A summation of everything I have been doing and all I have seen would take more time than readers of this blog would want to spend reading and more space than Blogger could ever allow. The question "How's Spain?" is just too broad, and therefore difficult to answer...sort of like the question "How's life?". These questions are just one step away from "What's Spain/life?", and questions like those have been turning around in the minds of great thinkers for centuries. I promise you that this entry will not be a historical turning point in discovering the answers. A narrower scope of what I've been enjoying recently:
- La Castanyeda! Halloween is not celebrated here, but seeing as how there is a four day weekend to celebrate the Castanyeda (which coincides with All Saints Day and Day of the Infants), there aren´t too many complaints. Those two days are better known as Day of the Dead. Although there are many people who visit the cementary on these days, the celebration is not nearly as large as it is in Mexico and other South American countries. My favorite part of the Castanyeda is the castanyas :D Castanyas are chestnuts which are roasted over coals. To eat them you crack the shells, peel, and enjoy! By the end, your fingers are completely black. Unfortunately, they are only in season during October to mid November. I'm REALLY going to miss these.
- Favorite Hang Spots: There's a really awesome music bar here called Jazz Cava which features different musical groups throughout the month. This month I'm superstoked because they will be featuring electronic music! It's a really nice place for a Friday night. Another favorite spot of mine, and probably the best café in Vic, has no name that I´m aware of. It´s a great study spot, the owners know my name and I know theirs, and best of all, they are incredibly tolerant and speak Catalán with me (as well as let me sit there for who knows how long studying and writing). The library is also a pretty nice place, especially now that it's getting colder and raining buckets. Even the gym isn't so bad, although I still feel more out of place there than anywhere else here that I've been so far.
- Catalán Classes: One day I will make a special entry dedicated to discussing this class I'm taking. It's really fantastic and the people I've met there have come from all around the world. As for the Catalán language itself: I understand a lot more, but it still has it's challenges ... I had no idea that I would love analyzing grammar so much when I came over here, in all languages (even though it confuses me a lot; especially English).
I've now been here for a little over two months, and I'm feeling pretty established (although another month will probably help reinforce this, because it really is ride). I will never be fully able to express the gratification I have for the people I've come across here who matter; in my class, my family, and about Vic in general. I'm not fluent in Spanish, nowhere close, but this is another thing that just takes time. Next weekend I'll be heading to San Sebastien and probably be studying for an exam. For now I bid you all adéu!
Sidenote: Last night I went to an awesome concert put on for the joventude. Els Catarres is a fantastic band! Look them up if you have time. Elections are also this month, and I'm in the process of learning how it is exactly that Spain's Government functions.
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| Castanyas before eating. |
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| The remains. |
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| Jazz :P |
