Woke up this morning and could hardly believe I only have 2 more mornings here in Barcelona. Days here seem to take forever but time as a whole is going ridiculous fast, not quite sure how I feel about it. I had a horrid dream the other night about going home and everything was exactly as I left it, and it made me feel incredibly anxious. I think I'm just the kind of person who is slightly apprehensive of change yet craves it at the same time. I know things will be different, I guess I'm just not ready at all to go back yet. Which is good that I have about 5 more weeks here in Europe.
This weekend was filled with fabulous Gay Pride events, such as the Mr. Gay Pride Barcelona contest in Plaza Espanya which featured 7 incredibly ripped men strutting their stuff in colourful underroos and the crowd cheering as loudly as possible to vote for their favourite gay hunk. #7 won, in case you were wondering. The there was a foam party which was a bit chaotic but ridiculously amazing, especially when they started blasting Gaga and the crowd went wild, and started dancing in the fountains, much to the surprise of all the tourists who were in Plaza Espanya to check out the Magic Fountain display that happens every weekend.
Sunday was the Gay Pride parade which was reaaallly hot (as in weather) and featured dancing men on huge floats as well as about a million people marching with various signs in Catalan. It was hilarious because the crowd was so excited, they kept moving closer and closer into the street and the parade walkway so it was like the crowd became part of the parade, really funny. Definitely a good Gringo Domingo!
I went to Castelldefels beach yesterday by myself, mostly to shake off that cripplingly real dream I'd had about going home. It's a gorgeous beach, flanked by huge mountains and crystal clear water. I like doing a lot of things by myself, I've discovered here. And it's such an important discovery to me, it's part of what I'd hope would happen when I was here (this sentence feels grammatically wrong). I felt more clear headed afterwards, and even went to a bar alone to watch the Brazil vs. Chile game before meeting Jenny and her parents for delicious tapas in the Born area of Barcelona. Jenny has more time than me here so she can't understand exactly how I'm feeling but knows she'll probably feel the same way- it's a very hard city to leave.
Barcelona is everything I'd dreamed it would be- intoxicating, gorgeous, a little bit annoying, but ultimately a great place to live. I'm so glad I chose this over Madrid or some other town back when I pointed randomly to a map of Spain and landed on Barcelona. I hope by Friday morning I'll be packed and mentally ready to go to Paris to begin the traveling portion, but find myself clinging to everything. Which is exactly what happened when I left Boston, seeing a pattern here..
Today the goal is to pack somewhat, go through my clothes that I am SO SICK of and figure out what will not be coming back to the States with me, and to go to the Spain vs. Portugal game with the Canadians, who were in my TEFL course and I haven't seen them since. Good things, going to savour every moment!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Adeu, Madre!
Back to being solo in Barthelona. My mama and her friend Maryanne left yesterday after a whirlwind couple of days here with me in Barcelona. So fabulous to show them this wonderful city, completely fell in love with it over and over again.
Tuesday brought gorgeous weather, and after a lovely spread of breakfast at their hotel, we set off to Parc Guell to hopefully beat the crowds. It was so tranquil! We didn't spend a whole lot of time there but just enough, and it was really nice to actually go back there one last time. We then went to get some killer hummus and then did a wee bit of shopping in the Ciutat Vella area near La Rambla. I had to jet to go teach the two little boys for a bit and then they met me at my metro stop and I showed them my apartment, and we had copas of vino for 1.10 Euros/each, which continually blows my mind!I also took them to my favourite bar in my neighborhood with this really jolly bartender who gives you a free tapa for every drink you get, it was lovely. We then trekked back to Dino's Gelats for some stracciatella and bonbon gelato, it really rocked my world, and didn't help my gelato problem one bit.
Wednesday was a paradise of a day yet again- no humidity and about 75 degrees. We met at Montjuic and hiked up that big mountain to get to the Joan Miro museum. Joan Miro was a somewhat whimsical sculpture/painter who used all these vibrant colours to express himself, and the museum is really tranquil and the views from it are just outstanding. We then walked down through this lush garden and ended up getting kebabs in the Poble Sec area of Barcelona, which is very diverse, lots of Middle-Eastern restaurants around, had never been there before. We tried to then find a bar with the USA game but apparently everyone is an England fan and no one was showing the USA game, so we had chocolate and churros on La Rambla instead, much better. Ended the day with dinner at an outdoor place with jenny and then followed that up with 4 cups of red wine for 6 Euros total (seriously, I am going to be in sticker shock when I get back) and more gelato.
They left Thursday morning to head back to Paris, which was kind of sad, I wasn't used to being by myself! but then I had a lovely beach day with Jenny followed by nachos and canas at our fave beach locale. It was our last day just the two of us, as her parents are arriving and I'm prepping to leave in less than a week, to go and meet up with my mom in Paris. Surreal. But a good surreal.
