6-29 Multitasking

Multitask:V, meaning an attempt to hold five conversations in two languages on Skype/Facebook and write a new blog post at the same time.

Location: Starbucks

Listening To: Andrew York - Shenandoah (Thank God Naxos still works over here)

Well, I'm down to a few less conversations now. It's been a crazy week and I was just too busy/lazy to sit down and write an entry – sorry. This weekend, I went to Calella with the Germans. I'm struggling a bit with this because I love spending time with them and we've become friends so quickly, but I'm practicing more English than Spanish outside the classroom. I've met a few Spaniards, but in general it's much easier to find and get along with other extranjeros. I'll keep trying, but I'm not sure what to do that I haven't already tried, other than one of the really contrived “language exchange” sessions through the school. I guess I shouldn't judge them since I haven't tried them, I just have trouble seeing conversation with limitations like that working out very well. Oh well.

Anyway, Calella was a blast. The water was beautiful and numbingly “refreshing”. Saturday night I watched the US lose (and I was the only American in the bar) – not my favorite night of this trip, but we had some fantastic paella. We went to the beach later that night, which was something I've never done. I loved it. I wish you could sleep out there without worrying about robbers and other idiots. Later the girls wanted to go clubbing, but being the genius I am the only non-swimming clothes I packed were running shorts and a t-shirt. I don't think they would have let me through the door.

So much other stuff to catch up on!! I'll skip the first couple of days since my last post and jump to San Juan. This was really interesting to learn about and even more interesting to experience. It stems from the catholic adaptation of a pagan solstice holiday in the region, though I can promise you “catholic” isn't the first word that springs to mind. In some ways, it's like July 4^th – roughly the middle of the summer, everybody eats (and drinks) way too much, there are fireworks constantly for roughly 36 hours, etc. The main difference seems to be that no one especially cares about the actual meaning of San Juan: the celebration, especially the drinking, seems to be the entire point of the holiday. In that way, it reminds me of Christmas (or at least Black Friday) in the US. Unfortunately, I'm sure some of you heard about the train accident nearby. Some of the investigators have said it was a failure in security that caused the accident, and that may well have added to it, but I don't personally know anyone other than our little 7-person group who seemed remotely coherent after about midnight and most people stay out until five or six in the morning. I hate to say it, but I don't blame the staff or the train station. I spent most of the night trying to get rid of interested (but not especially interesting) Belgians, Canadians, and I think a few Frenchmen, then took the night bus home at about 5:30.

Thursday I slept for most of the day, then went to Park Güell. It's absolutely incredible – one of the most beautiful places I've seen in Barcelona. I thought it was really interesting to see the way Gaudi worked with the landscaping – even the rocks and plants seemed to match the “scales” in his architecture. From what I understand, he created the park for a wealthy patron who donated it to the public after Gaudi's death. It would be incredible to own such a sanctuary, but I don't think anyone could keep something like that to themselves for too long. Anna, Krissi, and I climbed to the top, and the view is gorgeous. It isn't as high as Tibidabo, but there isn't much you can't see. I still need to make it to Sagrada Familia and Gaudi's houses – until today, I thought the Casa Sayrach (my signal to turn off of Diagonal to find my school) was one of them. This is or was a thoroughly modernist city, and it's been a really interesting shift from the architecture of Lincoln or Valpo.

I also went to St. Maria Del Mar and the another beautiful park on Friday – I don't know their histories so I'll just let the pictures tell the story. I think that brings you up to speed, except for the fact that I have two new roommates – a 16 year-old from the USA and an 18 year-old from Sweden. They seem like good guys, though I think I'll end up translating more than practicing my Spanish with them. I can't believe I only have three weeks left, and they just keep going faster and faster. I still really want to make it to Cordoba before I go, but other than that I don't think I'll be doing much traveling before my two-week road trip at the end. ¡Ciao!