Local News: FC Barcelona vs. Real Madrid

One local news story that headlined El Periodico on April 11, 2010 pertained to the matchup of Real Madrid and Barcelona in “El Clasico.” The article I read about this game’s title was “Messi: We’ve Shown We’re the Best.” This article is basically a report of the team’s feelings after beating their hated rival in a game which put them in the driver’s seat for winning La Liga. The night before, Barcelona went on the road to Madrid and dominated them for a 2-0 victory. The article is filled with quotes from many of the players and coaches as opposed to a summary of the game. In this article, players such as Messi and Puyol are quoted as they talked about their feelings about their team following the big win. The two players were somewhat different in their responses in the article. When asked about the team in the article, the young superstar Messi did not hesitate to say that the win proved the team was the best. In addition, he did not hold back from taking a dig at Madrid by talking about how they beat a team that was purchased to be a champion of Europe. This comment showed that there is no love lost between the two teams, and that the feelings of disdain dating back to the Franco era are still existent today. This quote highlighted a main philosophical difference between the two teams that can be traced back to the way Franco ran Real Madrid by monopolizing all the best players and the league when he was the dictator of Spain. While Real Madrid spends the most money to grab all of the superstars such as Cristiano Ronaldo, FC Barcelona prides itself on having Catalan players on their team and not just buying their championships. The excitement surrounding this victory was undeniable, as bars were packed as people watched every single play of the game very intensely. Following the victory, the streets were flooded with excited people. This game does not just signify any regular victory that moves a team up in the standings; rather the game represents a win for the Catalan culture against the “evil empire” Franco built. The excitement was evident by the celebration on Las Ramblas, where the streets were packed and crazy. Fireworks were going off and it was so crowded it seemed like it took ten minutes to go one block. This story was certainly one of the most important in El Periodico on this day.

Trip to Museo d' historia

On February 17th 2010, I went on a trip to see the Museo d’ historia de Catalunya, or the Museum of the History of Catalunya. When I went to this museum, I did not realize how unbelievably big it was. The museum spanned about three floors, and had an abundance of information in regard to the history of this city. However, I spent most of my time on the top floor. Here, I basically went on a tour of the early Catalonian history, starting with when the Romans arrived on the Peninsula. I really enjoyed the setup of this floor, because it had a great setup where it essentially took me in chronological order through the various events that happened over time. I learned about a lot of different things from this floor in addition to the Roman era, such as when the Muslims era and also many issues that came to the surface during this time. One of the major problems that came about was the Black Death, which took place in the 14th century. Although I had known about the Black Death from my studies in school and had vague background knowledge on it, I did not truly realize how unbelievably damaging this plague actually was. It was an opening experience to see how a disease could absolutely ravage a population and wipe out 100s of millions of people. While in today’s world there are obviously prevalent diseases that have not been cured yet, it is hard to fathom a disease coming around that nobody is able to stop and essentially crippling the world’s population. Maybe it is because I have grown up in a very fortunate part of the world, but it is mind boggling to think about the terror that must have gripped Europe since they were basically helpless against the inevitable spread of the disease. On a lighter note, one cool aspect was seeing the armor that knights would use in battle. I can’t even imagine how a knight could go to battle with that amount of weight on their back. In the museum, there was a pulley, where you could lift up the armor to simulate how much it would weigh to fight in. While I could lift it, it was definitely no easy task; it was as if I was weight lifting. I assume that technology has improved in today’s society. Lastly, another funny thing to do in a mostly serious exhibit was that I was able to sit on a fake horse like I was a knight. Enclosed is a picture of me (without armor) as a knight ready to do battle.

