Random Update (16.12.13)

Around 4:30 PM this afternoon I turned in my last economics exam, and well I was really tired so I do not think I was actually that visibly excited but in my mind it was a nice relief to be done and done with everything school. Over the last week I've had two final papers, five exams, and in between I read One Hundred Years of Solitude for my literature class. In English. I had to read it quickly. Lots of studying. But now, my first trimester is over, and I only have a few days to hang out in Barcelona with friends before they all leave. Some have already left, and let me tell you, it is very strange. Allow me to briefly slip into cliché. It seems like we arrived yesterday. Time has flown. I don't quite believe all the photos I've taken when I scroll through my iPhone every once and again, because to have traveled so much and seen so much and met so many people seems to me as though it should almost take year. Such are the wonders of modern communication and travel. It is still hard to wrap my cabeza around the fact that (realistically) I won't be seeing most of these people again for a long time, if ever. Well, besides the folks who are staying in Barcelona for the rest of the year (or live here permanently). Those people I am very excited to see again after New Years. And it looks like I'll be visiting the two Scottish guys on my floor in early March, because The Head and The Heart are touring Europe briefly and are playing in Glasgow. And Paris. I'm going to Paris to see them too. Back to back weekends with my favorite band and great people! Something to help outweigh the more sad thoughts as the trimester ends. 

Museo nacional del Prado - Madrid

Everybody say, "Hola Velázquez!"

Yup, there I was.

Imagine Dragons concert! Bought the tickets for this in June. It felt so far away at the time, and for it to have come and passed already is rather strange. How is it December, again?

My friend Andre, from São Paulo, and I went around on bikes on Saturday afternoon. It was gorgeous outside. I borrowed my friend Pera's "Bicing" card, which is the public rental bike system in place here. Unfortunately, you need to be a permanent resident or have a Spanish bank account (or both?) to have a card of your own and use the service. Hence the borrowing. 

This is a good photo to end the year on, don't you think?

Centennial

I was not planning on writing an update tonight. I should be reading the rest of a medium-length Spanish novel called El reino de este mundo by Alejo Carpentier. But I could not resist. During the reading, I tried to think of a similar phrase in Spanish for "last resort" to write in a note bubble of the PDF file I was reading. Something weird happened though. I could only think of a Catalan version of the phrase, "l'ultima ressaca", which I knew from the title of a song a Catalan friend had recommended to me a few days earlier. On top of all this, I have acquired a almost-perfect ear for Portuguese after hanging out with Brazilians so often. During conversation I have to respond in English or Spanish, because I basically only know how to say "I'm hungry" (estou com fome) and "I understand everything you say, but I only know how to say what I am saying now" (Eu entiendo que você estás dizendo. Eu só sei falar o que estou dizendo). I am in a linguistic melting pot.

Happy 100th Hole to Heaven

Random International Update (25.11.13)

Boston College came to Barcelona this past weekend. Alex and Airen visited from Paris, and about six other guys came to Barcelona for a few days on an extended Thanksgiving break (i.e. they skipped Monday and Tuesday of class, a common thing for Thanksgiving). It was probably my favorite weekend in Barcelona yet. Here's a brief overview.

Friday I don't have class, but it was quite a busy day. I had an interview with Amics de la Gent Gran, a volunteer group that provides services to retired people that government programs don't, mainly friendship and some extracurricular activities like day trips, different types of workshops and classes. It's the "human" side of life that programs like healthcare and rent subsidies can't account for, as per the explanation I received a few weeks ago at the info session (conducted in Catalan, may I add). It looks like I will be starting in January. 

