A weekend in Barcelona

Barcelona is an enticing city. It is something you feel as soon as you enter Plaza de Catalunya. You are pulled to the shops, the restaurants, and to the art. The art however is the most important. The three days I was in Barcelona I was introduced to the amazing architecture of Gaudi and the life works of Picasso.

Gaudi's Casa Mila is an infusion of function with magic. In this apartment building there are no straight lines. When I first looked at the building it brought on the sense of looking at a wave of rock. One thing I really liked was that Gaudi designed each apartment so that it had light exposure from the exterior as well as two sources from the interior light well. However, the most impressive part of the building is the roof. Here Gaudi created a working Dr. Seuss landscape. The rolling roof is full of chimneys of different sizes and shapes. Walking around up there brought me the thrill of walking through a fantasy land. My introduction to Gaudi was just beginning my next stop was the Sagrada Familia.




















The Sagrada Familia is an awe-inspiring piece of architecture. This church is where Gaudi earned the name "God's Architect." Walking up to the Sagrada I was immediately amazed at just the sheer size of the place. Once I got up to the building I was even more amazed at how much intricate work had been done. I could see that the eastern side was full of nativiy scenes from the ground to the heavens. Sitting in front of the Sagrada Familia I was lost in a landscape of religion. Gaudi's work on the birth of Christ brought on the feelings of hope and happiness. As strong as these emotions were they were nothing compared to what I would feel on the west side, the passion of Christ.
Gaudi never got to work on the west side; he died after committing 40 years to the project but he is quoted as saying, "it is not possible to finish the temple bye a single generation; we will leave therefore an energetic sample of our track, that the future generations feel the stimulus to do the remainder and doesn't tie us for the remainder of the work." The west side definitely follows in the tracks of Gaudi even though the style is cubist. When I stepped out from inside the church and turned to look up I was hit in the heart by large and powerful scenes from the passion. I could feel the sorrow and tragedy of the death of Christ. All of this emotion came as quite a surprise to me, I mean this is a building. What I realize is that great art; no matter what the form, will create great emotion. The next place I visited I was not surprised at feeling emotion but by the depth of emotion but I guess this should be expected from a museum dedicated to Picasso.














































































































Seeing a Picasso in person makes you realize that there is a soul to a painting. I had seen Picasso's works in books, online, and even t-shirts, but I never got what the big deal was. A nose here, an eye there, and ok he liked blue and pink. While standing in front of his work I was hit with wave of feelings. Moved, by how at the age of 10 he was already creating art. Inspired, by how with so few flicks of the pen he could capture the essence of a person. In awe, of how his abstract work brought about so many feelings. I spent almost 3 hours in the museum and I easily could have spent the entire day and the next there. There were just so many pieces to see and so many of them grabbed a hold of you and wanted to keep you there in front of them. My favorite of them all was "Las Meninas"#1. I wanted to sit and look at this painting all day because it such a complex piece with layer upon layer each giving rise to different emotions, but nothing I could put my finger on in the short time I had. Unfortunately we saved the Picasso museum for our last day and so we were rushed in order to make our flight. Even though I rushed through museum it was enough time for Picasso to touch my soul.

hola all,
Sorry it has been so long with out an update but I have been traveling almost every weekend then catching up with school during the week. I should be able to get everything up to date now because I just got back from the doctor and I have pneumonia, so they prescribed me bed rest and antibiotics. Enough of the boring stuff lets talk about what I have been up to.

My First Bull Fight:

Seeing a bull fight was on my list of things to do in Spain. I had no real idea of what to expect but that is why I wanted to go. Many people in my program here in Spain chose not to go because they did not believe in it. I thought this was strange because it is not about whether or not you believe in it, it is about experiencing a piece of Spanish culture.
I had a great introduction to bull fighting from my Art teacher Judy. She is an American who has been living in Spain for something like 30 or 40 years and her husband was John Fulton the first American matador. Judy explained how the bulls would be extinct with out bull fighting. Also, how the bulls live a complete life. On the ranches were the bulls are raised they are basically left to them selves to do what bulls do and what a bull likes to do is ram things. The smallest movement can get a bull to charge; leaves blowing, butterflies flying, or a matador moving. Another point Judy made was about how the bulls do not really feel anything during the fight. It is like when you are playing a sport and you hurt your self. You do not feel it because of the adrenalin and endorphins. The same thing goes on with bulls. In the end the bull has lived a life that we can only hope to achieve.

