Un fin de semana en Barcelona

       Two weekends ago, I had one of the best weekends ever in Barcelona.  First, I was able to finally meet up with Simona, the Romanian lady from the church I visited.  I was extremely blessed by the meeting and was very glad it worked out.  We had a great conversation about traveling, family, being true to our faith, and the hope we have in God.  At end of our coffee session, she gave me a book by C.S. Lewis with a beautiful note written on the inside cover.
     That Saturday,  I participated in the IES hike to Collserola.  Collserola is a mountain range surrounding Barcelona and the weather was beautiful and the view was beautiful.  We hiked up the hill and back down the other side.  Because of the change in humidity on either side of the mountain, you could tell a difference in the plant life on each side.  On the other side, we visited a small "suburb" of Barcelona where we got coffee and ice cream before taking the train back to Barcelona.
     Sunday was a day jam packed with spur of the moment activities.  First, I ran in el Curso del Corte Ingles.  It is a huge race that happens every year and everyone, literally everyone, participates in it.  There were over 55,000 people of all ages and their pets.  There was a little old lady wearing a complete Barca uniform, people pushing strollers, kids, and hard core runners.  The course took us through the Olympic Stadium which was really neat!
     Next, I visited Tibidabo with a bunch of my friends.  Tibidabo is a church on top of a mountain.  It was neat to see because it is something you see all the time in the distance when you are down in the city.  Looking out over the city is also something I can never get tired of doing!
    To end it all, a friend of mine had told me there was a pillow fight happening in Plaza Catalunya, so of course I had to get in on that! I ran home and asked my host mom if she had a pillow she didn't mind me using.  Luckily she did! :D  It was absolute craziness with feathers flying everywhere!

Catch-up

It's been a crazy awesome, fun-filled few weeks so I am going to try and catch up as best as I can.  First of all, 2 weeks ago was Semana Santa.  My friends and I travelled to Mallorca, Valencia, Granada, and Sevilla.  We were in Mallorca for only a few days and there weren't many people on the island since it was the off season.  It was very beautiful and the weather was nice overall if only slightly chilly.  We rode bikes and explored along the coast, ate gelato, laid on the beach and took silly pictures, took a boat tour, and ate seafood.  There was a huge basilica that we visited that was beautiful at night when it was all lit up.

La Catedral de Mallorca

Next, we visited Valencia for a few hours while waiting for our flight to Sevilla.  We didn't get to see very much, but it was enough to see that it was a very different city than Barcelona!

In Sevilla, the weather was really iffy and it rained every day we were there except for one.  Besides that, it was an amazing experience.  I loved our hostel, the people we met, and Sevilla.  At first, we were unsure about our hostel.  When we arrived, it was dark and their was a procession going on right in front of the door so we couldn't get in.  Then there was people everywhere in the lobby and it was slightly overwhelming.  However, the hostel was really nice, and it was like a college dorm with people from all over the world.  We met and made friends with people from the U.S., England, Australia, Portugal, Finland, and other parts of Spain.  There was a little bar on the top floor where we could get breakfast every morning and you could sit on the roof and meet people in the evenings.  There was even a night where a guy taught a mini session on flamenco out on the roof.  There were also 2 free tours offered through the hostel.  We were able to go on one and it was really neat to learn more about the history of the area and to see the things I've been studying in class.  One our own, we visited some of the main sights including Plaza Espanya, El Torre de Oro, Palacio de Alcázar, la Seta, The cathedral, and the Plaza de Toros.  The processions for semana santa in Sevilla were crazy!  The outfits were slightly creepy at first since they are in the style of the KKK robes but in many different colors.  Everyone was wearing them from the elderly to really little kids.  The music was beautiful and eerie and the floats were incredible and very intricate.  Whenever there was a procession going on, there would be people everywhere so that you could hardly move.

Plaza Espanya en Sevilla

While we were in Sevilla, we took a day trip to Granada.  We had planned to see La Alhambra, but the tickets sold out at 7:00am! Instead, we took a tour a neighborhood up on a hill where we could get a good view of La Alhambra.  I learned even more about the history and culture, and we saw las cuevas were the gypsies of Granada live.  On the way back to the bus, a procession started keeping the buses from coming so we had to take a taxi.

The procession in Granada

We came back to Barcelona on Saturday a few days before classes started so we could rest and get some homework done.  My host family asked me to go to the mass with them on Easter Sunday.  It meant a lot to me to be included and I met some of the family too.  On Monday, all the family came over because Monday is considered Easter here.  I knew they were coming but didn't know if I was expected to be a part of it. I was hanging out with some friends and came back in the middle of everyone being here.  Apparently my host mom had been wondering where i was and had bout me a chocolate egg.  She was introducing my as her daughter, giving me food and chocolate, and the whole family included me.  I met aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents.  It meant so much to me to be included completely into the family on Easter. 