Tuesday brought gorgeous weather, and after a lovely spread of breakfast at their hotel, we set off to Parc Guell to hopefully beat the crowds. It was so tranquil! We didn't spend a whole lot of time there but just enough, and it was really nice to actually go back there one last time. We then went to get some killer hummus and then did a wee bit of shopping in the Ciutat Vella area near La Rambla. I had to jet to go teach the two little boys for a bit and then they met me at my metro stop and I showed them my apartment, and we had copas of vino for 1.10 Euros/each, which continually blows my mind!I also took them to my favourite bar in my neighborhood with this really jolly bartender who gives you a free tapa for every drink you get, it was lovely. We then trekked back to Dino's Gelats for some stracciatella and bonbon gelato, it really rocked my world, and didn't help my gelato problem one bit.
Wednesday was a paradise of a day yet again- no humidity and about 75 degrees. We met at Montjuic and hiked up that big mountain to get to the Joan Miro museum. Joan Miro was a somewhat whimsical sculpture/painter who used all these vibrant colours to express himself, and the museum is really tranquil and the views from it are just outstanding. We then walked down through this lush garden and ended up getting kebabs in the Poble Sec area of Barcelona, which is very diverse, lots of Middle-Eastern restaurants around, had never been there before. We tried to then find a bar with the USA game but apparently everyone is an England fan and no one was showing the USA game, so we had chocolate and churros on La Rambla instead, much better. Ended the day with dinner at an outdoor place with jenny and then followed that up with 4 cups of red wine for 6 Euros total (seriously, I am going to be in sticker shock when I get back) and more gelato.
They left Thursday morning to head back to Paris, which was kind of sad, I wasn't used to being by myself! but then I had a lovely beach day with Jenny followed by nachos and canas at our fave beach locale. It was our last day just the two of us, as her parents are arriving and I'm prepping to leave in less than a week, to go and meet up with my mom in Paris. Surreal. But a good surreal.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Chocolate mousse + Gerard Pique= happy Shannon
Nothing like a few chocolate truffles, tiramisu, bitter chocolate mousse, red wine, and seriously attractive Espana world cup players, specifically Gerard Pique, to turn a frown upside down. A gorgeous, brilliantly blue skied day didn't hurt either!
Yesterday was a really nice day with my mom and Mary Ann. We met up in the morning and walked down La Rambla before it got clogged with tourists, and checked out this neat antique market near Port Vell at the end of La Rambla. We walked back up and got some tea at the 4 Gats, where Picasso used to hang, so we felt kind of cool. Also found sustenance in a random bar with delicious chorizo and patatas bravas, before taking a break to go nap and then meandering through the chill neighborhood of Gracia. I almost died a little inside when we came upon B My Bagel, a new bagel shop in Gracia!! amazing! I had a delicious oregano bagel with cream cheese, pure bliss. Nothing is open on Sundays so we were able to walk through the city, and stopped at a little corner bar for some wine before ending the night at a neat restaurant outfitted with red velvet and 1920's decor for super cheap paella and a litre of red wine for 4 euros. Smart diners.
Today was a gorgeous day- started off with a tour of Sagrada Familia amidst about a million tour buses, then ventured down to Barceloneta beach for some drinks and lunch on the boardwalk before going through my favourite park, Ciutadella park. There's this huge guilded fountain and all these grassy places to read or lay out in the sun, and it's incredibly tranquil. I had to teach my Argentinian couple for a while this afternoon but afterwards Jenny came and met us to watch the super exciting Espana vs. Honduras World Cup game, amidst a bunch of yelling fans and whilst eating the ever present patatas bravas. We followed it up with the aforementioned desserts, and Shannon is a happy girl. Completely falling in love with this city all over again as I show it to my guests, and it's proving to be a really wonderful visit. Excited for the rest of the week!
Yesterday was a really nice day with my mom and Mary Ann. We met up in the morning and walked down La Rambla before it got clogged with tourists, and checked out this neat antique market near Port Vell at the end of La Rambla. We walked back up and got some tea at the 4 Gats, where Picasso used to hang, so we felt kind of cool. Also found sustenance in a random bar with delicious chorizo and patatas bravas, before taking a break to go nap and then meandering through the chill neighborhood of Gracia. I almost died a little inside when we came upon B My Bagel, a new bagel shop in Gracia!! amazing! I had a delicious oregano bagel with cream cheese, pure bliss. Nothing is open on Sundays so we were able to walk through the city, and stopped at a little corner bar for some wine before ending the night at a neat restaurant outfitted with red velvet and 1920's decor for super cheap paella and a litre of red wine for 4 euros. Smart diners.
Today was a gorgeous day- started off with a tour of Sagrada Familia amidst about a million tour buses, then ventured down to Barceloneta beach for some drinks and lunch on the boardwalk before going through my favourite park, Ciutadella park. There's this huge guilded fountain and all these grassy places to read or lay out in the sun, and it's incredibly tranquil. I had to teach my Argentinian couple for a while this afternoon but afterwards Jenny came and met us to watch the super exciting Espana vs. Honduras World Cup game, amidst a bunch of yelling fans and whilst eating the ever present patatas bravas. We followed it up with the aforementioned desserts, and Shannon is a happy girl. Completely falling in love with this city all over again as I show it to my guests, and it's proving to be a really wonderful visit. Excited for the rest of the week!