No amount of information can fully prepare you for your first bull fight. I went in with an open mind and respect for the ceremony but after the first fight I was full of sadness and shame. First off, the fight is not one man against one bull. There is actually a crew of people that help out the matador. This took away some of the respect I had for the fights. Secondly, the first fight is done by the matador with the most seniority. Unfortunately, he was not very talented. He took way to long to kill the bull. Also, the bull was not very good either. It was slow and unenergetic. After the first fight I thought about leaving but decided to stay and see how the next matador would do.
The second fight showed me the soul of bull fighting. The 1500 lb. bull was electric and the matador was an artist. The two moved as if in a well rehearsed ballet. The bull would charge and the matador would stand perfectly still and lure the bull with in inches of his body. The matador showed his true skill with the killing stroke. With in a few minutes the matador had sized up the bull and laid the bull to rest with one thrust of his sword. In the end I felt some sadness for the bull but mostly I felt honored to have witness its life cycle.
Bull fights are not for everyone. In order to enjoy the bull fights you have to be able to blend the physical, spiritual, and cultural aspects together. When you do this it is no longer just about a bull being killed. It becomes a dance, a dance of life.

First Impressions:

Finally making it to Seville, Spain brought on a lot of relief along with and some stress. I exited the plane and upon entering the airport I thought to myself, "So this is where I am going to be until December." I looked at the all the signs I could not read and listened to all the people I could not understand, that is when it finally sank in that I am foreigner here. The idea of being a foreigner brought on some stress because here I am presented with two large obstacle to overcome; language and culture. I may find my situation a little stressful now but I am excited about journey that will help me conquer the barriers of language and culture.

Spanish in Spain and Spanish in the United States, there are big dif fences. Coming here I felt some what confident in my ability to get by with the 1 full semester and a summer semester of Spanish I had under my belt. I knew coming here that they have some different pronunciations but did not really think it would be that big of a deal. boy was I wrong. I first noticed how big a deal the accent was when I stood there listening to a nice police officer who was setting me and friends up in a cab. The police officer was talking with the cabbie to ensure that we did not get over charged. I stood there staring at them thinking, "that is weird why are they speaking in another language and not Spanish." Then I began to catch a word here and there. After this I got dropped off at my house and I paid the correct price thanks to the nice cop.

Accents create barriers in communicating. I arrived at the house I am going to be staying at and I meet the family. There is the mother and father, Juan and Kristine, the children Jaunito and Paloma. I manage to tell them my name and hello, fortunately Jaun and Kristine both speak some English. I sit down to talk with them and after a few minutes Kristine tells me she can barely understand my English due to my accent. I have a slight southern accent with no big southern draw luckily; so hopefully it will not effect my Spanish. I believe that the accents on mine and their part should not be a problem in the long run. It seems like people get accustomed to accents pretty quickly. Overcoming language and accent barriers is not my only problem there are plenty of differences in culture to get used to as well.

I have now been here for almost three weeks and there are many cultural difference. The two biggest are they way that Spanish people eat and the siesta. Once you conquer these things life becomes a lot easier.

The siesta is at the core of Spanish culture. As an American I always thought a siesta was a nap that you took after lunch. What it really is a block of time in the middle of day for the whole family to get together from 2:30-5:30 P.M. and most places close and everyone goes home for lunch with their family. The main reason behind this is the heat, and being raised in Alabama and living in Florida I understand the heat. The siesta is not however about going home and going to sleep it is more about spending time with your family and relaxing while the weather becomes more comfortable outside. The day picks right back up at 5:30 and goes on till all different hours depending on you age and when you have to get up. It took me some time to get used to the siesta but once you do you are one step closer to understanding Spanish culture.

