FC Barcelona versus VIllareal

I was fortunate enough to go to another FC Barcelona game last night with some of the students in my dorm. The 95,000 person stadium was completely sold out. I didn´t see an empty seat. The level of competition was beyond better this time than that of the previous game I attended. For 90 minutes the stadium rumbled with Spanish cheers. 

Both teams were fighting for second place in the league. Barcelona simply outplayed Villareal. They won every ball and distributed their possessions nicely. The 23 year old Messi scored twice...he is unreal. I would compare him to the Steve Nash of soccer because he is so smooth, has fantastic touch and sees the field better than anybody. 

Luckily, nobody tried to pickpocket me last night because I was not in the mood. My hands were parked in both pockets every second I was underground. It is truly such a shame to have to constantly be on alert. 

I´m currently reading a 350 page book for my Literature class called "El fin de la Guerra Fría" so I aplogize for such a short blog. 

My uncle jimmy is coming in two days. Can´t wait to tear it up with him

FC Barcelona

Last night we went to the FC Barcelona game against some random sub-division team from one of the Spanish colonies in Morocco. It was so much fun and a blast...except for one blemish of the night, but I´ll get to that later... I saw Messi score a goal, and several other spectacular players on the Barcelona team. Definitely very cool. They won 6-1 and coasted through a sweet win, and my first real European soccer game.

They don´t serve alcohol at the soccer games because people would literally kill each other. Instead, you have a couple drinks before the game at the local bars around the stadium. I unfortunately did not hang around the stadium, but rather had dinner with my friend Alexa, her mother, and the rest of our friends.

Anyway, a scary moment. I walk onto the metro with both of hands in both of my pockets as usual...just to be safe...I felt a hand trying to slide itself into my left pocket. I grabbed the guys hand with my right hand and said,  (as a heads up...I said a lot worse things then Im about to quote myself saying, but for the circumstances of a PG rated blog, Ill keep it classy) "Sir, what do you think you are doing?"    To which he replied, ·"Como?"      I said back, "I just took your hand out of my pocket. Who do you think you are?"  (Again, I was not this calm).   He responded, "No, No. soy innocente. innocente."
Angrier....I said,  "Its people like you who make these subways dangerous.....(I pushed him because he moved  in front of me) "You better watch you back and get off at the next stop". As I made a scene in the middle of the metro, a few other English-speaking people overheard me yelling and asked if i had just caught this guy trying to pickpocket me....I briefly explained the situation and half the metro car applauded.  The little 5 foot 3 Spanish man and his accomplice ran off at the following station...

Not that I think I´m that big of a guy, but why in the world would a 5'3 little weak Spanish man try to steal from me, who´se a solid foot taller than him.

My adrenaline rush didn´t seize until about an hour later...I shook during the beginning of the game because I was this close to clocking him in the jaw. Had Alexas mother not been there, I think I would have reacted differently.  But in retrospect, I think I handled it appropriately. On a comic note,  I was apologizing to Alexa´s mother for using expletives as I screamed at this guy...she reassured me if that had happened to her she would have caused even more of a scene.

On another notes, check out some pics from the game

Game versus University of Barcelona

Wow is all I have to say....i thought European basketball was legitimately sub-par in comparison to the United States. In some aspects perhaps this may true, but definitely not in every. In our loss to the University of Barcelona yesterday 69-41, I witnessed the reality of European shooting. Here, players are fundamental and run offense all the way through.

I started my first game for Pomeu Fabra at the 3 position because our best player was ill and could not play. He was also our biggest offensive weapon, so i knew I needed to step it up. Within the first 3 minutes of play, I had 6 points. 2 ten footers, and a back door cut lay up. My coach was beyond ecstatic with me...out of the corner of my eye I saw this little 5'3 Spanish man jumping up and down yelling, "Yeuff, Yeuff" (Translation="Jeff!, Jeff").  Little did he know playing up in a 2-3 zone on defense, lined up against their best player who plays in the ACB (the national league), would cause me fatigue....the 6'5 shooter pulled up from way beyond the arc...way beyond. Continuing my scoring run was almost impossible having to spring back on defense.

I believe the team as a whole shot an efficient 60% from 3-point range. It was absurd. Every bucket went in....Before the end of the half, I had a break away lay up to but put my pt total up to 8 points that game. At this point though, we were not out of it. The difference in score had been as large as 15, but our second line did a great job at coming back and cutting it to three. The half ended and it was a 5 point game.

The third quarter started and they legitimately blew us out of the water. It felt as if they kicked into another gear. I hit a deep three in the last fourth quarter to make myself look good, breaking into double digits for an 11 point finish.