Sunday, June 20, 2010
All topsy turvy and all over the place
Just got home from seeing my mom and MaryAnn and having a delicious dinner of tapas and red wine, followed by a stroll down Passeig de Gracia and checking out the two Gaudi buildings and ending the evening with delicious hazelnut and dark chocolate gelato. Wonderful to have them here, I could not be happier to see them and to show them this city this week.
What's going on with me? Just hours ago I had convinced myself I was so content with leaving, with traveling for a few weeks and then returning to where I came from, to go to grad school like I had planned to. That plan seems so far away from me at this moment. I feel so torn, and so heartbroken. Walking home from the metro just now, I passed all these familiar fruiterias, bars and the homeless man who sleeps next to the garage next to my apartment who I see every single night. I thought about this city, and how I will no longer be living here in a mere 2 weeks. And that thought brought tears to me eyes. Am I ready? Can you ever be ready when you've made a place your home?
I try to consol myself with the fact that I'm following my heart by heading to grad school and I easily could have/still could choose to defer for a year and continue to make a life for myself here, but chose not to. Just today at the Best Buddies event where I spent the entire afternoon bowling with my buddy for the day, Christina, and speaking so much Spanish my head throbbed, the coordinator Emma mentioned she had talked to her director about a possible position for me in the fall, starting in September if I was interested. It threw me for a loop, if that's the correct expression. I explained to her that I had already decided to go home, and she was disappointed, saying she thought I'd be great. Confused doesn't begin to describe it. I wonder if I'm making the right choice to go home, to leave this city that ultimately makes me feel so alive, so at peace with my life and so grateful for every moment that allows me to speak Spanish, to learn something new about myself and to live in Europe.
i wish it was easy, I wish I was so done with this city that I could throw all my ratty clothes in a bag and take off without a backward glance, but I can't. I had this problem leaving Boston, leaving Chicago-not quite ready, yet realizing that moving to a new place or doing something different with my life was ultimately what I wanted. It's hard. It's really hard to imagine leaving here. Somewhat easier with most of my friends being gone, yet I found myself today making new friends with the other BB volunteers, so that doesn't make me feel that much better.
I'll be okay. I know this is part of leaving and moving on; learning to let go and to anticipate and look forward to the future and inevitable life changes. I just wish it didn't have to hit me on a Saturday night.
What's going on with me? Just hours ago I had convinced myself I was so content with leaving, with traveling for a few weeks and then returning to where I came from, to go to grad school like I had planned to. That plan seems so far away from me at this moment. I feel so torn, and so heartbroken. Walking home from the metro just now, I passed all these familiar fruiterias, bars and the homeless man who sleeps next to the garage next to my apartment who I see every single night. I thought about this city, and how I will no longer be living here in a mere 2 weeks. And that thought brought tears to me eyes. Am I ready? Can you ever be ready when you've made a place your home?
I try to consol myself with the fact that I'm following my heart by heading to grad school and I easily could have/still could choose to defer for a year and continue to make a life for myself here, but chose not to. Just today at the Best Buddies event where I spent the entire afternoon bowling with my buddy for the day, Christina, and speaking so much Spanish my head throbbed, the coordinator Emma mentioned she had talked to her director about a possible position for me in the fall, starting in September if I was interested. It threw me for a loop, if that's the correct expression. I explained to her that I had already decided to go home, and she was disappointed, saying she thought I'd be great. Confused doesn't begin to describe it. I wonder if I'm making the right choice to go home, to leave this city that ultimately makes me feel so alive, so at peace with my life and so grateful for every moment that allows me to speak Spanish, to learn something new about myself and to live in Europe.
i wish it was easy, I wish I was so done with this city that I could throw all my ratty clothes in a bag and take off without a backward glance, but I can't. I had this problem leaving Boston, leaving Chicago-not quite ready, yet realizing that moving to a new place or doing something different with my life was ultimately what I wanted. It's hard. It's really hard to imagine leaving here. Somewhat easier with most of my friends being gone, yet I found myself today making new friends with the other BB volunteers, so that doesn't make me feel that much better.
I'll be okay. I know this is part of leaving and moving on; learning to let go and to anticipate and look forward to the future and inevitable life changes. I just wish it didn't have to hit me on a Saturday night.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Bowling and Burkes in Barcelona
World Cup mania has swept over the world, and I'm surprisingly digging it. Especially watching the Spain games in bars with chain smoking anxious Catalan men who take everything super personally. I've usually been a hater of sports in the past but got completely sucked into the Barca games here, and am really loving the FIFA fever. Go España!
I've been feeling slightly bipolar these past few days, wavering between intense excitement abut my impending travels in 2 weeks, and then switching over to feeling melancholy about leaving everything here. In some ways it will be easier to leave as almost everyone in my TEFL program has left, and those of us that are still here kind of do our own thing. I spent most of Thursday and Friday solo, which instead of making me feel sorry for myself and wanting to throw a pity party, it was surprisingly nice. I'm getting all this time to revisit things in Barcelona that I love, and to really take in the city these last few weeks. It helps a lot when I'm stressing over future grad school stuff and then I just walk outside my apartment and am assaulted by gorgeous blue skies and the promise of another beach day.
