Madrid for the weekend

The bus ride to Madrid felt like a short one although it was actually 7 hours long. 4 other girls and I took the midnight bus on Friday and arrived on Saturday at 7.30am. We saved a night´s hostel fee by sleeping during the bus ride. We got off the bus and headed to our hostel using the metro. It´s called Cat´s Hostel, a very good hostel that I would recommend to anyone who plans to go to Madrid. At a reasonable price of 18 euros, they allowed us to check-in early, provided us with free breakfast, had comfortable beds, clean bath rooms and a strategic location that allowed us to walk to the main attractions.

Despite being tired, we headed out to Museu del Prado right after breakfast and we spent 3 hours in the museum. By the 2nd and half hour, I was just walking by the paintings and sculptures without bothering to read the descriptions and look at the paintings properly. A person can only take so much art at a time. The Prado held a great amount of art collection that predominantly features Baroque and Renaissance paintings by Italian, German, Flemish, and Spanish painters. Having seen so many paintings at a time, I could now roughly tell what paintings are by which painters in terms of nationalities. Most of the pictures depict biblical figures, chapters, and the sacred family. I could have sworn, there were at least 20 paintings of the sacred family and the nativity, with different influences eg. the flemish paintings have that weird golden glow, looking like needles, that emits from the sacred family etc. The Prado was definitely an interesting change from MNAC in Barcelona which showcases Catalonian and Spanish art. Being here in Spain has cultivated a great sense of appreciation of art in me.

Museu del Prado

Saturn Devouring his Son by Goya

Puerta de Alcala (The Gate of Madrid)

After that we had lunch and went to see the Cibeles fountain, take pictures of the different plazas and fountains and took a long stroll in Parque de Buen Retiro (Retirement/Retreat Park). The park is amazing. It is one of the best parks I have been too. There were fountains and monuments that adorned the park. Most importantly, there was a beautiful lake near the entrance of the park. The day was so sunny and warm. It was perfect for a walk. Later in the afternoon, we walked around in the city center where Puerta del Sol and Plaza Mayor are. We had churros con chocolate caliente in a churros shop called Maestro which claimed to have been in business since 1905. We thought the churros there must be good if the shop has been in business since then, and as we thought, they were delicioso!!!!! OMG...they were so good that I forgot to take pictures of them.

Cibeles fountain

The lake in el Parque de Buen Retiro

Crystal Palace in el Parque de Buen Retiro

Plaza Mayor

We went back to our hostel after that and we took our well deserved siesta. At night,we went out for a paella dinner. It was not bad but a little bit below my expectation. It looked like it would taste very flavorful and delicious but it didn't. Oh well..

Paellas for dinner

We were blessed with a sunny Saturday so we couldn't complain much about rainy Sunday. Fortunately, the major place we wanted to go to was El Palacio Real (The Royal Palace). It was beautiful. We couldn't get an English tour guide so we ended up with audio guides. However, there was a group of Chinese tourists led by a Spaniard who explained in English and a Chinese tour guide who would translate what she said. As "inconspicuouly" as we could, we followed them and when it was time for the translation, we listened to our audio guides. I also sneaked my camera out and took some pictures in the palace. The art and architecture were amazing! Italian Renaissance, German, Flemish, French and Oriental designs decorate different parts of the palace.

Palacio Real (The Royal Palace)

Almudena Cathedral, the royal cathedral

After the palace, we had lunch. Thankfully, the rain stopped and we walked to Puerto de Toledo (The Gate of Toledo) and took some pictures. All of us were freezing cold. We decided we did not want to do any more outdoor activities so I suggested we that we tried to change our bus schedule from 12am to 6.30pm. We did and we went home earlier. ;)

Billetes a Madrid, por favor? / Cultural Psychology...

My friends and I gathered in IES 2, the computer center to finalize our Madrid trip plans this weekend. We looked at the museums, parks, and some attractions that we would like to go to. It got me all excited for this trip.

When we were done, it was time for me to go get my bus tickets alone as the others have gotten theirs. It may seem like a small task, but I was kind of nervous about it. When I was queuing for my turn, I constructed my Spanish lines and wondered if I should ask in English or Spanish. The decision was an easy one. The cashier looked crabby; hence, Spanish would be a better option. =). So I went up and started asking for tickets, mentioning the time and whether it was just "ida"(to) or "ida y vuelta"(to and from) Madrid.

