When angels are passing...

My subject line is what my friend Carlos says when there is a prolonged silence. Apparently, it’s a Spanish/Venezuelan saying of some sort, and I love it.

Before I go into the Barcelona trip, I absolutely have to clue everyone in on the events of the past couple days. I didn't have school yesterday because of a national greve. I went to school and there were bars on all the doors, and chairs and fences stacked against the doors and windows. There’s a greve national (national strike) because this is the week everyone in the country is back from vacation. 22 of the 80 universities in France (not sure if that only includes public or private) are on strike. And yesterday, in the rain and snow, we waited outside the blocked entrance to our university for word. There are chairs, shopping carts,various bits of fence- everything blocking our way into the university. The French students are protesting a law that was passed saying that after they graduate university, they can be employed on a "trial period" by a corporation for two years. But after the two years, there are no guarantees that the company will keep you- and they can fire you without compensation. So the students believe there's no incentive for getting a degree if you can't have a secure job anyway. At least, thats what I understand of it. Its funny because today, we were let into class late (because strikes aren't supposed to affect the international students) and as we sat there, students with huge boards and various pieces of debris are marching past to blockade the doors. Some girl with a bullhorn is screaming in French that if we are concerned for our safety, we should leave because its a fire hazard to stay there. She's pushing the siren button. It's crazy, hilarious, and scary all at the same time.
So goes the nation of strikes. Im not sure if I will have class on Friday but I have to show up just in case I do. All the American students were taking photos. It was so weird. In the States, if this happened, there would be an immediate police presence. It just wouldnt happen. I pay good money for my education and Im not going to blockade the doors. That's like taking money out of my pocket. It just doesnt make much sense to me (or my host dad who proclaimed the majority of young French "idiots") So, it was really bizzarre and Im sitting here with an afternoon free from class.

But anyway!

I went to Barcelona. It was absolutely, positively, beautifully breathtaking. I saw the Mediterranean for the first time. I even went in it. I “se baigner”-ed, which means I waded into the sea up to my knees. I was so amazed- the closest Ive come to a beach is South Padre or Galveston where the water is a murky mixture of grays. Here, the water was crystal clear, and as blue as the sky, with tints of green. Ive decided one of my new life goals is to own a yacht and sail around the world on it. A reasonable goal, I believe. I have never been so mesmerized by the sea. I guess because I’ve never really seen the actual sea, and now that I have I’m in love. I really would like to live on or near the water for an extended period of time. I took pictures and video of it, and I assure you, you will fall in love with it too. The warmest it was in Barcelona was around 20 degrees Celsius, but we were brave and sat on the beach and just enjoyed life.

There’s also the architecture. Barcelona is very proud of Gaudi, their world renowned architect of the early twentieth century. He’s famous for his undulating facades and uneven lines and distorted shapes. His mark is all over the city- cathedrals, buildings, houses, parks. Some of my favorite pictures are from Park Guell- Gaudi’s park. We bought a bus turistic pass- a tour bus where the upper deck is open and you can sit there and see the whole city. It was windy and a bit “brisk” as we put it, at times, but overall it was so worth it. The pass came with discounts on food- I tried a Spanish paella and immediately loved it. The rice was so delicious.

It’s funny, because the whole time I was in Spain, I kept responding to people in French. Instead of “Gracias” or even “Thanks” a “Merci” would spill out. Im kind of proud that my first instinct in a foreign setting is to speak French- I think that means Im getting accustomed to using the language. I wish I knew more Spanish. Carlos was there and he was our translator, but I would have liked to have said more than “Muchas Gracias” and “De nada” to people. Like Carlos’ cousin. He has a cousin from Venezuela that lives in Barcelona. He was so nice and took us around Barcelona- and the last day we were there, his wife gave us lunch at their apartment. We even got to meet his two month old baby, Christian Antonio. Such a generous and nice family- I was amazed. He drove us to the highest point in Barcelona- the top of the mountain/hill (its funny because after Grenoble, Im not too quick to refer to anything as a mountain because I know what REAL mountains look like!) and we got some great pictures.

