Random International Update (9.7.14)

I'm terrible luck for sports teams. The two years I was at Boston College, our football team had some of their worst losing seasons (only a few years earlier, they were #2 in the nation with Matt Ryan). Also in Boston, I watched the Red Sox fail to make it to the playoffs when they lost to Baltimore (go Orioles? I was conflicted). A year in Barcelona and Spain (well... Catalonia... but we'll say Spain for now) brought zero trophies from FC Barcelona, one of the most talented club teams in the world. They blew their chance to win the league on the last day of the season even though they boast a team composed of South American all-stars in attack (Brazilian Neymar, Argentinian Messi, and Chilean Alexis) and a legendary Spanish midfield behind them. But that was just Barcelona losing. Spain, as a nation, tumbled out of the world cup after (what everyone had assumed to be) the most embarrassing loss of the tournament, a 1-5 defeat to Holland. This was promptly followed by a loss to Chile, 0-2, thus completing their early return home. 

But my bad luck did not stop there. I decide to come to Brazil, and look what happens. Brazil's worst loss since 1920 (they lost 6-0 to Uruguay back then) and first competitive loss on home soil since 1975. The final score yesterday was 1-7, but the game was over after 28' minutes when Germany scored to make it 0-5. I was watching the game at a bar near Gávea, a neighborhood of Rio near the hill/mountain with the Christ statue. Well, I say bar. It was two bars with an open space in between, full of people. There were two covered areas (thankfully) because the torrential rains began about 20 minutes before the game started. Perhaps this portended their defeat, but who was to know. Everyone huddled under the clear plastic roof area. Great description there, I know. Anyways, large deposits of undraining water collected in depressions along the roof, causing it to sink and stretch the plastic. What did the crowd do? The crowd started cheering. It was a strange, illogical, mob-mentality wish to get collectively showered. A few staff members managed to manage the situation for select water deposits by poking small holes in the plastic with a makeshift contraption of a wooden staff with a thin wire fixed to the end. This worked surprisingly well, making the outflows of the depressions equal to the inflows. Once the rain died down, everything was dandy. But the floor was wet. 

The happy futebol mood quickly ended with Germany scoring many, many goals. A few people left before halftime. After halftime, Germany scored goal #6. This was the DJ's queue to turn off the television announcers and game noises, and start playing happy music. Everyone just kinda left the national team to suffer by themselves, moved to the disco lights, and started having a great time. It was an impressively quick turn around, and while obviously not every part of the country reacted this way, the small part I was in confirmed that Brazil knows how to be happy.

Backtracking a little now. Alex, Vinny, and I road tripped to Rio from São Paulo on Friday morning. São Paulo is on a huge plateau, so 90% of the way was downhill (a bit surprising during a 5 hour drive). On our approach to Rio, maybe 45 minutes or so outside, the road climbed and declined a range of green mountains. There was a nice view out the left side of the car:

We arrived in Rio around 10:30 AM and met Rafa and his family at his grandparents' apartment. We took our bags inside, only to find out that we would be staying with Rafa's sister and boyfriend at their apartment instead (they had spare beds). So we took our bags back outside. Vinny went with Rafa and his family to the Germany - France game that afternoon, and Alex and I watched the game on a huge screen on the beach with thousands of people. It was quite the experience. Later that night we reconvened at Rafa's sister's apartment, washed up, ate dinner, and watched the Brasil - Colombia match. Alex made an awesome Caipirinha for me. After the match we went to a party held at the horse racetrack nearby. Apparently they use it as a discoteca/club when the horses aren't racing. 

Saturday was a beach day. We got up early (9:30 AM is early, ok!) and drove to Rafa's old neighborhood (his parents recently sold the house and moved to London for work, I believe) and went down to the beach there. It was awesome. Highlights include playing keep away from a local puppy dog with a soccer ball, and the water temperature. It is winter here and the water is warmer than Santa Cruz! 

Nice little beach. We had to decline a grassy/rocky path that turned into just grass and rocks by the end. 