Last night I met up with Joe, a kid that we met in our hostal in Sevilla. He's traveling all around Spain and has a few days in BCN, so I showed him some local watering holes and we wandered over to check out the "magic fountain" which I'd heard so much about. It's basically a huge fountain in Plaza España near my apartment, that has Disney-ish music and changes colours and moves to the music. Cheesy? incredibly. Amazing? you bet. He's randomly going to be in Cinque Terre in Italy the same time that Sari and i will be there, so we'll run into each other again. It's very true that the backpackers' world is small as people tend to get on the same traveling routes. So excited to be part of that!
Today I'm heading to another Best Buddies event, like the one I helped out with a few weekends ago. And I didn't read the email correctly at first but just noticed.. we're going BOWLING! I love bowling! So American! So there's that to look forward to, and then I'll be meeting up with my mom and her friend MaryAnn tonight to roam around and eat a late dinner. Lots of good things today, I'm thankful. Also thankful for making the decision the other day to buy a huge thing of Nutella.
I've been feeling slightly bipolar these past few days, wavering between intense excitement abut my impending travels in 2 weeks, and then switching over to feeling melancholy about leaving everything here. In some ways it will be easier to leave as almost everyone in my TEFL program has left, and those of us that are still here kind of do our own thing. I spent most of Thursday and Friday solo, which instead of making me feel sorry for myself and wanting to throw a pity party, it was surprisingly nice. I'm getting all this time to revisit things in Barcelona that I love, and to really take in the city these last few weeks. It helps a lot when I'm stressing over future grad school stuff and then I just walk outside my apartment and am assaulted by gorgeous blue skies and the promise of another beach day.
Last night I met up with Joe, a kid that we met in our hostal in Sevilla. He's traveling all around Spain and has a few days in BCN, so I showed him some local watering holes and we wandered over to check out the "magic fountain" which I'd heard so much about. It's basically a huge fountain in Plaza España near my apartment, that has Disney-ish music and changes colours and moves to the music. Cheesy? incredibly. Amazing? you bet. He's randomly going to be in Cinque Terre in Italy the same time that Sari and i will be there, so we'll run into each other again. It's very true that the backpackers' world is small as people tend to get on the same traveling routes. So excited to be part of that!
Today I'm heading to another Best Buddies event, like the one I helped out with a few weekends ago. And I didn't read the email correctly at first but just noticed.. we're going BOWLING! I love bowling! So American! So there's that to look forward to, and then I'll be meeting up with my mom and her friend MaryAnn tonight to roam around and eat a late dinner. Lots of good things today, I'm thankful. Also thankful for making the decision the other day to buy a huge thing of Nutella.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
New fancy blog, adventures in Zaragoza and artsy fartsy times
Changed things up a bit, really digging the globe background on this one.
I can already feel that this is going to be a pretty good week. I had such a wonderful weekend- left Friday morning with my friend Aneliza to head to Zaragoza for the weekend to stay with Nate. I had already been to Zaragoza a few months ago, but this visit really gave me a chance to explore the city, as we rented bikes the entire time and just rode around seeing the sights, bar hopping, checking out a flea market, and watching the USA vs. England game in an Irish pub where we were the only Americans, it was really fun.
Other weekend highlights include making a feast of Mexican food and watching the movie Uncle Buck, as well as taking a nightime bike ride around the city. Zaragoza is a bigger city than I thought, and I really like how many people were out on the streets and wandering through the parks and such. Also so good to see Nate, we're hoping to meet up at some point in Northern Spain when I'm doing my traveling at the beginning of August.
Yesterday I taught my favourite Argeninian couple for an hour, made some dinner and then went with Jenny to a chill bar in Gay Eixample to watch the Italy vs. Paraguay game. She went to Pamplona by herself for the weekend and was telling me how they've already set up the Running with the Bulls route, it sounds pretty awesome. Kind of wish I could check that out but I'll be in Italy during it. Boo hoo, I know!
Today I went to the MNAC- the museum of Catalan art which was huge and some parts were slightly boring, but it was really worth the visit. Now it's off to teaching and then going to a bar with some Jenny's Brazilian roommates to watch the Brazil world cup game. Good week so far, and then my mom gets into town on Saturday which I'm so so stoked for!
I can already feel that this is going to be a pretty good week. I had such a wonderful weekend- left Friday morning with my friend Aneliza to head to Zaragoza for the weekend to stay with Nate. I had already been to Zaragoza a few months ago, but this visit really gave me a chance to explore the city, as we rented bikes the entire time and just rode around seeing the sights, bar hopping, checking out a flea market, and watching the USA vs. England game in an Irish pub where we were the only Americans, it was really fun.
Other weekend highlights include making a feast of Mexican food and watching the movie Uncle Buck, as well as taking a nightime bike ride around the city. Zaragoza is a bigger city than I thought, and I really like how many people were out on the streets and wandering through the parks and such. Also so good to see Nate, we're hoping to meet up at some point in Northern Spain when I'm doing my traveling at the beginning of August.
