I'm currently smack in the middle of what may be the coolest city in the world right now, but it doesn't feel like it. Not yet, anyway. Let me explain: before I get to go to school here for real, I need to do a three week long intensive immersion program with only my fellow Americans for classmates while also living in a dormitory with just them. While some of them are pretty cool (including my close Mexico pals Evan, Ashley and Zander, the last of which I'm lucky enough to be rooming with), I don't imagine myself getting too close with the majority of them, who are all at least two years younger than me and seem more like five years younger. It's not that they're superficial (well, a lot of them are), but more that they just seem pretty naive and devoid of anything interesting to say, ever.
I could make up witty names for them if I wanted: Depthless Santa Barbara Blonde (there are at least twenty of these), Out of Control Asian Girl (who threw up in our bathroom and passed out in Zander's bed after stupidly drinking a bottle of whine by herself), Drug-Craving Lunatic Guy, Anal-Retentive Indian Econ Major, