Fiestas

Today is La Merce and these Spaniards know how to throw a party! Beginning last night and going through ‘til Sunday, there are 14 stages set up around the city and music concerts going on non-stop! Last night, we kicked off the festivities by going to Rosario’s concert. Download her music. I had no idea that an old lady in a one piece striped suit could be loved so much by a city. She had about 3 encores, and I don’t think I have ever seen a group of people so happy. After Rosario, there was more fun to be had so we ventured on to an Istanbul concert. Supposedly, Istanbul is the lucky “sister” city this year. We totally rocked out at the front of the stage to a very drugged and tripping Istanbul singer and rhythmic dancer. At one point, he exited the stage and started climbing on the scaffolding surrounding the stage. The poor stage manager was running after him in a very frenzied state. This morning, we saw the CASTELLERS! This human castle building sport is actually said to be Catalan’s national sport.

Teams of people form towers that consist of up to seven stories of people, and then a little child climbs all the way to the top to finish off the tower! At one point, one of the children fell all the way from the top through the middle of the tower to the bottom. It was very scary!

This past weekend, we took an IES “study journey” to the Costa Brava. In 3 days, we went to seven cities, including Collioure in the South of France. On our last day, we went to the Dali museum, which was amazing! I think Europe has tapped into my artistic side that has been waiting to be discovered.

The other day, I had the urge to write poetry???? Who am I? Haha. We went to Dali’s museum, which was almost like an interactive science museum because it had so many optical illusions.

On Tuesday, I started my first class at UPF, the Spanish university. It’s hilarious; all of the students drink beer at the cafeteria during their breaks between classes. I really want to meet all of the foreign students. I started by introducing myself to the German kids behind me, who thought it was awesome that I was from “America.” YES, this is the reaction I have been waiting for…. usually, my origin is treated with disgust by foreigners.

The language barrier is somewhat of a problem though when making friends. On our elevator to our apartment the other day, I met a guy that lives on my floor. He said “Hello” to me in English, and when I got really excited that he spoke English, I asked why it was so obvious that I was from the United States. He responded with “Yes, I speak English.” Haha. Apparently, no you don’t….. lol.

No classes for 4 days because of festivities!!!!