No longer 21 and in Barcelona,... now 22!

Xavier Rudd was in fine form last night when he played his first Spanish show of his European Summer tour. I celebrated my birthday with Peter and Lily last night at a small venue called Sala Apolo, that was packed with the typical hippie crowd that idolizes this awesome Aussie musician. His didgeridoos, harmonica, percussion, and guitars played some of his new albumn, a couple of classics, and finally finished off with 2 favourite covers: No woman no cry, and Let it Be. Needless to say I had an amazing time, and it was the perfect way to relax.

Also, in order to cap off my 1st month here and to help with my 8 month integration into the Spanish way of life, I now have my first Spanish haircut! haha Don´t worry it isn´t a mullet, although that style is typical here, and I was quite afraid that I might leave the salon with one, since Ivan, my hairdresser, didn´t speak very much english. Anyways, I am very pleased with the result :)

Finally, here are a couple of pictures of the flat where I´m staying. I thought I´d post a couple since a few people have inquired about my accommodation. As you can see, it is no palace, but it´s got the basic necessities, and really it´s all about location. The one major thing we are missing is a/c,... therefore my birthday present to myself this year was a fan. Here you can see my room (a bit of a mess), the living room, and the view from our balcony.

Cariño, Sarah

Art & Architecture

Sant Juan Holiday is almost equivalent to North America’s new years celebration, and took place here in Spain this past Saturday (June 24th). Celebrations started during the day on Friday and proceeded right threw the night, and then Saturday was technically a holiday, and therefore all of the stores were closed. My flatmates and I threw a party on Friday for all of the other iaeste trainees in the city, as well as friends of Hoelgers and the iaeste coordinators. About 25-30 people crammed into our relatively small place, and much food and drink were enjoyed before leaving for a random street party where we danced to lots of traditional Spanish music. Finally, at some point in the morning we eventually made it to the Barcelona beaches with the rest of Barcelona. Lots of fireworks were going off right threw the night, and we stayed to watch the sun come up. Again I slept most of Saturday (it seems that this is becoming a Saturday routine), and then headed to the beach once again to catch some sun, a quick swim, and be lazy. It should also be noted that firecrackers (extremely loud ones) have been going off here (especially in the park under our balcony) for the last week, peaking in intensity Friday afternoon/night. My nerves are pretty much shot, and apparently we have yet to see the end of it, as they will continue until the next holiday in a couple of weeks.

Sunday I met up with two other iaeste girls, Lorena from Mexico, and Lily from Vancouver (UBC). We had an awesome time first visiting the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (MNAC), which is supposed to have one of the top Romanesque art collections in all of Europe, as well as some amazing Modern art. I was very impressed and will be returning to see some more next Tuesday.




After MNAC we decided to see the Monjuic Castle located at the top of a very large hill that is the site of many parks, museums, the soccer stadium, and other Olympic facilities. The walk up was rather hot and tiring, but we enjoyed some lunch at the top, and the view was great.



We then went to a very small museum called El Pavello that was created by Mies van der Rohe, and is known internationally for its architectural brilliance. While I’m sure I wasn’t able to appreciate it as much as an architect would, I still found it very interesting. One of the key pieces is the Barcelona chair (very famous). Lily assured me that I had not seen it in an ikea catalogue, although I’m not sure I believe her.

Finally, just so that we could see how much famous art and architecture we could fit into just one day, we decided to hike it over to the other side of the city in order to visit Parc Guell. This park was created by the same man who designed and developed Sagrada Familia (the large church/cathedral that was shown in many pictures in a previous posting). Parc Guell lived up to my rather high expectations, as the pieces of art were amazingly detailed, colourful, and like nothing else I’d ever seen. Every piece was very fluid, with always more curved lines than straight. See the pictures below.

All in all, it was a full day of intense tourism. I´ve realized that this is just the beginning of the art and architecture I need to see while here in Barcelona, let alone throughout Spain. My flatmates keep me updated with every score in the world cup, regardless of whether I want them to or not, and we are still getting along very well. I will try to post some pictures of our place soon so that everyone can truely understand what I mean when I say it is student accommodations.

