Catalonia

We took a bus from the airport in Girona into Barcelona. As the city came into view I started to look around excitedly and pick out the sights I remembered from last time. There was the Sagrada Familia and the Torre Agbar but then I saw a sign that read, "Benvinguts a Barcelona". Now, I do not remember much from my high school Spanish classes but that did not seem right and in fact it is not Spanish but Catalan. In Barcelona they speak two languages Spanish and Catalan and in our travels we heard a lot more of the latter than the former.

The people in Barcelona have a strong pride in their Catalan history and consider themselves first and foremost to be Catalonian and then Spanish. In fact, a man we met was quick to point out that Catalan has existed for one thousand years whereas Spain has only existed for five hundred. 

We learned a few phrases and words in Catalan during our trip. Good morning in Catalan is bon dia and it was amazing to watch the way people's faces lit up with warmth and surprise when we entered a shop and said, "bon dia". Next time we go to Barcelona, I will definitely study and learn a few more phrases in Catalan as I felt like it really opened the door into the true Barcelona.   

The feeling of respect and reverence for Catalonia is also evident in the presence of the Catalonian flag. It can be found flying alongside the Spanish and Barcelonian flags in front of every public building.



The Catalonian, Spanish and Barcelonian flag



The extreme pride and respect for their history and where they have come from is yet another reason why I love Barcelona and its people and why I look forward to returning.

All of the photos on the blog are taken by me unless otherwise noted. This is one of those times so the following are the sources for the above images: Photo 1, Photo 2

Too Hard

I promise by the end of this post the swimming pool picture will make sense

I started this blog as a way to share my experience of living in Italy. My intention was to provide an honest portrayal of my life here as a way to give people insight into what it is actually like to live here. I wanted to include the positives and the negatives as a way to perhaps deflate the general stereotype people tend to have of Italy; that everything is beautiful, everyday is wonderful, and that every meal is the best of my life. So far, I have failed. So far this blog has been entirely slanted towards the beautiful and the postive. From today on, I would like to try and give a rounder, fuller picture of my life. So here it goes...

After living here for over a year, I feel confident to make the following conclusion (of course this is based solely on my own experiences and I fully trust that others will conclude the exact opposite or at least something different - but this is mine): life, in general, in the US is much easier, less complicated and more convenient than it is here. In fact, often times here it seems like they have sought out the most difficult way to do something and decided that is how the thing shall be done.

Today I went to the local pool to find out information about the possibility of going there to swim laps. I found out the times and the price (89 euros for 1 month or for 10 times - a little steep, I think, but I can live with it) - everything was going fine UNTIL I was told that I would need a doctor's certificate to swim there unless, of course, I would like to pay 13 euros (by today's conversion that is $18.50) per time. What? I could accept the need for a physical when I was playing junior high school basketball but I am a grown adult! I think I can swim at my own risk. A doctor's visit would probably cost around 120 euros! Plus I don't even have a general doctor so I would have to find one, make an appointment and take time off of work to go to the appointment.

And there is no hope of gaining any sympathy from an Italian upon sharing this story because for them it is totally normal. It is just the way it is.

Needless to say I do not think I will be swimming anytime soon. In fact, now I am drinking a glass of wine to console myself and later I might just have to make some brownies. In total, the complete opposite of my original intentions of getting some exercise.


(the picture is originally from this website)

Seasonal Pictures - Fall

I have often read about people expresing a desire to take part in a culture exchange with a person from a different country. This always made me think to myself, first of all, what would I exchange? I am American. What is our cluture? Hamburgers? Baseball? Then I thought even if I figured out what to share, how would I share it? Should I make a power presentation and bring visual aids? This idea of a cultural exchange was always intriguing, I want to learn about other people's cultures, but also daunting because I did not now what I would give in exchange. This weekend I found out.

I stayed on an olive farm in Tuscany this weekend where there lived a wonderful, little boy named Pietro. Pietro was very excited about Halloween. He talked about it all day Saturday and repeatedly chimed out, "scherzetto o dolcetto" (trick or treat in Italian), usually from the top of an olive tree. He also talked about carving a pumpkin. On the farm they grow many things but unfortunately not pumpkins. After we finished dinner that night, Christina, the farmer, brought in a butternut squash she had picked from the garden and offered it up to be carved. We, five adults, sat around the table thinking how to carve the squash. I must admit that at first I was skeptical. There are many differences between a proper carving pumpkin and a butternut squash. One of the adults suggested to cut the very hour glassly shaped squash into two pieces and at that suggestion the possibilities started to come to life quickly, followed by the jack-o-lanterns.

The squash was cut in two. The seeds taken out and the center cut away. Pietro drew the perfect face on each half with triangle eyes, a small triangle nose, and a sweet little smile. I carved out the pieces and then Pietro, who had the perfect sized hands to fit inside the small squash, removed the cut out pieces. We lit little tea lights and put the two squash faces on top of them and here are the results:

Notice how Pietro even drew nostrils on the two noses