Exploring My City

         This past week was rather stressful.  I had a lot of homework, presentations, and papers to work on.  Also, I was having problems with my plane tickets to Vienna.  As it turned out, I wasn't able to go to Vienna this weekend.  Between my bank and the airlines, I wasn't able to go without spending over $300 for a weekend.  I was pretty bummed, because I don't really have another weekend where I can travel to another country.  However I decided to make the best of it and explore more of Barcelona and check some things off of my to do list.  It turned out to be a pretty good weekend.
        Friday, I ate lunch on my roof, rented roller blades, took pictures of things I see everyday, and went to the beach.  Yesterday, I explored El Born and ate a delicious lunch with a friend.  I also found the Opera House, Concert Hall, Fine Arts Building, and some cute little music shops. I even found a string shop! I might check it out one day when it is open.  Later, I practiced violin on the roof.

      Today I decided to check out a random park, so I pulled out my map and chose one. :) It was Parc Guinardó and it was beautiful! I took a metro there, and then climbed to the top of the park.  The view was incredible! You could all of Barcelona and beyond!  There were the ruins of an old battery that was there during the time of the Civil War as well. 

I took the metro there, but then decided to walk home.  I was refreshed and starving by the time I got home. :)

Rome

      Last weekend I took trip to Rome with my friends Gaby and Mayra which is why I haven't written in a while.   Rome was incredible!! I don't know why, but I was surprised by how different it was from Barcelona.  Everything was so much older and the architecture was totally different.  Because the streets were so much older, the cobblestones were very uneven and our feet were killing us by the end of the weekend.  Our flight was at 5:55am so I had to leave my house at 2:00am! I ended up not oging to bed except for an hour long nap.  Our first day in Rome, we took a metro from the bus station to the Vatican City.  It was crazy to be someplace I had studied before! All of the art and architecture was overwhelmingly beautiful.  I was very excited to see the Sistine Chapel because I have wanted to see it since I read about it middle school.  It took forever to get there because you had to go through all the rooms full of art and artifacts first.  Everything was really cool, but slightly overwhelming because we were so tired.  When we finally got to the Sistine Chapel, I was nervous that it wouldn't be as awesome as I had read about.  I was not disappointed.  It was unbelievable! You could see all of the different painted panels from any point in the room and they seemed to stand out as if they were 3D.  I can't even imagine how someone could paint something like that.  
     After the Vatican City, we ate gelato and planned our next plan of attack.  We asked a man for directions to the first monument, and then walked from monument to monument and ended up at our hotel.  We saw the Trevi Fountain, a few main plazas, Vittoriano, the Pantheon, and more.  When we finally got to our hotel, we were exhausted and, after dinner, when right to bed.

The Pantheon

      The next day, we walked to Piazza de Popolo.  We had a great view of the city and there were pines just  like you see in the postcards! :D We also saw the Spanish Steps, and stumbled on other beautiful buildings and monuments.  Next we went to the Roman Forum. 

 This is the original part of Rome with all of the ruins.  It was so neat to see all the history I have studied in real life! I saw buildings Julius and Augustus Caesar had built, and monuments to the different emperors.  The only thing I regret is that I didn't know about the Mammertine prison and so I didn't get to see it.  This is the prison where Peter and Paul were kept.  I was so close to it!! Next was the Colosseum.  It was beyond words and I could hardly believe I was actually there.  

There was so much more to see in Rome I guess I'll just have to go back!

Discovering Facets of God

         I apologize ahead of time for the rambling that is going to occur in this blog.  I haven't thought through all of this yet, but I am learning so much about God that I want to share it and get it down before I forget.  One of the reasons I wanted to study abroad was to learn more about God.  I know that is not a typical reason for studying abroad, but I believe that the different races and cultures in the world can teach us different truths about God's character.  For example, a church body is made up of believers that are given different spiritual gifts and the body only works when all members are performing their specific gifts.  These gifts are manifestations of different "traits" of God.  If you then broaden this concept to different cultures and races, there is so much more to learn about God!! God's being encompasses the love and enjoyment of life of the Spaniards, the passion of the French, the drama of the Italian, and the fire of the Irish.  I have learned a lot about how different people's cultural backgrounds can be and how important it is not to judge people's form of worship, etc. because for them, it may seem perfectly normal.  However, I need to admit that the other day, I judged a couple based on their ethnicity, and immediately was rebuked by God who reminded me that these people were image bearers of God as well.  Today at church, there was a mission team from a Bible school in Denmark.  There was a student from France, and we started talking about the different burdens God has laid on our hearts.  It was amazing to me how passionate and worked up he got about his beliefs.  There aren't many American guys who will get that passionate about their beliefs.
       Another lesson I have been learning, is that the experiences we have in our lives shape who we are.  I recently learned about how my host family lost a son a few years ago.  I was thinking about how hard that must have been for them and how I wished I could take the pain from them.  But then I remembered Lois Lowry's book The Giver and I realized, that sterilized world is exactly what we would be like if we didn't have our memories.  Memories remind us of past experiences, painful and beautiful, and how we deal with these memories/experiences, determines who we are.  Do we turn to God? or away? Without these, we would be like robots living in ignorance without any depth of character.
      This final lesson seems rather random compared to everything else. Today I was wondering why I didn't love to listen to classical music like all my fellow musician friends and colleagues.  I also wondered why I don't always have a passion for playing my instrument.  I mean, I love to play and fiddle around and make up stuff, but I don't like practicing or even playing standard music sometimes.  Today I realized it was because I didn't see a purpose to the music.  It was notes on a page to me and nothing more.  It was someone else's expression and not mine.  I also didn't see how playing standard violin repertoire was praising God.  However, it suddenly hit me that music in its essence is a creation of God's.  I have always known this, but it suddenly made sense to me that, if I am playing music with the intent to worship God, then it is glorifying to Him because He created music.  Granted music can be twisted by mankind to be the complete opposite, but when I am practicing unaccompanied Bach, I can appreciate the complex sounds as something a man put together using the sonorities created initially by God. Therefore, even when I am practicing, I am worshiping God through music.
I hope all of my ramblings made sense!!

