Epilogue

This trip has been more than amazing; words cannot even describe how much fun I have had during these four months. I am so blessed that my parents let me do this. If I could I would stay in Barcelona for at least another year. Being here for four months is long but I’m just starting to get into the click of things, I’m making new friends my Spanish has gotten way better and now I only have a few days until I go home. This whole trip has felt like a dream it has gone by so fast and there was so much I did that I am going to have to sit for a while and remember. While in Europe I visited, France, Italy, Ireland, and Belgium; though, these other cities were awesome Barcelona holds a special place in my heart. I will definitely be back in Barcelona in the future, not for four months but I need to come back. One thing that I truly want to see is the Sagrada Familia when it is all done. This is my favorite building in all of Barcelona not to mention the whole world and when it is done Barcelona will attract more tourists than ever. I am very sad to leave but my parents and family miss me and I want to see them. I have been living in fairy tale land with all my expenses paid and it’s time to go back to reality. I will miss; the people of Barcelona, my teachers, all my new friends, my apartment, FCB Barcelona Futbol, and most of all Barcelona City. Adios

Field Trip Journal: Medieval Barcelona

Barcelona received influences from the Islamic world and Carolingian Europe during the late Middle Ages, and developed a leading role across the Mediterranean basin during the Gothic period. As the capital of Catalonia, the city came to govern extensive territories which included such far-away places as Sicily and Athens. In medieval times, Barcelona was an extremely important trading centre for the whole of the Mediterranean. There are many buildings and areas of the city which bear witness to this flourishing period which spans the 13th to 15th centuries. The history of medieval Barcelona is fully evident today in its urban layout, formed essentially by important Romanesque and, above all, Gothic buildings which tell us about the city’s past. This makes it one of the European cities where history comes to life as you walk through its Gothic Quarter. Walking through the city one comes to understand the various changes made to its walled enclosures which accompanied its growth in medieval times, or the importance of institutions, evidenced by the Romanesque and Gothic part of the City Hall and the Palau de la Generalitat; the monarchy and the nobility, with the Royal Palace and mansions on Carrer Montcada; and the role of the Church, with the Cathedral and churches, such as Santa Maria del Mar, which had close ties with the bourgeois guilds. Taken as a whole, these landmarks and events make Barcelona one of the most artistically wealthy cities of Europe in terms of medieval heritage which today’s visitors can discover on an extraordinary route. While on the field trip with Xavi we saw where the highest part of the old city is.

Field Trip Journal: Raval

Raval used to be a neighborhood that had many drug dealers and prostitutes. All one has to do to obtain drugs or prostitutes is visit Raval. Raval used to be a neighborhood that had many drug dealers and prostitutes. All one has to do to obtain drugs or prostitutes is visit Raval. The Modern Art Museum was created in this area in order to draw tourists and locals. The museum is known for its fin art and its artistic exhibits. Museums are notorious for brining in a more sophisticated and well-off crowd. Due to this new Museum now situated in the area once known as the ghetto a whole new crowd of people arrived, this time drug free and clean. the city created a trash system that cleared the streets of all garbage. The next move consecutively to improve the lifestyle of Raval was to clean the area up. They created an underground system for the garbage so that the trash would not stink up the neighborhood. Due to these two major changes, the city was able to significantly clean the streets of Raval and make the area a much more livable for families making it much safer than it previously was. The creation of cultural buildings like th the Modern Art Museum, and cleaning up the streets, the city was able to change the entire crowd of people that hung around there. By changing the population of individuals that spend time in Raval, it also eliminated the safety issue of the area. The new crowd of wealthy people put the drug dealers out of business because there were no more junkies to sell to. Drugs, junkies and prostitutes almost completely disappeared from Raval. If you haven’t been to Raval I suggest that you go because it is one of the coolest parts of Barcelona.

Cultural Activity Journal: New Friends

I was anxious about coming to Barcelona, I didn’t know if the people were nice, if the city was safe, I really didn’t know anything. When I finally got to Barcelona I soon discovered that it is one of the best places to live. The people are very kind, (not to mention that the women are gorgeous) the city is beautiful and the weather is amazing. The second week of being in my apartment I met my doorman, and my neighbors for the first time. Paco my doorman is very helpful and will always tell me where I need to go to buy certain things. The next few days I met a new friend here that is Catalan, Jordi. Jordi is just a few years older than me and is trying his hardest to learn English. He asked me if I could speak with him, he would help me learn more Spanish and I would help him learn English, pretty easy right. WRONG! I soon found out that teaching someone English is really difficult, much harder than learning Spanish. But we stuck to it and kept meeting for practice. I really enjoyed this because it helped me not be hesitant when approaching locals when I needed help. Jordi’s English was also a lot better and was able to hold a decent conversation with me and my roommates. It’s been about a month or so since I have seen Jordi, or my neighbors. I know my neighbors are not the biggest fans of my friends and I because they have called the police on us a few times for being too loud.

Leisure Activity Journal: Nightlife in Barcelona

The one thing that everyone told me before I came to Barcelona is that the night life is out of this world. Friends kept telling me that people in Barca do not go out to the clubs until two or three and stay out until six in the morning; I thought people were kidding until I experienced my first night. The first night I went to a club/ lounge known as Opium Mar right on the beach in Barceloneta. Barceloneta is known for its clubs, bars, and casinos and is notorious for attracting foreigners. On the weekends this area of Barcelona is incredibly loud and is crowded with musicians, street performers and club promoters. Barceloneta is not the only place however to go to have fun, there are numerous clubs all over the city such as Razzmatazz, Elephant, Tiffany’s, and Broad Bar. The normal night for me and my roommates begins with dinner either at home or a small restaurant near our apartment, Bogo. After dinner we go to a bar to get a little pregame Chupitos, Cyranos, Ovella Negra, Pippermint, or the Smoking Dog. Then depending on what night it is and where we can get in for free we head to the club. My favorite club in Barcelona is Razzmatazz, not only is it huge with multiple rooms but there are many local chicas there. I have only had to pay a cover three times to get into clubs while in Barcelona; those clubs are Appollo, Razzmatazz, and usually Opium. On the nights where I did not feel like going to a club and bar I still found things to do like go to a jazz concert or even a Barcelona futbol match. There are numerous things to do in Barcelona at night it is up to you to find what suites you. So far I have been to sic other countries and Barcelona holds the gold medal for having the best night life in the world.

Field Trip Journal: Roman Barcino

The Roman Barcino was my favorite field trip because I enjoy looking at ancient roman structures. One reason I took the class history of Barcelona is because I’ve always been interested about learning facts about the Roman Empire. Going to the museum made it possible for me to understand how clever and civilized the Romans were. The museum was a sight of a rich family’s house. The rich lived in single-storey houses which were built around a central hall known as an atrium. Atrium had rooms opening up off of them and they were also open to the weather as they had no roofs. Many atriums had a trough built into their design so that water could be collected when it rained. The museum was very nicely constructed and for every piece of architecture there was information on it in English, so it made it possible for everyone to learn about everything in the museum. I was surprised at how far down the ruins were. The ruins were probably 20 -30 feet below were the level of the ground is now and we had to take an elevator to go down to them. While in the museum I saw different types of tools that the Romans used for personal care. They had tools such as; toothpicks, toothpaste, bathing soap, iron tooth’s, and much more. While at the museum I saw that the Romans had large stone bowls that were bigger than baths. These large bowls held oil and wine back in the day for conservation. While at the gym I also learned that Romans were very concerned about how they looked so they always washed their clothes. They used ashes to get stains out of their white clothes. They also had different substances to dye their clothing. I really enjoyed this museum and hope to go back one day.

Restaurant Journal: Bogo

The food all of over Barcelona is amazing but very expensive at the same time. One restaurant that I eat frequently at is a place called Bogo. Bogo is a small upcoming restaurant owned by a young Argentinean named Sebastian. Bogo opened up about two months ago and has been doing very well with customers. The cuisine at this restaurant is crepes, so if you’re a crepe lover this is your place. They serve breakfast crepes, dinner crepes with chicken and mushrooms with a delicious crème sauce, and lastly they serve tasty desert crepes. Luckily Bogo is also on the same street as I live one (Paris Street) and is only an eight minute walk from my house. When FCB Barcelona has a game on TV it is impossible to get a table at Bogo because this restaurant is more of a local spot than a tourist. Another cool thing about this restaurant is that every meal is named after a famous plate; they have the Rod Stewart, Ozzy Osbourne, Tom Petty, and Michael Jackson just to name a few. The front room consists of the bar and seven to eight tables with a large flat screen. The back room is more of a lounge area with two couches for people to smoke and watch the games. If you become a local at Bogo and make friends with Sebastian, he will give you free shots at times. I have eaten at Bogo easily over eight times now and am never dipleased with the food or service. If you are looking for a great restaurant to take a girl or just a friend, Bogo is always a great choice.

Restaurant Journal: Paella

I have eaten enough dishes to decide whether I like Catalan or Spanish food; I can’t really say that I like either of them. There are some dishes I absolutely enjoy and then there are others I find quite repulsive. The best Spanish plate that I have had in Barcelona was down in Barceloneta at a restaurant called Barca. The plate that I ordered was the Seafood Paella with a coca-cola on the side. When they brought out the paella I could not believe my eyes at how big the dish was; it could have easy fed a family of four. I dug in and found out that I really did not know and still do not know the proper way of eating shrimp. Usually every time I eat shrimp in America the tail is not attached to the body, but When in Barcelona do as the Barcelonans do. It took me about an hour or so to take down my whole plate but at the end I was very satisfied with what I had just conquered. I can’t really say what my favorite Catalan dish is because I really do not know too many; however, the Catalan delicacy has awesome tapas. Going to the bar and feasting on these delicious tapas while enjoying a cold beer is tradition not only for me but for all in Barcelona. Tapa hopping is a very common thing to do, not only does it give you a chance to try multiple tapas but it gives you a reason to get drunk. I never really got a chance to eat high quality Spanish food; you will have to pay out the ass for a nice meal. I’m not talking about a fifty euro meal; it will cost about a hundred euros for a fish plate not to mention a bottle of wine or some other type of alcoholic drink. In conclusion I know that Spain is well known for having the best restaurants; nevertheless, I do not prefer Spanish food over Catalan or vice versa, I actually would rather have Italian, Chinese, or Mexican cuisine.

Local News Story: Ibrahimovic is Back!

Barcelona striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic was able to train normally again on Friday after shaking off a calf problem and could feature for the champions in Saturday's match at city rivals Espanyol. Left-back Eric Abidal also returned to the training ground this week after injury as Barca bid to extend their lead over Real Madrid at the top to six points ahead of their arch-rivals' game at home to third-placed Valencia on Sunday. Barca coach Pep Guardiola is hoping there will not be a repeat of the disturbances among fans that have marred some recent meetings between Barca and Espanyol."There's no point in taking things out of context, it's a football match," he said on Friday. "Let's hope there are no incidents and the best team wins."Espanyol will be the most difficult opponent Guardiola's side will face during the remainder of the season, according to Barca's Ivory Coast midfielder Yaya Toure. Ibrahimovi is one of my favourite players and to see him come back puts a smile on my face. Although Zlatan is getting older and is not as good as he once was, he is still a crucial player on Barcelona. I hope he come back player better than ever and kicks ass against Espanyol, and beats InterMilan in the Champions League. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is from Sweden and will not play in the World Cup because they did not make the cuts. Ibrahimovic I’m sure is very upset and will be greatly missed by all his fans this summer.