We play our final game of the season next thursday away against another team in Catalunia. If we beat them, then we play the next winner from their bracket, but if we lose, "ya está" as the Spanish people here say....(thats it).

Heres a picture of my buddy Julian and I, the only two Americans on the team.

Despite the poor quality...here´s a pic of University of Barcelon´s team...

Their best players are also currently sitting on the bench...

"Señora, estoy aqui"

Every Wednesday or Monday morning, I fear the cleaning ladies are going to slam on my door. Little do they know the noise resonates throughout my room like an earthquake. I swear one day I´m going to have a heart attack....

As expected, this morning an atomic bomb went off at around 10 am. Clearly disoriented but still cognizant, i screamed back "Señora, estoy aqui, dentro de la habitación." In English...."Lady, I´m here inside the room." I slept for another three minutes.....BOOM!!! BOOM!!!  My voice more irritated, "Señora, estoy en la habitación!" I was officially awake...that´s for sure. I got out of bed, stood up, stretched, cracked my back. I´m simply standing in my room, throwing the extra clothes on the floor in the laundry which I havn´t done for about a month now, and my body shakes again. BOOM BOOM BOOM. "Señora, estoy aqui" I guess, that wasn´t good enough for her. She continues to open the door to find me standing there in my underwear. I was about to shower and was in the process of taking them off.....I've never seen a door close quicker than it opened. I guess she hadn't seen a set of 2 pack-abs as nice as mine.

Tomorrow I have an Art and Artists paper due about Joan Miro and one of his works. Then, I have a game against University of Barcelona in the afternoon. Wednesday, I have a class presentation about two Spanish poems written in the 1940s...at least I'm interested in these areas of study, not.

On Sunday, I went to Montserrat this weekend with my friend Alexa's parents, Emily Nikkel and her mother, and Amanda Gadaleta. It was arguably the most beautiful site I've seen in Spain. Millions of years ago, water carved through this 5,000 foot, completey vertical mountain to created some of the most  extraordinary images known today. Atop the mountain there is a beautiful monastery on which people make daily religious pilgrimages. Here's a pic.....until next time, peace

Parents

My parents just left and I had the most amazing time with them these past few days. I can officially say I'm no longer hungry. All we did was eat eat and eat.

I was so happy to be able to show off my improved Spanish skills to them through the various conversations I had with people in their presence. I think it assured them that despite all the fun I have here, I also have learned a lot. For Mom, every meal was so easy. All I had to tell the waiter was, "Es Celiaca" meaning, "Shes a Celiac." Every one of them knew the term is associated with an inability to digest Gluten. It's so convenient.

Last night we ate at my favorite restaurant in Barcelona thus far. When we got out of the taxi, a Ferrari 360 Spyder hard top was parked right out front....I knew this place was going to be delicious. The menu was extravagant. Octopus, Shrimp, Lobster, meant, clams...everything. "Botafumeiro" is the name.

I'm sad they had to leave because all of the other parents are here for several days, but we put quality time in together. From the three of us falling asleep in the same bed after shopping yesterday afternoon to buying enough groceries to feed a small army, I could not have been happier.


On another note,  I finished midterms so I get to relax a little bit before my next set of homework assignments Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

Untill then....see ya

Game versus University of Barcelona-Polytech

As I ran from class in my American sweatpants and Vanderbilt jacket, I started to sweat profusely because today was 78 degrees....I'm going to miss the warm weather.  Anyhow, I literally ran across half of Barcelona trying to find our university's gymnasium. I arrived at the court completely soaked, coach handed me my jersey and shorts, and I warmed up with the rest of the team. I hadn't seen the starting five on the team because they didnt even show up to the walk-on tryouts. The dynamic of basketball here in Spain is very different. Whereas the NCAA in the states is the second highest league beneath the NBA, the University league is the third highest, beneath the club leagues. However, many of the very good players from the club leagues still play for the University's league as practice. Our center is a solid 6'6, nothing spectacular but he has a pretty decent 15-foot shot and good rebounding skills. Our point guard is the best. He is about 6'1, fast, aggressive, good ball-handling skills,  has an unorthodox shot but definitely effective, and is a fantastic passer. He must have scored 20 points today. He plays for the second team for the city of Barcelona. In a few years, he might move onto the ACB.  There's another shorter guard who is also a pretty talented player, but I think he's overrated.

As for me, I came off the bench first because one of the starting five received two quick fouls. I'm so fortunate to be able to experience all of the same feelings I had when I was in high school. My heart rate skyrocketed, and I was nervous as hell. But, after the first play running up and down the court, I felt better. The second possession down I received the ball on the exterior of the arc on the right side....my spot. I gave him a pump fake right and an aggressive, hard, dribble left, crossing into the paint using my body to block the defender. I lightly tossed the ball up and it dropped right in. I felt confident. The following possession I had a 2-1 breakaway in which I pump faked the pass to the left side and pulled up for a short 7 footer swoosh. 4 points in about 3 minutes. I was lovin it.....but I also finished the game with 4 points

4 pts, 3 boards, 2 assists in about 15 or 16 minutes of play. It wasn't too bad for my first game back having sprinted 20 minutes to jump right into a college basketball game.

