To the Alps I Go!

{ 10 - 7 = 3! } ---> # of exchange months minus # of months I´ve been here equals # of monts left!

Time has been passing by in the usual way life takes the day: normal, action packed, quiet one moment and talkative the next, motivational, astonishingly lazy, studious, day-dreamy, hibernation mode (one of my favorites), and breathing the aromas of various cups of coffee or tea (depending on the time of the day). Come to think of it, I could probably summarize a lot of my life with aromas...

Anyway: what has been going on here?!

Politically speaking, the governments of the Iberic Peninsula are over their heads with the economic crisis, yet huge spending cuts and tax hikes seem to be helping...except that in Spain, at least, the goals set for cuts are not realistic, passed on to the regions (mostly)  at an unsustainable rate with the HUGE labor reforms taking over the entire country, and not going by unnoticed. The 29th of March their was a large strike all over the country (which was organized and advertised over a month in advance) and many participants took to the streets. I did not actually participate for a variety of reasons, one of which being a large disruption with transportation (also the reason I did not go to school). Public transport was operating at around 30% of what is normal. For more details of any of the above subjects, I'll let you all use the wonderful Google box. I'll list my preferred websites below. Before that, in February, there were other protests which took place in response to police violence against student protesters in Valencia.

Students ... studies .... school...

The third trimester has started up here, with a 20 day countdown to the end of school. Students in my class are really on edge with their studies right now, as only about 1 or 2 tests remain to determine their grades. I've been a lot less stressed as far as school work goes (for obvious reasons) and have actually been thinking a lot about college lately. Perhaps it's all this talk that goes around about the future... However, I'm still enjoying my time here and really am don't feel like rushing. This upcoming Tuesday my history class is going on a field trip to La Cope de Ebre! This is a really important historical site that relates to a decisive end-point from the Spanish Civil War (the most recent one, where Franco took power). I'm really looking foward to it!  Before that, however, I'm looking foward to another trip ...

To the Alps I go!

A brief explanation: this week is La Setmana Santa, which is also known as spring break. Last weekend I bid my second host family adéu (again a bittersweet moment) and moved back in with the Tañás. I love Tona, but it feels good to be back in Vic again. Because it is Easter week, I saw La Profesó/ La Processó/ The Procession! This occurred on Sunday night, and was really an interesting tradition to observe. People (some without shoes on, as penitence) dressed in spooky black robes (the same kind worn by the KKK, except theirs are white) walked along in lines through a route laid out through the old part of Vic. At the end of  the MANY marchers, there were a number of people who were carrying a platform containing the Virgin Mary, with crucified Jesus laying in her lap. At various intervals, segments of men who formed the marching choirs would sing a latin hymn. All in all, the atmosphere was very solemn and I´m glad I got to see this ritual. I´ve heard it is celebrated at a much larger level in the south of Spain, but it still seems pretty important here too. Still, none of this has anything to do with the Alps.

To Continue...

At the beginning of the week when I moved back in, my host family told me there was a chance that we would go to the Alps to go skiing later in the week, and that they would let me know for sure later. What ever is a girl to do when waiting to receive such potentially exciting news? Go to the beach, obviously :) Monday I was blessed with great company, great food, and the kind of day that makes you feel like you´re the luckiest person to be alive. Pepi Andreu (my English teacher) and her two daughters Laura and Núria (who are 19 and 23) invited me along for a daytrip to their favorite beach town when they realized I´ve never actually spent a lot of time at the sea side. We ended up going to a place named Parafrugell, along the Costa Brava. The sand there is rockier, which means it doesn´t stick to your legs after you´ve been napping on it. It still is too chilly for swimming weather, but it was an overall great time walking around the coast and eating lunch outside. For the first time ever I tried another traditional food: black rice. So delicious! The rice is black as a result from the ink from the squid which dyes it. Afterward, your tongue and lips are painted for at least two hours...all worth it. Later that evening we met up some of their family friend in Palamós, where I saw the famous fish market and ate REALLY great seafood. All in all, a day well spent, and made better the following morning when I woke up and was told that we´ll be going to the Alps after all :D Should I mention that means I´ll be crossing over to France?

Per Fin

It is time to end this post, meaning

Sidenotes: July 5th is my fixed return date, which means the end of my exchange is really starting to close in.  Easter week also means that the chocolate stores are displaying masterpieces of chocolate castle design in every window...really, really happy days. I accidentally joined the theater, have started reading a really great book, found out that Fran Drescher has come out with a new sitcom, to say "polla" instead of "pollo" or "pollastre" is not really meant for polite conversation, txarango is a pretty good band, and that some FCB players get gifted houses. I´d say I miss my family, but I saw them about two weeks ago and they´ll be there when I get back. If you´d like to know how their trip was, feel free to ask them questions! :D As for my friends: Ens veurém! Eventually I´ll get around to posting photos, but that will have to wait for awhile, since now I need to go finish packing! Adéu i vaig i bé!

I almost forgot...
My preferred news sites are: Wall Street Journal, La Vanguardia, NPR, BBC, The Guardian, and TV3 (which I´m not sure is accesible in the US). Other than that, it´s just a matter of looking and living. If anything, the most important thing to know is that Catalonia exists, and in Catalonia there are a lot of people who speak Catalan. About 7 - 9 million actually. And now this post has ended, de veritat.