This may sound childish to many of you but I was overjoyed! Good job Sylvia! =D



On a totally different note, I watched 20 minutes of Whale Rider, a story about Maori culture in New Zealand today in my Cultural Psychology class. As a class activity, we disected the cultural aspects in the movie and discussed how it pertained to the definition of culture by the book - dynamic implicit and explicit features, something that pertains within a group but could differ between the units in the group, of norms, attitudes and behaviors common in the group, with the purpose of ensuring the survival of the group, stable but has the potential to change etc. That was a pretty easy task but it functioned to sharpen our awareness of cultural differences and look at culture with all the environmental influences and how it becomes a way of life. An important thing to note is the awareness of the fluidity of culture as it changes with time, technology, globalisation etc.

As I read through my textbook, I started to reflect on my on cultural background, how it has affected me, how it has changed through the course of time and various experiences, and how it would change the culture of the people I have/ or will have direct and close contact with.

I remembered when I was a teenager, I was always exposed to the idea of breaking the norm and doing something different to be successful. My idea of success has been encultured in me. It would have been different if I was encultured differently. Sometimes, I just feel like I don't have an identity. I don't know who I am. I am....blank... A global citizen? A multicultural person? My life journey thus far has revealed that everything is pretty much constructed by the human mind; if we take them all away, we're all just nobody. All that is left is our being, mere existence. Ekhart Tolle explained about this idea in his Power of Now book. I have always understood it intelligently/theoretically; now things seem clear to me. I am.......blank......

Let the Sea be the Guide...

I got of the metro stop, took a stroll by Port Vell, and looked at the water and boats as I walked, wondering if I was walking the right way towards the beach. Craving for icecream (a white chocolate covered Magnum icecream), I walked to the supermercat and spent 2 Euros on that particular icecream. Whatever....it was so worth it...Ahh...yummy...I walked a little bit more and I saw the beach. My instinct was right. I'm glad I walked the right way. The view of the sea with its horizon brought silence to my mind, for a little bit. I looked at the rolling waves and my rational mind start to ponder "What now?" "Shhh....just watch and let your thoughts go.."

There weren't many people there this evening, just as I hoped. Couples were scattered all over the beach though. Ah...it was indeed a romantic spot. Watching all the twosomes made me smile and hurt at the same time; it reminded me of my attachments...ouch... I just observed my feelings and continued to watch the waves, listen to the sounds, appreciate some silence between the sounds, and hear my breaths once in a while. The moment of thoughtlessness was a short-lived bliss. But who are we to complain. Everything is transient.

I got off the bench and walked closer to the water. Suddenly, a sense of gratitude showered me. Thank God there's the sea in Barcelona, Thank God it is greenish blue, Thank God I am here, Thank God I've been very blessed till this moment, Thank God Barcelona is welcoming, Thank God for my parents, boyfriend, friends, relatives, siblings, everybody that I have met and will be meeting.

The blue feeling I've been carrying for the past three days was washed away just like that, so easy; a shift of emotion just occured within minutes. That was what I needed.

Fun is always around. Love is always around. Company is always around. Just open your eyes for them. =)

"Remember to have fun. There are lots of things to do in Barcelona. You must take advantage of this city. You'll always find things to do here if you look for them."

-as said by a friend, Ismail (well at least that's what I can recall)

Bus Turistic - Hop On and Off

I had a "nauseating" start this morning. After I heated up my water + milk to make hot chocolate, I opened the cocoa container and I saw something white and it was moving. I looked more closely and it was a worm. Then I looked inside and the thing was filled with worms...errr.. When I made them the past few times, I noticed strings of cocoa but I thought they were just stucked together. I didn't know I was making "worm cocoa drink" this whole time. That made me sick. I almost could not eat my breakfast but I managed to pushed that out of my head and just downed my food. I told my senora later in the day and I found out that it has long expired - 2004. Yuck!