Yesterday I taught my favourite Argeninian couple for an hour, made some dinner and then went with Jenny to a chill bar in Gay Eixample to watch the Italy vs. Paraguay game. She went to Pamplona by herself for the weekend and was telling me how they've already set up the Running with the Bulls route, it sounds pretty awesome. Kind of wish I could check that out but I'll be in Italy during it. Boo hoo, I know!
Today I went to the MNAC- the museum of Catalan art which was huge and some parts were slightly boring, but it was really worth the visit. Now it's off to teaching and then going to a bar with some Jenny's Brazilian roommates to watch the Brazil world cup game. Good week so far, and then my mom gets into town on Saturday which I'm so so stoked for!
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Thirsty Thursdays and other cultural events
Yay for Thirsty Thursdays! Thirsty for culture, that is. Spent the morning with Jenny using our amazing ArtTicket to go to the Antoni Taipes museum which was kind of a snoozefest, but glad we didn't have to pay. The ArtTicket is wonderful- you pay 22 Euros to enter into 6 museums all over Barcelona, and never have to wait in line. Completely worth it!
I was going to write the other day but was feeling a bit emo, so decided to wait until I was in a better mood so it doesn't seem like I'm always complaining or focusing on how tough things can be at times. I'm in a pretty good place right now! Last night Jenny came over, we cooked dinner and went out for a few beers and talked a lot about how it feels to be basically the last 2 women standing from our TEFL course. She's decided to actually not stay here for a full year as she planned, but to head home at the end of August and then move to Argentina sometime next year. Fabulous plan, I think.
Tomorrow I'm heading to Zaragoza to see my friend Nate, haven't been there since my first weekend in Spain so I'm looking forward to it. I'm also excited to not be around here for a weekend- I don't know what my problem is, honestly. I feel disenchanted with Barcelona at the moment so I think I'll feel loads better with a bit of a break this weekend, exploring a different place and being with friends. I'm so very conscious of how this might sound too, saying how tired I am of one of the most fabulous cities in the world, but I think just knowing that I'm in Europe and CAN travel so many places is really starting to get to me, so I'm going to be very ready for the traveling portion of my journey to begin in a few weeks, hurray!
Something I realized today when I was perusing the Good Hibernian English bookstore that I frequent oh, about 2-3x/wk, is how much reading I've done. Seriously, I've devoured all the new arrivals at this bookstore. and because this is my blog, and I can be as nerdy as I want, I'm going to list some of the books that I can remember reading thus far. Oh boy, list making FUN!
Eat Pray Love- Elizabeth Gilbert
The Great Gatsby- F. Scott Fitzgerald
Breakfast at Tiffanys- Truman Capote
Without Reservations- Alice Steinbach
The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo- Stieg Larsson
Visons in White- Nora Roberts
She's Come Undone- Wally Lamb
Grammar Lessons:Translating a Life in Spain- Michelle Morano
The Guernsey Literary and Potatoe Peel Pie Society- Mary Ann Shaffer
Committed- Elizabeth Gilbert
The Beach House- Jane Green
Something Borrowed- Emily Giffin
Something Blue- Emily Giffin
that's all I can remember right now, whew!
I was going to write the other day but was feeling a bit emo, so decided to wait until I was in a better mood so it doesn't seem like I'm always complaining or focusing on how tough things can be at times. I'm in a pretty good place right now! Last night Jenny came over, we cooked dinner and went out for a few beers and talked a lot about how it feels to be basically the last 2 women standing from our TEFL course. She's decided to actually not stay here for a full year as she planned, but to head home at the end of August and then move to Argentina sometime next year. Fabulous plan, I think.
Tomorrow I'm heading to Zaragoza to see my friend Nate, haven't been there since my first weekend in Spain so I'm looking forward to it. I'm also excited to not be around here for a weekend- I don't know what my problem is, honestly. I feel disenchanted with Barcelona at the moment so I think I'll feel loads better with a bit of a break this weekend, exploring a different place and being with friends. I'm so very conscious of how this might sound too, saying how tired I am of one of the most fabulous cities in the world, but I think just knowing that I'm in Europe and CAN travel so many places is really starting to get to me, so I'm going to be very ready for the traveling portion of my journey to begin in a few weeks, hurray!
Something I realized today when I was perusing the Good Hibernian English bookstore that I frequent oh, about 2-3x/wk, is how much reading I've done. Seriously, I've devoured all the new arrivals at this bookstore. and because this is my blog, and I can be as nerdy as I want, I'm going to list some of the books that I can remember reading thus far. Oh boy, list making FUN!
Eat Pray Love- Elizabeth Gilbert
The Great Gatsby- F. Scott Fitzgerald
Breakfast at Tiffanys- Truman Capote
Without Reservations- Alice Steinbach
The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo- Stieg Larsson
Visons in White- Nora Roberts
She's Come Undone- Wally Lamb
Grammar Lessons:Translating a Life in Spain- Michelle Morano
The Guernsey Literary and Potatoe Peel Pie Society- Mary Ann Shaffer
Committed- Elizabeth Gilbert
The Beach House- Jane Green
Something Borrowed- Emily Giffin
Something Blue- Emily Giffin
that's all I can remember right now, whew!
