Aventura 23: Monasterio de Poblet

Last week we ventured an hour and a half in bus south to Tarragona, through the city, las afueras, el campo (country), and even the mountains to arrive at a small town with a monastery, el Monasterio de Poblet.  This romanesque (but part gothic) monastery is I believe one of the oldest in Barcelona, and it was beautiful, beautifully simple but with so many secrets.  We had a walking library guide - can you guess who it is by that description? Yup.  My art history professor! He came along with us, and seeing as he seems to know everyone, he just walked right in and asked for the keys TO the monastery, and we had ourselves a the key to all parts of the monastery, and all the history and secrets.  

We learned that St. Bernardo, who was a great patron saint of the monastery, was one of the first to change the relationship between a man and a woman, from a hierarchical relationship to one of love and respect.  He loved Mary, and his poetry, his words, changed the way people viewed love.  

We found this padlocked door, where the padlock is actually a dragon if you look closely enough, and do you know what it was guarding? BOOKS.  This was the vault of books, where the monks would come and ask the guard who was standing there to open the vault and lend them a book with gold pages or intricate prints to read on the bench, always within eyesight of the guard.  

I wandered through the strong arches, in awe of the simple yet still impressive, mouth-gaping architecture.  

At the same time I was in awe of the form of the arches, columns, and church, I was confused where this strength came from.  This monastery was so old, that many of the stone bricks that it was built with were crumbling and falling apart, in all areas.  Yet it still stays strong.  And I think that shows how, in anything in life, you need to depend on other people.  All this bricks aren't perfect, especially as they get older.  But the have become more connecting, the line separating the levels disappearing. Although some bricks are losing their energy, they are melting into others to stay strong.  Take that metaphor as you like, but I was thinking a lot more than just rotting bricks when I was staring at these walls.

And as we headed out, another dragon to lead the way.  Or help us out, literally.

But the fun surely wasn't over yet.  We got to eat calçots, which isn't as much a food, as it is an experience.  We stepped up to the table, tied our bibs around our necks as we say our professor do, and waited until the waiters placed these huge trays in front of us of strange looking vegetables and orange salsa. What were we to do? 

http://www.restaurantanna.es/Galeria/temporada.html

Do as our professor does, and grab a stem, remove the black part, dip it in sauce, lean back...........and dangle it into your mouth! Like you are playing the catch-a-fish game at the carnival! And sheesh I'm I gonna be good at that carnival game next time I go to the town fair - because these calçots were delicious and fun and silly and I ate so many!

http://www.european-schoolprojects.net/festivals/Spain/winter/images/calcots.jpg

After the rest of la comida (yup, 7, 9 calçots is not your lunch), we penguin-walked back onto the bus for a wonderful 1.5 hour siesta back to the university with dreams of the serene monastery mixing with the messy, messy incredible fun calçots.

Aventura 22: Fútsaluna

Fútsal has been the highlight of my time so far in Barcelona.  I have practices Tuesday, Thursday, and games on the weekends.  Last Tuesday night, we had practice in our usual Tuesday night spot behind the church, outside (yes, outside, pretty cold!), and we were playing under the stars. At first, it didn't really seem like it because there were lights, but then the lights got shut off for some reason, so we could only see by the light of the full moon and the stars! I think everyone else might have been a little annoyed that the lights had turned off, but I just took it as a moment to reflect on where I was: playing fútbol with a wonderful group of girls outside a church IN BARCELONA!

http://www.photoentropy.com/2008/06/06/moon-and-soccer-field.php

We had a game this weekend, and we had to drive an hour and a half to Blanes, outside of Barcelona.  I hopped in the car with three girls from my team, three girls that I didn't know too well other than having two weeks of practices with them - but here I was driving with them to a footy game like I was at home on a weekend! We had such an exciting game, tying 2-2, but again, not until the ride home when I looked out the window and saw the stars and the moon looking back at me did I think and realize how amazing it is to be playing on a team here with these girls! I can't explain it really - but it just feels like I'm actually a PART of Barcelona, that I'm not just touristing here, not just visiting, not even just studying, but I'm getting to know and hanging out and driving 3 hours on a weekend, returning during the night, for a footy game!  

I can't explain the feeling, except with this new word I came up with:

Fútsaluna: fútsal + luna = futsal + moon.  

Maybe it shares the same meaning as the song that my grandma used to sing to me:

"I see the moon, 

the moon sees me, 

the moon sees the one that I want to see.  

God bless the moon, 

and god bless me, 

and god bless the one that I want to see." 