Friday before noon I bought a warm coat. I'm told I look more European now. I suppose if I buy a scarf next, I will have to believe that. Right now I'm doubtful. Anyways. Rafa arrived from Boston Friday afternoon, so I checked him in to my residency and showed him around Barcelona (the Barcelona in walking distance from my residency). After lunch at Bo de B (for €3.50 you will be FULLLL) we walked on back. Rafa took a nap, and I went to get coffee with a Catalan girl, Cèlia, who studies at UPF who will be studying abroad at BC next semester. I think that was the most interesting conversation of the semester. My favorite anecdote/interesting thing I remember: she told me how she remembers her friend asking a question in elementary school to their English teacher. Her friend asked "Why are we only studying only one English?" There is a lot behind this question. But basically, since everyone in Catalunya grows up bilingual, everyone takes both Catalan and Spanish grammar classes as a child. Her friend (probably ten years old or so at the time) thought that every "language" had two versions: a Spanish version and a Catalan version. The teacher didn't understand what Cèlia's friend meant, but Cèlia did. I found this bilingual schooling story really interesting. So there ya go. 

Friday night I taught some very basic English to Jùlia (a very eager-to-learn 5-year-old) and avoided her twin brothers at all costs for an hour or so (they are 3 years old... and identical... and named Sergi and Jordi... and I never know which is which) after which I returned to find Rafa, Alex, and Airen all in the cafe in my residency, ready for a great evening of BC reunions. We went for dinner at my favorite place. They have great rabbit there (no, really, the rabbit is exquisite). After dinner we got gelato and went back to the apartment to play some FIFA and have a few drinks at home before going to the big tavern down the street (still reasonably priced, but is there FIFA in the big tavern? No). We shared a big 5L tower of beer among the five of us in La Ovella Negra, a big cool megataverna down the street (Ryan, another BC kid in Barcelona, joined us). After the tavern, we went to a club called Razz Matazz. Rafa lost his coat-check ticket, so we had to wait about an extra 45 mintues longer than anyone else to leave the club. To say the least, it was a late evening. 

This is Razz Matazz

Saturday we woke up late and walked once again to Bo de B. It was so yummy, again (€3.50... crazy!). After lunch we walked to an Irish bar to watch the Arsenal - Southampton game (Giroud!!). Arsenal won 2-0. After returning to my apartment (Rafa and I) and the hostel nearby (Alex and Airen) to shower, we met up with Cèlia and walked around Born, the old Barcelona neighborhood. It was a beautiful albeit chilly evening. We had a few drinks in a bar/restaurant before walking over to Carrer Aribau (a street) for dinner and to meet the other Boston College kids. We had a nice dinner, then went to Chupitos for some drinks after dinner, now with the whole group (about 10 at this point). All the visitors went to the beach clubs after the bar; I, having been upwards of 10 times this semester, declined and went to bed really early (read: 3:00 AM) to get up and do laundry and work on a project for my economics class in the morning. 

Sunday Rafa, Alex, Airen, and Angelo (from Portugal trip!!) all played pickup soccer around 4:00 PM with some other guys from the residency. It was a good time. Sunday night we went to 100 Montaditos, the best bang for your buck in Barcelona (especially on Monday, when everything on the menu is €0.50) where we feasted on €1.00 sandwiches and tinto verano (red wine mixed with cold, fizzy water - it's quite good). 

I guess the only regret is not taking as many photos as possible. But sometimes having a break from technology, even a little break like this one, makes the experience that bit richer. This was definitely my favorite weekend in Barcelona so far. I am really glad I am not travelling any more this semester apart from a few days in December to Madrid for a concert. This city is going to be hard to leave in June.

Random International Update (17.11.13)

Girona, Spain

Andre (from Brasil, lives a few doors down from me) and I took an early train on Saturday to meet two guys from school and see some of the surrounding area of Girona, mostly including the coast. We spoke Spanish (and a little Catalan) all day, and took some great photos. The beaches and coast towns were deserted; it was the first "cold" day in Catalunya (in comparison, it was raining in Barcelona, and snowing in Boston) so no one was outside. A lot of French and English people come there in the summers on vacation. You can see why.

Drove up a big, steep hill in the minivan. There was a small restaurant and church on the top. Someone was even getting married.

Allegedly, France is thatta way. The brown blemish in the hillside is a house. Heaven knows who lives there. It looks inaccessible.

