Epilogue: The End to one of the Best Chapters of my Life (so far!)

I thought about hundreds of stories or memories that I could share from this semester but none of them sum up the experience that I have been lucky enough to have and share with friends over the last four months. Words probably aren't a very adequate way of describing my adventures traveling across Europe and learning the very nooks and crannies of Barcelona so rather this is a very brief reflection on my time here! I would say my capabilities, interests, and personality was stretched to the limits this semester from extremes such as skiing in the Swiss alps to something as simple as being pushed in my photography class to take unique photographs that wouldn't be found plastered on a postcard. I traveled to six different countries if you include Spain and in doing so learned more about myself and the world than I could have imagined. Friends appeared in my life in each country whether they were old friends from home or new acquaintances such as the ones from Australia I met and still stay in contact with today from Lagos. I learned that I like testing myself, I love traveling and exploring, and finally that much to my parents dismay I am actually completely capable of doing almost everything and anything for myself. With this new-found independence however I have also learned the insignificance of distance in relationships both with family and friends. Yes, I am thousands away from most of my best friends but I have also spoken to them every single week and still know what color their dress was from our last sorority formal and other silly anecdotes like that. As far as family goes I can't say I am surprised that I still have the urge to skype with them for hours every day and when my family experienced two huge losses within the last two weeks of my time here I can honestly say I've almost never felt closer to them. Even though they're across the ocean all of their support and love extends all the way to my little apartment in Barcelona. To say the least, I feel as if I have been living in a dream world and have spent many hours reminiscing on how much I will miss this lively city that I have come to call home. On second thought however, I have realized everything from my experiences that I am taking back to my real home with me and that puts a smile on my face. I am no longer sad to be leaving Barcelona but purely thankful for everything the city has given me and excited for what is to come in my next chapter!

Adios!

Liz Romanczuk

El Raval & Medieval Barcelona, April 14th 2011

Unfortunately I had to miss this field trip because I planned a flight leaving on this day but I still wanted to include it in my blog so I'll cover a little bit of the information we discussed in class about El Raval. This neighborhood was known and famous for it's high rates of crime and prostitution. There was a huge debate over whether to privately or publicly reconstruct the area to try and lessen both the crime and prostitution so they settled on redoing the North publicly and the South privately. I think that this is a great concept and an interesting way to experiment with the best way to restructure. This area now holds many landmarks of the city of Barcelona. In the North there is UB University which I really like and seems like a pretty place to attend classes.

http://en.structurae.de/structures/data/index.cfm?id=s0024774

 Also, the area surrounding the University seems devoid of the negative aspects that used to dominate El Raval. When I was around the university I noticed mostly students our age grabbing food or coffee, lots of skateboarders, or other individuals who did not seem set on crime or prostitution. As Xavi discussed in class bringing in this public university makes people from all over have to come to this area thus making these other types of individuals feel more uncomfortable in their previous "stomping grounds". The north also holds the MACBA museum, the Modern Art Museum of Barcelona, the Boqueria market, and CCCB, the Centre de Cultura Contemporania de Barcelona.
I have become absolutely obsessed with the Boqueria since coming here choosing to make trips there whenever possible in order to pick up ingredients for my dinners. Here are some personal pictures from the market.

Finally the Southern area of Raval was redone privately adding lots of hotels and nice restaurants to attract tourists and to disperse the crime and prostitution. The main attractions from this are the Hotel Barcelo as well as the Rambla del Raval. Behind the Hotel Barcelo used to me the highest rate of prostitution. I have never visited this area unfortunately so I do not know how much it has changed but I know that the North has changed a lot!

Japan in Crisis:March 11, 2011

The global news story that I chose to write about was the Japan Earthquake and Tsunami because I believe it was one of the biggest global events during the semester that we have been in Barcelona. Estimates of the costs of the damages incurred by the earthquake and tsunami place this tragedy as having the possibility of becoming the most costly natural disaster in history.
By the beginning of the following week officials had accounted for:

• 3,400 deaths
• 7,000 missing
• 500,000 in shelters due to damage to their homes

This tragedy reminded many people in American as well as individuals around the globe of the crisis that was Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans as support and aide rushes to assist in the recovering of Japan. These events in Japan also bring about large problems because of the nuclear plants. I believe that this was an important to topic to touch on and discuss in my blog because of its significance and impact across the globe. It is always interesting to see the actions that the rest of the globe takes when another country is in crisis. Also, it has been interesting to see the coverage of these events in all of the newspapers in Barcelona where they truly do censor less in their photographs than what would be seen in the United States. I also find this event of importance as it's effects transferred to the United States as well showing truly its global effects. I remember right after it occurred a friend of mine in Barcelona talking to her sister who had a good friend that was in Japan for work. Fear pumped through her families body as they waited to hear from her and determine if she would make it back to the United States safely. Luckily she was completely safe and met no harm and now is safely home! I will be curious to watch what happens with this crisis in the future and to see the nuclear as well as natural effects of this tragedy.

April 27th, Salgo Denies Funding to Madrid, Catalonia, Murcie, and Balearic Islands

For my final local news story I decided to make sure to use one which I could only find in Spanish so that I got the true experience of trying to read it and decipher what was happening in the article and thus in the local news from it. With this article the Vice President and Minister of the Economy and State, Elena Salgado rejected to provide Madrid, Catalonia, Murcie, and the Balearic Islands with a fund of competitiveness. The problem with this decision is that these areas felt as if they had been assured this compensation and had now been cheated out of this funding. The government stated "legal reasons" as well as not wanting to break their allotted spending ceiling as reasons for not granting this fund. The government also ensures that Catalonia specifically has already received more than 11,000 million euros under the new funding system. This system was created and planned in order to re-balance a number of these communities and get them on the right track monetary wise. I selected this local news story because at home I am a Finance & Economic Consulting major so this is the type of story that I would typically study and the information that I follow in the United States for my classes. In class typically we would discuss this article and speculate on what would happen as a result of this financial decision. Reflecting on this article has made me realize how much I have grown in regards to cultural and other areas of knowledge not related to finance or economics. Here in Barcelona I have had the opportunity to study Photography, History, Architecture and Painting, and Communication and all of those topics has diversified me a lot as a student and in general as an individual. I am so very lucky that I got to experience this diversification in Barcelona of all places!

Hobby #3 Running

Treadmill, elliptical, weights, abs....all of these were typical of my trips to the gym at home. I have always loved working out but normally I shy away from long grueling runs up and down hills in the heat or cold of the Indiana weather outside and head for the gym whether at school or at home. Here the price tag on a gym membership was out of the question and I at first timidly pondered the idea of picking up my running shoes and exploring the city on a jog. After a couple weeks of bocadillos and tapas I needed no more convinced it was time to hit the pavement. I ran to wherever looked interesting or picked a building in the distance that I wanted to see up close and ran there, really wherever my twist and turns took me. The first few times I found myself in areas I had never seen or visited before and maybe took an hour to find my way back home but it became not only a great form of exercise but also a great way to explore the city and my surroundings. Finally one day I decided to check out the accommodations for running on the beach and after a short fifteen minute jog had reached the beach and discovered an entirely new expanse for my new hobby. A wide expanse hugged the coastline dotted with pedestrians, bikers, roller-bladers and allowed for running by restaurants, clubs, cafes and best of all miles and miles of the vast blue Mediterranean.

 I could officially say I was hooked. It is hard for me to tell if this hobby will continue when I return to the states but I know that it is something I have explicitly enjoyed during my time in Barcelona. My thoughts and mind sort of tunes out as I listen to the playlists on my Ipod and soak in the views, maybe I am a runner at heart and just had yet to find the perfect place to let loose. All I know is that I hope I continue this new hobby and have already signed up for a half marathon in Chicago at the end of the summer....let the training begin!

The Jewish Quarter

The Jewish Quarter is a very interesting section of the city as it was the center of Jewish life in the 13th century. Today this quarter houses the main synagogue in Barcelona which almost went unnoticed never to be discovered but luckily was found in the end of the 20th century and restored. This was an important discovery as the synagogue is the largest in Europe and also because there are Roman ruins of their city wall underneath the synagogue as well. The entire area has faint remnants of the Jewish culture and era that once inhabited those streets. Unfortunately the few pictures that I had from the field trip were lost when my memory card was damaged so I discovered some from the internet and have included the links to them as well.

 Here is a picture inside the synagogue on the left and on the right a visitor looking underneath the glass floor at the city walls:

 http://htprivatetravel.com/ht/jewish_heritage/barcelona.php

I found it useful to look at where we took our field trip on a map in order to better identify exactly where the synagogue is too in comparison to my known landmarks:

*Compliments of Google Maps*

I thought this field trip was interesting as this section of the city seems to be pretty consistent with how it may have been in years past as if not much has changed. I liked the quaint-ness of the area and have found information about the synagogue and history of the Judaism in Barcelona very interesting!

April 27th, 2011 Victory for FC Barca

Yes, on the eve of our blog being due I still was in need of another local news story and what a better night to need one than on such a huge victory for FC Barcelona. Just an hour after the end of the game El Periodico already has a rather large photograph of Messi in celebration after one of his goals as the main item on its website's home page. The headline reads "El Barca habla en el campo con dos goles de Messi (0-2)." This was a huge game as Barca clutched a 2-0 win over Madrid in this semifinal Champions League match. This was also a huge game for Messi beyond scoring the sole two goals of the game it also marked him becoming the third highest scorer ever for Barca at the ripe age of twenty-three. I picked this local news story because as I have lived in Barcelona over the last four months I have truly become a fan of futbol and especially the FC Barcelona team, and I mean really how could you not? Barcelona has changed me from an avid anti-soccer fan in America to a futbol jersey wearing avid supporter of all of Barca's games even interrupting out spring break to watch the games at small pubs in the Canaries. Also whether a converted fan, or not a fan at all it is impossible to not notice the vast influence that futbol has on the culture in Barcelona. As the semester winds to a close my friends parents have started showing up in the city to visit and travel some before leaving back to the United States and tonight I went out to dinner with a friend and her parents. As we enjoyed a fine Catalan meal the employees all served our food and then hustled back to huddle around a small T.V. in the front of the restaurant and happily reported scores when we questioned about them. After learning of the victory from our server we saw the effects in the streets of the city as I headed to take the metro back home. Fans clad in Barca attire roamed the streets, bars were cleaning up from the celebrations after the victory, and cars were honking like crazy to what sounded like fireworks being shot off in the distance. I love the enthusiasm that Spain has for their futbol and thought that it has affected most all of our experiences here over the last four months that it was an appropriate topic!

Shop 'til you Drop.

Sure it may seem silly and crazy to consider shopping a leisure activity but with the abundance of shops and wide variety of styles and fashion filling the streets in Barcelona it definitely has become a part of my weekly routine. I had never noticed this before moving to Spain for the last four months however, in American society sure there are those individuals who go completely on their own path and proudly represent their very own style but not very commonly. American attire is judged and labeled by a symbol indicating the brand of that piece of apparel and all the girls and guys of the same age groups or statuses are striving for the same looks. Here, each outfit and every opportunity is a way to express themselves to the best of their ability and the brand on your back means close to nothing. Not to say that Spanish individuals don't appreciate a high quality brand but a designer brand isn't necessary to fit in or prove your sense of style. I love strolling through the streets of Barcelona seeing what is being worn that season as everyone has their own flair and everyone always seems conscientious of their attire and how they are representing themselves as America is typically a lot more casual. From studying outfits and attire on the "runways" that are the streets of Barcelona I am lured into the stores with the hopes of catching onto these Euro chic styles and being able to put myself together in a similar fashion. Every pair of wedges or flowery tops for spring seem to call my name as I make my way to the market or to class and I find myself wandering in to take a quick look. The whole shopping experience here is so casual and effortless lacking the drama and intensity of looking for a parking spot in a crowded shopping mall parking lot or spending the day inside of the same stuffy mall. I think it's safe to say that I have picked up this habit or hobby whichever you prefer to call it of picking up a few new pieces from time to time to add to my wardrobe and I attribute it all to the ever-changing fashion current in the city of Barcelona. I wouldn't change it for the world and will miss this self-named current and darting in from shop to shop between classes on sunny days as it has become a favorite activity of mine.

Picturing the Life of Picasso

One of the qualities in the classes at CEA that I genuinely liked the most were the field trips that we always got to partake in. Being able to go with our teachers to the different places we had been learning and hearing about was one of the best ways to gain exposure to the culture and history of the city that we could have asked for. Besides having field trips in this class, Past & Present, I also had many field trips in my Architecture & Painting class which provided me my third major cultural experience. For weeks we studied and learned about the life of the infamous Picasso and Spain's influence on his works of art. Barcelona and Spain has a special connection to Picasso as he was born here and spent many summers working and living in Spain. Barcelona specifically also has one of the most complete art galleries of Picasso's works. After studying the many different periods of work that Picasso moved through and interpreting many of his pieces of art we took a field trip to the Picasso museum just off of Carrer de Princesa straight across from Plaza Jaume I. Right after entering the quaint seeming museum from the small alleyway it resides on you're enveloped with all of the colors, designs, and ideas contained in Picasso's works. It is crazy to think how this unbelievable art gallery was right "under my nose" in a sense in the same city and had I not taken a field trip for an art class there I may never have visited it. Granted, I am not typically a museum person but visiting this specific museum in connection with learning so much about Picasso's life in general and specifically in Spain even inspired me to write my final paper in that class on his career and abundant number of works. This was truly a successful cultural experience that I am glad i was in a way pushed into because I ended up gaining a lot from the experience and am happy that I know so much about Picasso now.

April 20th, 2011-Controversial Barcelona Priest Not Excommunicated

In Barcelona local news there was a large controversy in the Catholic church circulating over a priest residing and preaching in Barcelona, Father Manuel Pousa. The priest had admitted previously to paying for two separate abortions which is very clearly against the Catholic religion. The question and controversy at stake was whether or not Father Pousa would face excommunication from the church for these acts. According to the statement and report issued by the Catholic church only those that actually assist in the implementation of abortion face excommunication. I chose this article/news story because it applies to me personally as I was raised Catholic and also because I found it interesting and was curious to see the decision of the church on this matter. Also I like how while it is a local Barcelona news story it is applicable across the globe as well since the Catholic church and all religions have followers in almost every country and continent. It is interesting and reassuring to know that your beliefs no matter what they may be can and will follow you everywhere you go throughout all of your travels.

Hobby #1: Reading

When I encountered the portion of this blog assignment which required the discussion of three of your hobbies or leisure activities in Barcelona, I froze blanking on any sort of hobby that I possibly participate in. Yes, I like going out at night, laying at the beach, traveling but I could hardly consider any of those leisure activities. Then it dawned on me what is permanently attached to my hand or nestled away in a purse or my travel backpack, a book. Whether my earmarks lingers within the last few pages, is plopped in the middle, or hasn't even had the chance to mark a place in a fresh novel I always have that novel with me ready to delve into with any spare second. The adventures and stories in countless books have covered the span of time from me stepping foot onto the Aerobus then earmarked to being flung open immediately upon finding a seat in the terminal or on the plane. The detective workings of the main character Lisabeth Salander in the "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" series entertained me from Barcelona to Paris and back again and the lure of the second novel in the series forced me into hunting down a book shop in Rome in order to purchase it. During my spring break in the Canary Islands my eyes scanned over hundreds of pages while I laid on the sandy beaches and worked on my tan. Finally I have noticed that my reading doesn't stop at that in Barcelona. The books find their way to my desk next to my bed in order to squeeze in a few pages before falling asleep at night. Back at home in America my life is crazy and hectic and my schedule is constantly filled to the brim leaving not a spare second to even think about finding a book but here I've had the leisure of indulging in the escapades of many characters and story lines. I love my crazy schedules and hectic life at home because it's filled with people and activities that I love but I can honestly say this is a hobby that I have every intention of bringing back with me even if it's only every once in awhile.

A Trip to the Cinema.

After a couple months of life in Barcelona everything could not have been better enjoying the culture, classes, and nightlife. At this point however, I started to notice big or small things I was missing from home-sure some things were as miniscule as a certain type of popcorn or some were as important as my family. One experience that falls somewhere in the middle of those extremes would be making trips to the movies. For whatever reason going to see movies or watching them from the comfort of our own home is a huge part of the culture in America specifically something that my friends and family really enjoy. Not packing any movies and not having a fluency in Spanish I was stuck as what to do to satisfy my movie craving. While I discovered a movie theater showing movies in English with Spanish subtitles I decided to venture out and see a film purely in Spanish. My film selection was entitled "Sin Compromiso" and I would say this was a definite cultural experience and I had no idea what to expect, "Would I have any idea what was going on in the movie?". The first noticeable difference I encountered was being approached by an employee of the theater upon entering the room of the movie I was seeing. He escorted me to my assigned seat where in America there are never assigned seats in the movie theater. I thought how this could have to do with the more collectivist society that Spain is where having assigned seats ensures that a group of people who all come together will most definitely all sit together. So after being escorted to my seat we settled down with our caramel corn and soft drinks just in time for the show. As the reels started turning the obvious major difference with this from home presented itself in that the entire movie was clearly in Spanish. I surprised myself picking up on more of the details in the movie than I had expected to by being able to pick up a decent portion of the Spanish words and then fill in the missing pieces simply with the actions of the actors and watching the plot unfold. It was really interesting seeing American actors again that I recognized as well because when I turn on the Spanish stations of T.V. in my apartment I obviously encounter Spanish actors who are unknown to me. Overall I'm really glad that I made this trip and went to the movies like a true Spanish citizen!

Sitges Means Carnival.

After a long weekend in Paris with a flight delayed and returning late on Monday the last thing on my mind was the celebration of Carnival in Sitges Tuesday night. However, with friends in town from Florence and many of my friends in Barcelona discussing their plans all day and doing a little research on the festivities myself, I decided that this was an experience that I could not miss out on while I was in Spain. So late Tuesday night a big group of friends and I, in costumes of course with bottles of wine in hand, boarded the train towards sitges.

When we stepped off the train we had no idea what to expect especially since we had taken a decently late train with not very many costumed participants on it. As soon as we got our bearings we decided to follow the massive herd of people to wherever they were going figuring they had an idea! When we got close to the beach what we saw was equivalent to mass chaos where everyone was dressed in some crazy theme. Float after float passed us as we headed towards the beach to check out the rest of the scene. Here's just a few pictures of some of the floats that I saw:

We quickly discovered that all of the people were extremely friendly there and that this was an opportunity for everyone to meet new people and go crazy for a night! Knowing that we quickly made lots of friends and one of my friends dressed as a clown quickly found similarity with a big group also dressed as clowns: (she is the one without face paint)

We also met up with more of our friends seeing people we had no idea would be there and continuing to meet new people as well! Luckily when hunger struck we found deals for hot dogs and HUGE beers right of of the beach and so the festivities continued. Here's a picture of me with more groups:

This guy kept coming up to my friends and I and was actually quite scary!!!

Finally at 6 am we all decided that it was time to call it a night! Two of our friends decided to stay longer in Sitges and unfortunately ended up getting most of their belongings stolen from them, maybe a much different cultural experience than Carnival in general?? As you always say Xavi they are masters with what they do and you must always watch your belongings so very closely! But as we went to get on the train to head back towards Barcelona, and our respective homes, my friend Alex (the clown) and I got shoved to the floor of the train as people attempted to trample over us to find space on the train. We finally made our way to standing again and could not stop laughing because after such a fantastic night almost nothing could upset us. I can't explain how glad I am that I decided to attend Carnival, I truly got to see an entirely different aspect of Spanish culture and wish that I could come back every year!

A Day Trip to a Vineyard

So this weekend was a lot more low-key than the past couple of weeks which I just figured out that we've officially been here for almost 20 days, crazy how time flies. But as I said in my last post on Friday we went wine tasting which was GREAT. I can't wait to go in Italy but this was a great start, a big group of us all bused it out about an hour away where we received a tour of the vineyard and explanations of how they make the wine and cava (champagne- we learned that "champagne" is actually reserved only for a certain type made in a specific part of Italy so here it's referred to as cava!) After the tour and informational session it was our turn to sample the wines and cavas! (definitely dangerous at 2pm on a Friday). One of the most interesting parts of the entire experience was visiting the cava cellar where they all sit to accumulate all of the settlements before the tilt them into the neck of the bottle and freeze them into a small piece of ice which is removed from the bottle! Anyways, the cellar was too dark to get really good pictures but here are some others from our trip: 

Exterior: 

The Vineyard (obviously not a prime season haha)

 Me with a bunch of barrels of red wine where they sit for years to age:

 The group during the tasting:

 Meg, Me, and Emily sampling some cava!

 Emily displaying how to let my red "breathe" and showing me how the veins determine the quality of the wine:

This trip to the vineyard was such a good way to get a taste of some of Spain and more specifically Barcelona's local wine. Now I can better understand the different qualities of the different types of wine and can appreciate it's pairings with the different dishes that we eat. 

A lesson or two in Spanish Cooking....

Eager to learn more about this dish and drink that we've established as a Spanish favorite and classic a group of friends and I signed up for a cooking class. We learned to make some montaditos as tapas as well as paella and sangria. All of this took place in a small restaurant in the Barceloneta area. First we learned how to make a standard sangria consisting of: red or white wine, fanta, ice, sugar, lemons, limes, oranges, and rum. (I may be leaving out a few ingredients?!) It was a great experience being able to roll up our sleeves a little and try to make this infamous drink for ourselves instead of simply ordering it at a restaurant.

Here's Meg pounding some of the fruit onto the ice in order to make our table another jar of sangria: 

And here's the finished product, with the white wine instead of red:

The end product was delicious and something that my roommates and I have continued to make and drink throughout the semester! Next in our cooking class we learned how to make seafood paella. While this section of our class was a lot less hands on the teacher took us through all of the steps and created a HUGE pan of paella for around thirty people!!!


Here's our instructor watching over the pan to make sure that the rice doesn't burn too much to the bottom of the pan:

Afterwards, we all had the turn to help him stir the paella and help add a few ingredients! Here's a picture of my friend Shay stirring the huge pan:

When it was finally finished cooking and everyone had taken their turn assisting in the creation of our dinner, the paella was absolutely delicious! Being a seafood paella the dish included rice, vegetables, oyster juice, and TONS of different seafood from squid to prawns, good thing I had gotten over my seafood fears earlier! Overall it was a great dinner and a great experience to learn how to actually cook an authentic Spanish dish on our own!

My adventures into scary seafood.

Since even before my travels to Barcelona I have always been an avid lover of seafood but mostly what I see as "tame" food, dishes that don't look exactly like the sea creature you are about to consume. Once arriving here I have noticed that these "un-tame" dishes are extremely common. The platters range from oysters, squids, full on cooked fishes, and octopus.

Here's a picture of what I came across at our market:

My first endeavor into this type of seafood however was to attack octopus. A group of friends and I decided to order a series of tapas in order to delve right in and try a few local dishes. I was extremely hesitant at first as the octopus looked like they had been plucked out of the sea only a few moments earlier.

I think this picture adequately expresses my nerves at trying this new dish:

After eating my first octopus however, tentacles and all, I realized that I was actually a fan of this new seafood! Ever since I have not been timid with trying new seafood while I have been here and have actually found that I genuinely enjoy most of the different types that I have tried. I'll allow whatever a restaurant decides they want to put in a seafood dish or a pan of seafood paella. As you can see in the picture below, Meg and I, clearly enjoyed our dish!

Fort Pienc, my very own Barcelona neighborhood.

I had observed the residencia in which I am living for these four month and rushed in and out of the Marina metro stop on my way to and from various places and plans that I have made but never truly stopped to explore the neighborhood that I live in. When given the neighborhood assignment I realized it was time to figure out the buildings and street ways that make up the area where I live. I live closest to the Marina metro stop which is on the red line of the metro system. The red line is super convenient for us with Urquinaona as well as Catalunya stop. The Marina stop also is a stop for the Tram.

First of all I live in the MelonDistrict Marina building, which is home to many students, whether for an entire semester, like me, or just for a weekend as it also serves as a hostel. I really like the residencia as everyone has their own room and we all share a kitchen and between nine people. Here's a picture of part of our room (they're kind of small so difficult to photograph):

Also, its really nice having 24 hour security to make sure that no one who’s not supposed to enters the building although sometimes it’s a nuisance when trying to have people over. Back to beyond my building however, I live in an area called Fort PIenc with the name stemming from a former military fort named Fort Pius which was in the area until the 19^th century. 

Buildings in our area:

 Our area also used to be an industrial area full of factories which have now been shut down and when you walk around you can tell as much. There is still a Ford plant, which I pass on my runs to the beach. 

 Now a lot of those buildings are studios for artists or up and coming fashion designers because of the cheap space. Beyond these artists and fashion designers the residents of my neighborhood are typical middle to lower class with lots of older residents partly due to the geriatric residence in the main square area of our neighborhood. 

 Sadly everyday on our way to class there are a number of funeral oriented buildings from a funeral home to a store selling tombstones and caskets. All part of the neighborhood I guess! Next on my walk to COACB, because I just walk everyday since it’s only about a 15 minute walk, there is a futbol stadium which hosts practices and scrimmages for little kids every night of the week. On Sundays older very good players scrimmage too and Emily and I sometimes stroll over to watch a game.

In the same area as the park is the Parc de l’Estacio del Nord that is so refreshing to have in the middle of such an industrialized area. There is a bunch of land art created by the American sculptress Beverly Peppers that livens up the area even more and many locals bring their dogs here to play or walk around.

 Street running through the center of the park:

 After the park you would run into the Estacio del Nord which has been a bus station since 1861. This station runs buses throughout Spain and some other European capitals. Some of the most important aspects of our neighborhood besides the bus station are contained in a large square including our Mercat, a preschool, a huge supermarket, as well as the library.  I am a frequent visitor of the Mercat and have become obsessed with the freshness of the fruits and vegetables, I still haven’t eased into buying the fish or meat from there to be butchered directly in front of me! Finally, the main attractions of our neighborhood that many students in our program have probably heard of or visited include the nightlife in our area as well as a very special Churro stand.

The nightlife consists of Razzmatazz, a huge and very famous club in Barcelona frequented on Wednesdays. We also have a bar called Sonora which is a sports-bar type atmosphere. My roommates and I visited it and encountered a group of Pompeu Fabru students all there for a school outing consisting of a red light, yellow light, green light party.

Needless to say it turned out to be a great place to meet people and always a great place to grab food or a beer throughout the semester! Finally, the churro stand is open at basically all hours during the weekend and is frequented by many of the same people after their ventures to the clubs and bars. It’s special to me because it’s where I had my very first Churro and therefore developed an obsession with the Spanish dessert!!! That in a nutshell is an explanation of my neighborhood and I am actually really glad we had to present on it because I learned a lot of things that I otherwise wouldn’t have and am also now a certified member of our library!

The Area of the Guilds

On our third field trip we visited the area where the guilds used to operate. Once again we met right by El Cathedral off of the Jaume I stop. We winded around the many streets where members of the different guilds set up shop by day and lived by night. I found it very interesting how each street was named after the guild that worked and was producing there and that those streets continue to have the same names to this day. This was a neat field trip to take because there is not an ounce of me, which believes I would have been able to locate these streets. Also, my only initial knowledge of the guilds was that the only way to become part of a guild was to hold a three-year apprenticeship and then pass a challenging strict test to be accepted. In addition these apprenticeships were the only way to learn or to be able to practice a skill as well. On our way down one of the first streets we stopped to notice a medium sized square, which served as a market for a particular item where all the guild members would meet so that buyers could compare prices and choose what they wanted to purchase. I thought the saying in the book that “a blind man could know his way around” the area simply because of the routine locations of each guild was interesting. We next stopped to observe the layout of a general guild house. The shop was located on the first and bottom floor of the building with the owner of that guild living on the first floor. As you looked higher and higher up on the building the windows would become smaller and smaller with the workers and apprentices living on the very top floor. We learned that the women workers were in charge of the laundry for everyone in the house and would hang the clothes to dry outside of these windows.  I realized from this trip that it would be easy to underestimate the guilds and not know how central they were to the economy and the government of Barcelona at the time. We learned that the influence of the guilds extended past simply the creation of their products into being a sort of private police. They would negotiate with the monarch for certain privileges, write city laws, and help with the early militia. In general though the guilds were very well known for intensely controlling the quality of materials and work of all of their members allowing them to maintain their position as the very center around which all productive work was organized in Barcelona. Discussing this, we ended our field trip at the Llotja or the stock-market of Barcelona which was important for sea-trade as well as the guilds. Unfortunately, after around six-hundred  years in power the guilds were overwhelmed by family businesses and their handiwork became mute in the presence of factory production. While the guilds clearly are no longer a presence or force in Barcelona it’s interesting to think about what it would be like if they were still the predominate economic factor in present day!

El Catedral & The Roman Ruins. January 20th

Today we took our first trip for Barcelona Past & Present, based off of the fact that my knowledge of the history of Barcelona is slim to none today was already extremely insightful! Still struggling a little to find my way around the city Emily and I stopped in a store to ask for directions to El Cathedral by Jaume I stop where we were supposed to meet up with our class. While we didn’t enter the Cathedral we did learn that it has been around for close to 1500 years since the Romans ruled here and was a church for the bourgeoisie in Spain. While waiting for the rest of the class we also had the opportunity to take in the exterior of the Cathedral with it’s extremely tall height and what I would assume would be a sense of grandeur from the inside.

We made our way around the Cathedral and got a glimpse of the remaining columns from the Temple of Augustus. This was established to represent the Roman power that existed in “Barcino” at the time and was the town’s major ceremonial building.

It has been an exciting opportunity to actually be able to see the sites and remnants of buildings and streets discussed in our textbook, much more insightful than simply reading about them or viewing powerpoints on the matter. When I had a group of friends come to visit Barcelona I was able to point out many historical points in this area which I had viewed and learned about in our class. After viewing these remaining pillars and a few other notable objects we proceeded into the museum housing the restored ancient Romain remains of the town and/or society.  It was amazing to view parts of the city as close to being as they were at the time as is possible when the Romans were inhabiting Barcelona and it was also spectacular that they had been preserved so well. We took the elevator down to the ruins and the museum compared it to “going back in time” all the way to 600 AD. Among the remnants were sections of the Roman wall, foundations of buildings, and bathing areas. Our teacher pointed out methods that were used to preserve food, make wine, and handle laundry all of which were extremely innovative for their time. There were huge stone canister looking structures which would be filled with salt and food to store until it was necessary to consume. We also learned that ashes would be used to remove stains from clothing and urine to disinfect or clean the clothing. The connections to our ways of life now are fascinating when walking amongst these ruins. There was also a large exhibit of artifacts that were found while excavating the ruins so we could view jewelry, coins, even tweezers used by the Romans. Finally, there was a small model of a Patrician house at the time which showed us the home of a typical Roman family. Most of the house was outside as they just required their smaller rooms for sleeping although the walls were ornately painted, leaving the servants walls a blank white. You could almost envision the day to day life of a typical family. Finally when leaving the museum and were back on normal street level we viewed a chapel which apparently had been just for the use of the King which was interesting because of it’s large size and grandeur. All in all this was a very memorable field trip and we learned a LOT about the history of the Romans, it makes you wonder what buildings and items from that time lie still under the ground left to discover!