Juggling circle. Vinny took sneaky photos of us. That's Alex and Rafa, by the way (left, right)

The guys. Eduardo, me, Alex, Rafa, and Vinny.

Not a bad view from Rafa's sister's apartment! Rio sure is beautiful.

On Sunday night Vinny and Alex dropped me off at Luca's apartment. His family is super amazing and awesome. I fear they are making me eat too much, but that's the only qualm. We spent the first few days catching up on times from Barcelona and Brazil, since he had left in December. I've learned a lot of Portugues in the last few days, especially thanks to a poker night with Luca's friends and last night after the Brazil - Germany game. The best way to learn a language is to just jump into it, sound ridiculous, and make a fool of yourself.

Random International Update (3.7.14)

My first two days in São Paulo have been really great. I arrived around 5:00 AM to the airport and arrived at Alex's apartment around 5:45 AM. He lives on the 14th floor of a big building - there are a lot of apartment complexes such as his in this city. This city is enormous, slightly unorganized, and full of character. It is difficult to orient oneself because, well, it's just too big for that. There are five areas - the four cardinal directions plus the center. So far I have seen three of these areas. After arriving at the apartment, saying hello, and meeting Alex's dad, however,the only area of São Paulo I saw was the guest bed. This tour lasted three hours and was amazing. I slept extremely well because... Alex and his dad surprised me with tickets to the Argentina - Switzerland game! So Alex, Lucas (younger brother), and I headed out to the stadium around 10:30 AM for the 1:00 PM kickoff. The subway was packed, and the weather was pleasantly warm and sunny (cannot get over that this is the winter weather). The game was a nail-biter and was highlighted by the singing Argentines - this of course was met by all the adopted Switzerland fans, i.e. all of Brasil. Messi dribbled down and assisted the winning overtime goal, that sure was cool. I was secretly cheering for them, always have a soft spot for Argentina despite the criminal experiences. Afterwards we headed back to the apartment and went to see the USA game in a bar around the corner - heartbreaking game. But the food was delicious. First there were these meat empanadas with vegetable sauces. Then they brought out a mini grill to the table along with a long, raw, pre-sliced cut of rump steak. You cook your meat at the table! Cool idea - and it's easier than that sounds. After the game Alex and I met Andre in town after he finished work. I met Andre last fall and spent a lot of time with him all of that semester. He is currently working slave hours at Merrill Lynch - we spent an hour or so catching up and (in his case) eating (late lunch/early dinner for the 5:00 PM USA game left me quite full. Andre invited us both to his house for dinner on Wednesday with his family. After dinner Alex and I went back to the apartment and played some FIFA.

Today (Wednesday) was a day full of soccer. We woke up slowly, had lunch in the apartment, then biked over to the big central park of São Paulo with a soccer ball. We bought some fresh coconut water, then kicked around for a while until a group of other kids asked if we wanted to play a game, which of course we did. Basically, there is this enormous, grassy field full of happy people playing soccer. It was also a beautiful day. I could not have asked for much more, honestly. After the small game ended, we biked to the supermarket to help Alex's younger brother (he's 18 or so) and his friends pick up some meat and charcoal for a barbecue that night. Upon returning home, we decided to play more soccer with Lucas and his friends who he had invited for the barbecue. After playing soccer for an hour or so, Alex and I showered and headed out to Andre's house, which was about twenty minutes away by car. His family is amazing, and we had one of the best meals ever! A huge pan of risotto with, yes, more steak. All in all, a great day!

Best surprise ever! Was not expecting to go to a game!

The metro. Was. Packed.

See?

Pre-game warm-ups.

Argentina - Switzerland

Kickoff.

That's old, fat Brazilians Ronald on the right, in the blue shirt. Kinda cool.

The cathedral in downtown São Paulo. 

The best of guys!