After breakfast, I met up with Cara and her friend Karen today at Plaça Catalunya before we hopped on the bus turistic or touristic bus that takes us around the city and stopping at attractions for us to hop on to explore the attractions at our own pleasure. When we are done, we can just hop on to the next bus turistic that comes every 7-15 minutes. Today, we toured part of city via the blue line. Tomorrow, we will tour the another part of the city via the red line.

My two favourite places are Mont Juic and Plaça Espanya (I guess it's just Mont Juic since Plaça Espanya is on Mont Juic). It was great being on the hill top overlooking the city, being at the 1992 Olympic stadium and the open space that made me felt free. The Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (MNAC) on top of the hill overlooking the magic fountain and the city was the best art museum that I have been too featuring Catalonian, Spanish and some European art arranged periodically from the Romanesque period(12th to 13th Century) to Modern Art. The Romanesque gallery had walls built with the actual frescos/murals gathered from the crumbling churches from the Romanesque time to reflect the actual positions of the arches, pillars etc in the churches. It was great. We could not cover everything in the museum today so we are going to the museum again tomorrow. It is a great thing that they made the tickets valid for two days.

Today's trip was great. I hung out with two friends who were also laid back today. Just chilling and enjoying our trip. We also had tapas by the beach at Port Olympic. I had cava for my drink.

In the afternoon, as we were waiting for the bus to arrive at the Barrio Gothic stop, Cara asked me what were my traveling plans for next weekend. I said I didn't know. I thought of going to Vienna to visit some of my friends there but the tickets were just overly priced for a weekend trip. We all threw out place names and put it out there that we would let each other know if we need travel buddies to go wherever. We were thinking about going to either Madrid or Lisbon next weekend together. I'm happy about that. =) I'm looking forward for more travels wherever life takes me.

La Pedrera (one of Gaudi's best work - a UNESCO world heritage site)

Inside MNAC - the romanasque gallery

Karen, Cara and me outside MNAC (at Plaça Espanya)

The Olympic torch outside the Olympic stadium

The yachts and ships in Port Olympic

Qué es?

At Plaza Catalunya

I looked at the statue and wondered with curiosity. Why is it alone, glorified by the surrounding water? What was the designer trying to portray?

Today was another great day in Barcelona with the fun-filled Spanish class, mostly because of our "Mr Bean" professor. I think I made the right decision to stick in Spanish Intermediate 2 and not go down one level to Intermediate 1.

I bumped into a friend today in the bookstore while we were looking for our Spanish books but they weren't there. We had to go to another bookstore to look for our books. On our way to the bookstore, we talked about our traveling plans and both of us were thinking about hopping on and off the tourist bus tomorrow but we haven't found anyone to join us. So, we decided to do it together. Just nice. =)

In the evening, I took a walk around Sarria again; this time I went uphill towards the big ugly communication tower that has been Barcelona's landmark for many years. The air was not very clean due to smogs from cars and cigarettes. However, I reflected on what Chin Wah said about me being independent and strong the night before. I've never thought of myself that way. I didn't realize how much I have grown since college. The experience, the resilience, the openness, the mindfulness, the patience, my relationship with people, and everything else. I am very blessed by great parents who are always there to do their best to provide the best for me despite their circumstances, and friends who always be there when I need them and let me be there for them when they need me.

It's a good thing to be alive! Live life and give thanks! =)

Barcelona through 19th Century

Today has been a beautiful day - sunny and cool. I woke up with a healthy start as I ran along the main streets in Sarria. There were so many families up walking around already at 9am. I guess that was late; I should have gotten up earlier to run.

Earlier this evening, I went on a short Barcelona, 19th Century tour done by an IES staff. He explained how Barcelona started as a small section of it's current city when the Romans built walls around the area. Soon, due to urban overgrowth, the walls were destroyed in the 19th century and barcelona started to expand. Small villages that was not part of Barcelona combined and became part of the city. He explained that the design of the city out of the city center was based on the grid system as seen in most big cities in the states. It was also easy to orient oneself in Barcelona as everything is either uphill to the hills/mountains or downhill to the Mediterranean.

He brought us to La Sagrada Familia and explained a little about the Gaudi's modernistic architecture and the influence of romanicism in the architecture too. Boy was La Sagrada Familia an extravagant architectural masterpiece..the facades were so detailed. The different sculptures on the facade tell different stories. There were so many facades and they were designed with relation to the bible. The cathedral was not even finished yet. Gaudi wants the cathedral to be built only by charity money. The project has been going since the 2nd half of 19th century and it is still not done. It is expected to be done in 2025.

