mas correfoc

So this past Saturday night I participated in a tradition (well, according to Juanjo my adviser it is a new and somewhat fabricated tradition, but whatever, its cool) called correfoc. Basically the premise is that people run through the streets dressed like devils, playing drums, spinning giant sparklers, and operating mechanical dragons that blow fire out their noses. Whooo!!!!!

the correfoc approaches...

they were trying to cover their bodies from the fire

Ahhh!!! It felt like we were being attacked by an approaching army

They would never allow this in America

I love this picture

Why did you bring your baby????!?!?

The second wave of FIRE

The box where they kept their supplies of fireworks

At this point Marisa and I decided to join the parade!

 

 

...crazy right???

correfoc...

The Spanish have a death wish.

More on Correfoc (run of fire) later, I'm off to see the Dirty Projectors!

colores

Color changing globes by arc de triompf... don't know what they were for, but they were quite entrancing...

Merce!

Merce is an annual festival in honor of the Virgin of La Merce, the patron saint of Barcelona, and it is going down this weekend! This means parades, shows, traditions, and tons of live music! I wish every weekend could be like Merce, there is so much going on!

The most interesting traditions I have seen so far are the Gigantes and the Castellers at Plaza Sant Jaume, the center of politics for the state of Cataluña

Gigantes = Giants = very large paper mache figures, both of humans and animals, that people stand beneath and control like very large puppets. And what do these giants do?... well, they dance! Obviously! Hah I saw enough dancing giants this weekend to last me for a while...

giant birds with... boobs?? hmmmmmm

Dancing prince and princess

~*~

Next we have the Castellers!! Basically they are teams of people from different parts of the city who compete against each other to build the tallest tower made of people!

This is how they processed in... there were five teams

We were close enough that we could see them shaking! So terrifying!!

Two teams competing... ridiculous right?

One of the biggest crowds I've ever been in... it was hot and crowded and pushy and after one round of competition we were ready to leave.

If you are interested in seeing an upclose video of castellers in action, click here!

 

ir de compras

My most recent food purchases, from Mercadona and a local fruit stand.

1 eggplant (berenjena)
2 onions (cebollas)
3 tomatoes (tomates)
2 peaches (melocotón)
2 plums (ciruelas)
4 pack of yogurt (yogur)
1 red pepper (pimentón rojo)
can of olives (lata de aceitunas)
instant soup (sopa)
jar of garbanzos (tarro de garbanzos)
jar of navy beans (tarro de frijoles blancos)
oregano (orégano hah)
loaf of wheat bread (pan integral)
2L of water (agua)

Total cost (costo total) = 7.90 euro = $11.16

Erin was also able to find brie for .90 euro, which is about $1.30, and it is DELICIOUS!

Not bad right? This country may be expensive, but buying food can be relatively cheap!

la vergüenza

Navigating the spanish education system as a foreign exchange student has been a challenge so far.

Case in point: after running around for 20 minutes trying to find the classroom for our Individual Justice and Law class at Universitat Pompeu Fabra, it was finally communicated to us that the law classes don't start till next week (that is one thing that gets me about Spanish Universities; the different faculties start classes on different days! What's up with that!) Anyways, they instructed us to go to an information meeting about the law department. Turns out it was irrelevant, all in catalan, and sooo awkward because we walked in late and everyone was staring at us through the glass wall.

Vicky and passed some notes during our time in this meeting...

2 things: EVERYONE was staring at us and I reaaaally don't know catalan
we really should not be here
yeah... sorry. I though it we be good to do. Probs not. Should we walk out?
hell no I can't deal w/ the attention we'd get
its all gibberish
ahh those dudes are peacing!
omg first week of classes has been a monumental failure
SAME
i still haven't attended any classes i'm staying in
what am i going to doooo
I am convinced that classes just aren't going to work out at all
ya ¿WTF Spain?
they are HORRIBLE at educating their youth.
okay I am NOT looking to get a grau...
should we just get judged hardcore and leave?
gaaaaaaa
lets wait for some sort of pause
d'acord

~*~

To do: figure out how to get an education in Spain. Wish me luck!

Vall de Boi

I spent this past weekend in Vall de Boi, a valley in the Pyrenees Mountains along the border between France and Spain. The excursion was organized by our program so that we could see examples of romanesque architecture, but the beautiful landscape and fresh air really stole the show. It is SO BEAUTIFUL in the Pyrenees, and the culture and atmosphere was so different from that of Barcelona that we found it difficult to believe we were still in Spain!

the view from our hotel room! look at that fog!

 A romanesque church

 the inside of the church... very small, simple and dark, not very architecturally advanced. Welcome to the Middle Ages.

I am SO jealous of the person who lives in this house.

the second church we visited

posing in front of some quaint houses.

We were eating wild blackberries as we walked between the churches

Old graveyard at the third church

First roadblock of the day: sheep!

Attractive pose on the river

the view from a mountain we hiked up

 

Second roadblock of the day: protests for better roads. The protest literally blocked the only road out of town!

(the signs read "the car can't drive on roads made of promises, only on real roads")

 
I am so lucky I got to visit the Pyrinees! They are so incredibly gorgeous!

comida

Many people have been asking me about the food here... what its like, how delicious it is, how expensive it is etc. Okay the food is AMAZING!! So tasty!! And at the supermarkets food is relatively inexpensive, especially fruits and vegetables as compared to the United States. It is also much easier to buy fresh food because of the quantity of small, independently owned fruit and vegetable stands around the city. In addition, most neighborhoods have indoor markets where vendors sell everything from Octopus to Kiwis.

The only problems I have had with the food are a) being a vegetarian can be a struggle sometimes, this is absolutely a meat eating country, and b) eating out is absolutely delicious but it gets expensive very quickly!!

That being said, I try to go out to eat as much as I can! Here are some pictures from two restaurant experiences:

~*~

 CAFE DELFIN (in Born District)

 Mussel Tapas

 Patatas Bravas: french fries covered in spicy tomato sauce and garlic aioli sauce

 Fried Hot Peppers... salty and delicious!

 Tortilla Española, with added vegetables

~*~

 VEGETALIA (vegetarian restaurant in Ciutat Vella... amazing find for the vegetarians of the group!!)

Celia, Vicky, and Evie

We were too busy eating our food to photograph it until the very last second! This was grilled vegetables with a Chimichurri sauce

 Brown rice with a salty nut topping... SO PERFECT

the remains of Celia's seitan and cheese veggie burger

Blog nemesis Vicky eating the last bite of her veggie burger, I believe it was soy and red pepper?