The Spanish diet differs greatly from the American diet. First off, breakfast is a small meal consisting of bread, or bread and tomatoes, or bread and ham. No big plates of food, usually just something quick and easy. At first this killed me, not that eat a large breakfast but I would eat a filling breakfast back in the states. Next is lunch, this is their main meal of the day which has to do with siesta. It usually consists of some type of sea food, calamari, octopus, shellfish, and fish. Very little chicken and even less beef is eaten here. I have loved everything here and Juan is going to write down some of the recipes for me. My favorite has to be gazpacho. Gazpacho is a cold soup which varies in taste from person to person and every Spaniard claims to make the best. I know this because Juan told me and he told me his was the best out of all of them. After having his Gazpacho I agree. I find that the word soup is misleading. It is soup in that it is a liquid but out side of that it doesn’t taste like anything I have had before. It is more like a light salsa that has been blended till it was perfectly smooth. It is a thick, smooth, concoction of many flavors that I am now addicted to. The last thing is the evening meal. At home, people will have a sandwich, something light, or go out for tapas.

Tapas are main part of Spanish life and culture. Tapas resemble our appetizers but smaller and are not typically followed up by a larger meal. I go out with friends and everyone picks one or two tapas to order, then everyone shares what is order. This is a great way to sample many different things. When I pick I use my tried and proven technique of ordering dishes that I have no idea what they are. Once I got some amazing fish with a delicious side of a potato saladesk food another time it was a wonderful tasting seafood med lie. The main reason for tapas is to sit with friends and family and enjoy the evening. This sharing of food and conversation can be seen all over Seville until early in the morning.

I have now been here for three weeks and even though the language and culture barriers are still there, they are getting smaller. The language just takes time and practice while the culture part is easy, just do what they do and all will work out just fine.

Sorry for the delay in getting a new posting up but it has been a busy, busy week.

Our trip began with tons of excitement but no place to go.

Due to weather in Philadelphia, we sat for an hour and half at the Miami airport. So instead of beginning our journey we sat anxiously and watched the rain. Eventually, we left, but little did we know that this was our last chance for relaxation for 24 hours.

Philadelphia is the City of Brotherly Love and unfortunately for us we were Phili's little brother. We arrived 10 minutes after our plane for Barcelona was due to leave; however, we hoped that our connecting flight was delayed as well. Some how the people at US Airways could not tell us if our flight was still at the gate, so we rushed to our gate and discovered that our plane was off with out us. After being sent around to different gates for assistance we got directed to the front ticket counter. The front counter was full of people trying to get to their destinations as well, so we spent an hour in line waiting, enjoying the love of Phili.

At the counter, we were blessed with a sweet lady that wanted to help us. Originally, they rebooked us to fly into London International, grab our bags, switch airports, then have a 7 hr. layover. Our angel found us a flight into Glasgow, Scotland with a 4 hour layover and this would put us on the same flight into Seville Spain just with out us having to get our bags and switch airports. We said thanks and waved good-bye to our new best friend as we rushed off to catch our flight that was leaving in 20 minutes.

A Scottish airport offers up much excitement. First of all, the stories you hear about how beautiful Scotland do not do it justice. The view coming into the Glasgow will pull at me until I return to Scotland. After landing, Robert and I were starving so we ate at a Scottish sort of café. We felt adventurous and decided to try some blood pudding, and I must say it tastes nothing like it sounds, it was a unique tasting dish that I enjoyed. Next, we discovered that every time we go to a new airport we have to leave the terminal and get re-ticked which also means going through security as well. During the ticketing process we were informed that we should have grabbed our own luggage in London, a little late for that. We submit claims for our luggage in Scotland in hopes that when we arrive in Seville our luggage will not be far behind. So, with forms completed and our new tickets in hand there was only one thing left to do, have a Scottish beer. Robert, Eric, and myself sat and drank a Tenants lager. They defiantly know how to make a beer, what a delicious tasting beverage. After downing the last drop of ale it was off to boarding. On our way to airport security we were stopped by a member of the security team and told that you can only have one bag as carry on, this includes you laptop bag. None of were angry, just tired so as we turned to leave I made a joke and the red faced Scott with his heavy accent said the best thing ever, "Can't take you bloody yanks anywhere." For some strange reason this guy made my day calling me a "bloody yank." Three people in the group had an extra bag so we had to go back and recheck bags. With no time to spare we made it to our gate and we were off for London.