Local News Story Journal: A Walk Along Diagonal

This coming 9 May sees the launch of a new race in Barcelona, to mark the public referendum on the redevelopment of Diagonal that will take place over the next few days. Independently of the redevelopment option that is finally decided upon, the new avenue will offer greater possibilities for people to carry out physical activity. The race will start at 9.30 am at the junction between Carrer Còrsega and Passeig de Gràcia and cover five km through the avenue's central streets towards Plaça Francesc Macià. On reaching the square, the runners will circle it and turn down Diagonal, returning to the start line to finish the race. The registration period for the race has already started. Registration is free, though the deadline will close once the set maximum number of 5,000 participants has been reached. Next Sunday, 2 May, Diagonal will host another event promoting physical activity: A Walk Along Diagonal. The walk will set off at 10 am from the gate of the Cervantes rose garden, and cover an 8.5-km circuit up to the Salvador Espriu gardens. Registration for the walk is free and anyone wishing to join in needs only to turn up at the starting point at the arranged starting time. Both activities - race and walk - aim to provide participants with a chance to enjoy the city's iconic avenue in an athletic and healthy way. This same avenue will be the subject of much debate over the next few weeks with the aim of improving citizen use. I think this is a great idea because it helps people get off of their couches and participate in something both healthy and enjoyable. If I were here I would definitely participate in it but I leave on May 1^st, Que Lastima.

National News Journal: Spain's Economy Weakend

Ratings agency Standard & Poor's cut Spain's rating a single notch to AA, as it forecast that the country's economic growth will be weaker than expected over the next six years. The market reaction was more muted than yesterday, when Greece's debt was cut to junk and Portugal downgraded, but markets across Europe ended the day lower. The euro sunk to its lowest level in a year against the dollar. The prospect of a country defaulting on its debt has plagued financial markets all year, as investors are confronted with the pain the global slowdown has inflicted on already indebted countries. Greece has already turned to the International Monetary Fund for a bail-out, as the cost of refinancing its debt soars. "We are becoming increasingly concerned that the crisis in Greece could pose as big a risk to the global economy and financial markets as the collapse of Lehman Brothers did in September 2008," said analysts at research house Capital Economics. "The shock value of a sovereign default in Greece would be much larger than the frequent defaults in emerging markets. The pressure is building on European leaders to strike a detailed agreement with Greece on the scale of the bail-out it will receive. Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor who is facing domestic resistance to any bail-out, said today that it's "completely clear" negotiations between the IMF, Greece and the European Commission need 'speeding up.'

Local New Story Journal: Red Light District in Barcelona

Barcelona mayor Jordi Hereu has ruled out establishing official red light districts in the city. His comments come in response to the recent uproar over pictures published in Spanish daily El Paìs of prostitutes and their clients indulging in sex acts openly on the streets of Barcelona, around the historic La Boqueria market hall. Hereu commented on channel TV-3 that he thought there was no neighborhood in the city that would be willing to consent to prostitutes offering sex on its streets. The mayor also reiterated that the city was powerless to act against prostitution without a state law to regulate or prohibit the trade. Barcelona city has statutes for fines of up to €750 for sex workers or their clients. However, says the Barcelona Reporter, the city has become increasingly lax about applying them. Local residents and business leaders have urged the city to find a solution to the problem. I have been here in Barcelona for four months now and I don’t really too many prostitutes unless I go down Las Ramblas or around Barceloneta. I heard that prostitution is increasing here and Barcelona and many of the inhabitants want to change the law so it’s the same way as the red light district in Amsterdam. This is a major problem not only in Europe but all over the world; there is no real way of stopping it other than making it legal. I am opposed of prostitution but I think it’s a good idea because not only will it clean up the streets but it can help the government make money if they tax it. This is a very hard decision though for the mayor because he wants to make everyone happy in the city but also has to decide on what he wants.