Monday, June 7, 2010
4 minutes on the feminist soap box
Getting on the soap box here, bear with me.
Something that has continually proven to both astound me and disgust me is the way I've had men react to me here in Barcelona. I'm usually on my guard for sketchy looking people and/or situations, but here I feel pretty uncomfortable at times, even walking on my own safe street. Barcelona is actually a very safe city with about 75% of all crime being petty theft, like pickpocketing, yet that doesn't stop me from getting a little sketched out at times.
I would say that 6 out of 7 days here in Barcelona, I get looked up and down for longer than is necessary, called "guapa" as I walk past someone, and recently experienced men who reach out and touch my arm slightly as I walk by, though that's a new thing. I also have men who come up to me and get right in my face just to tell me I'm pretty. Gee, thanks so much. What gives you the right to completely invade my space? It makes me outraged, and I wish I could ignore it or chalk it up to cultural differences, but that mindset is virtually impossible for me to accept. Most of the time my response is just a disgusted sound and a rolling of the eyes, but sometimes if I'm feeling particularly revolted, I'll say a little something back to them, which isn't one of my prouder moments.
I guess I'm just not okay with this. Yesterday I went for a run and was sweating profusely and still had 3 men call out to me in 3 different situations, calling me guapa or making mmm mmm sounds at me. I feel like my body here is often seen as public property. Wow, this feminist soap box is really letting me rage on and on, isn't it? But it feels good, as this is something I deal with on a daily basis. I try so hard to ignore it, or not take it seriously, but its really difficult to ignore it when I'm just trying to walk down the street and get commented on or stared down, continually. I don't want to be seen as one of those "angry feminists" who take things too seriously, but actually, i could care less about that branding since I'm used to hearing that stereotype. I'm just tired of having to second guess what I'm going to wear outside for fear of having men look me up and down for a good minute, and then commented on. What, have you never seen a woman before?
Here's hoping I can let go of some of this anger and discomfort because it's not a fun occurrance to have to think about these things on a daily basis.
Off the soap box now.
Something that has continually proven to both astound me and disgust me is the way I've had men react to me here in Barcelona. I'm usually on my guard for sketchy looking people and/or situations, but here I feel pretty uncomfortable at times, even walking on my own safe street. Barcelona is actually a very safe city with about 75% of all crime being petty theft, like pickpocketing, yet that doesn't stop me from getting a little sketched out at times.
I would say that 6 out of 7 days here in Barcelona, I get looked up and down for longer than is necessary, called "guapa" as I walk past someone, and recently experienced men who reach out and touch my arm slightly as I walk by, though that's a new thing. I also have men who come up to me and get right in my face just to tell me I'm pretty. Gee, thanks so much. What gives you the right to completely invade my space? It makes me outraged, and I wish I could ignore it or chalk it up to cultural differences, but that mindset is virtually impossible for me to accept. Most of the time my response is just a disgusted sound and a rolling of the eyes, but sometimes if I'm feeling particularly revolted, I'll say a little something back to them, which isn't one of my prouder moments.
I guess I'm just not okay with this. Yesterday I went for a run and was sweating profusely and still had 3 men call out to me in 3 different situations, calling me guapa or making mmm mmm sounds at me. I feel like my body here is often seen as public property. Wow, this feminist soap box is really letting me rage on and on, isn't it? But it feels good, as this is something I deal with on a daily basis. I try so hard to ignore it, or not take it seriously, but its really difficult to ignore it when I'm just trying to walk down the street and get commented on or stared down, continually. I don't want to be seen as one of those "angry feminists" who take things too seriously, but actually, i could care less about that branding since I'm used to hearing that stereotype. I'm just tired of having to second guess what I'm going to wear outside for fear of having men look me up and down for a good minute, and then commented on. What, have you never seen a woman before?
Here's hoping I can let go of some of this anger and discomfort because it's not a fun occurrance to have to think about these things on a daily basis.
Off the soap box now.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
It Figueres that I'd go to the Dali museum
Ouch. The Pun Police are hot on my tail for that one! Yesterday I went to Figueres, in the Costa Brava region of Spain that's about 2 hours north of Barcelona. My friend Jenny and I scoped out the Dali museum, which I was not that excited about because I never was a huge fan of Dali's work when I studied it in school. But it blew me away! It's in this old theatre, and everything was created and curated by Dali himself. Some of the things were very trippy, such as the room devoted to Mae West with a huge couch in the shape of red lips, and a gigantic portrait that when you look at it one way is his muse/soulmate Gala, and at second glance is Abraham Lincoln!
