Fernando and Teresa as home, but thats just because it's where I sleep and where all of my stuff is. Each day brings me closer to going to my real home. I don't mean to sound like I'm hating it here, I have fun every day and I'm making friends. I will definitely come back here one day, hopefully fairly soon. But it is far. It's not an impossibility to hop on a plane and come home for the weekend, as I've wanted to do a few times, but the price is simply not worth it. However, it is possible to hop on a plane and go to Milan, or Zürich, or Lisbon, or Amsterdam for the weekend, which I like. There is so much so see here, not just in Barcelona, but in Europe, that I know I cannot even scratch the surface. Also, with such a rich history, there is a lot to learn. I see houses almost every day that were built before George Washington's dad even planted the cherry tree. They've got wine here that has been aging since Lincoln. They've figured out a lot of social and physical aspects that we have yet to copy. The public transportation here is phenomenal. The metro runs from 5am to midnight, Sunday through Thursday, until 2am on Friday, and all night on Saturday. If you happen to be out during the week past midnight, the Night, or NitBus, is always on. If it comes down to it and you don't know your bus number and the metro is closed, you never have to wait for more than two minutes for an empty taxi. Also, I have recently been exploring the bike lanes, which line the right hand side of most streets. They are well marked, highly used, and respected by other drivers. Many times, on main streets, which are usually one way with one lane on either side, separated by a walkway, that go either direction, the bike lanes use the pathways between the outside lanes to avoid traffic. Everything flows very smoothly and there is no reason why you can't get to the far reaches of the city within 45 minutes. I rode back to school for my last class after a delicious lunch of fish, bread with tomato spread, and french fries. I have class until 7pm every day, but it really doesn't seem that late. I get home and I have a couple hours to do homework before dinner and then I either do more homework, or if i've finished, I can go out for a little while. Most often when I go out, I just walk around. I try to hit a different street each time so that I can look at new scenery. There are a good number of parks here too, or at least open green space and of course the plazas. Almost every metro stop is paired with a open plaza with chairs and benches. Throughout the day and late into the night, there are people milling around. It is not common to invite people over to your house. Instead, they meet at a park or a plaza. I think it makes the people a little healthier to get outside often and walk around a little bit instead of walking from their house to the car then from the car to the office and back. I see some of the oldest people I've ever seen in my life walking around at night. Tonight, I wrote about my family tree, but in my third language: Catalán. We've only learned four verbs, so what I say is pretty simple and repetitive, but it still makes me feel special to learn yet another language. About ninety percent of the kids here know at least two languages fluently by the time they go to high school and then they learn English. I think it really gives them an advantage. Nowadays, you can travel almost anywhere with only English, but learning more languages allows you to say things in a better way and maybe be understood a little better. I'm thinking about even taking a class or two in Portuguese when I get back. There's a class called “Portuguese for Spanish Speakers,” so why not?

Day 55 – October 22nd – Wednesday
Another day passed. It rained, which kept me from riding my bike. I forgot how slow and crowded the metro is in the morning. I had my test in Spanish class today. It went well. There were a few vocabulary words that I didn't know, but other than that, it was all pretty straightforward. I turned in my Catalán composition today, so we'll wait to see what she thought of that. I don't really know what she expects. There's only so much you can say with four verbs and I felt like I used everything I knew. We watched another movie in film class today. It's from 2006, directed by the famous Pedro Almodóvar, entitled “Volver.” It was a great movie, though it was just a touch strange. We watched it with Spanish subtitles, so no English whatsoever, but I pretty much understood everything. I recommend this movie to pretty much everything. It stars Penelope Cruz and deals with the role of women, and also had a large portion associated with death. It's an interesting take and may take a little while to digest, but I think thats part of the draw.