Seeing the cathedral and noticing the roads and design of the city while we walk gave me a good sense of appreciation for town planning. I was awed by how one person can visualize a town system and have it materialized as something that others will reap the benefit from. Anything is possible.

The IES stafff then brought us along the Avenue of Gaudi, a diagonal that cut right through a block which leads to Hospital Sant Pau, the 2nd oldest hospital in the world to look at the marvelous architecture, the thoughts that were put in designing the hospital - that ensure the allowance of plenty of natural lighting, the use of polychromy and the avaibility of nice landscapes for patients well-being/recovery. The hospital would be closed down next summer though as it was inefficient. The design of the hospital with different pavilions for different departments with underground tunnels linking them requires high maintenance. Hence, a new hospital is being built and the hospital will soon be a museum. From the hospital, we can look downhill and the road leads directly to La Sagrada Familia. Muy interesante! Btw, both these buildings were named World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.

Ah...what a wonderful day. Another miracle happened. My host mum's niece just gave birth to a son. My host mum was so happy. =) As they say, happiness spreads easily. It made me happy too.

La Sagrada Familia (The Sacred Family)

Hospital de Sant Pau (St Paul's Hospital)

Una Noche Loca (A crazy night)

Jan 12th - 13th, 2008
At 12am, it would be my roommate´s birthday. So, we went out to a bar near Plaça Universitat. The place was filled with 25 to 30 Americans and a few Spaniards.. It was as expected as it was a Monday night and Spanish students are having their finals this week. As Matt, a friend, came to that bar almost every night with his roommates, the bartender was nice and added extra licor in the Sangria (mixture of fruits, wine and juice) that he ordered for all of us. Boy, was the Sangria strong.. I took a sip once in Vic and it was quite mild with fruit juice and stuffs..but the one I took in that bar was strong. I don´t know if it´s psychology or whatever but I felt like I was slightly more confident after drinking than before. The alcohol must have distorted the function of my amygdala, the part of the brain that control emotions including fear. After two glasses, I felt whoozy so I stopped. My roommie and Matt continued drinking and they got a little drunk.

We went to another bar called the "Black Sheep" after that and we met some of my roommie´s friends. It was the bar Toni showed me the week before. The bar that he used to go as a teenager. Nothing very interesting happened other than my roomie got drunk and went to approach random Spaniards and get to know them. They then went along with us to a club called Jamboree. I didn´t like the club very much. Once again, the place was filled with Americans. The only people dancing and grinding on the dance floor are Americans. Europeans were standing around the dance floor just drinking and watching Americans dance. It was weird. As for me, I felt uncomfortable dancing by myself. I also didn´t want to be grinded. In addition, the loud music and excessive cigarrette smoke were getting on my nerves so I stepped out and sat in the plaza - Plaça Real. It was so peaceful. I took some pictures of the fountain and walked around by myself a bit. It was already 4.15am and the metro stopped running so I figured I might as well wait there for my roommie to be done so that we can catch the 5.00am metro.

Suddenly there was this drunken Irish who came out and asked me if the chairs were wet (The Municipal cleans the city at night by washing down the dirt on the streets every night). I told him there weren´t as the one I was sitting on was not wet. He touched the chair that he was going to sit and started cursing as it was wet. It was probably just that one chair. I offered him my seat but he refused. Soon, my roomie and Matt came out and we were going to leave. The Irish guy talked to us and starting joking around with us about Irish accent. Suddenly, a guy who just talked gibberish approach us and started asking for what seemed to be a cigarrette. He touched my shoulder and it gave me a scare. Two more Irishmen showed up and they brought us into their hostel which was next to the club to get rid of the guy. He managed to get in too. Jamie, the first drunken Irish tried to get him out and he succeded..It was weird. So, we hung out a bit at the bottom of the staircase as we weren´t allowed to go into their rooms. I pity the caretaker who had to deal with our noise and their annoyance. He kept reprimanding them not to bring guests in their rooms as they attempted to sneak us in a couple of times. So they talked rubbish while I witnessed the behaviors of drunken people. LOL. It was funny. Finally it was 5am and I finally managed to convince my semi-drunken roommate to go home after many attempts since 2am. My class was at 10 am the next day. We left the Irish guys and they asked us to meet with them again the next day but that never happened. LOL..