The town wasn't much to write home about, just the museum and some mediocre restaurants. But I was so glad I went! Surprisingly it wasn't even that crowded on a Saturday morning. Afterwards, I went over to the Fundacion de Mejores Amigos (Best Buddies) to volunteer for an event. I had met with the director Emma the other week to see if I could be paired with a Buddy but you have to make a year commitment which I can't do, but she suggested I stop by yesterday to help with the first event of the group, as it's only about 3 months old in Barcelona. I almost bailed because I was so nervous, but I was so GLAD I went! There were about 6 pairs of Buddies there, and I got a free t-shirt and a badge and was the person to escort the guests to the conference room! I also was paired with a girl for the day since her Buddy wasn't able to make it, and it was so great. I tried to hold my own in Spanish but sometimes I got so nervous about if what I was saying was correct, so I probably sounded like a babbling idiot. Ah well! It was only about an hour or so, and it was nice to volunteer again. The director, Emma, is about my age and is fluent in Catalan, English and Castellano, no big deal. Great afternoon!
I ended the lovely saturday by meeting up with Jenny again and we went to the Born area to this near Xampanyet, where they have cheap cava and champagne, and then meandered to a few other bars where we ran into a huge group of kids from Northeastern University in Boston. Of course! Can't escape Americans, it seems.
Now it's off to see Sexo en Nueva York 2, very excited!
The town wasn't much to write home about, just the museum and some mediocre restaurants. But I was so glad I went! Surprisingly it wasn't even that crowded on a Saturday morning. Afterwards, I went over to the Fundacion de Mejores Amigos (Best Buddies) to volunteer for an event. I had met with the director Emma the other week to see if I could be paired with a Buddy but you have to make a year commitment which I can't do, but she suggested I stop by yesterday to help with the first event of the group, as it's only about 3 months old in Barcelona. I almost bailed because I was so nervous, but I was so GLAD I went! There were about 6 pairs of Buddies there, and I got a free t-shirt and a badge and was the person to escort the guests to the conference room! I also was paired with a girl for the day since her Buddy wasn't able to make it, and it was so great. I tried to hold my own in Spanish but sometimes I got so nervous about if what I was saying was correct, so I probably sounded like a babbling idiot. Ah well! It was only about an hour or so, and it was nice to volunteer again. The director, Emma, is about my age and is fluent in Catalan, English and Castellano, no big deal. Great afternoon!
I ended the lovely saturday by meeting up with Jenny again and we went to the Born area to this near Xampanyet, where they have cheap cava and champagne, and then meandered to a few other bars where we ran into a huge group of kids from Northeastern University in Boston. Of course! Can't escape Americans, it seems.
Now it's off to see Sexo en Nueva York 2, very excited!
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Andalucia loves you!
"Andalucia loves you!" "Andalucia, Spain: Where the sun is shining and life is smiling"- various billboard advertisements ranting about the wonderfulness of southern spain, Andalucia. And they are SO RIGHT.
Went to Sevilla this past weekend with my friends Sari and Jenny, and we met up with our friend Kate who is living in Madrid. I haven't been back to Sevilla for 5 years, as the last time I was there was as a scared 20 year old study abroad student, living in an "orphanage" with 16 other foreign students. I remember barely speaking any Spanish, I was so scared, so as a result didn't improve as much as I'd hoped. I'd like to think I'm loads better now!
I was both apprehensive and elated to have the chance to come back to the first city I ever loved in Spain. We did the whole early-morning-turbulant-yet-cheap RyanAir flight to get there, and stepped out of the plane into intense heat. Sevilla has a pretty lame tram system now, which is kind of pointless but we used it to get to our highly reccommended hostal near the city center. Riding the tram into the center, I felt almost as if I had been living there all along, but had just been away for a few weeks or something. Mostly everything, upon first glance, looked exactly the same, I was so relieved!
Our hostal was another story. We cheaped out and were in an 8 person bedroom, which was nice enough and we met some fellow travelers, checked out the awesome rooftop deck with gorgeous views of the cathedral and its tower, La Giralda. And then we realized.. there was only one bathroom. ONE bathroom for 20 people! Kind of a problem.. tried to deal with it the best we could but it caused some blood boiling and swearing heavily on our end. Ah well, part of the experience!
We spent Friday roaming around near the cathedral, along the Universidad de Sevilla's main building, and I made my friends cross over the river to Los Remedios, where I lived. It felt so surreal to stand in front of the building I lived in, everything looked the same! We also checked out this market I used to frequent that sells gorgeous leather stuff like bracelets that I bought my weight in, purses, etc. Kate arrived in the evening and her friend Scott, who currently lives in Sevilla, brought us to one of the plazas where you can "botellon", aka drink in the streets. I forgot how much I love love love Tinto de Verano, which is red wine mixed with lemon fanta, fabulous!
Saturday was about a million degrees so after some mediocre breakfast at our hostal, we went to check out the Real Alcazar Palace which has gorgeous, lush gardens and it's just HUGE and beautiful, with ornate Moorish carvings on the building. We got some amazing tapas in the Barrio Santa Cruz, which is the old Jewish quarter, and then meandered to the Plaza de Espanya which is another gigantic, beautiful building with little mosaic sitting places named after each province in Spain, very cool! Afterwards, we went back to our hostal and started hearing all this marching band sounding music- turns out it was the Cruz de Mayo, or some religious festival. Right outside our hostal there was a tiny church and for 4 hours straight, they had a band slowly marching, playing this haunting melody as a float with a pretty much a life-sized creepy statue of Virgin Mary ( I think) went sauntering by. People were underneath the float and moving it so slowly so it looked like it was moving by itself, CREEPY.