Missing you all in Canada (especially on July 1st)!

Cosmo Barcelona: Combining the old with the new

After reading a number of friend´s blogs, I realized that I have yet to really describe the city of Barcelona, Spain, and what I think and feel about it so far. I guess this is because I´ll be here until February, and therefore, my thoughts and feelings will just come out in my postings over time, and not in a 3 or 4 paragraph summary such as if I were staying for a shorter period. However, I think that I should try to give you my initial impressions after only 2 (almost 3) weeks here.

Barcelona is the capital of the province Catalunya. The main language spoken here is Catalan, which is kind of like a dialect of Spanish, only it´s very different (more French and Italian). The second language is Spanish, and then maybe English or German or Dutch. While there are many english speaking foreigners, there are very few from North America (which is something I was not expecting). It is possible to get around with only english, but it is not easy, and really only in the touristy places. The city is a very old one, originally established by the Romans (I think) around 500BC. Like all european cities, it´s history is displayed everywhere you turn, and is part of what defines it. A combination of this old feeling (churches and narrow cobble streets), and the new modern updates ('92 Olympics for example) are what give this centre it´s distinctive character and culture. The number one industry in this city is tourism (services) and then agriculture and finally industry (especially construction). Catalans are fiercely proud of their region and will almost always differentiate themselves from the rest of Spain (they aren´t Spanish, they are Catalan). They're fanatical over their futball league team: Barcelona, and in comparison, they only half-heartedly support the national team currently at the world cup.

When people immigrate to Spain, they must become spanish in order to survive,... This seems very different from Toronto, where there seems to be less of a change in immigrants lifestyles, as they bring some of their culture and customs with them to the new country

I can see what people mean when they refer to this city as very cosmopolitan. There is so much to do for those who live to be an urbanite. You have more shopping than one could ever imagine, beaches at your doorstep, cafés, restaurants, art and architechure, fashion, discoteques, the list goes on and on. Needless to say, as I explore this city and integrate myself into the spanish way of life, I am learning a lot about myself, and what I´m capable of.

For those who are less urban and like the outdoors, there are still some activities to keep you busy, but they are not as well advertised, and you need to search them out. Peter (an Australian IAESTE student) and I went for a run this past Sunday up one of the 'mountains' which surround the city. It is more like a very large hill, and is called Tibidabo. At the top is a cathedral that is surrounded by a very commercial amusement part. I found that a bit ironic and sacreligious, but my work colleagues seem to find it just perfectly normal. The view from the top was well worth the dehydration that resulted from the run up there. We have learned our lesson, and now realize why it is not a good idea to exercise here midday.

I played some tennis last Monday with two guys from work, Diego and Favian. They are much better players than I am, and took it easy on me, but it was a lot of fun. It took a couple of days to recover. I play again today after work :)

Last week I went to a club called La Paloma with my friend Anton (from work), and his girl friend, Carla, her flatmates and some other Spanish friends, and Peter (the Australian). Ironically enough everyone that I went with was a chemical engineering student. This club is a little different as it’s an old theater that seniors use for ballroom dancing in the evening, and then after midnight it transforms into a discoteque. Every 2nd Wednesday of the month they have an ‘ethnic’ themed night. It was hilarious as I saw everything from topless trapeze artists to bollywood dancers. The main event was a Spanish pop/rock band called Maga from Sevilla (in the south). It was a lot of fun, and I was the first to go home when I dragged myself away at 3am. I don´t know how people function at work when they’re doing this on a regular basis. (see the pics below) http://www.lapaloma-bcn.com/ing/index.php

Last Friday night there was a bbq for everyone at work. Everyone under 30 at work loves a party, and there were about 20 of us in total. I think that the food was very typical Catalan cuisine with lots of cerveza, mojitos and sangria and to eat: olives, bread with tomato and oil, sausages, kabobs, cheese and then finally ice cream. I love the food here. Dinner turned into dancing and then around 4 or 5 in the morning, all of us still at the party decided it was a good time for a night swim at the beach. Arriving home as the sun came up I was exhausted and slept pretty much all of Saturday. Saturday night I had a chance to meet a bunch of the other IAESTE students who are here in Barcelona.

