Barcelona Bound

So as predicted, the last few days haven’t been terribly interesting, but we just got to Barcelona today, so I’ll catch you up so I can just rant about this city.

So… Monday. We didn’t have culture class in the morning, which was nice, and then we watched a movie in film class: Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios, which was really excellent. The English title is Women on the Edge of a Nervous Breakdown, and it was apparently a huge hit in the late 80s. It has baby Antonio Banderas in it, which was hilarious, because he is a dorky sort of pushover character, which is not the part he plays now. So I was amused. It was very interesting and funny and bittersweet and nice.

Then I came home and had lunch and went to Elena’s class, where we talked about architecture in Barcelona, which is fascinating. There was this whole school of architecture called “Catalunyan Modernism” that is sort of centered around Barcelona, which is really awesome.

After the class we talked about Barcelona. There was a lot of stuff to plan and go over, so we worked on that. And basically I did homework and read and chilled for the rest of the day. 

Tuesday we had lit class and talked about Romanticism, which I find very interesting. Neoclassicism seemed very... soulless to me, so Romanticism is far more to my liking. One of the poems we read, Canción del pirata, is actually one of my favorite pieces of poetry ever. It just sounds right. Yeah, and then I went home and did homework. I did a lot of that this week, sadly. 

Wednesday, well, yesterday, we talked about... something. I don't have my notes and I totally can't remember right now. It was interesting. I think. And then in Cine class we talked about Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios and the way that society changed after the death of Franco and the American influences. I enjoy that class.

We have a fairly long lunch break, which I was going to use to take a nap, but it was an absolutely gorgeous day yesterday and so I went up to the terrace on the roof with some ice cream and a book, and it was wonderful, beautiful and warm and just lovely. Sorry to all you people in Georgia right now. 

 In Elena's class we talked about Antoni Gaudi, the most famous Spanish architect of all time. His stuff is really interesting, and we're going to see a lot of it while we're in Barcelona. His masterwork is the Sagrada Famila, a massive church that is still incomplete. It's incredible. I can't wait to see it. 

So then I came back and worked on homework and chilled and went to bed fairly early. I mean, today's a big day. 

We went to lit class today, as usual, and this time we talked about Realism, which is... interesting. I mean, what I like most about this class is that while I have learned about the different literary movements in the US, I actually don't know much about international movements. It is also interesting to sort of place the books I know within these movements. So I'm having fun. Then we came back and I got all packed up and ready to go, and off we went.

We got on the bus for Barcelona at 3:30 and arrived in Barcelona around 8. The drive was long, but kind of fun, especially towards the end where we got into random conversations about senior pranks and the afterlife. It was also stunningly beautiful. The road runs between the mediterranean and the mountains, so it was nice. I just sat and looked out the window. 

We got here and went to the wrong hotel, but then we got where we needed to go, and then almost immediately went to dinner. After a month of dining hall food, dinner was wonderful. It was a buffet with a great salad bar and hot food and a grill where they would cook fresh steak or pork chop or sausages. It was wonderful. So delicious. We were all so happy. 

For now we're just chilling, and tomorrow we are going to the Sagrada familia and then going to have some free time to explore Barcelona! 

So I'm sure my next post will be more interesting. This week has been pretty uneventful.