Every airport is unique. With some experience under our belts we head straight to the ticketing counter for Iberia airlines, which of course is as far away as possible. Our luck must be changing, we get our tickets with out any problems and rush to the security line. Here we discover every airport has it's own set of rules. In London they have a small box that you put your backpack, bag, etc in to make sure it will fit. The problem is that the box is tiny, maybe just big enough for a laptop. Everyone's bag is bigger than the box including mine. I try forcing my bag into the tiny box with no luck, so i start taking things out and shoving them into my pockets, battery adapter, head phones, a couple of dvds. As I am cramming these things into every available space on my person I can feel the security lady staring at me. Finally, she just shakes her head waves me through and I put everything back. Not quite sure of the purpose of the whole process but I made it through and that is all that matters.

One last hurdle between us a Seville. We arrive in Spain and we are all excited and ready to go. We make our way to the luggage carrousel and we wait, and we wait. All of our luggage has been lost except for the those bags people checked in Scotland. So, after a few hours of waiting to fill out more paper work on our bags we finally get to see a world out side of an airport.

Our trip getting here was long and tiring at times but in the end it makes for a good travel story.

In less than 10 hours I begin my journey to Spain where I will be living for 4 months. Let me start by giving some back ground into how this amazing opportunity came about.

This past spring I had the great pleasure of having Professor Gilley as my Spanish I teacher. Mrs. Gilley is one of those gifted teachers that makes an hour and half class seem like 20 minutes. Every Tue & Thurs. when I left her class I felt like I had learned a little more and understood what I did know a little better, all with out feeling like work. In May, Prof. Gilley announced to the class that a new scholarship had been created for Broward Community College students and it provided students with an opportunity to study in Seville, Spain. After class I spoke with Mrs. Gilley to get some more details.

I found the William E. Greene study abroad scholarship to be extremely unique. First of all, the study abroad would be during the Fall semester which goes from Sept 5th until Dec. 15th.  Secondly, the scholarship paid for everything: 15 credit hours, books, room, excursions, and airfare. Finally, this amazing experience would be given not to just one student but five. I had not heard of any other scholarships like this one. So, needless to say this opportunity grabbed my attention.

With my interest peaked the only thing on my mind was can I do this. I had to consider wether this was financially feasible. I also wondered about my ability to create two essays that could put me into contention for this program. Amy, my girlfriend of seven years, told me that I had to at least try for this study abroad scholarship because this was a truly once in a lifetime opportunity. After some nudging from Amy I finally committed myself to earning one of the William E. Greene scholarships.

The next step was working on the essays. The two topics for the essays were "Globalization' and "How would a semester abroad change you." After completing the essays the Internationals Studies committee would read them over and choose the top writers to come back for a face-to-face interviews. After two long weeks I had my essays. The first was Globalization: Changing Community Health around the World and Study Abroad: The Evolution of a Student. With my essays completed and submitted for review I had the wonderful experience of waiting to hear from the committee.

 

The waiting experience was awful. I kept trying to tell myself I did not care but it was a lie. After pouring so much time and energy into my essays and the outstanding reward that could be mine, it was hopeless not to be anxious. Fortunately, these two weeks would fly by as fast as the two weeks leading up to Christmas when I was 10 years old. My present for enduring such hardship was a call from Dr. Moore, the head of the Internationals Studies department, to come in the next week for my interview.

The waiting experience can get worse. I thought I understood the anguish of waiting while waiting to hear if my essays were good enough, but let me tell you that is nothing compared to the wait of going to sit in front of a seven person committee for an oral interview. I was lucky and only had to wait a week this time. It was a long week but in the end it was all worth.

The interviews went well and a few days later they notified everyone on wether or not they made it or not. Obviously I was one of the five students to get a chance of a life time because if not this blog would not be very interesting.

My plan for while I am in Spain is to post a weekly blog on my experiences, insights, and thoughts. I have not ever really ever been out of the country. I say not really because I did go to Mexico this year but I spent the majority of my time in a resort so there was no emersion into another culture like this going to provide. This first time experience should make for some good writing. 

Adios, 

Brent

P.S. For you Spanish speaking people reading this I know there should be an accent in adios, but I can not figure out how to get it to work on my new laptop. I want thank Professor Gilley for getting me interested in Spanish and for the travel tips. I also want to thank Amy for the encouragement and support to pursue my dreams.