Or a quote that I like from the movie Dear John that I saw with my cousin:

 "There's a full moon tonight which makes me think of you, half a world away." - John Tyree

That the moon, no matter where you are, is always there with you.  That the moon is something that everyone has in common, anywhere in the world, and you can always look at the moon and know that whoever you are thinking about will be seeing that same moon.  I think, in a way, footy has become that for me.  I've played it in so many places all over the U.S., in Argentina, Africa, Norway, Australia, in all different schools and on many different teams, and now in Barcelona.  And every time I've played footy in these places, I've gotten to know the people and the place in a different way.  Fútbol has become my own moon.  I can find it all over the world.  I can connect with people far away or close by just by being on a team or kicking a ball around with them.  Its beauty puts a huge smile on my face.  And, if it's not too obvious to mention, the moon looks like a beautiful footy ball, shining high in the sky and the constellations are actually depictions of soccer Gods, some that even play here in Barcelona.

Fútsaluna...this idea...this word...is quickly becoming a huge part of who I am.

Aventura 21: Fundació de Joan Miró

"Entiendo que un artista es alguien que, entre el silencio de los demás, utiliza su voz para decir algo y que tiene la obligación de que no sea inútil, sino algo que preste servicio a los hombres."

"I understand that an artist is someone who, between the silence of the rest, uses his voice to say something and that has the obligation to not be useless but one that helps serve the people."

Joan Miró 

 In the first room of the Miró exhibition, I was smiling at the beautiful paintings of the farmland, the natural landscapes, and the cityscapes.  I was awe-struck by the way Miró saw the world and played with reality to create his art.  I laughed at the seahorse-like animal that sprang out of his imagination onto the canvas, or the numerous paintings titled, "Head of a Catalan Peasant" because his imagination in those first two rooms was so playful, colorful, and turning reality upside-down.

El Cazador (1923-1924)The Hunter

Cabeza de campesino catalán (1925)Head of a Catalán Farmer

But I think these paintings came in a time before reality turned Miró upside-down.  Starting in the 1930's,  and in the third room, Miró's paintings and the feelings I had for the paintings changed.  I wasn't laughing but put into deep thought.  The dark colors and the imaginary figures were more real than before, even if to some they looked just as fanciful.  Reading the commentary on Miró in his work, I connect the lines between the time period and this work: the Civil War is going on, and these paintings reflect the people all around who are suffering from the war.

Hombre y mujer frente a un montón de excrementos (1935)Man and woman in front of a pile of excrement

Personaje (1934)
Person

Moving to the next rooms, and moving into the 1940's, la posquerra, and the time of Franco, Miró's paintings have lost all of the fanciful, playful imagination from before and has an aura of anguish, torture, silence, screaming, and deep, deep thought.  A 50-piece lithograph series of monsters from nightmares.  A portrait, head of a man, that was very different from the head of the peasant before.  A piece titled, "Young Girl with Half Brown, Half Red Hair Slipping on the Blood of Frozen Hyacinths of a Burning Football Field" (1939) stopped me in my tracks because I never would have placed a footy field amidst this anguish, and yet, there it is.  Or a canvas that was literally burnt up with flames.

Plate XXIII from the Barcelona Series

Cabeza de un hombre (1937)
Head of a Man

Burnt Canvas

Miró, as he is quoted at the beginning of this post, seem to realize the power of an artist.  During these torturous years of Spain, Miró used his art to speak for the suffering of the people.  And his art now still speaks of the history, still keeps the memory of this time present, as a reminder to never return there.

Aventura 20: Fútbol Feminino

http://www.fcbarcelona.com/football/feminine/detail/article/draw-in-friendly-between-barca-ladies-and-inac-kobe-1-1

A few days ago, I came back from school around 16.00h and my host dad told me that the Women's Barca team was playing, "Today, against the best women's soccer player!" As he meant it, the Barca team was taking on in a friendly a team from Japan, INAC Kobe, with the center-midfielder Homare Sawa, the recently named FIFA Best Women's Futbolista of 2012.  She, along with the Japanese team, surprised and enchanted the world when they won the 2011 World Cup.

I couldn't believe it was TONIGHT! I'd been keeping an eye and ear out for Barca feminina but it often gets overshadowed by both the A and B Barca team.  I looked up information on the internet, but couldn't find much.  Instead of calling over the stadium, I just decided to go for a jog to there! (How cool is it living in the city, 20 minutes run from Camp Nou?).  I asked at the museum, and the game was indeed at 19.00h, in the MiniEstadi, and gratis (free) because it was a friendly.

At 19.00h I left the metro and walked towards the stadium, following Barca chant.  I entered the stadium and there were many more fans than I thought!  I sat down and was in awe of the game in front of me.

