Epilogue

     As my semester in Barcelona comes to a close, I cannot believe how quickly my four months in this wonderful city flew by. I came to Barcelona with apprehensions--I was nervous about the extreme differences in culture between Spain and America and I thought that I would be homesick. In retrospect, the last four months have honestly been the best months of my life. I cannot believe how lucky I am to have been able to enjoy this experience. So many things have contributed to my incredible semester, from my travel experiences, to the people I have met, to the amazing city I lived in.
     One reason why I chose to study in Barcelona was because it is in a good location central to Europe and close to many other amazing cities. Traveling from Barcelona to cities all over Europe is very easy and during this past semester, I have gotten to experience more world-famous sights and cultures than many people get to see in their lifetimes. I have stood at the Berlin wall, explored Amsterdam, ridden a gondola in Venice, toured the Colosseum in Rome, skied in the Swiss alps, and watched the waves crash against the shore in beautiful San Sebastian. I shopped in Milan, ate pasta and gelato in Florence, and lounged on the beaches of Ibiza and Formentera, and I plan to make one last stop in Greece before heading home to Boston, Massachusetts. Through traveling, I have learned so much and grown as a person. Not only have I learned how to achieve the physical aspects of traveling, such as budgeting, planning my own transportation and accommodations, and getting myself from place to place, but I have also learned how to mentally adapt to different cultures and keep an open mind. After all of these wonderful trips, I definitely feel that I have developed a great passion for traveling that will stay with me throughout my life.

     Although I have loved traveling, I never needed to stray from Barcelona city in order to learn, grow, and have a wonderful semester. I have had so many great experiences within the city. In addition to the cultural and leisure activities I have described, I have visited the famous and breathtaking Parc Guell, the famed Gaudi apartment Casa La Pedrera, eaten fresh fruit from La Boqueria market, layed on the beach by the Mediterranean sea, discovered the wonders of trendy El Born and the medieval Gothic quarter, viewed famous art at the Picasso Museum, picnicked at La Ciutadella park, and so much more. I have discovered so many great restaurants in addition to the three that I blogged about. I have sampled traditional Catalan food like tuna croquettes and patatas bravas and enjoyed fun Mexican food at Rosa Negra, Asian fusion tapas at Mosquito's, and Greek specialties at Ugarit. I have been able to accomplish one of my main goals in coming abroad, which was to improve my Spanish language skills. I have learned how to truly live on my own independently and how to adapt to another culture.

     After spending four months living in a place with a completely different language, different food, and a different daily schedule, I feel that I could adapt to any conditions that I may come across throughout my life. I found the culture in Spain to be much more laid-back and less fast-paced than American culture, and I think that living in Barcelona has enabled me to learn how to slow down, relax, and take a moment to enjoy the little things in life. I will take this new attitude back to the United States with me. In addition, I have met so many great people that I will not soon forget. I am so thankful to have had this experience and I will miss Barcelona so much. I know I will be back someday so for now I will say Barcelona, hasta luego!

Local News: Barcelona City to Work on Nudity Laws

     A local news article that I found extremely interesting and relevant is one that described how the Barcelona Tourism Board wants to spread a message warning tourists not to wander around the streets of the city semi-nude. The article went on to say how Barcelona locals consider it common courtesy to walk around their historic city dressed conservatively, rather than in beach attire. The article stated that the reason for this is because there are so many historical places in the city that deserve respect, such as the Picasso museum and the Cathedral. The Tourism Board says they will not create sanctions forcing tourists to dress more conservatively in Plaza Catalunya or Parc Guell, but will do so for some of the more historical parts of the city center, saying that they do not want to prevent locals from attending tourist-infested areas for fear of being offended or bothered by the tourists' attire. 
     El Periodico has been covering this issue recently and has been biased on the side of the Catalan political party that is asking tourists to cover up outside of areas close to the beach.
     I found this article interesting because just last week I saw a nude man riding a bicycle on Ramblas! I found this somewhat disturbing, but I am surprised by the idea that it is frowned upon to walk through the city in a bathing suit and shorts. Today, as I was walking to the beach with a friend, I commented that we were getting funny looks from many people. Our walk consisted of leaving our apartment and headed straight down Marina, past Sagrada Familia, and to the beach, with a quick stop for coffee. I even made a comment that I was surprised to notice that locals wear very conservative clothing to the beach, only taking it off when they arrive. If I had realized that it was offensive to locals, I would have thought twice about dressing this way when walking through the streets, especially near the historic Sagrada Familia. I never would have realized the issue, as in America it is quite common for people to walk to the beach wearing beach attire and sandals during the summer months. It is good that the tourism board plans to distribute brochures if they want to enforce this sanction, because most Americans would not realize the offense that they could cause.

Local News: Sad Night for FC Barcelona

     Tonight was a sad night for FC Barcelona fans. After this evening's game against Inter Milan, FC Barcelona will not advance to the Champions League final. Minutes after the game ended, websites like BarcelonaReporter.com were already posting news articles about the game's highlights. The article described how Camp Nou was packed and radiated with energy from excited fans. Barcelona's only goal was scored by Gerard Pique. 
     Although Barca beat Milan 1-0, Barcelona's team needed to win by two goals in order to qualify for the finals, and therefore Milan will advance to the finals instead. Milan will play Bayern Munich in the Champions League final. I loved following soccer this semester while I was abroad, and I am disappointed to see Barca knocked out of the series!

