Good morning collegiettes™! As of last night, I’m exactly halfway through my study abroad experience in Spain. Although that means I still have a solid four weeks left here which I’m obviously very excited about, it’s a little bittersweet—time goes by so fast! Luckily, I had another great week here in Barcelona, including a trip with my class to—as my professor said—“Dalí’s world” and a peek into the world of flamenco.
Last night marked another Barcelona milestone: I saw my first movie at a Spanish theater (Harry Potter 7.2, of course), and I’d like to report back that movie going is a much different experience in Spain. When you buy tickets for a movie, workers assign you to a specific seat in the theater and, upon your arrival, ushers take you directly to where you will be sitting. I’m a big fan of this system, because it eliminates the stress of finding a good seat in the dark.
A lot of English movies shown in Spain are dubbed in Spanish, so it’s important to be perfectly sure you know what you’re getting yourself into when you buy a ticket. The movie I saw last night was tabbed “VOS,” or “Versión Original Subtitulada,” which meant there was no dubbing but the movie was subtitled in Spanish. This feature was especially interesting for a movie like Harry Potter, in which subtitles are used in during certain parts of the English version. Last night, characters speaking Parseltongue just seemed like they were speaking Spanish.
As I started to write this blog entry, it occurred to me that I have yet to talk about one of my favorite parts of Barcelona: the food! While it is sometimes difficult to find meals that work with a student budget, a lot of restaurants have this beautiful deal called the “Menú del Día.” Essentially, the menú is a meal chosen by the chef to be sold at a lower price. It can be anything from a coke and bocadillo (sandwich) to a four course meal and rarely costs more than six or seven euros. Spain is famous for its paella (a rice and seafood dish) and tapas (smaller appetizer-style dishes meant to be shared), and the menú is a great way to try all of the different flavors of the city.
When I’m not eating out (which is most of the time, because I have a kitchen in my dorm room), I usually buy my food at one of the many markets in the city or the local “Corte Inglés.” Corte is not just a grocery store, but a designer handbag shop, a shoe store, a furniture store, and almost anything else you can imagine all wrapped up in one eight floor building. It’s basically an entire mall, all in one store.
Earlier this week, after a delicious menú dinner, I had my first up-close and personal encounter with flamenco, as our class took in a concert in the heart of the city. I was impressed with the rhythm of the dancers and the extent to which the band and dancers interacted with each other. Their mid-performance yelling, singing, and cheering created a really cool atmosphere for the observer. At one point, the lead male dancer cut the music completely and continued to keep the beat with just his feet for a solid couple of minutes. I was tired just looking at him.
The building we saw the concert in wasn’t too shabby either (see picture above). The Palau de la Música Catalana was designed by renowned architect Domenech i Montaner and features intricate mosaic designs on the main façade, as well as other breathtaking details inside.
Instead of following the normal class schedule this week, we took a field trip of sorts and I got hit with a major wave of middle school nostalgia. My class piled onto a bus early in the morning and set off for Figueres and Cadaques. Our first stop was the Dalí Theatre-Museum, a building/exhibit designed by Salvador Dalí himself and complete with many of his works. My favorite piece was a room with a couch, two picture frames, and some other seemingly random items that combine to make the face of actress and playwright Mae West if you stand in the right part of the room. In Cadaques, we took a tour of Dali’s home and ate bocadillos on the beach to close off an eventful fourth week of class.