As we were walking back to the metro station along La Rambla (a popular market street), there were many men who tried to sell beers and food to us. Matt told us that these people also sell drugs. Some of them offered them to him on previous nights. What was more disgusting was there were so many prostitutes trying to persuade or more like force men to have sex with them. Luckily for Matt, he was with the two of us girls. He said two women grabbed onto him and walked with him for two blocks before they decided to release him a couple of nights ago.

There were two guys walking in front of us and unfortunately for them, they were accosted by two prostitutes. They tried saying no but they wouldn´t let go. After a while, the guys started holding their hands and hugging each other but the prostitutes would not give up still. Finally, they stopped walking and kissed each other. The prostitutes finally let them go. It was hillarious!!! They happened to be gays.

Oh my gosh..what a night!

Home Wherever I Am: In Barcelona - Day 1 to Day 4

Jan 7th, 2009 - "The Day"
After spending 6 months of preparation, it was finally "the day" - that I would fly to Barcelona. After saying my goodbyes to Jin Sheng, I took the airtrain to Terminal 7 of JFK airport and queued in the extremely long check in line. I waited for almost an hour and I was still waiting in line. My flight was going to leave in an hour's time. I almost panicked as I was ineligible for self-check in and I had to be done with security check an hour before I fly. Then a worker came and ask for people who had 8.05pm flight and I raised my hand. He let me cut the line and check in. Phew! Guess I didn't have to worry at all. My flight was delayed till 8.29pm and the flight to London was not too bad although I puked twice. I shouldn't have eaten the bun on the plane. However, I was lucky to meet a nice American who works as a graphic designer for United Colors of Benetton in Venice. We chat a bit and he shared some of his experience in Europe and told me some nice places to visit. I am also grateful that I was given a seat in the Economy Plus class although I booked my seat for the economy class. The seats were much more spacious.

Jan 8th, 2009 - "Stuck in London"
After 5 hours in a turbulent flight, we arrived safely in London Heathrow airport. In the terminal transfer bus, I overheard 4 American girls talking about going to study in Barcelona and so I asked them if they were in the same program as I was, and they were. So I hung out with them and later some of their friends from their uni a bit while we wait to board. When it was time to go to our departure gate, we met more IES students and I was so happy. It didn't take us long to discover that 3/4 of the people waiting in the departure gate were IES students - young people, American accent....duh! We waited past the boarding time and the receptionist announced that there was a technical problem with the airplane and they do not know when we would be able to fly. So we all sat there waiting. Finally after 3 hours of delay, we were able to board the plane.

IES told us that we had to arrive before 5pm so that the staff there could assist us in the airport otherwise we had to call the emergency number they gave us. We arrived at 6.00pm but luckily they were still there as they received the news that our flight from London was delayed. I felt kind of excited and a little scared at the same time when we arrived because the people there could not speak in English. When I went through the custom check point, the guy at the counter said "hola!" and I was like...oooh...haha...After collecting my luggage I went out to look for the bull statue as instructed by IES and was then led by IES staff to the office on the upper floor of the airport. There, the other students and I were briefed on what to do next. I was also told that my host mother could not speak English. I freaked out a little bit as I could not speak good Spanish. The lady told me not to as the host mother is used to having students with little knowledge of Spanish. I went to the taxi stand and got on the taxi. I had to give the directions in Spanish. It was so nerve-wrecking and exciting at the same time. The taxi driver was nice too. I asked him if he spoke English and he said he could but only very little. I sat erected the whole time in the taxi..enjoying the night view of Barcelona, feeling thankful that I am here. That "Ah.." feeling. I thought maybe I should talk to the driver a bit and practice some Spanish. LOL...so I told him the city is "muy grande". Then he asked me if I was studying there. I did my best explaining it in Spanish. Haha...I wasn't too bad at it.