Random International Update (30.6.14)

The time has come to leave what I can safely say is my favorite city on earth. It is not every day one is given the opportunity to meet so many new people, see so many new places, and add meaning and personal experience to things one has only heard about in books, or art, or movies. A big thank you to mom and dad for making this possible for me. Some parents might think twice about sending their kid to Europe on his own for a year. All though I am sure you did, in fact, think twice, I appreciate the way you hid this from me. 

I have spent all of the last two days saying goodbye to friends around the city, and while a hug or kiss or handshake can never do a friendship justice, they were all I could muster. 

I'm not sure if Gaudí actually said the following sentence or not. Regardless, té la veritat, and with it I will be on my way home. With, of course, a brief stop in... Brasil!

Els habitants dels països que banya la Mediterrània sentim la Bellesa amb més intensitat.

The inhabitants of the countries washed by the Mediterranean feel Beauty with more intensity.

Random International Update (4.5.14)

May is here, June is lurking, and I'm pretty sure someone pulled the plug on my Barcelona bubble bath, because my time in it is quickly slipping away. I have a pretty busy schedule until its end, though. It goes something like this:

Monday

Literatura Española 

9:00 - 11:00 AM

Another literature class for my Hispanic Studies major - the professor speaks quite quickly sometimes, especially when she tries to be clever and witty and make a joke in Spanish. Having class in the morning does not help me in my difficulties. Anecdote: one day a student entered the class unannounced and asked if he could make an announcement to the students about some social movement he was involved in. The professor politely responded that during the break (there's a break for a few minutes in the middle of class) he would be more than welcome. He couldn't do that, so he left. But because he and the professor were both speaking in Catalan during this break, the professor just continued speaking Catalan - much to the dismay of the Spanish and international students - for almost 15 minutes before someone let her know what she had done. She claimed she didn't even notice the switch. I'm unsure whether I believe her or not.

Català (A2)

11:30 AM - 1:30 PM

This is a language class. I am learning Catalan, and its amazing. Anecdote: someone was trying to say "I have two pets" and said "Tinc dos pets". In Catalan, the word pet means "fart". Our teacher laughed and called the poor girl's statement very surrealista. It was a kind-hearted laugh, just to clarify.

Lunch

1:30 - 2:00(?) PM

Generally a kebab (especially because of no more marathon training). But Makamaka had this amazing burger of the month... Brie, asparagus, caramelized unions. On a burger. Actually heaven.

Internship

2:00 - 6:00 PM

I work at an urban planning firm a few days of the week, helping with whatever my boss, Manuela, thinks I should help with. Recently they have been preparing a few electric motorcycle reports for the greater European Union - that, of course, means I've been translating a few of the more important documents to English for all the world to hear. The people in the office are very nice, and boy do they love that I try to speak Catalan!

Tuesday

Contemporary History I

9:00 - 11:00 AM

History of the world wars and the interwar period. Counts for my history core requirement at BC. The one catch - it's taught in Catalan! So Will has to pay very close attention. 

Amics de la gent gran 

11:30 AM - 1:30 PM

I volunteer with this group that sends people to accompany retired people who have few or no family to hang out with. Victoria is 92 years old, and awesome. But also had a cold, and apparently when you get a cold when you're 92, that means two weeks of bed time. So this is on hold. But it's a great experience.

Wednesday

Literatura Española 

9:00 - 11:00 AM

Català (A2)

11:30 AM - 1:30 PM

Internship

2:00 - 6:00 PM

Thursday

Contemporary History I

9:00 - 11:00 AM

Internship Seminar

11:30 AM - 1:30 PM

The five students doing the internship option also have a weekly seminar that talks about intercultural exchange and a bunch of aspects to it. Usually leave with something new to think about.

Friday

Literatura Española 

9:00 - 11:00 AM

Internship

11:30 AM - 2:00 PM (they end early on Fridays)

English classes

6:30 PM - 7:30 PM

No, I'm not forgetting English. I teach it, to small Catalan children in this one family. They're awesome, and it's always a great time. The kids are pretty small, so there are no intensive grammar structures covered... mostly just vocabulary.