I love watching football, no matter what type, but watching women's teams is something really special to me.  I think because that's how I first fell in love with soccer: Watching the U.S. Women's run in the 1999 World Cup, ending up with Brandi Chastain's penalty kick winner.  I loved that team, I followed that team, I knew every player and wanted to be every player for Halloween.  And the same feeling came back watching these two women's teams.  I feel like I can follow it that much better, notice more things, be in awe or more things because I can more easily imagine myself on the field with them.

And the women's game is beautiful.  So much working together, passing, talking, and definitely not as much drama as the men's Barcelona team, and that's something I really really appreciate.  It just feels like a very respectful game.  Given, this was a friendly.  There are definitely female players who dive just like Dani Alves or are poor sports like Pepe from Real Madrid, but watching this game, I didn't see any of that.  Less fouls, only one card.  This was beautiful football because they loved football.  And many players seemed to be smiling while they were playing.

So with this feeling, I started watching the game.  Naturally, being in Barcelona, I focused on the Barca team, watching their passes, offense, defense, positions, but I couldn't help it - my mind shifted to focusing on INAC Kobe.  There passes, touches, relaxed nature, positioning, triangles and quick passes in tight spaces, creativity, was a magnet for my eyes.  I sat there with my mouth hung open and not because I was cheering.

At half-time, I switched seats before I left to go to my own training, and I saw a group of 11-yr old girls cheering like crazy at the end of the stadium, with signs and smiles and flags.  I laughed to myself as the image of being at the Gold Cup with two of my friends, our stomachs painted with the letters U-S-A, flashed across my mind.  This is something wonderful that women's soccer does - inspiring the next generation of young girls.  This is something I realized I'm really proud of of women's soccer - the role models that there are here, in these stadiums.

Leaving the stadium, I got to head to my own fútbol training! Which was wonderful but I definitely only got a taste of Barca fútbol life, but don't worry because tomorrow, at 19.00h I will be sitting (or standing, cheering like crazy!) and watching the Barca men's team take on Valencia in the semifinals of la Copa del Rey tournament.  ¡Vamos Barca!

http://www.barcelona-budget.net/barcelona-football-club-news-20120201.html

Aventura 19: la UB

You're probably all wandering if I'm even in school here given that I've shared eighteen aventuras and haven't mentioned school once.  But don't you worry, I go to school every week (when I'm not sick) in a beautiful, beautiful building at la Universitat de Barcelona, right in the center of the city.  And I guess it's about time I give this place and classes some time on my blog!

Let me first give you a photo tour of my university.  Here's the entrance, en la plaza Universitat.  It takes about 20 minutes in metro, 50 minutes walking to get here from my house.  

http://www.gogobot.com/universitat_de_barcelona-barcelona-attraction

After entering the front doors, you are welcomed into the arched entrance of the university.  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Vest%C3%ADbul_Universitat_de_Barcelona.jpg

Turn left, then right, and you will enter one of two outdoor but enclosed areas.  Everyone hangs out here in between classes, meets for group projects (if not in the library), or just stays here to read.  Along with the plants, columns, and arches, there are pools of goldfish and orange trees!

http://www.iagora.com/studies/uni/Universitat_de_Barcelona

Finally, go up the stairs and enter the library.  My spanish friend told me that the library looked like it's from Harry Potter - I think I would agree:

http://estudios.universia.net/espana/institucion/universitat-barcelona

So yes, this is the university I go to every Monday to Wednesday.  My classrooms are your typical classrooms, but when I explore anywhere in the university - the gardens inside or outside, the concert hall, the library, I find surprises everywhere.

As for my classes, I'm taking four, all in castellano. In Democracia en España, we have a animated, passionate UB professor teaching us about the Spanish Constitution and the remarkable transition Spain has made from a dictatorship to democracy.  As I've never taken a political science class before, this class is as much learning about Spain's political system as about political systems in general! The professor is so open and encouraging, and we ask as many questions as we can possibly think of!

My next class is Grámatica, so nothing terribly interesting, although the profesora is nice and makes the 1.5 hour class go by pretty quickly.  I'm learning that although I think I have a pretty good grasp on the Spanish language, I've got quite a long way......

In my Novela de Barcelona class we are learning about the history of Barcelona, from la Guerra Civil until more present day through reading important novels.  La profesora is increíble.  She knows so much, and is one of those more formal teachers (we use the formal directive Usted. instead of the informal Tú to address her) but she is so funny and keeps everything so interesting.  I'm currently reading a book titled Nada, written about a girl who goes to la UB right after la Guerra Civil.  She moved in with her grandma and aunts and uncles in order to go to the university, and she discovers all these dark secrets and the dark pasts of her family and she gets entangled in it with her friend from school.  It's so wonderful to be learning about the history of the place I'm staying - it makes me feel like I'm less of a tourist and more of a cultural and historical aventurista!

