Sunday, May 31, 2009

Thing

Watermelon.

I just ate almost 1/2 of one in my room just now. in my underwear. it's hot, and i'm classy.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

People






New friends!! :D
After going to Paris I had a week until I could join up with a new rotation of students. The first rotation was great, but most of the time I was the only girl. I was craving some female bonding. haha to gab about guys, shoes, gossip.. ANYTHING! So to my surprise I ended up in a new class of COMPLETELY girls! The teachers were awesome too. Carolina (a sub that I had for my first week) is so sweet and patient and a stunner to say the least. Irkus is hilarious, our zaney Basque teacher for the 2nd half of class jokes and says "Todas chicas hoy!? tengo miedo!" and hides in the corner. and he makes sure that we all know that Bilbao es el centro de la universe (he's from Bilbao).
So yeah, school's been fun y el centro de mi universe since I started. Even though there are a lot of evil irregular verbs with too many tenses, there's lots of laughing and making fun of Irkus (poor guy. can't stand a chance with half a dozen girls giving him trouble on a daily basis. but he holds up really well! haha). We girls have made trips to the beach, the bars, a picnic, a party at my house and Jade (Manchester), Valentina (St. Petersbourg) and I even made a 2 hour train trip to Figueres for the Dali Museum/Theatre. Quite cool, but wouldn't have been what it was if it hadn't been for those two. The boyfriends are super cool too! Chrissy (Holand) and her boyfriend Pablo (Spain) are very interesting people. Both students of music and are living together in Barcelona for the year studying. Gary, Jade's bf is a sweetheart too. His company transfered him here and Jade came along. We went out last night to see the Barça/ Man. U game last night! EPIC!!
Valentina is an old soul, but also a total goof and has a smile that would light a room. She's the girliest of them all and always dresses impecably. Despina (Cyrpus) is also a very dynamic girl, with great taste in music, she took all us girls to her friend's friend's friend's show in Raval and it was awesome (best stuff I've seen yet). I'm looking forward to spending more time with these people.
It's kinda funny how after weeks of barely having any friends here, I get a whole group of them all at once! And now I'm getting a bit sad about how I'm leaving Barcelona quite soon and probably won't ever hang out with them all together in this special group again... I guess I may be back here this summer/early fall, maybe they'll still be here... stay tuned.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Thing



Bicing!

I finally FINALLY got to the correct police station to apply for my N.I.E card (essentially a card with a tax number on it for foreigners in Spain). But this number I also need to apply for this cool thing in Barcelona called, "Bicing." It's basically a bike rental systerm for the citizens of Barcelona. You pay 30 euros per year and a small small amount (maybe 1 euro?) per time you use the bike (you pay a lot more if your ride exceeds 30 minutes I hear). There are hundreds of Bicing stations in Barcelona with bikes for people to use. It's perfect for the times when you want to bike down to the beach and not wanting to share the stinking hot metro with stinking hot Catalans. So I applied for this Bicing account, and with success! I got an email from them last night confirming the transaction "Benvingut al Bicing!" (haha sounds like a drunk Spaniard person trying to type in French). And now I have 10 business days to wait for my scan card. YAY! Haha, so I am happy.

Another reason why I am happy, I got a package in the mail from my family two nights ago. Includes: white sport tape (for messed up knee), mouthguard, glasses (short-sighted), coffee crisp, aero (mint), little tripod, step counter and my sister has generously lent me her earphones (since mine broke 20 minutes before departure, back in Vancouver!). Weeee I'm such a dork (mouthguard, glasthes and sthtep counter! "Nyuuk Nyukk!").

:P

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Person




Ok I remember that during one of the first times walking around my neighbourhood I came across something quite alarming. I was sitting on a bench when I looked up to find a black dog, chilling out on a balcony across the street.
This dog was wearing a diaper. And I ask, what kind of person puts a diaper on their dog? Maybe it's because I don't have any experience with having dogs, or it's just that people in Spain are weird, or maybe this poor humilated dog had the runs. Who knows? Generally, a diaper belongs on a baby or someone with no bladder control. But this is a special case. Anyways, here are some photos for your enjoyment.

Monday, May 11, 2009

Person(s)

Urania:
She is 1/2 of my companeras de cuarto.
She knows all the words and dance moves to Menudo's songs.
A talented artist who speaks both English and Spanish perfectly (NOT FAIR).
She has met Ricky Martin twice.
She is cool.




Sarkawt:
Likes american tv shows (especially Friends, but I won't judge).
Enjoys caramel popcorn from the movie theatre but insists on taking it to the beach to eat.
Amused by the words, 'Popsicle' and 'chopsticks.' (He enjoys saying them as well)
Described the little river in Parc de Labirinto as having a "voice" rather than a sound.

