The Cousinly Duo

Surprisingly I am only a week and a half behind in this blog.

Living here hardly gives you a chance to sit down and write as there is always something new to do. As a matter of fact, that’s why I love it here. I live in a location where I can go to the beach and the mountains in the same day. I have winter weather and summer weather. I have museums and very modern architecture. I have old and new. I have city and suburb and park. Really, I have the best of all worlds. And, to top it all off, I live in a city with mixed zoning, which means that there is no such thing as a “residential neighborhood” or “commercial center of the city” because things are intentionally mixed up so there is something to do in every single area.

In more recent news, I have finished my intensive Spanish language course which is intensive in grammar and writing, not in speaking. Then again, the speaking should come from living with your family and living in Spain, so therefore, I am not behind at all as we only speak Spanish in the home. We took our first test already and I did rather well, so no worries there.

My regular culture classes began this past Monday. In addition to my Advanced Spanish Language course I have a course in Communication and Society in Spain (Spanish) and Barcelona: The City and its History (English). Also, seeing that I still have yet to fulfill an art requirement at Pitt, I am signed up for Contemporary Spanish Art which is only offered in English. But, there is another art course, Arte y Artistas in Spanish, which has a much more interesting course load and I am trying to switch into it. Not to mention, it will improve my Spanish as well. Apparently though there are many of us trying to switch into this class, so we shall see how that goes.

My communication class is great. The teacher is enthusiastic and hysterical and although I thought having a class in Spanish might be very difficult, it’s surprisingly not even a problem. I may not understand every word or every sentence, but I understand all of the main ideas and concepts and generally get the specific points he makes. Not to mention, I have a higher Spanish level than other people in the class so therefore I’m sure I’m doing fine.

My Barcelona: The City and its History class is my only class in English (assuming I drop Contemporary Spanish Art) which makes it easier yet harder. I realize when people speak to me in English it takes less thinking and therefore my mind is more apt to wander. Yet, the class is still interesting and we have discussed the progression of Cataluña throughout the ages. It’s interesting to learn of a cities history at the same time that you live there. I mean, we do that in the US, but for some reason the connection of the past history to the present in the US seems not to be as strong as the Catalan history. I guess this is because I live in a very distinct region in Spain in which people see themselves as firstly Catalonian, and secondly Spanish. The Catalan sense of pride is very large here and the culture, not to mention the language is very prominent in everyday life.

I can’t tell you much about my third class, because, as said, it’s up in the air.

Last Thursday we went to Casa Mila. Casa Mila is one of Gaudi’s most prominent works. It is a large apartment building with an undulating exterior which again emphasizes how Gaudi does not use straight lines. In the attic of the building is a type of museum almost which showed Gaudi’s belief in creating practical art by copying nature. It was really amazing to see how Gaudi took the ordinary yet beautiful parts of nature and completely copied them into his designs. The roof of Casa Mila though is really the most spectacular part. From the roof you can look out over the entire city and you can see Eixample (my neighborhood, pronounced Ay-shahm-pluh), el Raval, Tibidabo, Barceloneta, theSagrada Familia, etc. Not only is the site from the roof gorgeous but the roof itself is decorated in only statues that Gaudi could imagine. (See pictures posted.)

That night Eri arrived to visit for the weekend! She got in around 1 am so we went right to the hostel, but, of course, instead of going to bed we decided a catch up session was necessary due to our lack of time together (and our still frequent but much shorter phone calls). Hence, we didn’t go to sleep until 5:30 am. Mind you, I had class at 10 the next morning, which was a grand old time, but I guess my winter break schedule prepared me a little for my consistent lack of sleep the weekend of Eri’s visit.

After class on Friday we went to the Parque de la Ciutadella which borders the west side of my school, and then to the beach, which is 2 blocks South of my school. To say my school is in a great location is an understatement. I love that in my time off between classes if I want to relax I can just walk for a few minutes and be in two of my favorite places. If you look at the pictures you will see why I love these places.

After our very relaxing and very needed time on the beach we headed over to the Sagrada Familia. Since we arrived around 5 and it closed at 6 we opted not to go in and instead decided to view it from afar as really, every angle of the Sagrada Familia is perfect, and it’s just as good from a distance as it is up close. We then walked down to Las Ramblas and the Boqueria.

That night we went to La Oveja Negra, one of our favorite bars, again with a group of my friends. The night was fun, but in the end, my lack of sleep was catching up with me. I have never really dozed off mid-conversation, but I guess that’s what happens when you’re running on 2 hours of sleep?

The next morning we got up and went to the Sagrada Familia again, but this time we took the tour. Really, taking the tour is totally necessary in order to understand what was running through Gaudi’s profound mind at the time of the Sagrada Familia’s creation, or else you just think it’s an awesome modern house of worship (which it is, but there is much more to the picture).The Sagrada Familia, of which only 15% was completed by Gaudi when he died in his 70’s from being hit by a tram, still has another 40% to go. Little did I know though that there will be a third façade on the building. Here are a few fun facts about the Sagrada Familia:

1. The Christmas façade is the only to be finished by Gaudi.

2. In total there will be 18 towers. (8 for the apostles, 8 for the saints, one for Maria, and one for Jesus). There are currently 8. Gaudi only built one (the one on the far left on the side of the Christmas façade).

3. Construction is publically funded (which I’ve known, but I guess all of you don’t.) The Vatican, the Catalonian government, and the Spanish government have all offered to pay for the rest of its construction, but it is to only be publically funded, not private by any means. In which case, our guide tickets pay for this. Also, the prediction for the final year of the project is 2020. It will probably take longer than that. In which case, my friends and I have already discussed our reunion plans.

4. The name Sagrada Familia means Sacred Family. The church is to be a place for those with more needs to have a place to worship and be accepted into the community, regardless of status and affluence.

5. The Sagrada Familia is the only house of worship in Europe to face North, not East. This was done intentionally. (Oh Gaudi, you trickster.) The man who originally abandoned his project for a church prior to Gaudi’s idea of the Sagrada Familia had only built the crypt, which faced East, when he abandoned the project. Gaudi altered the plan, so that although the crypt faces east, the church does not. Of the three sides to the Sagrada Familia: Christmas (the birth of Jesus), his death, and his resurrection, the most important but also not started façade will be the resurrection. Gaudi built the Sagrada Familia facing North so that the most important façade, Jesus’ resurrection, will face East.

That is the end of my history lesson for today.

Following our trip to the Sagrada Familia we made our way to Passeig de Gràcia, a fancy street near me which contains fancy stores, the Block of Discord, Casa Mila, and Casa Batllo. I took Eri to see Casa Mila, and although I had only been there 2 days before, I could go every day. It really is an incredible experience to witness your city from afar and realize what a beautiful place you call home.

Also during this trip on Passeig de Gràcia we stopped in a book store so Eri could buy her first Spanish book. We decided Harry Potter would be a good place to start as she would know what was going on. After 10 minutes of deciding which of the many Harry Potter books to buy, Eri chooses, we buy, and we leave. I received a text message from Eri at the airport on Monday: “The Harry Potter book we bought is in Catalan.” If you don’t know what Catalan is, shame on you. Look it up. Basically, after looking through the books many times, Erica bought Harry Potter in a language she doesn’t even know. Brilliant really.

That night we went to another bar off of Las Ramblas. The night included a bachelorette party which was characterized by the cowboy hats on everyone’s head. After they all left, we stole the hats. Following the brides exit, the groom came, who was dressed as a pimp in a bright orange and bright yellow suit. Pimp man and his friends were all smash-happy that they were willing to pay way too much for the 10 of us out, but we were nice enough not to take their money for cover charges and whatnot.

Meanwhile, Erica and I met a girl named Haya who is from Israel but lives in Barcelona. Haya, incidentally, is close with her cousin and was with her cousin at the bar too. They both are from Israel but spend some of their time growing up here and now work here as well. We talked about Eri’s recent trip and my upcoming trip and we had a good time. Leave it to Erica and I to meet the only other Barcelona Israeli Jew Cousins right?

Sunday morning we got up and went to the plaza right outside of the Catedral de Barcelona as there is dancing there. Older people from throughout the city come to dance on Sundays and a band plays and they dance the traditional Catalan dance. It was quite possibly one of the cutest things ever. I really want to go watch it every weekend. Actually, we’d like to ask our directors to teach it to us and then we will go and join in one Sunday. We have a feeling our directors would love it so we’re going to get on it rather soon.

We then went and saw the inside of the Catedral which I’ve already told you about and came out to find two mimes in the plaza. We couldn’t help but watch them as they were hysterical.

Following our mime expedition, we made our way to Parc Güell, yet another of Gaudi’s creations. The park was made to be a neighborhood for the rich, but Gaudi only ever constructed 2 houses in it and lived in it himself. No one else wanted to buy land on the property and develop a house in the neighborhood. In the earlier 1900’s the park was bought by the city and made public. The park is enormous and actually would be phenomenal to live in. I shall explain more through all of my pictures if you ever see them when I return.

We then went to the Mercadillo del Mar on Las Ramblas, a kind of craftsman’s market if you will. We spent the rest of our night on our much needed trip together to relax because although it doesn’t seem like we did much, we did too much.

In breaking news: Erica had decided that Barcelona is the equivalent to the Seattle of the States. Therefore she loves it here just as much as I do. Mommas- looks like you might not see us again for a very long time if we decide to move here…

In more recent news, not much has happened over the past few days apart from class so I will leave you with this happy story.

If any of you have talked to me on the phone when I have been home you may have heard loud cries. They are from my cat, Nina. Nina whines like the muffled cry of a loud newborn, but cries more than the average newborn. I mean, the damn cat cries 24/7. We all just tell her to shut up by now. When the mom and I talked about the crying I asked why she was doing it. My host mom told me it’s because she is no longer with her boyfriend. Yes, my cat and its boyfriend broke up. Furthermore, Nina has been doing this funny thing were it looks like her belly is itchy and she awkwardly rubs it against the floor or any other stable object. Prior to hearing the story of my cat’s heartbreaking dump I thought maybe she was sick. Nope, this action is purely a replacement for sex using inanimate objects. Someone please find Nina a boyfriend-quick.

Until next time,

Espero que tu viviera una vida sana,

Carrie

PS By the way, the weekend for Erica also left me with no coins in my pockets- only lint. If you all love me enough my daddy may let you deposit money into my account.

Miss you all.