Soon, we reached my homestay apartment. P° Bonanova, 96, 1°1a. After paying 27 euros, I went into the lobby and I wondered how to get to my unit. With my two huge suitcases, I try to figure out which elevators to take. Then I saw an "A" sign on the left so I thought that must be what the "a" from 1a means. Staircase A. I wasn't sure still because there was no B on the other side. So I took the weird elevator (weird because the door is like a room door which you have to open to get in) to the 1st floor and came out to see number 1 on an apartment door. I pressed the doorbell and my señora came out to greet me. I greeted her and asked if she was my señora in Spanish. She said yes and showed me my room. She also explained to me how to take the metro to get to downtown by myself the next day...in Spanish. I also met my housemate from California at that time. We talked in broken Spanish a little bit. She showed me around the house and asked me some questions. I did my best to answer but it took forever. Nevertheless, she was patient and nice. I looked around the house a bit and saw some family pictures. I assumed she's a widow in her sixties and her children are away. After explaining stuffs to me and letting me off to talk to my housemate a bit, she went off and prepare the dinner. My housemate is very nice. We talked a little and I immediately felt that we would get along fine. We had quiche for dinner at 9pm and it was delicioso. Mmmm...good food. She made a huge pan of quiche just for the two of us. She didn't eat with us. I did not understand why though. I asked her but she only said she didn't eat much. It would be nice if we could all eat together. I couldn't finish my share of the quiche so I asked my señora if I could save it for lunch as lunch will not be provided. She agreed and I was happy - my way of saving money and reducing waste. =)

It was already 11.30pm after I was done with shower and I didn't feel sleepy so I decided to unpack and arrange my stuffs. When I finally went to bed, I couldn't sleep immediately. I tossed and turned but I just couldn't sleep. I went on for an hour and half. It was already 2am so I became worried that I was not going to have enough sleep before the next day as I have to be up by 7.30am and go downtown for my orientation by myself. I felt horrible but I found Jin Sheng and my parents online so I chatted with them and had a video call with Jin Sheng a bit. After half an hour, I tried to sleep again. I slept after a while...luckily.

Everyone was just waiting...better late than never though

Jan 9th, 2008 - "More Grateful than Ever"
Somehow while on the bed, I felt like I overslept and I looked at my phone and it was 9.16am. My orientation was 9am. Argh.... Luckily, there is another session at 3pm. I figured I could just go for that one instead. Phew. I went online a bit and ate breakfast. I thought I should probably leave early to figure out my way around and meet the IES staff and let them know I missed the orientation. When I reached Plaςa Catalunya, I could not find the road signs and I didn't know where to go even with my map. I walked around with hope that I could find my way. I asked directions from people and everyone just kept giving me different directions. Finally, I met somebody who could speak English and explained to me the road systems and where the signs were. Thank goodness! After 40 minutes of getting lost, I finally found the place. I was so near to the station. But it was not too bad. There's always a silver lining in every cloud. The getting lost made me more familiar with the place. ;)

After talking to the staff, I had some free time before the orientation so I walked around the plaza and took some pictures. It was great. I felt great...at times, I would reflect on how much I have grown since college. When I first got to the states, I was shaken everytime something different happened e.g. when everyone talked like popcorn while I was always quiet and waiting for the opportunity to talk. Here, when I witness something different, I just appreciate the differences as shaped by cultural differences. Even when I was getting lost, I still felt calm inside and even when I had difficulty asking stuffs in Spanish, I did not feel like crying. I didn't feel sad when it felt kind of difficult to approach the other Americans and trying to make friends with them. It felt okay that I was doing stuffs alone and not together with other people (as expected in my culture). I felt aware that I did not judge myself as much as I did before. I felt quite liberated. Things were as they were. That was just how it was. =).