National News: Fight Breaks Out at Cordoba Mosque

     A recent La Vanguardia article described a situation that occurred in a mosque in Cordoba. A ban on Muslim prayer is in place in mosques in Cordoba that have been turned into Catholic Churches, as enforced by the Roman Catholic Church under current bishop Demetrio Fernandez Gonzalez. When a group of tourists broke the ban and tried to kneel down to pray in one of the mosques, police sprung into action to stop them. The mosque is open only as a tourist attraction, and the men were asked to leave as they would not be allowed to pray inside. Two of the tourists were taken to the police station and two police were hurt in the brawl that ensued. Since the incident, the bishop's office has stated that this is an unusual incident and that people of the two religions usually coexist in peace.
     I found this article interesting because adversity between Muslims and Catholics often makes news headlines in America, but I was not aware of a similar situation in Spain until I read this article. The article made me realize that adversity between religions is a worldwide problem for which a solution will not likely arise in the near future.

Field Trip to El Raval

     The third class field trip that I went on with my Barcelona: Past & Present class was to the El Raval neighborhood of Barcelona. This is an area that used to be a very dangerous, bad neighborhood, but it is now improving. The first reason for the improvements is that public areas have been created. This attracted many young people who go there to have fun and enjoy themselves. The public areas of El Raval are especially popular with young skateboarders. As young people migrated to the area, schools and museums were built and families began to move there as well. The second effort to improve the El Raval area was the recent construction of a luxury hotel. The hotel was built in an effort to make the neighborhood into a more wealthy area. It is still unclear whether the hotel will have the desired effects on the neighborhood.

     Museums and cultural spaces created by the Barcelona City Council and located in El Raval include MACBA, Barcelona's contemporary art museum and CCCB, Barcelona's contemporary culture center, which displays the work of independent contemporary artists in the forms of exhibitions, concerts, festivals, and film screenings. El Raval is also home to the Barcelona Anarchist's Library.
     Young people who moved into El Raval have opened up lots of funky art galleries and shops. Because of this, the area is becoming a desirable place for young people to go to spend time walking around and shopping.
     The field trip to El Raval was my favorite class trip. Although I loved learning about the early history of the old parts of Barcelona city on the other trips, I really enjoyed walking around El Raval and seeing new parts of the city that are being developed today. There were so many interesting restaurants and shops that I plan to go back to and explore during my last week in Barcelona. I also saw interesting architecture, including the glass building pictured below, which shows a reflection of a Barcelona skyline. As can be seen in my photographs, the modern glass building placed directly next to an older-style building exemplifies the synergy of old and new that runs throughout El Raval. El Raval reminded me of hip, funky, and youthful American neighborhoods that I have been to, such as SoHo in New York City and the South End in my home city of Boston. I am excited to go back and spend more time exploring El Raval.

International News: Icelandic Volcano Eruption

     In the past couple of weeks, every newspaper and news station in the world has been closely following the development of the story of the volcano that erupted in Iceland just weeks ago. A recent El Pais article by Alicia Rivera covered the natural disaster.
     The article described the eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjall volcano, after which the surrounding area had to be evacuated. The article also stated that the volcanic eruption was not surprising for meteorologists and did not affect the climate. The biggest problem that the volcano caused was that it spewed ash clouds that cause issues with air traffic safety. Airports all over Europe, including Barcelona's El Prat, had to be shut down and a large amount of flights were canceled due to the unsafe conditions caused by the volcano. Airlines lost huge amounts of money and many people were stuck in foreign countries to which they had traveled. Airlines have now started operating again, but there is still a possibility that another Icelandic volcano close to Eyjafjall could erupt. Volcanoes that could erupt include Hekla and especially Katla, which has been dormant since 1918 and is suspected by meteorologists to be due for an eruption.
     This major news story is very interesting to me after being abroad in Barcelona during the eruption. I saw firsthand what a large effect the volcano had on all of Europe--many of my friends could not get out of the city and many others got stuck in places to which they had traveled or had to spend dozens of hours on buses and trains making their way back to Barcelona. My program had to cancel classes for students who were stuck in foreign countries. Additionally, my grandparents, who had been visiting from America, were stuck in Barcelona for an extra five days because of flight cancellations and delays. It was a very interesting experience to see firsthand the chaos that a sudden natural disaster can cause. I began to wonder if I would be able to get home to America after the program, but since some ash has cleared, it looks as everything will be fine in terms of my travels home.

Restaurant Experience: 7 Portes

     One of the nicest restaurants I have been to in Barcelona is 7 Portes, located by the sea at Passeig Isabell II 14, right across from the Barceloneta metro stop. The restaurant is very fancy and features walls decorated with fine art and waiters in white jackets. The waiters were very attentive as soon as my party arrived. We were immediately served bread and ordered a delicious house red wine. I did not even have to look at a menu as I was at 7 Portes for one very specific reason: I had heard multiple people rave about the paella. I had never tried paella before and felt that a nice restaurant in Barcelona right by the sea would be the perfect place to try it.
     Three of my friends and I split two paella dishes, a vegetable paella and a seafood paella. We ordered the seafood paella "fisherman's style," meaning that the chef removed all of the bones and shells from the seafood, which made it easier for my friends and I to dig right into our meal without having to worry about removing anything. The rice dishes came out steaming hot, served in the traditional large black pans from which we served ourselves. The vegetable dish consisted of rice and vegetables and was decent, but the seafood paella, which included rice, fish, prawns, and mussels was delectable. I love seafood, so the dish was right up my alley and definitely lived up to its reputation. I thoroughly enjoyed the taste and the dish was very filling. I also enjoyed the experience of trying a traditional Spanish food.
     Other members of my party ordered the sole, which the waiter displayed raw under a bed of salt. He then took the large piece of fish to the kitchen to be cooked and then de-boned it at the table. This proved just how fresh the fish was.
     Other dishes on the 7 Portes menu include traditional cannelloni, meat paella, and many more seafood options. I would recommend the restaurant to anyone visiting or living in Barcelona who enjoys seafood.