We went down by 11 at half time and in the locker room, coach gave a motivational speech that seemed to work pretty well. We played much better defense and came back to go up by 1 in the fourth quarter. After a bad call and our star player receiving a technical foul, it was all downhill with 1.30 left in the game. The final score was 75-66...but it was a much closer than the score suggests. Also, in the last second of the game some little white spanish dude caught a break-away and dunked it with two hands...definitely didn't enjoy that.

Overall, it was an awesome experience and I hope I can play in as many games as possible before I leave Europe. My Castellano and Catalan for that matter is getting so much better simply by playing ball and listening to the lingo. I think I'm sounding more and more like a local as the weeks go by. Attached I have a photo from the game today.

Great Weekend in Brussels and Amsterdam

Sorry I havn't blogged in a while...This weekend I went to Brussels and Amsterdam. I had a great time in both places despite the lousy weather. Brussels was definitely one of the more European-feeling cities I have been to this semester. The grand square in the center of the city looks like it is straight out of a movie: tall buildings, huge windows trimmed with gold, golden statues, a huge clock, pricy restaurants with tables outside, and more...On another note, I think I had the best beer in Belgium. We went to a bar famous for selling the most different types of beers in one venue....I cannot remember exactly. I wrote down several names of the beers I enjoyed most: Triple Karmeleiit, Duvel, Bons Voeur, Rulles, Westmalle, and of course Hoegarden. ( This does not mean I had all of these beers in 12oz bottles)

Dinner was so good. We had mussels in a bucket of garlic broth. It was so unbelievably delicious I took a picture of it....(picture to come).

Something cool: For the first time in my life, after being around Spanish for a healthy amount of time at this point, I dreamt in Spanish. Although it wasn't completely in Spanish, I remember vividly  a significant portion of the dream where I thought and spoke in Spanish. I also find myself pronouncing english words in a spanish accent. The effect another language has on you in two months can be very drastic. Sometimes in English during transitional thoughts....if I said, "Well," or "Perhaps" I literally find myself saying out loud,  "Vale," or "Entonces" or "Quizas."

The Van Gogh Museum was definitely worth the visit...the key is the buy a ticket online so you can skip the 1.5 hour wait and walk right in. Tey have the majority of his famous collections, missing a few in other parts of the world.

Sunday night we went to the Cirque du Solei show called, "The Evolution of Man." i enjoyed literally ever second of it. Some of the acrobatic tricks performed I didn't think were humanly possible.

Halloween night my friend Zach and I came  back to the room to change clothes to get ready to go out at around 11 oclock. Suddenly, my phone rings and it's already six in the morning. We decided to get a full night's sleep. But, it was definitely comical thinking about both of us passing out at the same time and waking up 7 hours later completely disoriented.

The Red Light district is without a doubt the weirdest/strangest place I've ever been to. Women stand behind see-through doors in tiny rooms with a bed, some only just a chair, and a curtain. Hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of men and women of all ages walked around the narrow streets, I mean literally all ages...there appeared to lack an age ceiling.... I saw a man walk out of a room who was definitely approaching 90.....anyway, they walk around the narrow streets searching, laughing, and mocking the barely clothed prostitutes who stare at you with sexual expressions, luring you into their apparently rented chamber. Someone told me, and I cannot verify this, that each woman rents out her "room", aka glass door with a curtain,  for around 500 euros a shift...prices vary upon location. Assuming the average price to be around 50 euros for each "session," this means in order to break even and bring home some bread to their...families?...ew...i dont know...at least 10 sexual experiences are required. To be honest, I feel bad for them. They are like animals in a zoo, trapped behind see-through cages. The sad part is, a lot of them of absolutely beautiful, like stunning. But, they are sucked into this lifestyle at age 18 because they have nowhere else to work, and this is the only way to make good money.


Currently, I'm back in Barcelona. It feels nice to be able to sleep in my bed and have some sort of routine again. I have my first college basketball game around 2 oclock, which is 8 oclock eastern time. When you wake up, cross your fingers and maybe I'll see some PT/score some points. Last night, I experienced the same dreams I had the nights before my high schools basketball games. I'm so fortunate to be able to remember those dreams and endure the same feelings of nervousness and excitement again.

I have two midterms this week, and mom and dad get in tomorrow! I'm so excited to see them. Hope all is well....until next time