Basketball in Barcelona

One of my favorite pastimes in the United States has always been to play basketball. However, when I came to Barcelona I did not think it would be very easy to find a court to play on since I would be living in a major city and because soccer is the major sport in this nation. Nevertheless, I got the itch to go play and began looking for places to play. After asking some of my friends and even taxi drivers where I could find a court, I got word that there were actually several different places I could go play pick up games across the city. Finally, after much time I found that the best place for me to play was right by the Monumental metro stop. On Friday, March 26, 2010, I got off at the metro stop and sure enough a block away was a full basketball court and there were several individuals playing. I finally got the urge to play right as spring break started because all of my roommates traveled to France that Thursday. I had to stay for the weekend because my parents were visiting me on that Sunday, so I had plenty of time to walk around the city. I finally laced up my shoes and put the basketball I had in my apartment to good use. I was pretty nervous going to play after not playing for so long, but I figured it would be a great way to get some exercise since I do not belong to a gym here. It was definitely different playing pick-up basketball here than it was playing in the United States. What made the experience so different was that I was playing with two individuals from the Domincan Republic, one from Munich, and two from China. It was very cool to see how a sport can bring people from such different backgrounds together. Even though none of spoke each other’s languages except in bits in pieces, we were able to communicate because we all shared the same passion for the game. It was interesting to see that people from other countries took the sport very seriously as well, and that it was becoming so popular across the world. Even though there are plenty of international players who are great in the NBA, I never really got to experience playing against such a diverse group of people growing up. While this was still the same old game I was playing, it was a much different game this time.

Beach in Barcelona

Last weekend on April 16th, 2010, my friends and I decided to take a trip down to the beach. When we originally came to Barcelona, we were under the assumption that it would be cold for a little while, but that there would be plenty of time where we would be able to make trips to the beach. However, for the majority of our trip we have not been very fortunate in terms of having great weather. In fact, at one point it even snowed here which was certainly not a very common occurrence in Barcelona. So when the opportunity arose, we had to take advantage of it. When we finally got to the beach I was extremely excited because I had been looking forward to it all semester. The weather was perfect to just lay out and relax in; although it was not warm enough to go out onto the beach. After laying out on the beach for the while, it became apparent that the beach atmosphere where we were was much different than what we were used to in the United States. At the beach in the United States, it is a generally relaxing environment, with people in the water or maybe tossing the football around. However, at the beach we went to off of the Barceloneta metro stop, there were many different aspects. One of the things that stood out to me was the amount of vendors that were out there trying to sell stuff to us constantly. While it was interesting to see how the beach culture was different here, after a while the frequency of vendors approaching us got a little annoying. However, despite the vendors being a little annoying at times, one doughnut vendor was the highlight of the day. This individual caught all of my friends and I’s attention as he sprinted along the sand with a tray of doughnuts on his head while singing some song. I was pretty impressed by this display of balance and comedy, so I decided to buy a doughnut even though I did not want one. Another aspect of the Barcelona beach that differed from the United States was that there were plenty of nude individuals spread out all over the beach. While in the United States it would be shunned upon to be naked on the beach, it is not considered a big deal here whatsoever. There were plenty of males walking around completely naked, while almost half of the Spanish women I saw were topless. All in all, the beach day was one of my favorite days here. I thought the beach was really nice here, and I really enjoyed the setup along the boardwalk. There were plenty of places to eat, ranging from fancy sit down restaurants to quick food stands to get food. Overall, the day was a great one, and the only problem was that there could not have been more of them.

Restaurant Tapa I Apat

One restaurant I visited was called Tapa I Apat. When my parents came into town on Sunday March 28, 2010, it was around 2:00 PM, and we were all very hungry. They did not want a typical meal that we could get anywhere in the world, but rather they wanted to experience a traditional Spanish meal, and have a tapas experience. While I had done this previously with my friends at a restaurant called Chiquitos, I was certainly not opposed to going to a great restaurant again. We decided to take a stroll down Las Ramblas, looking at several different restaurants before we settled on this restaurant. At this restaurant, there was a plethora of options to eat, which made me very happy. While you could order single meals, you also had the choice of four different tapas platters. The choices included a vegetable tapa, two different seafood tapas, and a mix of all the tapas called Pica Pica. My family decided to order the Pica Pica tapa, which turned out to be a great decision. While the tapas were supposed to serve only two people, we thought that we should also order another dish to make sure we were satisfied. Turns out we didn’t need to do this considering we then had an exorbitant amount of food for the three of us. Considering my parents did not have the appetite that I did, I had the responsibility of doing the major damage on the meal and eating the most. I did not have a problem with this however, and embraced the challenge wholeheartedly. The Pica Pica platter was excellent, and it consisted of chorizo, or sausage, along with calamari, patatas bravas, Catalan bread and Iberian meatballs. In addition, we ordered a chicken and prawn dish was also excellent. While we made a valiant effort to eat all the food that was on the table, in the end we sadly came up short. Overall, I thought this was an excellent dining experience. Although the meal was pretty expensive, we expected it considering the restaurant was on Las Ramblas where the majority of restaurants are expensive. With that being said, it was not like one of those expensive restaurants where the portions were frustratingly small. On the contrary, these portions were of a great size, and we definitely came out of there with a full stomach. My parents really liked it because it was a different type of dining experience than they were used to in the United States, and I also liked the change of pace. I had a great meal and time at this restaurant.