I am now into my 3rd week here and I have just begun my main project at work. I have a rediculous number of mosquito bites all over my legs from the bbq on Friday, but with rest they and my cold will soon be gone. The weather is starting to heat up.

I never meant for this posting to be so long,... but I´ve been adding to it for a week now.

To all of my fellow travellers, and to everyone at home who is looking for any excuse to see an incredible part of Europe, PLEASE come and visit me. I will be your own personal tour guide (when I'm not at work).

Missing you all in Canada very much. - Sarah

Sailing the Mediterranean

Here is a picture of Anton (a spanish masters student from work), and Hoelger (one of the iaeste students that I´m living with). They introduced me to the very popular bar Xampaneria last Thursday. This bar is known for being extremely busy all the time, such that you can barely move. It only serves cava to drink (red or white sparkling wine), and lots of tapas and sandwhiches. You have to yell your order in spanish to the guys serving behind the bar. Below is a picture of Hoelgur and his spanish girlfriend Silvia.

Friday we went to a sort of student pub called Ovella Negra (black sheep) where the sangria is excellent. It´s very relaxed atmosphere was a nice change from the chaotic discoteques and clubs.

Saturday I joined a bunch of my coworkers for a sailing trip out of Barcelona harbour. It was free as the company has many customers there who use our products for coating the hulls of their big yachts. Unfortunately it was the only day so far when the weather wasn´t the greatest. As you can see in the pictures below it was very cloudy, and there was very much wind. It was a relaxing ride (but not very exciting), and the waves out in the mediterannean were substantial.

Afterwards we went out for lunch, and in the afternoon I met up with Australian iaeste student, Peter, who will also be working at Hempel with me. We dropped by the large, and very traditional roman catholic cathedral in the center of the gothic quarter in Barcelona, and I was able to snap a couple of pics of the beautiful sanctuary.

Sunday was spent shopping and then going to one of Barcelona´s two beaches. Week number 2 has begun!

Week 1 Anniversary

So I’ve now officially been here for a week. My biggest challenge at this point has been the fact that I don’t speak Spanish, and everyone here speaks only Spanish, or more specifically a dialect of Spanish called Catalan, which is similar to French and Italian. I’m living in an apartment with 2 other guys who are here doing iaeste internships: a german named Holguer who works at the same company as me, and an Indian guy named Mustafa who works for a Spanish motorbike company. We get along pretty well, and Holguer, who’s been here for 7 months now, has been showing us the nightlife. A typical weekend evening seems to go dinner around 10pm, go to the bars at 11:30ish – 12, go the discotechs at around 2-3am; go home around 4-5am,…. Sleep a couple hours and then get up and go to work,… it’s insane! I now know why siesta’s are necessary.

I’ve worked 4 days now at a Danish paint and coatings company called Hempel, and everyone is so nice, and they all attempt to speak English to me, which I appreciate more than anything at this point. I’m in a research and development lab that specializes in antifouling paints. Those are the coatings that go on the bottom of those huge freight carrying ships, as they’re designed to prevent corrosion of the ships hull due to barnacles, algae, etc. While my salary isn’t the greatest, I get free transport to and from work, and a free lunch everyday; also they’re taking us sailing on the Mediterranean next weekend,… so really no complaints.

So far I’ve done a little sight seeing as I was the typical tourist and visited Sagrada Familia last weekend. This if you don’t know, is the very different Christian cathedral made by Antoni Gaudi, which has yet to be finished and is an example of very ‘modern’ architecture. Sunday I spent the entire day lying on Barcelona beach, and now I am trying to get rid of my sunburn. Other than that I’ve been getting myself settled in my apartment: grocery shopping and going to the market, opening bank accounts, joining the gym right beside my building, eating tapas (appetizers) and drinking lots of cervesa y cava (sparkling wine).


Here are some pictures that I took of Sagrada Familia last weekend.