lots of news...

in the 5 or so very short days since i last updated, lots has happened. let's jump right into it.

on friday the asa group took a day trip to sitges, a beach/resort town south of barcelona. it's famous for many things, including outrageous real estate prices (think $5000 per square meter per month) & a very strong gay community. we went to the museu romàntic, which was a manor/mansion back in the day that belonged to the llopis family. they were famous for climbing their way up the social ladder through the accumulation of land & the trade in wines/liquors. at its grandest, it also operated the town's postal service. now, it's a museum that helps depict what life was like in the 1800's, & it also houses the doll collection of lola anglada. she was obsessed with fashion & the lifestyle of the times, & wanted to preserve it with dolls. apparently many film directors/costume designers come to study the dolls when they make movies about that time. very interesting. after that, we did a walking tour of the town, which was fascinating... it's completely made up of winding roads, whitewashed walls, vibrantly colored doors and shutters... picturesque. richard (asa guide) left us around 1, so we found our way to a cafe. we were all in need of un cortado con hielo (basically espresso, milk, ice). we happened to pick a cafe that featured flamboyant waiters & princess crowns hanging on every light fixture. needless to say, it was a trip. the coffee was delicious, though. katreena & i wandered away the afternoon, getting lost again & again in sitges' winding alleys. the rest of the group returned early, i think they all had a good time the night before! ;) katreena found the one open bar during siesta, & we had ice cream as a break from exploring. it was such a pleasant trip. once we got home, we went out to dinner at the catarina market, down the street from our apartment. we sat a a long table with many other locals & foreigners, which was interesting but fun. the food was amazing. i will definitely be eating there again!

saturday was la diada, a national holiday in spain, which is another way of saying nothing will be open. katreena & i met up with michelle from the asa group to explore the city. we tried to go the encants flea market, but it was closed. holiday. we tried to go to the sagrada familia, but the line stretched around the block a couple of times. holiday. we went to 'come in' to buy our spanish text, but it was closed. holiday. we did manage to find one cafe that was open, and they reluctantly agreed to make us coffee. that night, katreena, michelle & i went to the theater near our apartment and saw 'maría páges: autorretrato', which is a flamenco/opera show. it was incredible. i have never seen such grace, rhythm, passion or talent in one woman. it blew me away. after the show, i met up with james & jd and we went to a juice bar near their dorm. it was groovy. groovy is a very appropriate word. murals painted on the walls, hand-drawn menus... it was groovy. james was pretty stoked about his new bike that he built here in barcelona, at a place called 'my beautiful parking'. it's a work of art. he let me ride it, too. :D i can't wait to check that place out!

then there was a lazy sunday, but without cupcakes. i did laundry & took it easy. michelle came over, so katreena, she & i all sat around & planned trips for the semester. a few locations just to keep your interested: paris, dublin, sicily, prague... more later ;) monday was for classes, buying groceries, & buying the text for spanish class. i got online last night & mom skyped me to tell me that the credit card company had cancelled all the charges made on sunday... aka all the flights. so we mostly got it figured out, i rebooked the flights... so the only issue left to resolve is that i'm now double booked, but only one is paid for. we'll see what happens. i found out today that my group in marketing class has to present a case study a week from today, but the teacher only gave us two copies of the 20pp text. should be fun. the case study is about the marketing ploys of real madrid, the soccer team.

this weekend, the asa group will head to costa brava for a weekend trip. i think it will be a fun visit, & i'm looking forward to more fantastic photographic opportunities.

this afternoon we tried to visit the jewish quarter & the synagogue/museum, but we were too late/lost to make it before closing time. oh well. while looking for gelato to soothe our sadness at missing the synagogue, we found a cafe and had chocolate and churros & a cafe con leche. we weren't so sad after that. tonight we went to a xavier coll concert at the palau musica catalana, which happens to be conveniently located across the street from our apartment. it was a tremendous concert. for the last song, he brought out his 11 year old daughter, sara, who plays the cello. she performed 'elegy' with him as his last piece. it blew me away. what was i doing at 11? i am always so overwhelmed when i go to concerts like this... i see someone with boundless talent, not afraid to use it, & playing with such passion, that when i think of how afraid i get in front of a crowd i want to laugh. if you have a god-given talent, isn't it a sin not to use it? another thought came to mind during intermission: i used to think being a musician was the last thing anyone should ever want to be. i mean the pay is low, you may not succeed, you may actually be terrible, or really great, but who would know - you're a nobody trying to become a somebody. but as i've gotten older i've realised, when you are truly passionate about something, be it music or books or people or economics, if it lights a fire in you, you've got to follow your heart & pursue it. screw the critics.

so in summary: you have gifts & talents, use them! music is life-changing. barcelona is complicated and fascinating. people are simple. god is good. life is wonderful - and so, so short.

ciao - sara