Plaςa Catalunya - A rainy day

After orientation, I went to Barceloneta by the metro to meet with Toni, a Barcelonan friend of mine who works in Minnesota but was back in Barcelona for the holidays. I was lucky. He came with his girlfriend. I greeted him and hugged and he explained that in Spain, girls greet each other and with guys by airkissing twice on each side of the cheek. So I did that with both of them. It was fun. He told me as I do that more often, I would learn to relax my neck. LOL. When his other friends arrived, we walked around and he showed me the cathedral in Born neighborhood and also the gothic quarter. I saw the Sagrada Familia for the first time from far too. After walking for about 1.5 hour, we went to his favorite kebab restaurant and I ordered "Super Durum" and "clara", a lemonade beer - something like shandy but a little more bitter. I was so shocked by the small portion of the meal just to realize that I was so used to the American meal portion. It was a great meal. We chatted and ate in a small cozy restaurant. Toni explained to me how the people in Spain drink to socialize, not to get drunk - common among Americans. The legal drinking age is 16 but people don't really care if you do not cause any trouble. I thought that was good. I asked him what about those who do not like drinking. He said it did not matter. You can drink whatever. Nobody would mind. That made me felt relieved. I am not a drinker but I like wine. I would like to taste and learn the differences. After dinner, we walked somemore and went to a bar. We went to one but it was so smoky. so we went to another less smoky one. He said it is normal that bars are smoky and I would get used to it. It wasn't my cup of tea but I guess it was okay. The bars there felt like mamak store to me. People hang out and chat. I ordered un copa de cava (a glass of champagne) for 1.50 euros. Cava is a champagne made in Catalonia. It was okay for its price - like I can tell what's good, but it didn't taste bad. Before we knew it, it was 1.30am. After sending Zoey and Mike off at the bus stop, we hopped on the metro to Toni's neighborhood, he got his car and drove me home. It was a good night. I had a great time out, with Toni as a demographer and geographer giving me some information about the city and the others sharing their stories about themselves and their experiences. It was great.

Chiling out in the kebab restaurant

Jan 10th, 2009 - "To the Medieval Cities of Besalu and Vic"
The trip was a mandatory trip by IES. We took the bus and went first to Besalu. While waiting for the bus, I met with a girl from my orientation and we sat together on the bus and engaged in a conversation. It was a good one. When we got off, I met Tina from orientation and we hung out throughout the trip. I was lucky to have made friends with good people. Before we left, we agreed to hang out the next day with our housemates and and our other friends as well. I told my housemate about it and she agreed to it too. I looked forward to stomp the city the next day.

Besalu

Tour guide giving a talk about Cathedral Sant Pere (St Peter)

Christian Quarter

Miqve, jewish purification bath in the Jewish Quarter

Lunch in Vic - Fondue de Pizza

Main square in Vic

Cathedral of Sant Pere in Vic


Greek temple converted to roman fortress in Vic

Jan 11th, 2009 - "Discovering Barcelona and Making New Friends"
I woke up at 12pm today. I pretty much made up for the lack of sleep that I was suffering from since I left New York. While I was talking to my parents on skype, Stephanie, my housemate knocked on my door and told me that she met Tina in one of the bars and she happened to be Stephanie's friend-from-home's housemate and they all made plans to hang out together. What a coincidence! or isit? So we left to meet her other friends in Plaςa Catalunya and we chilled in Farggi restaurant. I ordered "chocolate caliente" and it's so different from American hot chocolate. It's literally hot chocolate - it looks like melted chocolate bar, so thick and chocolaty. After that, we walked along la rambla (a pedestrian mall with sellers and posers who try to make money), Port Vell and the beach. After a while, we finally met up with Tina and her housemates, Cassandra and Xin Yi from China. We went to a tapas bar and I ordered "croqueta de jamon" (ham croquettes). I also tried some of the snacks the others order and they were delicious eg. "patatas bravas", and some cod balls. After dinner, we walked along the street back to the station. While walking, I could not believe my eyes when I saw a shop called "Kualalumpur". I got so excited as I thought it was a M'sian store so I asked the others to stop by at the store. I didn't find any M'sians. It's a Spanish store, the sales assistants were Spaniards and the clothes were made in Spain. Nevertheless, there was a sale and I ended up buying a jacket for 10 euros. We continued walking and stopping by at some shops once in a while. It was fun. I also got to know Xin Yi more and we clicked quite well. It was nice. The day was nice. Something funny happened too. Tina, Xin Yi and I went to the Cultural Institute to go to the restroom. When we came out, we could not find the others so we waited for them. Suddenly, Barclay ran towards Tina and grabbed her handbag. He was just pulling her legs it shocked her so much that it was funny. I enjoyed the day a lot and I just spent 2 hours or more blogging. =)