The most beautiful church I have been to in Europe this year. The ones in Italy from many years ago are still winning, though. The stonework was all done by hand, and if it were possible to take photos inside and post them here, you would understand why. It is the largest church (height, width, length of ceiling) to not use columns to support it. All made by hand. Did I mention that?

The view from the top of the old wall.

Onyar River

The two Catalan guys who showed us around are really great people. They had been bothering Andre for weeks to come out to Girona, if only to prove that their beaches were better than Barcelona's. We learned a lot about Cataluyna and the Catalan perspective on the independence movements that are taking place. Politics in Europe is complicated because of all the history. Catalunya has been Roman, French, independent, Spanish, and almost Arabic (I think). They have their own language, which until Saturday was not all that prominent. In Girona, however, almost everyone speaks Catalan. Even the two guys (Gerard and David, by the way) said they have notable Catalan accents when they speak Castellano (Castellano = Spanish). In conclusion it was a great day full of information. A great, exhausting day. Andre and I slept soundly on the train ride back. Have I mentioned how efficient the Barcelona public transportation systems are? Well, let me tell you. They are quite efficient. Too bad they don't make any money (why is this always the case?). 

I have two papers, two projects, and five final exams over the next four weeks! It's also supposed to rain and be cold all week! So who knows if I'll do anything but study.

Or watch movies. 

Oh! And I made a traditional Catalan dish, all by myself! Well, it's the simplest thing in the world, but still.

Olive oil, tomatoes, salt, garlic, good bread.

Toast bread in oven. Rub garlic across surface. Smush tomato across surface. Add olive oil. Add salt. 

Consume.

Random International Update (12.11.13)

Córdoba, Spain

The Boston College crew minus 1 (so, 12) and our coordinator (so, back to 13) took the high speed train down to Andalucía last Friday afternoon. My knowledge of the South consisted of a reputation for good food and friendly people, and little more. This turned out to be pretty accurate. The people are really nice, and the food is delicious. 

After arriving in Córdoba a few girls in the group consulted tripadvisor.com and off we went to a well-reviewed restaurant around the corner. Flamenquíns were the popular thing to get. They are a tradicional traditional Cordovan plate. Imagine a corn dog, but with real pork and beef inside, and then also fried and battered better than a corn dog. I resisted this until Saturday. I got vacío instead, which is code for delicious steak. And a small hot plate full of melted provolone cheese, called provoleta. Typical Argentine dish, actually. That was a throwback. Anyways, after dinner I had a food baby (I ate so much food that the expansion of my stomach could be compared to pregnancy) and thus sleep like a baby.

And apparently burned off thousands of calories sleeping. I do not know how it happens, but it does. Now it was Saturday, and we had plans to carry out. First was a walk along the Guadalquivir River, with stops for info about Córdoba and Al-Andalucía (old Arabic name for the empire there) from Teresa, our dear leader (read: program coordinator, if you aren’t fond of North Korean nomenclature). We took a tour of the old Mosquito de Córdoba, a huge stone construction at the center of the town. Inside the mosque is, yes, a cathedral. And not just a room that has a sign that reads, “cathedral”. It is a beautiful, elegant, Roman-looking, definitely-Christians-lived-and-worshiped-here cathedral. There is a nice courtyard full of orange trees. Like, trees that sell grow oranges. There are orange trees on every street here. I bet when they get ripe, the city smells real good. 

But it is hard to know whether to call Córdoba a city or not. It had more people living in it in 1000 AD. A lot more. Estimates are between 350,000 and 1,000,000… in 1000 AD! Whereas now it has about 325,000 and it feels smaller than Portland, Maine. So I’ll call it a city, but I do so for old times’ sake.