If anyone feels like google-ing, Ill give you a list of some of the main sights we saw. Our hostel was in the Placa de Catalunya- off of Las Ramblas- which is the biggest tourist like street in the city (think the Magnificent Mile in Chicago) We visited the Sagrada Familia and Park Guell, the Futbol Club of Barcelona, the Palau Reial, Port Vell, Port Olimpic, Parc de la Ciutadella, Barri Gotic, Placa d’Espanya, the sight of the summer Olympics, and many others I can’t remember. Those buses were an awesome idea, and we spent two days just wandering the city. Thursday we spent the entire day hanging on the beach. Walking up and down the beach, enjoying the sunshine we’d been so desperate for, We also saw the Arc de Triomphe of Barcelona that day and walked past the zoo (15 E to get in!)

We also saw a movie being filmed. That was neat. The day we were at the beach there were a handful of 60 year old nudists taking advantage of the sun. Barcelona played Chelsea in football (soccer) the first night we were there, and Chelsea lost. Well, that’s what everyone told me but I haven’t seen a final score yet. Go Frank Lampard! So I’ve yet to believe it. Barcelona is also a party city with tons of tourists. It was hard to meet locals and hang out with them, but we had Carlos’ cousin, and that was nice. There were a lot of British people in Barcelona as well. Older British women, to be exact. It was great. There was this huge market next to our hostel- La Boqueria I think is what it was called. It was huge and beautiful and so many exotic fruits were there (Julia ate a polka-dotted fruit with a bright pink outer shell) Barcelona had a lot of big markets that were interesting and you could just wander. You couldn’t walk for too long without encountering a cathedral/eglise/iglesia of some sort. There were churches everywhere. I loved it. I really enjoyed the city.

The hostel wasn’t too bad, although I would prefer to never do that again. 16 foreigners, one bathroom, no cleaning staff to be seen, that’s what I call a recipe for fun. And we all know how I am about my showers. Our beds were in a very small room that had no window, but it’s whatever. 10 euros a night- you get what you pay for. But it was safe, and not smelly, and the people were generally nice (excluding the Russian/French ballerina and his German/Polish blonde girlfriend.) Met Eric the Canadian who’s a pro golfer in Canada and decided to just travel Europe for three months- he’s at the end of his sejour (stay), but has loved every second of it. And stayed in hostels the entire time. How insane is that?! The 10 hour bus ride there and back wasn’t heaven, but it wasn’t horrible. Except for the bouts of oppressive heat, the 1980 Keanu Reeves movie dubbed in Spanish blasting at the highest volume, and people thinking they can recline their seats into your lap. But it was worth it, because the city was AMAZING. The people were a lot more laid back than in France. They understood the meaning of “customer service” more, and they were efficient in their transactions. We didn’t have any problems, thank goodness.

So we got back around 4 am Saturday morning, and it snowed on Sunday. We went from a beach on Thursday to the snow in Grenoble on Sunday. And I woke up this morning and it had snowed during the night- again! Very different from Barcelona, but its refreshing to be back here- in my own bed, and with a clean shower and hot meals. Our resident director said every time you travel somewhere else, and you return to Grenoble, you feel more and more as if you’re at home. And I agree that I feel more comfortable now than I have before, so that’s a plus.

I finally settled on a topic for my expose on Friday- Thanksgiving. Some kids in my class had no idea what it was, so I feel it’s my American duty to inform them.
And I can make cute posterboard cut outs of pilgrims and turkeys. Ha.

The host family is great. Theyre going to make dinner for Em, Tante, Phil and India when they’re here, so that’s awesome. My host sisters went skiing this week while I was in Barcelona. They seemed to have a good time, so there you go. Im so excited to see my family! It's crazy.

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!
Bisous,
Chelsea