Restaurant Lalola

One of the main restaurants that my friends and I have come to love is a small diner down the street called Lalola. In Barcelona, I have made sure to experience all sorts of different restaurants; ranging from typical Spanish cuisine to Chinese restaurants throughout the city. However, if there is one restaurant I could really consider a place where I actually have a connection to the people it is Lalola. Originally, we came to this restaurant in the first week of the semester. This restaurant was the first place we ate at as it was very close by and we were very hungry after settling down. One of the things that drew our attention to this place was that it was very cheap and had a wide variety of dishes we could eat. However, once we sat down I realized this would definitely be a place I would come back to visit pretty often. Sometimes restaurants lose their appeal if you go too often because you get sick of eating the same thing; there was no such problem at this restaurant. Throughout the course of the semester, I would say I probably have eaten there once or twice a week and have sampled a good portion of the menu. When I go to the restaurant, I generally order a tapa to begin the meal followed by an entrée. If I had to choose one meal that I really enjoy, it would have to be mussels to start out with, and a chorizo sandwich for my meal. In the United States, I really enjoyed mussels but it was not very common that I could go out and get them; at a cheap price nonetheless. Therefore, I felt it was only necessary to indulge while I was there. When it comes to chorizo, I have eaten my fair share since I have been in Barcelona. Some of the other meals and tapas I would generally have include trikini, margherita pizzas, and patatas bravas. Because we went to this restaurant so often, I developed a level of comfort when I sat down. Whenever I would go for a takeout order or to sit down, the employees were very friendly and would strike up conversation with me. In particular, there was one cook behind the counter who spoke English, so we were able to communicate very easily, while I tried my best to improve my Spanish by talking to some of the waiters (even though sometimes I would just have to smile and nod my head). Lalola was definitely one of my favorite restaurants in Barcelona not because it was a five star restaurant I had ever been to, but because it helped me to find a niche in Barcelona. This place helped me to adapt to living here, and really interact with Spanish people as well as enjoying some great Spanish food.

Un Franc, 14 Pesetas

One movie I have seen since living in Barcelona is the movie Un Franc, 14 Pesetas. The movie was a Spanish movie, and I watched it using English subtitles to understand. While I could understand some of the Spanish being spoken, there was also some German spoken that I had no understanding of. The plot of this movie revolved around two Spanish individuals living in Madrid during the 1960s, and their travel to Switzerland in hopes of earning higher wages. The two men, Martin and Marcos go to a new country without knowing the language, and leave everything of familiarity behind, including their families, in hopes of securing a better future for themselves. The movie shows their journey of at first struggling to adapt to a completely new land to finally being reunited with their family. Here, the struggle of an immigrant back in the 1960s is portrayed excellently. In my opinion, this was a very entertaining and interesting movie. While the movie would be considered a drama as it depicted the hardships these families went through, it also had its lighthearted moments that added to the movie’s effectiveness. Overall, I thought the movie was definitely one worth seeing. I thought it did an outstanding job of showing how hard and different life was back then, and how hard it was to lead a good life and live comfortably. The only problem I really had with the movie was the ending. After several years of the family living comfortably in Switzerland and finally being acclimated with the country, they decide to move back to Madrid. I never really understood this decision, because just as they finally were living a happy and comfortable lifestyle, they threw it all away. The movie ends with the family kind of rallying to say how they will make this work, but it also leaves the uncertainty of their lives as the father does not have a job, and the last scene is the father looking out into the night with a confused expression. To me, this did not provide appropriate closure. However, I did find that it was a very well done film other than this aspect, and really provided an interesting perspective of how difficult life was for an immigrant trying to be integrated into a completely new and different society.