After the Mosquito-Catedral, we went to an old lookout tower, and walked around there, and saw Córdoba from high. After a few hour break for lunch at a nice little place outside the old fort wall, we were off to Madīnat az-Zahrā, the ruins of a city a few kilometers outside of the city by bus. It would probably be a similar distance using other forms of transportation, now that I think about it. This was a palace built in the late 900’s AD, inhabited by the Caliph of Al-Andalucía for about 80 years, and then looted and burned to the ground (class middle ages, am I right?). What a puzzling piece of ruins. To think it only lasted for a hundred years or so is crazy. Then again, the United States has only been around for 200+ years… perspective. After the ruins we returned to Córdoba and went to a traditional flamenco/horse/dance display in a local arena. It was dark, and they used lights really well during the show. Saturday por la noche we hit up tripadvisor again and went (with our dear leader, this time) to another restaurant and had another lovely meal. I had a flamenquín, at long last.

Sunday morning was our last planned event. We did the museums in the Jewish ghetto (Córdoba’s got it all) which was probably the most interesting. Here’s something you weren’t expecting, though: The Spanish Inquisition. Yes. The guide started talking about it (in Spanish, of course) and everyone was really confused and taken aback. He had the element of surprise. Fear and surprise. Fear, surprise, and ruthless effic – I’ll come in again.

And that’s Córdoba, in a nutshell. The high speed train going back to Barcelona got up to 300 km/h.

Light entereth.

Oranges. Oh, and a cathedral bell tower. And a horse.

See why I hesitated to say "city"?

The view from el califa's old stomping grounds. 

Good ol' Baldwin

Random International Update (7.11.13)

Hey. I've been in Barcelona, so no cool traveling photos this time. However, I am going to Córdoba this weekend with our BC coordinator and the other BC students, so there will be more to come soon. This past week has been really great. I got my International Finance test back, which I got a 9/10 on. I was really pleased with that grade; I studied a lot. Most classes here do not have any grades besides a final paper and a final exam, though. So it’s been mostly just reading (especially for my lit. classes) and some simple daily homework in my Spanish grammar and conversation class. Also: it is impossible to get a 10/10. Seriously. My friend Carolina got a 9,99/10 on her history paper. They do not give 10’s. 

The weather here has finally dipped into the high 60’s, low 70’s in the sun. Which is fine. This weather suits my favorite kind of music better. And since The Head and the Heart and The Avett Brothers both released a new album, I am happier than a camel on hump day. Speaking of camels, a lot of people are traveling to Morocco! I think I might pass on the African extravaganza. I love Barcelona too much. Before I even consider going I’ll have to email Jake. 

More news:

I have completed all the paperwork and pre-paid all the fees to collect my N.I.E.  card (Número de Identidad de Extranjero) to legally stay in Spain until the end of my classes at UPF. I just need to pick it up. This will probably be next Thursday or Friday.

I talked with Teresa, our BC coordinator, this past Monday about my next two trimesters here in Barcelona (it’s a trimester system; that’s why I stay until the end of June!). First I asked about housing. Ideally I wanted to do a homestay, which has happened in the past for students who stay a year. But since it complicates everything far too much, she roundaboutly told me that it is not going to happen. My new objective is to live in an apartment (with a patio, and in one of Barcelona’s older neighborhoods across the park from my school, ideally). The only requirement, she told me, was that I live with Spanish students. Excellent I said. I would not have it any other way. So, pending approval from the BC office back in Boston, I think that is what I will be doing. Side note: there will only be 5 BC students in Barcelona next semester… shocking. I will be doing publicity for the program when I get back to BC. 

Lastly, the next two trimesters are taken usually by 3 + 2 classes. In place of the Spanish grammar class, I will be taking an elementary Catalan language class (probably continuing it into the third trimester as well). I also want to take a Portuguese class, but UPF does not offer a Portuguese class, so I will have to look elsewhere.

Two things I still need to do: 1) email the BC Economics and Romance Languages department heads asking for course approval for my major requirements 2) figure out what the heck I am doing next summer. Maybe an internship in Brazil for a few months? I’ve been hanging out with Brazilians a lot. And the plan is to at least go visit Alex (from BC) and now Andre (new friend in Barcelona, also from São Paolo) after Barcelona. When offered free housing for the World Cup, take it.

Stadium tour of the Camp Nou with Alex on Sunday: this is the players' church, used for pregame solicitation of divine guidance at the expense of the other team.

I thought this was a cool old team crest.

