Wednesday, January 30, 2008
My own personal eloquence.
As I begin thinking about my first week here in Barcelona, I try to decide how to eloquently describe all that has happened and all that I have observed. I have now completed my 3rd day of class at Alhombra Instituto which is an interesting feat in and of itself. The entire class is in Spanish which means when I don’t understand a word and I must ask the definition, the definition is given in Spanish. This is different than straight translation. It also means that we spend time reading articles and having discussions. I am positive I won the award for eloquence while debating today as we discussed gay marriage and adoption and whether or not homosexuality is genetic, definitely not words taught in Spanish class at D’Evelyn.
Just about every word was followed with the use of a dictionary and me making up Spanish words from the words in English. Yep, pure eloquence.
In my first email I tried to quickly describe my surroundings and my apartment. Now I wish to take a moment to describe the less than appetizing aspects of the city. There are dogs everywhere. This not necessarily a bad thing, I love dogs. What I don’t love is the dog poop everywhere in the streets and the sidewalks. Only about half the dog owners I have noticed try to clean up after their dogs and those that do, still usually leave behind a lovely streak of brown on the sidewalk for passerbyers to step in. Luckily there are street cleaners constantly sweeping and cleaning the sidewalks and walkways so one pile of dog poop will only exist for 24 hours. At least there are usually colorful designs decorating the street as an innocent person has stepped in a pile and left multiple shoe marks pointing the direction of his or her travels. Smells. The smells here are. . interesting. Closer to the sea there is a strong salty sea water smell. This is mixed with the hundreds of restaurants littering the streets. Wafts of sewage float around as well, mixing with the salty sea air and cooked food. It is lovely. Finally, the way people walk. Barcelona is a large city with thousands of people walking everywhere. My good home manners require me to say Pardoname (excuse me) when I get in someone’s way, or when they are in mine. This is not effective here. They could really care less if I am in their way, and they could especially care less if they were in mine. They simply continue walking, usually at a slightly slower pace than I prefer, I suppose I will continue using my polite phrases through it all.
Now please do not let this affect all of the wonderful attributes I will be describing in the future, but I felt I needed a touch of reality mixed in with my idealized stories and ideas which will no doubt litter my future posts.
My first mass email is now a blog.
It is Sunday morning and I just got back from my first attempt at attending church. Unfortunately I was unsuccessful. I thought it would be easier to wander and find a church, but apparently I was wrong. But I have a week to find another church and attempt this all over again. I had looked in a guide book for functioning churches, and found one that was only 4 calles or blocks away. The church, if it was functioning, wins the award for fooling people into believing it closed. It also could have been the time of day, maybe 9:00 is too early for mass? So now I am back at my flat drinking instant coffee that is too strong and attempting my first mass email.
I suppose I should start at the beginning. I arrived in Munich after a long 10 hour flight where I was the middle seat of the middle section, spectacular. But my weariness quickly went away as I received my next stamp in my passport and got seated on my quick flight to Spain. Thursday night before I left, I woke up at 3 in the morning concerned about finding the right apartment and wandering around the city, but once I landed in Spain I had no fears or concerns at all. I simply picked up my beastly backpack, at baggage claim and was on my way. The taxi driver I found was a kind man and we spoke casually in Spanish the entire way to my apartment. (He was kind enough to speak slowly and repeat when needed thoughJ) I then had to walk about 2 blocks with my luggage because I live in a flat that is off an alleyway. When I was handed my keys at the school, I thought it was straight out of a story because the key looks like an old dungeon masters key, classic brass. This is the key that gets me through the rod iron door and into the building. We are located directly between a candy store and a shoe store. I then ascended the 3 flights of stairs to the 3rd floor, or 2nd here in Spain and wandered into my flat. As I wandered through the dark apartment, I wondered where my roommates were and if I was in the right place. I finally stumbled into a room where my roommate Jesper, a quite hilarious and unique Swede, was sleeping. Apparently I was in the right place because he called me the ‘new one’. I put myself in a spare bedroom, used the restroom, and he showed me around. There are about 5 bedrooms. I say about because one is a closet with a bed in it, and the other, mine, is 5’ by 10’ with a bed. The other 3 rooms are quite large and I can share a room if I so desire. We will see. There is a tiny kitchen, an eating area, 2 toilets, 1 shower, and a living room. We also have a balcony off a bedroom, and a very large patio off the living room. We also have a washing machine which is exciting.
