Freedom For Catalonia!

So, I just got home, it is about 4:30 and I should be going to bed, but instead I am going to write a quick blog!



I just got home from one of the events of this HUGE festival they have in Barcelona called La Mercé which is taking place all this weekend into next week. I am pretty sure that the Mercé is their patron saint, so what better way to celebrate a saint than by throwing parties fit for all the members of Korn and the Grandma down the street! Everyday there is a ton of stuff to do. For example, I just got back from this amazing concert (Calle 13) that I didn't even expect to see. They had labelled the event as Dominican Hip Hop and it ended up being an incredibly famous artist. Who woulda thunk it?



Anyway, other things that are happening this weekend include "Corre Foc" which means Fire Run in Catalan. Basically parents allow their small catalonian child run around the streets next to people dealing with large amounts of uncontained fire. Should turn out to be quite an event. All of my professors keep warning us that the health and safety codes in Spain are not at all similar to those in the US, so we should wear long pants, shirts, and closed to shoes, otherwise there is a large likelihood that an "estadounidense" will have third degree burn by the end of the weekend.

Also, every year they create a human pyramid which is mostly made of "professionals", and, from what I hear, volunteers can climb to the top of it. I am pretty sure this is only if you are ok with the idea of tumbling to your death. I have seen pictures of the pyramid pre and post collapse - doesn't look too pretty. I'll let you know though.



To continue, I have been having a great time in Barcelona:


I would like to start off this section by saying that Barcelona is the coolest city I have ever been to. The architecture, the people, and the culture are all beautiful. As I am sure many of you know, I was concerned about going to Barcelona because of how prevelant the Catalàn is, but now, I think it is part of the reason I have fallen in love with it. I don't know everything about the history of Barcelona (yet!), but the clash between catalonians and the rest of spain has become extremely apparent.

Ejemplo:
The other day, I was in a cab with my friend and we were speaking to the taxista and asking him about Barcelona and what-not, and he told us that he was a nationalist. I thought at first that he meant that he wanted Catalonia to be a part of the nation of Spain, then as he kept speaking I realized that it was quite the opposite. He told us that to him, speaking castellano (or espanol) is the same to him as speaking english or any other language, that it isn't his language or culture and would never be.

Even though, I thought that Catalàn would be hard for me to understand, or I wouldn't be able to practice my Spanish, I find that even though there is a seperation in the hearts of Catalonians between them and the rest of Spain, they still appreciate when you speak Spanish to them. I think this is only if the alternative is english though.

Two weekends ago, IES took us to Valencia and Peniscola (which I never wrote about because apparently I am a horrible blogger), and while it was incredibly beautiful, it didn't have the clash or struggle that makes Barcelona so influential to my being. The culture is so rich, that I really couldn't picture myself anywhere else right now.

Love from Barcelona!!