You'd better believe it. Atta' boy, Barry.

Beach soccer. In November.

FC Barcelona - AC Milan

*The Champions*

(you must sing these words in an opera voice)

Random International Update (1.11.13)

Madrid, Spain

So, having waited until 10:30 PM on last Thursday evening (the 24th) to find and confirm my travel arrangements to Madrid, it was a pleasant surprise to receive a text from “Carlos” from BlaBlaCar saying he did, in fact, have a space in his car going to Madrid in the morning. He and his girlfriend even picked me up at my apartment. What nice people. You may be wondering what BlaBlaCar is. To this I respond: BlaBlaCar is a website where people driving from one city to another in Europe post the number of seats available, the time of departure, and the price per passenger. Once you make an account, you can message the driver to confirm the place to meet, and away you go. A few of the people I know have used it before, so I wasn’t too nervous. I suppose I lucked out with the car and people driving; they left me about a block away from Miguel’s apartment in Madrid. So in conclusion, I was driven to Madrid on Friday morning by some strangers and arrived that afternoon to rain and clouds and sadness. 

Madrid is a beautiful city even when it is raining. But it was kinda cold and rainy the whole first afternoon. I could not get out of my mind the weather forecast for Barcelona that weekend: high mid 20’s (read: high 70’s) and sunny, i.e. beach weather. Having been smuggled into Miguel’s room successfully (the administration of his residency is not a fan of overnight guests) I followed Miguel around Madrid at a brisk pace. With my raincoat. And hat. And gloves. We hit a lot of the big sites. The plazas. His favorite places to eat. Photos to follow. After walking around and being a tourist for a bunch of hours, Miguel and I reunited with some other BC friends, including Alex and Lorena, for dinner at a cozy little place. After dinner we snuck back into Miguel’s residency to change before going out to Kapital, the coolest club I have ever been to. This is not exactly the greatest of compliments, seeing as clubs aren’t my most favorite things in the world. But Kapital… wow. It has seven different floors, each with different types of music, as well as a big central dance floor on the first floor. Highlight of the night was a 50+ year-old dude’s saxophone cameo, for sure. Before we got home, I got a burrito at a Tex-Mex place that Miguel (who is part Mexican and from Texas) approved of. Approval is high praise, indeed. It was yummy. 

Saturday we slept in a little late (~2:00 PM) and walked towards Sol, one of the main plazas in Madrid. On the way, we found a random Andalucían restaurant. I had some delicious garlic chicken and Miguel had this small fish dish that was amazing. Let’s see. What happened after this. Hmm. Oh! El clásico. Of course. The Barcelona – Real Madrid game. Biggest game in Spain. The advertisements in Spanish (and Catalan) roughly translates to “The battle between the greatest players in the galaxy is played on earth”. There is no direct translation of “galacticos”, which is a term coined by the Real Madrid fans of the early 2000’s to describe their players – the best in the galaxy – which included David Beckham, Ronaldo, Zidane, Raul, Figo, Roberto Carlos, etc. Miguel and I went to the official Madrid bar, run by La Marca, a newspaper. Each big team has their own newspaper, and the really big ones have their own semi-specific bars. It was a great game (sometimes the big games do not entertain) although Miguel would tell you otherwise. He loves Real, and they lost 2-1. After the game, we walked around a street with some restaurants which were all doing this special tapa night called "Tapapies" (a play on the streets name, Lavapies). Tapas are little dishes that aren’t meals, but aren’t exactly appetizers. At this point, we had been joined by Lorena, Susan, Paige, a guy from Germany, and three Dutch girls. The first three girls left early, and we continued on into the night with witty banter and yummy tapas.

We arose the next morning (Sunday the 27th, now) earlier than we expected, and more rested as well. We then remembered that it was Europe’s “fall back” – we got an extra hour of sleep thanks to daylight saving. So, around 11:00 AM Miguel and I headed out to the enormous open-air flea market, “El Rastro” to meet up with Lorena, Susan, and Paige (who left earlier last night in order to arrive earlier to this market in the morning, which they did). I bought this:

Believe it.