I then made my way walking back to the school to pick up my sheets and bedding. School is only a short walk, about 10 minutes or so away. The school is very small and so everyone knows each other. The moment I walked in they called me by name. From there I wandered to find myself a cell phone which I mastered in just over ½ an hour. I felt quite accomplished having only been in Spain 1 hour. I then found myself a little café where I enjoyed my first tapa, fried potatoes with a spicy sauce and crema. While I enjoyed my interesting little dish, I attempted to decipher my archaic phone, the cheapest they had. It reminds me of the first cell phones created. Don’t be fooled, it is slim and little, but the screen is worse than a 1980’s calculator. I managed to call my mother and father which was quite exciting. I then found a little store where I bought a few basic grocery items to prevent me from buying all my meals. Back at home I met a few of the other roommates, Ava is from the Netherlands, but she it was her last night. She just completed her 2 weeks in the Spanish class. Margarita is from Latvia, a blonde who keeps to herself, and Nicole from Boston. I felt like a character in the movie Spanish Apartment where students from all over the world share one flat in the middle of Barcelona, a movie Mike Angell made me watch before I came to Spain. While I enjoyed the movie, I felt it was not going to be applicable to my time, little did I knowJ
I then decided to find myself a library and get set up to use the internet since my phone apparently isn’t working the way it is supposed to. I found a biblioteca that is very close and received my Spanish library card. From there I wandered back home, now having no sleep for 24 hours. I took a 2 hour nap and got ready for a party we were apparently throwing in my honor in order to meet people from school. Sure enough, about 8:30 people started arriving with food and drinks. In total about 13 people came over; almost the entire population of the school minus 2 of the professors and 2 students. I was completely in awe. We all sat around eating great food and drinking wine, speaking in all sorts of languages. German, Dutch, Spanish, Russian, English, French. It was amazing, amazing that all of these people were learning their 3rd or 4th language and I am excited to know 2, I was also amazed because I was understanding and keeping up in Spanish. I finally went to sleep about 2:00 am in my hole of a room, using my airline pillow.
I awoke the next morning about 11:30 just as Ava was leaving. I made myself a bowl of cereal and got ready for the day, which did not include showering because I didn’t have a towel yet. That was number 1 on my list to do. I sat for awhile in the main ‘park’ next to our flat and watched and wrote in my journal. The weather has been gorgeous, blue sky and a slight breeze. I am fine in a long sleeve shirt, but others are wandering in heavy coats and scarves. After using the internet once again I managed to find El Corte Ingles, apparently a very large chain mall. It is about 8 stories tall with the groceries in the basement. I purchased myself much needed toilet paper, (which I discovered we were out of as I was sitting there after 2 flights and no sleep) a towel, slippers, and few more groceries. This actually was quite a difficult feat considering each item you had to purchase on a different floor from a different person and therefore had the pleasure of carrying that item with you to the next item. I got an incredible workout carrying around a 5 liter bottle of water up 7 flights of escalators. Don’t forget the walk home and up my 3 flights of stairs to my apartment. I came home to a PBJ and an orange, and to our cleaning guy. Apparently the school pays for a cleaning guy which is greatly appreciated because it is a pretty gross apartment. I got to shower in the freshly washed bathroom and Nicole and I set out to The Travel Bar, a bar with free WiFi where we enjoyed a fairly inexpensive meal. More fried potatoes with garlic mayo and some beastly large rice and olives dish for 2 Euro. On the way home we grabbed gelato. At home, Jesper and some friends were writing and recording music so Nicole and I grabbed the laptop and watched Pride and Prejudice before going to bed.
Of course all of this is combined with much people watching and enjoyment of the architecture. Every building is unique and classic. There are rod iron balcony’s everywhere, very romantic looking. I am certain that all Spaniards have been serenaded when standing at a balcony at some point. Maybe not but it is a nice thought. It is absolutely breathtaking and I wish I was eloquent enough to do it justices. So for now you will have to take my word for it and I will try and send pictures. Today is a day of sightseeing and then tonight is a cooking class where we make a 3 course meal and sangria and enjoy all we want. It should be fun. Tomorrow I start school and my formal learning of the language. It has been a spectacular couple of days and I hope everyone is doing well at home. I will write again soon. I love and miss you all.
Rachel
I suppose I should start at the beginning. I arrived in Munich after a long 10 hour flight where I was the middle seat of the middle section, spectacular. But my weariness quickly went away as I received my next stamp in my passport and got seated on my quick flight to Spain. Thursday night before I left, I woke up at 3 in the morning concerned about finding the right apartment and wandering around the city, but once I landed in Spain I had no fears or concerns at all. I simply picked up my beastly backpack, at baggage claim and was on my way. The taxi driver I found was a kind man and we spoke casually in Spanish the entire way to my apartment. (He was kind enough to speak slowly and repeat when needed thoughJ) I then had to walk about 2 blocks with my luggage because I live in a flat that is off an alleyway. When I was handed my keys at the school, I thought it was straight out of a story because the key looks like an old dungeon masters key, classic brass. This is the key that gets me through the rod iron door and into the building. We are located directly between a candy store and a shoe store. I then ascended the 3 flights of stairs to the 3rd floor, or 2nd here in Spain and wandered into my flat. As I wandered through the dark apartment, I wondered where my roommates were and if I was in the right place. I finally stumbled into a room where my roommate Jesper, a quite hilarious and unique Swede, was sleeping. Apparently I was in the right place because he called me the ‘new one’. I put myself in a spare bedroom, used the restroom, and he showed me around. There are about 5 bedrooms. I say about because one is a closet with a bed in it, and the other, mine, is 5’ by 10’ with a bed. The other 3 rooms are quite large and I can share a room if I so desire. We will see. There is a tiny kitchen, an eating area, 2 toilets, 1 shower, and a living room. We also have a balcony off a bedroom, and a very large patio off the living room. We also have a washing machine which is exciting.
