Hola gent! Bon Nadal i un bon any nou a tothom!
Sorry I have lacked in posting a December blog…things were pretty busy around here! Between finishing exams, random end of the trimester assignments, getting ready for when my parents arrive, clarinet concerts, last Catalan classes, and everything else that was distracting…I didn't have much time to document the happenings. Fortunately I now have two more weeks of break, and it's the first day of the new year, 2011! It feels like a good day for a new blog :).
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| Barça is "More than a club," say the bleachers... |
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| Magical mimes |
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| Our cute Christmas tree |
So, on the 21st of December, I was reunited with my family! I met up with my mommy, daddy, and brother at Plaça Catalunya, after which we walked down La Rambla to the apartment they'd rented, admiring the spiffy Christmas lights and mimes on the way. Shortly after we made our way the Barcelona soccer stadium, Camp Nou, to see the Barça vs. Atletico de Bilbao! I suppose we were all expecting a little too much after several consecutive 5-0 wins for Barça…because this game ended 0-0. I came to the conclusion that neither team was playing very well, and my brother came to the conclusion that both teams were too good to beat each other…haha. Either way, we got to see Messi and Villa play, which was pretty exciting.
The next morning I had to make my way back to Sant Cugat for the last day of school…We didn't have classes on this day, but each class watched a presentation (ours was about climate change) and then we had an hours break, in which cakes, cookies, crepes and all that good stuff was being sold. At the end of the day we cleaned our desks, got our grades (I passed everything and got 2 excellents--- SUCCESS!), said our goodbyes, and made our way home. That made the 22nd sound like quite an uneventful day…but I promise you, it wasn't.
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| Christmas Scrabble...Christmas Spirit |
After saying "Feliz Navidad!" to my host family, I was on the train again, heading to Barcelona to stay with my family for the holidays. The next few days were quite relaxing. We did a bit of sight seeing since Eric had never been to Barcelona before…some Christmas shopping…lots of sleeping and eating…some guitar playing…and a little Facebook ;). I was just happy to finally be with my family. We had a lovely little Christmas tree, and we (my mom and I especially) enjoyed making ornaments out of these Christmas decoration wire things we had. I realize that is not a very good description, so maybe I can find a picture…haha. At night we played Scrabble, which I turned into "Christmas Scrabble," and insisted that everyone use their words in a Christmas sentence. Some people weren't a fan of this so the next day we just played regular Scrabble. Haha.
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| Eric and I, posing with the Caga Tió |
During these days before Christmas we visited a number of Christmas markets around the city, one near el Catedral de Santa Maria, and the other outside of la Sagrada Familia. These markets were mainly filled with Christmas treats (especially torrones, a type of candy usually made out of honey, sugar, egg whites, and almonds), Christmas decorations, and little Caga Tios. El Tió de Nadal, or Caga Tió, is a Catalonian Christmas tradition for children. Basically, it is a hollow log (tió), and contains treats such as torrons, candies and nuts. To get these treats out of the log, the children beat it with a stick and sing songs…traditionally, this one:
caga tió, caga torró, avellanes i mató, si no cagues bé et daré un cop de bastó. caga tió!" | poop log, poop turron, hazelnuts and cottage cheese, if you don't poop well, I'll hit you with a stick, poop log! | giving log, give us treats, if you don't want to give, I'll hit you with a stick, give it up! |
Well, now you know what caga means, and there is no need to explain it any further. Now you also have an idea of what I learn about in catalan class!
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| Christmas dinner! |
Now that a little bit of culture has been explained, I'll return to my family's Christmas…
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| Sandcastles at the beach |
On Christmas Day, I'd say we were all finally awake by about 11, when we ate some breakfast and opened presents. Eric got a ukelele so we had some fun playing some Christmas carols with it that night. We ate Christmas dinner at Carpe Diem Lounge Club (CDLC) Barcelona, this really cool and exotic-looking restaurant on the beach. It had a mixture of different types of cuisine, and typically, we enjoyed the Indian appetizers the most. I love how we always end up eating Indian on the holidays :). It was a nice place, but after the electricity went out the electronic system that held all the information of what people had ordered disappeared…and we ended up spending a little more time there than we had reckoned on, but it was all right. They did give us free drinks, and it was nice with the outdoor heaters. My mom also discovered that the indoor part of the restaurant was even more exotic…so to pass the time we all took trips inside and admired the furniture and such. I'd definitely recommend this place to everyone, as long as the electricity holds out ;).
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| Manuel Gonzalez |
The 26th was filled with sightseeing and music. We walked up to Montjuïc, saw the Olympic Stadium, and walked down to Plaça Espanya. That night we went to see the Spanish classical guitarist Manuel Gonzalez, who was amazing. He played both original pieces (Fantasia Española) and covered pieces ("The Magic Flute," by Mozart). The encore was possibly the most entertaining, being a mix of a classical melody by M. Gonzalez and randomly including well-known Beatles songs, the inevitable "Smoke on the Water," and other themes of well-known pop/rock songs. It was great to see a different kind of music being performed, since I would usually opt for the Red Hot Chili Pepper concerts if I had an option...haha.
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| Me and my buddies at Tibidabo! |
On the 27th we met up with my host family for lunch, and the next day, it was already time for my family to leave :(. That day I was meeting up with my friends at Tibidabo, where there is a beautiful church and also an amusement park (my friends and I actually met up for the amusement park part of it…if you can believe it ;)), so my family came with to have a look at the place, and then we said good bye. I thought I would be sad all day, but as soon as I said good bye to my family all my friends came up and gave me a giant group-hug, which made me feel better. Then we went and enjoyed almost everything in the park (I even went into the haunted house where real people jump out at you…haha) and at the end of the day we returned home. Now my family adventure was over, but vacation was no where near finished.
Yesterday was the last day of 2010, although I must say today doesn't feel much different. Anyway, I spent the day of New Year's Eve with my friend Maggie in Barcelona, a fellow exchange student who was studying in Logroño for the past four months. Unfortunately she's already going back home in a few days, but it was great to see her again, since we hadn't seen each other since the Interhispania orientation in September! I spent New Year's Eve here at home with my host family, and we ate the traditional twelve grapes (Las doce uvas de la suerte) in the first twelve seconds of the new year for good luck…haha. This is another tradition I don't understand completely, but it was interesting, even though I wasn't able to eat the 12 grapes in the 12 seconds. "You don't do this in Germany?!"
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| One day I will ride a Barcelona bicycle... |
The rest of the evening was spent talking to my best friend Meggie on the phone :), sending "Happy New Years!" messages to everyone, and watching Jesus Christ Superstar.
I have six months left of my adventure here in Spain. Technically 5 months and 26 days remain, but I won't start the countdown yet. I can't say how lucky I am to be here right now. I have made the best friends, I'm learning so much, and I've felt things I've never felt before. There is still a lot of fun to be had and many things to experience, so bring it on 2011 :).
I hope that this new year of 2011 will bring lots of surprises and happiness for all of you <3
Love Always,
Nina