After getting lunch {I say “lunch”… it was just a plate of croquetas [double parentheticals here: to imagine croquetas, think of mozzarella sticks… but with creamy delicious meat mixtures inside] and a Fanta (triple parentheticals I LOVE FANTA)} Miguel, another German friend, and I all went to the train station to buy my ticket home. I planned on taking the overnight train. Unfortunately we actually had to go to the station, because the power was out in Miguel’s residency, and thus the WiFi as well. We no could buy online. We was sad. So we got to the first station, but the guy said he couldn’t sell me the ticket because the train left from the other station on the north side of Madrid. We were in the south side. Miguel and I took a long subway ride, and our German companion abandoned us in search of food, drink, and any form of sedentary leisure. Having walked around Madrid for three days with Miguel, I was looking forward to some sedentary leisure, too. Miguel is a fast walker. He’d be above average in New York City. So after two hours of walking and subways and train station attendants, I secured my spot on a train back to the beautiful Barcelona. It left at 10:30 PM and arrived at 7:00 AM – my first class on Monday was at 11:00 AM, so no worries there. 

We headed off to get food, because Miguel had not eaten all day. He was grumpy. We watched the second half of the Chelsea – Manchester City game and got some food. I just got croquetas (so. darn. addicting.) and the usual Fanta. My penultimate activity in Madrid was a trip to Café Gijón for an overpriced cup of coffee. It is known as a meeting place for famous Spanish writers in the past. In the present, too, for all I know. My ultimate activity was a walk through Retiro, Madrid’s biggest and bestest central park.

The train was… long. I read some of Lazarillo de Tormes for my lit class, and then passed out and got some uncomfortable sleep.

Carlos III in Puerta del Sol, or just Sol, as it is colloquially known. This plaza is home to Km 0, the spot from which distances were measured along major roads. Oh, and it's not actually Carlos III; it's a statue.

Government building from the tour around town on Saturday. It was nice and sunny out.

Spanish equivalent of the White House, I think.

Can't forget about our friends in the Spanish Communist party, marching down the street to Sol. That one guy's face looks funny.

Main street of El Rastro, the flea market. I was taller than 98.45% of the people there (most of the 1.55% were tourists like me, actually) so I could see for days from the top of the street, which was on a slope.

A smaller side street selling mostly antiques.

Beleza.

=The Following Week=

Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain

I had a crazy hard International Finance exam on Tuesday afternoon. So I think on Monday my prescription may have dipped below -3.25 from reading all the Finance textbook PDF files on my computer. But the test went well. I hurt my wrist from writing, though (it’s better now; fret not, family). Despite having my test, I went to soccer practice the afternoon beforehand. Soccer relaxes my mind. I actually played the most and best soccer so far this last week, using the site called Fubles. Basically, you make an account, sign up for games, pay 5€-7€ to rent a field, and play and meet new people. Also, Alex (Brazilian fellow) is visiting me for 4.5 days; he arrived Wednesday. So I’ve turned into tour guide Will (a little). It is strange how people do not do interesting things in the places they live until they have a visitor to show around. I am pretty sure I almost only go to museums when I am traveling to see family, or have family come to visit. Time for photos.

The sky here randomly bursts into color when the sun starts to set. It's usually a blend of pink and purple clouds surrounded by sunlight. Sometimes the change in color happens in about 15 seconds - it really grabs your attention. It's like putting on a pair of mildly color-tinted sunglasses. Or maybe even like one of the many instagram filters I know nothing about.

Wow.

More Barcelona skies. This is my walk to class at the international business school. This is also why I take my iPhone everywhere in the afternoons... photos.

A frenchman and a disco dude, for Halloween. Yes, they celebrate Halloween here. Although the public opinion polls suggested I say "love guru" instead. I love my white pants (but don't worry, I don't get unhealthily attached to material things). 

At the Barcelona derby match in Camp Nou, just a few hours ago. 

FC Barcelona vs. RCD Espanyol.

Força Barça, Visca Barça!

Field of dreams