Restaurant Journal: Catalan Food

I have really only tries a few Catalan foods while in Europe. The first Catalan Restaurant that I ate at was near Montserrat. It was the first CEA trip of the semester and they wanted to have all the students try the Catalan delicacy. The initial dish was Pa amb tomàquet (bread and tomato with olive oil). This was the first time that I had ever tasted it and I thought it was delicious. The second dish that the waiters brought out was calçotadam, sweet onions that are flame grilled. Calçotadam is a typical, traditional culinary feast in Catalonia. The most famous is held in Valls on the last Sunday in January. Although many of the CEA students loved this dish, I thought it was actually pretty plain and disgusting. There is a traditional way of eating these onions, you hold it up, peel the side of the onion down and eat the bottom where the white part of the onion it. Lastly they brought out Mongetes amb botifarra (beans and pork sausage). The beans were delicious; however, I definitely could have passed on the pork sausage because it was not very appetizing at all. They also served us French fries were awesome with the beans and sausage. Lastly they served us ice cream which I thought was the best part of the meal. The whole feast was amazing though, even though I did not enjoy all of the dishes, I took pleasure in practicing a new culture.

International Story Journal: Volcano Eyjafjallajökull Erupts

One of the biggest stories of this semester other than President Obama’s health reform was the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland. This was the first time in 200 years that this volcano erupted and the last time it erupted it lasted for two years. The whole world was affected by this eruption due to the closing of all main airports in Europe. Smoke and ash spewed south of Iceland covering over part of the Pacific over England, Ireland, and sweeping over some other countries in Europe such as Germany and Italy. Many CEA students went to Germany that week for Frühlingsfest and were stranded for days in the airport. Many students bought bus tickets while some rented cars to embark on the twelve hour drive back to Barcelona. Thousands of flights were canceled leaving thousands of frustrated people stranded in airports. Busy airports such as Heathrow and Frankfurt brought out beds and showers for people desperate for sleep and cleaning up. It was a mess for CEA because it was the third to last week of classes which means finals were coming up and half the students in the program were out of the country. I literally went to a class that has thirty or so kids in it and on the day I went there were six of us. Personally I did not mind the eruption of this volcano because many of my papers and projects got postponed a few days which allowed me to enjoy some time at the beach. Eventually the airports opened up in the next five days and everyone got a flight to where they were going. Many CEA students arrived on that next Tuesday or Wednesday with no complaints because they got an extra five day vacation. Although it was a time of complete chaos, this event made everyone slow down for a few days and realize that Mother Nature is basically in charge of the world.

Cultural Activity Journalo: Casa Mila

While in Barcelona I visited many museums, my favorite was Casa Mila also known as (La Pedrera). Casa Mila is an apartment that was built by Antoni Gaudi and was officially completed in 1912. The museum is situated on Passeig de Gracia, just up the street from Plaza Catalunya. There is another Guadi museum, Casa Batlo; however, I found Casa Mila to be much more interesting. I went on Friday January 22^nd with three of my roommates, Conor, John, and Casey. We were lucky to have gone on that Friday because it was blue skies and the sun was warm. The main thing that we all wanted to see was the chimneys on top of the apartment. As we entered the rooftop I was amazed at the artistic capabilities that Gaudi had. The structures of the chimneys’ were amazing yet very bizarre. This was the first time I had ever seen something like this, there are not many structures this strange in California. We were there for nearly 2 hours but I could have stayed up there the whole day because the weather was so incredibly nice. After visiting the rooftop we went down to see the apartment that Gaudi built for himself. This was also amazing also because even though all the architecture was older it was very modern for when he built it. The bathroom was made of all white stone, (marble I think). The kitchen was woods and looked a lot older than the other parts in the house. I was also surprised to hear that people still live in the apartments, and I thought to myself that they must pay a fortune. After we ended our tour with Casa Mila I appreciated Gaudi a lot more not just as an architect but also as an artist. I appreciate Casa Mila so much that I would like to visit it one more time before I go back to California.