I then made my way walking back to the school to pick up my sheets and bedding. School is only a short walk, about 10 minutes or so away. The school is very small and so everyone knows each other. The moment I walked in they called me by name. From there I wandered to find myself a cell phone which I mastered in just over ½ an hour. I felt quite accomplished having only been in Spain 1 hour. I then found myself a little café where I enjoyed my first tapa, fried potatoes with a spicy sauce and crema. While I enjoyed my interesting little dish, I attempted to decipher my archaic phone, the cheapest they had. It reminds me of the first cell phones created. Don’t be fooled, it is slim and little, but the screen is worse than a 1980’s calculator. I managed to call my mother and father which was quite exciting. I then found a little store where I bought a few basic grocery items to prevent me from buying all my meals. Back at home I met a few of the other roommates, Ava is from the Netherlands, but she it was her last night. She just completed her 2 weeks in the Spanish class. Margarita is from Latvia, a blonde who keeps to herself, and Nicole from Boston. I felt like a character in the movie Spanish Apartment where students from all over the world share one flat in the middle of Barcelona, a movie Mike Angell made me watch before I came to Spain. While I enjoyed the movie, I felt it was not going to be applicable to my time, little did I knowJ
I then decided to find myself a library and get set up to use the internet since my phone apparently isn’t working the way it is supposed to. I found a biblioteca that is very close and received my Spanish library card. From there I wandered back home, now having no sleep for 24 hours. I took a 2 hour nap and got ready for a party we were apparently throwing in my honor in order to meet people from school. Sure enough, about 8:30 people started arriving with food and drinks. In total about 13 people came over; almost the entire population of the school minus 2 of the professors and 2 students. I was completely in awe. We all sat around eating great food and drinking wine, speaking in all sorts of languages. German, Dutch, Spanish, Russian, English, French. It was amazing, amazing that all of these people were learning their 3rd or 4th language and I am excited to know 2, I was also amazed because I was understanding and keeping up in Spanish. I finally went to sleep about 2:00 am in my hole of a room, using my airline pillow.
I awoke the next morning about 11:30 just as Ava was leaving. I made myself a bowl of cereal and got ready for the day, which did not include showering because I didn’t have a towel yet. That was number 1 on my list to do. I sat for awhile in the main ‘park’ next to our flat and watched and wrote in my journal. The weather has been gorgeous, blue sky and a slight breeze. I am fine in a long sleeve shirt, but others are wandering in heavy coats and scarves. After using the internet once again I managed to find El Corte Ingles, apparently a very large chain mall. It is about 8 stories tall with the groceries in the basement. I purchased myself much needed toilet paper, (which I discovered we were out of as I was sitting there after 2 flights and no sleep) a towel, slippers, and few more groceries. This actually was quite a difficult feat considering each item you had to purchase on a different floor from a different person and therefore had the pleasure of carrying that item with you to the next item. I got an incredible workout carrying around a 5 liter bottle of water up 7 flights of escalators. Don’t forget the walk home and up my 3 flights of stairs to my apartment. I came home to a PBJ and an orange, and to our cleaning guy. Apparently the school pays for a cleaning guy which is greatly appreciated because it is a pretty gross apartment. I got to shower in the freshly washed bathroom and Nicole and I set out to The Travel Bar, a bar with free WiFi where we enjoyed a fairly inexpensive meal. More fried potatoes with garlic mayo and some beastly large rice and olives dish for 2 Euro. On the way home we grabbed gelato. At home, Jesper and some friends were writing and recording music so Nicole and I grabbed the laptop and watched Pride and Prejudice before going to bed.
Of course all of this is combined with much people watching and enjoyment of the architecture. Every building is unique and classic. There are rod iron balcony’s everywhere, very romantic looking. I am certain that all Spaniards have been serenaded when standing at a balcony at some point. Maybe not but it is a nice thought. It is absolutely breathtaking and I wish I was eloquent enough to do it justices. So for now you will have to take my word for it and I will try and send pictures. Today is a day of sightseeing and then tonight is a cooking class where we make a 3 course meal and sangria and enjoy all we want. It should be fun. Tomorrow I start school and my formal learning of the language. It has been a spectacular couple of days and I hope everyone is doing well at home. I will write again soon. I love and miss you all.
Rachel
Things I now know:
- I love book stores and journal stores no matter what the country.
- I have shin splints: walking on cobblestone and hard streets 15 hours a day.
- What SPAM tastes like, it was served in my 1€ dinner with egg and pasta. It wasn´too bad.
- I wear a size 38 shoe in Europe.
- Just because you are speaking Spanish, in Spain, does not mean they will understand you.
- I am alright with wearing socks 2 days if it means less laundry.
- Just because it is 2:00 in the afternoon does not mean a store will be open.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