Pensamientos

      This coming week is midterm week.  I am not too worried except for my History and Gypsy class.  They both have a lot of dates and names to memorize.  Also, the professor was sick for four of the class sessions for Gypsy class, so we are really behind.  Oh well,  nothing a little studying won't fix....
This week has been so long! Partly because my roommate's health started going downhill, so I've been worried about her.  Wednesday she got really bad, and then Thursday she wasn't really able to walk.  Friday I went to the hospital with her so she could get a saline i.v. infusion.  It helped give her energy and clear her mind, but she was still unable to walk without assistance.  She decided as of yesterday that she should go home to the states. It's super sad!!
     Besides that, there hasn't been much going on except for class. However, I was thinking the other day about the differences between English and Spanish.  Spanish tends to be a much more formal language.  For example, there aren't any real substitutes in Spanish for the words "awkward" or "messy".   The closest you can get to awkward is "uncomfortable" and the best word for "awkward" is "unorganized".  Not quite the same meaning. Also, when I am speaking Spanish for a length of time, I feel like I am a different person.  I don't really know how to explain it, but I am thinking in a different manner, putting thoughts together in a different way, and it's a really weird experience.
     Last bit of news......this week was the start of Carnival.  I haven't really seen much except for a few people in costumes.  Today though, a friend and I watched a parade and then saw the "orange fight".  It was absolutely crazy!!

There was the King of Silliness and all these people dressed up in outrageous costumes and bunch of little kids dressed up.

 The orange fight was this explosion of orange streamers, balloons, ginormous balloons, and confetti that was everywhere! The "King" was up on a stage through it all singing crazy songs including "Gangnam Style" redone as "Barcelona Style".  It was Crazyness!!

A Day In The Life

       A day in the life.  This week has been the ultimate definition of that phrase.  A couple weeks ago, my roommate and I found this little café that's half a block form our home stay called Molika Cafe.  Our host mom actually recommended it to us as well, and goes there often to buy bread and baked goods.  Elicia and I have been going there to study because there is free wifi and the atmosphere is perfect.  There are little tables with pillows, and large wooden table in the middle, baked goods that are homemade fresh every day, and amazing coffee.
     Last Wednesday was the Barca vs. Madrid game in the King's Cup.  We met up with some friends at a restaurant that had a huge T.V. Everyone in the restaurant was glued to the game, and took forever to buy a drink because the employees were so distracted trying to keep up with the game.  At halftime, Elicia and I had to run home for dinner (because we eat so super late), and then we watched the rest at home.  It was so fun to get so involved.  They ended up tying 1-1 but it was an amazing game.
     Thursday, the weather was so beautiful.  It was almost 70 degrees, sunny, and not a cloud in the sky.  After classes, I went to Parc de la Ciutadella to practice violin while my roommate read for homework.  ( I made sure to ask my host brother before I left if I would get arrested or not haha).  While I was playing, two policemen rode up on the motorcycles.  I thought I was about to get in trouble, but instead they complimented me on my playing and one of them told me that he used to play violin too.  Then they drove away, but came back and idled a few feet away kind of listening.  Then they drove away again.  Five minutes later, they rode back up and the one officer pulled out his iPhone to show me pictures of his violin! He told he played for five years in middle school, his violin was from Italy, and he loved hearing violin music. We laughed so hard after they left! :D
     I have really enjoyed getting to know my host siblings.  Gonzalo is fun to tease like a little brother.  He thinks I am crazy and he told his mom that I scare him.  :P Paola is super fun and out-going.  Friday she went running with me! I came out of my room dressed in my running clothes, and she got all excited and asked to run with me.
      To top it all off, I finally made it to church.  The worship service was awesome, and the message was on Jonah and the speaker talked about how we try to "hide from God" by filling our lives with good stuff.  We may miss God's call by purposefully leaving our current circumstances and any reminders of God's will, or by simply not taking the time to include God in our decision making.  There were quite a few people form the U.S. there, as well as people form France, Spain, and Nigeria. There is a young adult group that meets on Thursday evenings that I want to check out sometime as well.  After church, Elicia and I walked to the beach, ate gelato and crepes, and sat in Plaza Catalunya in the sunshine.