Finally, my historia del arte class with the father of the above profesora.  This profesor is unlike any I've had.  He's 80 years old and is a walking library, as my director described him.  We are learning about Goya, Velazqúez, Picasso, el Baroco, el Renacimiento, and art around Spain - but really we are learning more lessons about life than just about art.  My notes are colored with phrases like:

"Your homeland, your nation, is any place where you have been happy, not just where you were born." "Absolutes don't exist; Everything is relative."
"God is the people closest to me: my wife, my kids, and my students."
"Art is the best way to understand a time."
"Music teaches us the words of life."
"Love is to think that the person you love is God."
"There isn't love without liberty."
"Your idea that God exists is correct, and your idea that God doesn't exist is also correct."
"There are no races; there are ethnicities."
"The computer has entered our lives without asking permission, and its changing our world for the worse."
And to end with an art one: "Who doesn't understand Picasso, doesn't understand the modern world."

As you can see, every day in school, en la UB, is a day full of aventuras, that if I were really to count all of them, I think I would be at Aventura 53 by now....

Aventura 18: Miba

A measuring tape belt.  A spoon with a spring instead of a handle so you can slingshot your food! "Boc N' Roll": The reusable bocadillo sweater to bring your sandwiches to school in.  A water bottle with a built in filter.  A chair that has a piece on the back that prevents you from tipping over.  A cookie-dunking mug!

A picnic bench that converts to a picnic table.  A kitchen towel with a magnet so you can throw it on the fridge whenever you aren't using it.  A stirring spoon that has two taste-testing ladles at the end.  A jacket that converts to a purse and back to a jacket.  A bathroom mirror that is also a radio and a clock and a thermometer.  A mop with a microphone so you can really jam out while you are cleaning.

A calendar with package bubbles on each day of the year, so instead of crossing the day out, you pop the bubble! A wristwatch that is a magnet to hold nails, screws, bolts when you are constructing something crazy.  An egg cuber? Glitter spray for food to make broccoli more appetizing.  A waterproof notebook to write all you best ideas and inventions in the shower.  A flower pot that finds its own sun, in case you forget to move it!

These are just a few (crazy, huh?) of the crazy, silly inventions and ideas at the Museeu d'idees i invents de barcelona.  You enter the museum in the store, with crazy inventions already surrounding you - then the first words you encounter tell you that you're entering a world of crazy ideas and inventions that YOU could be the next to display.  You walk through rooms of all these inventions and ideas that just MAKE SENSE and are so much fun.

And don't forget about the bathrooms.  You sit in the bathroom (for girls) or stand (for guys) and there's a tv in front of you that starts, with three guys walking by, "peeking" and making fun of you! I left the museum with my brain spinning.  Different colors, ideas, inventions going on in my head.  

And the next few days of class, while you should see my margin notes: a ring that converts to a long pointer-finger for teachers to use, or anyone, when needing to point at something.  An earring that is a little man sitting in your ear that records what the teacher is saying, so if you aren't paying attention, you can pull his leg and he'll repeat that last question you missed....Or the picnic basket that has glow-in-the-dark ribbon weaved in it so you can have night-time picnics! 

Always remember: "No todo está inventado." -- "Not everything has been invented." These inventions are pure work of the imagination - and it was beautiful to see.  Imagination is what keeps the world moving, what keeps it interesting, what keeps it worth living I think.

May your creative and crazy imagination flourish!

Aventura 17: Eh, Che, ¡Vamos a Chacha!

So of course the first restaurant I go to in Barcelona is an Argentinian restaurant, but I do miss my empanadas - and I got my filling here.  We ordered all the different types of empanadas: jamón y queso, queso y cebolla, espinaca, pollo y carne.  For the main dish, I ate Milanesa de pollo con jamón y tomates.    And to finish it up? Ensalada de fruta con helado.  Oh, and don't forget the 35 empanadillas we ordered for Montserrat the next day! 

http://lachachabcn.com/

The restaurant itself felt very authentic, as the waitress was from Argentina and speaking to us with that wonderful Argentine accent (¿Tenes las ll(shhhhh)aves, porfa? en vez de ¿Tienes las ll(yyy)aves, por favor?)  The wall decor and atmosphere was all Argentina, and we didn't read nor hear one word of english! I was trying to decide if my program would pay for half of this, as they do for cultural events where I have to read in Spanish.  But for some reason enjoying empanadas and milanesa I don't think passes.......probably because I was having too much fun.