Yeah those are my weeks. I thought they would feel stressful and busy, but it's actually very relaxing, still. Tuesday and Thursday look like beach afternoon days, and the weekend are more well-received after a full week, for sure.

Highlights from the last month or so:

Know your audience. Somehow I was elected despite the farcical nature of my campaign.

I sure messed with people in a great way on this Saturday in Boston - I slicked my hair back, put on a fake mustache, and had my friends who had already been duped introduce me to other people as if I were a different person. The reactions were priceless.

Not the most confident of faces, but there I am. Running. Final time was 3:02:00! There weren't that many people my age running around me, but I didn't expect to get 2nd in my age group! That sure was a surprise.

I cross the finish line on the far right.

An enormous bowl of homemade paella at Carlos' house in Sitges. About 10 of us made our way on the train down the coast to his house - he's an amazing cook and all-round excellent human. I'm actually on a roll with eating home-cooked meals in the last few days. One of the older guys who plays soccer on Wednesdays invited me to meet his family and have dinner for the Champions League game a few nights ago - his son, Derek, is my age, and they are all really nice people. Then Thursday, the BC crew had dinner with the homestay family of Sam and Addison (Sam - girl - is currently in the homestay; Addison - guy - was in a homestay with a family friend last fall). Another bomb dinner. Then Sitges and Carlos' house! What a great last few days, topped off, as always, with some Sunday night soccer.

Random International Update (14.3.14)

Traveling away from Barcelona is great, but it makes me miss Barcelona. A lot more than I imagined. Over the last two weekends I have been to Scotland and France, and it was a blast. But the part of me that wanted to see as much of Europe as possible in the months that remain has been completely snuffed out by the relative greatness of the city where I signed up to live and study. So anyways. On to happenings since the last post.

I saw The Monuments Men with two friends from school. Carolina is Italian, Mary is Catalan, so we spoke Spanish all evening, exchanging childhood stories and even drifting into Catalan here and there. The movie was eh. Mari (Italian, and in my Catalan class) and I did an oral presentation on cava, the Catalan version of champagne, in Catalan. At the end of class we surprised everyone with two bottles of the thing we presented. So, yes. We popped bottles in class. It was memorable. Two Fridays ago, Sam arrived from the USA on vacation from his work; he is hanging around until this coming Saturday and has been traveling to Glasgow and Paris with me to see our friends. The day after he arrived, we flew to Scotland.

Glasgow was very relaxing for a number of reasons. First, everyone speaks a variety of English. Second, Scottish people think southern accents are hilarious. Third, Alan's roommates were gone, so Sam and I had big beds to ourselves (we worked with Alan at camp last summer). We got to see the University of Glasgow, Alan and I bet on some football matches (only a few pounds), and we met Frazer and Ryan at a bar later Sunday night to catch up (those two lived on my floor in the residency here in Barcelona last semester). However, we turned in early, around 11:00 PM, because of an impromptu ski trip planned for early Monday! Driving from Glasgow to Glencoe, some mountains slightly to the north, we passed a serene lake called Loch Lomond and had great views of the countryside and water. At the resort, we rented what gear we had too, which was not actually that much because Alan's friends had donated some things to our cause, and headed up on the ski lifts to the mountains. We snowboarded and skied all day until the park closed, then drove back and showered to go to The Head and the Heart concert. The concert was amazing. I would see them once every day for the rest of my life, if I could. Tuesday Sam and I flew back to Barcelona.

After a few days of rest and recovery and homework, we flew to Paris. The first night, when we arrived, Sam was pretty sick, so we asked a taxi to drive us to a pharmacy to get medicine. The cab driver and the pharmacy worker were some of the nicest people ever! Take that, stereotypes. Anyways, after Sam had his medicine, we both got second winds, since we were actually within walking distance from the Eiffel Tower. So we walked there, took photos, and got a cab to the hostel. The next day we met Lorena for breakfast, walked around the Tuileries Garden, hit up the Louvre (too much art! honestly overwhelming), and then in the afternoon we met Miguel and had lunch, stopped by the PSG store, and went up to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. After a brief rest, we reconvened for dinner with some other friends, named Sabrina, whom Sam and I both met on our Appalachia service trip almost two years ago exactly. I tried escargot and I liked it a lot, actually. On Saturday the tour continued, with the lock-bridge, Notre Dame, the famous "I love you" wall, as well as the beautiful hill quarter whose name escapes me, where we saw yet another big church. Above all, the weather was amazing all weekend. Under all, both Sam and I were slightly sick (I had a bad cough the last day/night). Saturday night and Sunday combined were probably the highlight of the trip - we saw The Head and the Heart again on Saturday night, and on Sunday we made a trip to Versailles on the train with Miguel, Lorena, Sabrina, and their friend Cam. Versailles is pretty ridiculous; I was more upset that people were so grossly rich during those times to build palaces and live that way, when the French people were dying. But the gardens outside were beautiful. We took long, relaxing naps on the grass, and it was great. We had an early flight the next day, and were both kind of sick and tired, so we turned in early on Sunday night.

This week in Barcelona I have been doing some more work for classes. I just finished a paper for my International Expansion class, which did not take long in itself, but the case it was on was about 20 pages and took a while to read. This Thursday I was devastated to learn that I had my Catalan final exam - not because I don't like exams, but because Catalan is by far my favorite class. My film class only has a final paper due late next week, and my history/culture class has a final exam around that time, too. Economics finishes next Tuesday with a final exam, too. Since I don't have class in the mornings, I've been trying to show Sam some of the more touristy parts of Barcelona - we went to Sagrada Familia yesterday. It feels good to be back in Barcelona.

Not a bad first night. It did feel a little strange though, because we were basically the only people out and about at midnight on Thursday. Sam and I kept saying that it felt like everything was especially set up just for us, kind of in a Truman Show style. 

Viva la vida

Good ol' Napoleon

This is French stereotypes in a car. The steering wheel is a beret, and the exhaust pipes are champagne bottles, to give you an idea.

Pont de l'Archeveche - or love lock bridge

Hunchback territory. Although Sam was convinced we were actually in South Bend, Indiana. 

The "I love you" wall has that famous phrase written in a whole bunch of languages, even Catalan (t'estimo)

Nice view on our walk. So many churches everywhere you turn in Paris.

Miguel and Lorena! So great to see these guys again. We are the year-abroad crew. 

Harrisburg, PA service trip reunion with Sabrina and Sam

University of Glasgow

Glencoe

Barcelona street art

One of my favorite caminos

The Head and the Heart in Paris

Alan, Sam, and I before the concert in Glasgow

The Head and the Heart in Glasgow

Random International Update (24.2.14)

There are a lot of highlights from the past week or so. Two Fridays ago I taught little Jùlia card games during English "class". The Saturday after I spent the afternoon on the beach with a book (still in jeans and a flannel, but it was really nice out nonetheless) and then played 11v11 soccer, topping  the night off with a steak from our favorite neighborhood cheap and awesome steak place. Sunday my team won our 7v7 mini-tournament in the rainy, cold night. Monday I did my part of our group presentation on a Spanish movie called Vacas. Highlight of that highlight was me mistaking ciclismo for ciclos de la vida. I was trying to say something along the lines of "the cycles of life" but instead I said ciclismo, and ciclismo means recreational bicycling. Moving on to last Tuesday, I watched the City - Barcelona Champions League soccer match in a bar // restaurant. We were surrounded by what we thought were Catalan and/or Barcelona fans. But they were very old and very pessimistic and critical and did not seem the least bit enthused about Barcelona's 0-2 victory against arguably the strongest English soccer team! Wednesday was a display of prime before-exam studying: I woke up at 6:00 AM, studied for a few hours, made eggs, studied more, and took an exam at 1:00 PM. It went very well! I felt very comfortable writing in Spanish - since I am not in a Spanish language class, I don't have as many opportunities to write formally for grades. Tragically Arsenal lost to Bayern Munich, the defending Champions League Champions. Champions Champions Champions. Champions. Anyways. Thursday morn I went for a run with Jacob, a Canadian chap on my floor. It was a lovely run, but the following day I learned Jacob had taken a turn for the worse - i.e. he done got a cold - after the run, and perhaps partly because of the run itself. Anywho. The real highlight I have saved for last.

My first trip of the semester was a ski trip to Andorra with about 50 students in the Melon District residency. I say ski trip, but I mean snowy-mountain trip, because I, in fact, snowboarded. Took the first few hours and a refresher class for me to find my snowboarding legs (primarily my right calf muscles... hot damn they were a-burnin'!) By the end of Saturday I was on to the green hills. Sunday I started off on blue, and felt very comfortable by the end of the day. But I did not dare to do red. Elisa, Eduardo, and I made the ~40 minute series of cable cars // lifts to the other side of the mountain on Sunday. The weather was sunny and the views astounding. What a stunning trip. I might have to go snowboarding more often; it's really cool. 

Melted cheese x Chicken x Salad

Cable car up from the parking lot // bus

The first side of the mountain (Saturday)

Eduardo, me, and Bill - the snowboard crew

Eduardo and Elisa. Note the view behind us - the closer parts are the other hills we took a big cable car to get to on Sunday

Most satisfying burger I have had in Europe. Ain't nothing on Five Guys // Steak 'n Shake // In-N-Out, but still pretty darn good (yes, they put eggs on their burgers - it isn't that bad, actually)

The Boston College crew: Dale, me, and Addison. Those two guys are great, and together we all make up 75% of the Boston College presence in Barcelona. And yes, they are matching on purpose.

Random International Update (13.2.14)

Oh, it's February two weeks into February?

I have been getting back into my running routine. I've joined a gym, and made a few nice morning runs. There are a few big hills in Barcleona. Sometimes I stay away from them, but other times I have found the views of the sunrise over the Mediterranean far worth the burn. My friend Carlos is a phenomenal cook, he has shown me caramelized sugar // brie crackers, patates braves, and tortilla de patata. I have successfully become a regular client at a few places: 1) Carrot Cafe: right around the corner; we love the cubano sandwich, it's delicious. Jordi, the waiter, criticizes us whenever we go without bringing female friends 2) Bar Santa Fe: right near school, usually Mariaelena and I get coffee before class there. Ruben, the owner // dad, is from Brazil 3) Ryan's Bar: is an Irish Pub that the two other BC guys go to a lot, the Irish bartenders are really cool. 4) La Malandrina: the best steak place in town, plus amazing bowls of melted cheese (yes, bowls of melted cheese) 5) "Cafeteria Bar Restaurant Italian Food" is the name, I think. It doesn't matter. It's a family from Napoli, and they make amazing pizzas. One waiter was born in West Ham, London, and likes to practice his English. 

Speaking of La Malandrina, two weeks ago we had a Dudes' Steak Night. One of the best nights so far, in terms of laughs, stories, company, food, and drink. Props to Addison for the idea. Speaking of Addison, the next day (Thursday) we had dinner at his old host mother's house up closer to the mountain. I had about five enormous soft tacos, it was great. The next morning, I started my volunteering with Amics de la gent gran, or "Friends of the Elderly" in English. I spend two hours a week with Victoria, a 92-year-old lady who is really cool. The idea of the organization is to provide the human side of social services that governments cannot, such as simple things like company. It is inspirational to see how well Victoria is doing at her age. We have gone for some (short) walks around her neighborhood, and we talk about all sorts of things - how Barcelona was when she first moved there, what her family is doing, what her past week was like, etc. 

Catalan class is going really well. Two Fridays ago, we did a class trip to the nearby Mercat de Santa Catarina to practice our communication skills. I got to talk to a lovely older couple about what they liked about the market, and then also their favorite part of Barcelona. Also practiced food vocabulary. Just yesterday (well, Tuesday) I had my first midterm in Catalan, and it went really well. 

