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

Basketball

So i officially made the final cut for the basketball team here at UPF. Here's the link where you can see my name...http://www.upf.edu/esports/es/navega/basquetm.html
theres no picture or anything, but I think it's funny to point out how mine sticks out like a sore thumb. Another American from my program made the team too. Practice starts in two weeks and I'm pretty pumped.

I have to run to class but I'll be back later.

Heres a photo from last years team. The kids on the bottom row are taller...no more than about 6'5 or 6'6. Spanish people aren't very big...

and this is a picture of our universities varsity gym...not too many seat but definitely nice
Jeff

Casual Tuesday

Unfortunately, I was reminded this morning that I have several midterms in the next week. I have two on Friday and three next week.
I went to the barber today to get my hair fixed because yesterday they cut my hair like christiani renaldo. I thought I knew how to speak Spanish...I guess asking for, "el pelo corto en los dos lados, pero arriba un poquito más largo" was interpreted as, "Let me just give you a semi-faux-hawk look." I was too ashamed to ask the woman to fix it yesterday so I rocked the look for 24 hours.
On another note....take a look from the view outside my class today...

These are called "castillos" which means, "human towers"...they are really popular in Catalunya and they require tremendous precision and strength. Castillos sometimes use up to 80 people....it's somewhat of a game/art/exercise. Unfortunately, this picture was taken during the beginning of the process... Class break ended and my professor was yelling at us to come back inside. (For mom again) there were two medics present in case anybody had fallen, which apparently happens fairly often.

Take a look at some of the pics of took this past weekend in Sevilla

This first one is in Sevilla looking out towards the city. You can see an old circular bullring.

Plaza de Espana I talked about recently

Zack, myself, and Brandon (another student from Vanderbilt), on a 300 year old tree outside the Juderia in Sevilla

Sevilla y Cordoba

I just got back from an amazing weekend in southern Spain's Andalucia...Not only did I enjoy warm weather for three days, but I got to see a totally different taste of this country. It is a sharp contrast from cosmopolitan Barcelona.

Friday morning we flew to Sevilla's airport, drove to our hotel, and walked around for 3 hours before our first tour. The thing to do in Spain is visit the "Plaza de España" because every major city has one. Little did I know, the Plaza de Espanya was located literally around the corner from the hotel. At first, you wouldn't think anything of it....it looks like a large circular fortress made of stone. We walked in and our jaws dropped...It was unbelievable. It was a huge cathedral-stadium like facade that circumscribed an inner moat, which circumscribed an additional pathway where horses pulled human-filled carriages. In the center of the plaza stands a huge water fountain that compliments the beauty of the rest of the architecture. Within the facade are hundreds of columns which are decorated with detailed murals.....truly a spectacular site.

Sevilla is famous for its bitter oranges...hmm, this came back to haunt me. Our tour guide told us to taste one so I ripped one off the tree, peeled it, and plopped about half of the fruit in my mouth....there is video of my reaction. It was the most horrid thing I have ever tried in my mouth....so bitter my left eye blinked incessantly and my lips quivered to my right cheek for several minutes. Not attractive.

As a whole though, I loved Sevilla because I thought it was a great change from the normal beat of Barcelona....

Something I didn't know: the huge contingency of Judaism in Spain before the Inquisition. There exists in both Sevilla and Cordoba "Juderias" ...or Jewish barrios (neighborhoods) with very old synagogues  they maintain. I took a picture next to the menorah...

In Cordoba, the only difference is that there is more of an Arabic presence due to the city's proximity to Morocco. Cordoba was one of the more modern cities of its time, due to the co-existance of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity in the 1300's. Its people were able to work together, live together with no problems whatsoever....still, however, maintaining each other's barrios. This is something we as a people today strive to work for.

The night life in Sevilla is very fun....the drinks were very cheap, espcially the 1 euro shots. I had only 2 all night (for mother).

Before people go to the bar, they assemble in a tailgaiting-like spot along the huge river that separates Sevilla in half. Its an absolutely blast. They do something called "Botella-ing" literally translated to "Bottle-ing"....about 800 people chat, hang out and listen to blasting music until about 2 in the morning. A scary moment: A fight broke out between to homeless guys along the street, far away from where I was hanging out, but he proceeded to slam 3 or 4 bottles on the ground and chuck all the broken pieces into the large crowd. Everyone ran away....I was untouched, but I think a couple people were definitely hit. I saw one kid with a cut hand. Within literally five minutes arrived the SWAT team, police, and ambulances. They arrested  him instantly, slammed him to the ground, and took him to jail.

Again, I'm completely fine. Much much worse things happen at Vanderbilt at the bars.

As a whole, I had a great time in the south of Spain because it gave me new perspective about the dynamics of the country. I have no experienced northern Spain in Baque country, central Spain in Madrid, eastern Spain in Catalunya (Barcelona) and the south of Spain in Andalucia. I'm privileged to be able to make these trips and here the different dialects....a store owner told me I spoke the best spanish out of almost every other american study abroad student he had met...i was also a customer purchasing something at his store, you decide. Adios until next time

Living In Barcelona

We had a great time last night going out. It was the first time in a while the entire Vandy crew went out together, and some of the other kids in our program came too. We first went to this Bar on la calle Aribou called Chupitos. Every shot is 2 euros and the bartenders usually light them on fire. For one shot, we drank from a straw while the alcohol was literally aflame. It was delicious?

At about 12 oclock the bar filled up and we couldn't hear each other speak...we made the executive decision to walk next door because it was empty. We hung out for a few more hours and then left for the club called Broad Bar up the street. 

Quique (pronounced Kee-Kay), a club promoter we have become close to, gave us VIP access and bought us a bottle of champagne. I can't say I take credit for this purchase because of my pretty face, but probably because I was hanging out with the pretty Vandy girls.

I met a few cool people from Amsterdam who gave me some good pointers for my future trip. I wanted to know more about the local Dutch places, than just the cliche American spots.  At around 4 oclock the club closed and the light turned on. 

I got back to Melon Distritct, the "residencia" where I live and passed out right away....Class this morning was brutal bcuz we had Linguistics this morning. Analyzing vocal sounds in the Latin Alphabet is not my favorite thing to do in the morning after a night out. 

I'm currently packing up right now because our program paid for a trip to Sevilla and Cordoba this weekend. I have to be at the airport by 730 so I will definitely go to sleep early tonight. I'll let you guys know how the weekend goes when I get back.