Cultural Activity Journal: Carnival in Sitges

The last day of Carnival happened to fall on a Tuesday this year, possibly the worst day for me to go out because I have an early busy day on Wednesday. I didn’t really find out you needed a costume until the day before, so I frantically looked but could not find shit. The night of Carnival we had some girls come over and I had them decide a costume for me, they ended up making me into the Joker from Batman. After they finished I looked in the mirror and I thought to myself, “I look like a homo”. After some shots and mixed drinks I did not care what I looked like I just wanted to get to Sitges. We headed for the train just to find that we would be packed in like sardines. It was the most uncomfortable yet entertaining 30 minute ride of my life. I probably met 15 new friends on that ride. When we finally arrived at Sitges I could hear the screams and cheers from what seemed like thousands and thousands of people. The first thing that I saw when I first got off the train was a girl throwing up and I thought to myself this is going to be a wild night. I was amazed at how many floats there were, there had to be hundreds of floats that held 5-8 people on board. The most amusing part of my night was when one of my friends stuck his hand out for one of the girls on the street and when she came around and grab it we found out that she wasn’t a girl at all.

Leisure Activity Journal: First Futbol Match

On February 27^th I attended my first ever futbol match. The match was between Malaga and FCB Barcelona. As my three amigos and I were arriving to the game we were contemplating on whether buying a ticket at the box office or seeing if we could get someone on the street to sell us cheaper better tickets. We finally decided to try to get cheaper tickets, so we started calling out “Tickets, We need Tickets”, in a matter of two minutes a man approached us with what looked like legit tickets. He told us that he wanted 150 for four tickets, not a bad price if you ask me. At first we were concerned whether the tickets were real or not but the man reassured us, so we took his word. Amazingly the tickets were real and when we found our seats we were amazed at how mind-boggling they were. We were literally 15 seats from the field. The match was unlike anything else I have ever seen; I have been to baseball, basketball, football, and hockey games but none of them compare. The thing that is so different about futbol games is the fans; the fans are much livelier at futbol games. At baseball games when something upsets the fans they booooo, but I noticed when the crowd was pissed at the Barca game they whistled. Barcelona was supposed to sweep Malaga but that didn’t happen. Malaga scored first towards the end of the game; then Barca answered back with a goal within two minutes. With two minutes left in the game Barcelona scored one last goal to go up 2-1 and ended up winning the game. After going to that game I wanted to travel to other cities and see how other games compare. One last thing that I noticed while at the Barcelona Malaga match was that all the fans have so much pride in their team. Catalans are very pleased to have Barca represent their hometown.

Leisure Activity Barcelona VS Madrid

The coolest thing by far that I experienced in Barcelona was the Real Madrid Barcelona futbol match. I have never experienced a rivalry as intense as this in the United States. The day before the game I remember sitting in the steam room and over hearing a conversation of two men chatting about the Real Madrid Barcelona game. One was a Real fan and the other a Barca fan, although they were both friendly with one another I could tell that they really were not agreeing with what each other was saying. They got me started in the conversation and told me that if Barcelona wins the city will go crazy. When the next day came I threw on my ibrahimovic jersey and planned on going to George and Dragon pub on Passeig de Gracia. The bar was packed with Barca fans so we prepared ourselves by grabbing some seats and some pints. The game was violent; both teams were playing sloppy as hell. While we watched the game all the Barca fans would start different songs and chants. When the game was over and the score was 0-2 Barcelona, everyone went nuts. The first thing that my friends and I did was head over to Plaza Catalunya and Las Ramblas. When we arrived there was already a crowd of 200 or more people singing, drinking, and setting fireworks off. This celebration was the closest thing to a riot that I have ever encountered. There were fireworks everywhere, soccer balls were being punted, beer was being thrown over people, and there were non-stop crowd surfers. Although my jersey and shoes got pretty trashed I had a great time and will never forget that night for as long as I live.