Sadly my friend Angelo (with whom I went to Peniche, Portugal to surf) left for Chile to finish his studies, or start work. I forget which. The joke of his sending-off night was "sense tu, el meu hort és mort", which is basically a really cheesy line from a Catalan song. The song builds the metaphor of various fruits and vegetables as representing the guy's love for his lady. The direct translation of the line is "without you, my vegetable garden is dead". Beyond romantic, I know. 

Been playing consistent soccer, both 11v11 and 7v7. On Saturdays I play 11v11, and Sundays 7v7. Last Sunday I got a black eye from hitting heads with another guy going for a header. That has been a fun one to explain to classmates // teachers // people I've just met. "No, no, no. I got this playing soccer. Futbol. Not a fight. I did not fight anyone."

I've gotten quite good at cooking pasta. I use random tomato sauces (Bolognese? Napolitano? What is the difference? All the jars are red and saucy) but add some spicy sausage, cheese, and garlic. Yum. I have also developed a taste for red wine! Add that to the list that includes coffee, and I'm almost a stereotypical adult! 

The nice thing about Europe, from a soccer fan's perspective, is that the matches air at convenient times. Usually 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM. I finish class, text a few guys, and we go grab a beer and watch a Barcelona game, a Chelsea - Manchester City game, or an Arsenal - Manchester United game. 

The key to never doing laundry is having stashes of clean undergarments. Moving on...

I was going to go to sleep early last Wednesday, but then I saw a link to the Bill Nye vs. Ken Ham debate about creationism as a valid explanation for life as we know it today. What fascinating stuff! I was actually more interested in the creationist viewpoint, because, well, I already am familiar with the science-y stuff. The main argument for creationism was that we cannot confide in scientific data that is not hands-on, physically-seen, or experimentally observed with our own eyes. In astronomy I was always a little puzzled by that fact: all the data astronomers use to discover things about the universe (besides a few spacecraft in our solarsystem) is just a variance in the wavelength and intensity of photons that hit the telescope. Photons. Variance in photos is what our knowledge of the unexplored universe comes from. So I understood the point Ken Ham was making. But come on, folks. You ain't gone make me believe that death did not exist anywhere in the whole world before Adam and Eve sinned. Preposterous. 

Last Friday the 7th the BC crew and Teresa did a tour of Freixenet, a local (but internationally known) cava company (cava is more or less champagne, but the grapes come from here in Catalunya). The tour was very interesting. For example, we learned that the size of the modern wine bottle (750mL) was the average breath of the bottle-makers, back when they had to blow the hot, molten glass to make the shapes themselves. 

Bre and her sister, Sashell, visited Barcelona last weekend; it was a blast. As always. Stevie, who worked at camp last summer, also made the trip down from Girona (to get to Girona, follow the coast up towards France). We all had yummy food, lots of laughs, and overall another great weekend in Barcelona! I think we may have convinced Bre to come back for one last weekend before her whirlwind tour of Europe ends in March. 

The last few days I have been a little sick. Thanks to NyQuil, I have not been that sick. But overall, Barcelona is still the bomb. I haven't been able to do everything I planned to this semester, such as reading a lot, running every day, or finding cool cafes to read books in. But I'm getting there. A few big weights off my chest have been 1) figuring out housing for next year at Boston College (drum roll....... rooming with Pat again! I'm pretty excited about that. You don't meet all-around great people like Pat every day.) 2) figuring out my internship in Barcelona next semester; it looks to be with Barcelona Ecologia, an urban planning sort of firm. Looks fascinating. 3) Senior thesis: this video is why I'm excited about my internship and why I have ideas for a thesis of some sorts.

We reserved the big table for lunch. Carrot Life.

Freixenet

To the mines.

Sunrise from the bunkers.

Llums de Eulàlia, also known as the awesome street light festival

I hope the video works.