I like these people.

Thing

Union Market




I miss it a lot today. I enjoy grocery shopping in my barrio. Lot's of great fruit stands with friendly staff. One in particular, the ladies there call their customers by 'guapa' or 'guapo' (gorgeous/handsome). And I find that the only parts of Barcelona that aren't overpriced, are it's supermarkets. I managed to buy 15 things for under 14 euros today... (and no, they weren't all bread rolls. lol) And some days I can get more, depending on how far I'm willing to walk.
But if there is one thing (other than my family and friends, and my bike) that I'm missing most, it's Union. I want to go there right now and buy some fresh cold milk in the glass bottle (not this stupid stuff that can last almost 5 months without turning into cheese), chicken curry pockets and gloria's chicken, those blueberries in the summer, the perfect croissants... sigh. I want to walk over with my canvas bag right now and open the door to see either Andy, Gloria or their charmer of a son, David. haha oh david.
Maybe I'll find the equivilant of Union here, although I highly doubt it.

Friday, May 1, 2009



Sorry, my computer didn't want to publish these photos earlier...
I'm loosing patience with this machiene. And my roomie is playing Enya... I'm gonna explode with rage any minute.
(front and back of Admin. Pavilion... cool mosaic eh?)

Place




This is a hospital just up the street from my apartment. How awesome is that?!

My first visit to Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau (unesco world heritage site) was an odd one. In one instant you walk past a few tourists taking pictures of it's main building's high domed ceilings (covered in shiney rosey coloured tiles), then you are trying to stay clear of the paramedics running from one building to the next (dressed in hair nets and those creepy green scrubs). Domenech (architect) opted for this hospital to contain isolated pavilions (gingerbread houses) joined by an underground gallery (probably haunted and scary). This surgery pavillion allowed patients to be moved to their rooms for post-surgery care. The ones behind it were made into some convent for the nuns who cared for the patients.
It's Administrative Pavillion (like the picture above), I think it's facade was built in the 19th century, but I'm not totally sure.
From the brouchure, I gathered that the architect created large, "diaphanous" rooms by combining traditional Catalan building techniques- the Catalan vault - with structural innovations using steel, the "emblematic" material of the industrial revolution (this allows the sun to fill the interior of the pavillions and the breeze to flow from one end to the other, thus reducing the risk of infection... nice). Adobe ("can you say... 'Adobe'... there's no basement in the Alamo!"... haha only some of you may know this reference), the adobe bricks are useful aparently, for erecting the walls without "roughcasting" (Domenech technique).. ;)



What is really cool is that this place was founded in Ciudat Vella in 1401 (when six small medieval hospitals were joined). It's Europe's 2nd oldest and one continued to be used until present day! My roomie told me that her friend had given birth in that place. Their equipment, however, resembled those used in the 1950s... so... perhaps, if ever in an accident, I should take the metro an extra 2 stops to the other nearby hospital, eh?
Although, the place may be a bit behind in technology, the inner courtyard is heavenly. Filled with pretty trees and flowers, the ambulences are barely noticed. The Architect maybe had forseen the polutions of modernity when designing the layout.

(oops sorry, just looked at the brochure again, there is a "new hospital" hidden behind the fancy stuff. Althought that doesnt explain the panicy paramedics in the admin. pavilion!?) hmm.

Oh! Other factoid: the scene where Christina (the brunette) from Vicky Christina Barcelona, leaves her "language school" with her admirer (fellow student) and they are shot facing down the av. gaudi and the sagrada familia, remember? Well! that "school" is actually this hospital. I just noticed that last night (I watched the movie AGAIN).

So yeah, anyway, just hanging out indoors today. The weather here is the strangest. It gets blazing hot when the sun comes out, but then an hour later is pours and doesn't stop for a while. It does this everyday. EVERYDAY! (at least for the month I've been here.) I walked to the hospital again today and then drank mediochre coffee and a croissant with too much glaze on the top and stuck to the backs of my teeth (i must be in a bad mood, to be complaining about a croissant). Then I took out money from my account to pay for rent. OUCH. Then cleaned the window sill with a toothbrush so I can start planting flowers in the flower pot. :) haha, i kind of enjoyed it.
Now, eating my yogurt and waiting for my tardy father to log into skype! grr...

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Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain
No, I didn't come to Barcelona because of THAT movie. (although it did fuel my obsession with this city, slightly). First time living away from home, away from Canada... Thinking it's gonna be an adventure. I want to share my ups and downs with you during my European get away, so enjoy. :)