We ended up hanging out on our rooftop bar and meeting this group of hysterical Spanish guys who were in Sevilla to celebrate a bachelor party. Language barriers galore, but we had a great time with them- apparently they had an obsession with American music, and when I asked which artists, they said "Hannah Montana and Bon Jovi!" We also met a group of Italians at our hostal who spoke no English, so I was pulling out mediocre Italian to try to talk to them. I LOVE meeting other travelers in hostals!
Sunday was a lazy day, filled with lots of sweating, drinking gallons of water, and exploring the city in the shade as much as possible. Kate left in the afternoon so the rest of us walked near the river, got some ridiculously great and cheap tapas (much better than in Barcelona) and even found this hole in the wall pizza place that I remembered, and it was still there! Sevilla is so easy to walk around in, which is one of the best things about it. The city is also intoxicatingly beautiful, very "Spanish", and made me so so excited to travel through more of Southern Spain when I'm doing my traveling bit in July.
Glad to be back in Barcelona, and to have 2 teaching jobs to sustain me. Reveling in the downtime right now, and planning my travel plans for the month of July. About a month left actually here in Barcelona, que loco!
Went to Sevilla this past weekend with my friends Sari and Jenny, and we met up with our friend Kate who is living in Madrid. I haven't been back to Sevilla for 5 years, as the last time I was there was as a scared 20 year old study abroad student, living in an "orphanage" with 16 other foreign students. I remember barely speaking any Spanish, I was so scared, so as a result didn't improve as much as I'd hoped. I'd like to think I'm loads better now!
I was both apprehensive and elated to have the chance to come back to the first city I ever loved in Spain. We did the whole early-morning-turbulant-yet-cheap RyanAir flight to get there, and stepped out of the plane into intense heat. Sevilla has a pretty lame tram system now, which is kind of pointless but we used it to get to our highly reccommended hostal near the city center. Riding the tram into the center, I felt almost as if I had been living there all along, but had just been away for a few weeks or something. Mostly everything, upon first glance, looked exactly the same, I was so relieved!
Our hostal was another story. We cheaped out and were in an 8 person bedroom, which was nice enough and we met some fellow travelers, checked out the awesome rooftop deck with gorgeous views of the cathedral and its tower, La Giralda. And then we realized.. there was only one bathroom. ONE bathroom for 20 people! Kind of a problem.. tried to deal with it the best we could but it caused some blood boiling and swearing heavily on our end. Ah well, part of the experience!
We spent Friday roaming around near the cathedral, along the Universidad de Sevilla's main building, and I made my friends cross over the river to Los Remedios, where I lived. It felt so surreal to stand in front of the building I lived in, everything looked the same! We also checked out this market I used to frequent that sells gorgeous leather stuff like bracelets that I bought my weight in, purses, etc. Kate arrived in the evening and her friend Scott, who currently lives in Sevilla, brought us to one of the plazas where you can "botellon", aka drink in the streets. I forgot how much I love love love Tinto de Verano, which is red wine mixed with lemon fanta, fabulous!
Saturday was about a million degrees so after some mediocre breakfast at our hostal, we went to check out the Real Alcazar Palace which has gorgeous, lush gardens and it's just HUGE and beautiful, with ornate Moorish carvings on the building. We got some amazing tapas in the Barrio Santa Cruz, which is the old Jewish quarter, and then meandered to the Plaza de Espanya which is another gigantic, beautiful building with little mosaic sitting places named after each province in Spain, very cool! Afterwards, we went back to our hostal and started hearing all this marching band sounding music- turns out it was the Cruz de Mayo, or some religious festival. Right outside our hostal there was a tiny church and for 4 hours straight, they had a band slowly marching, playing this haunting melody as a float with a pretty much a life-sized creepy statue of Virgin Mary ( I think) went sauntering by. People were underneath the float and moving it so slowly so it looked like it was moving by itself, CREEPY.
We ended up hanging out on our rooftop bar and meeting this group of hysterical Spanish guys who were in Sevilla to celebrate a bachelor party. Language barriers galore, but we had a great time with them- apparently they had an obsession with American music, and when I asked which artists, they said "Hannah Montana and Bon Jovi!" We also met a group of Italians at our hostal who spoke no English, so I was pulling out mediocre Italian to try to talk to them. I LOVE meeting other travelers in hostals!
Sunday was a lazy day, filled with lots of sweating, drinking gallons of water, and exploring the city in the shade as much as possible. Kate left in the afternoon so the rest of us walked near the river, got some ridiculously great and cheap tapas (much better than in Barcelona) and even found this hole in the wall pizza place that I remembered, and it was still there! Sevilla is so easy to walk around in, which is one of the best things about it. The city is also intoxicatingly beautiful, very "Spanish", and made me so so excited to travel through more of Southern Spain when I'm doing my traveling bit in July.
Glad to be back in Barcelona, and to have 2 teaching jobs to sustain me. Reveling in the downtime right now, and planning my travel plans for the month of July. About a month left actually here in Barcelona, que loco!
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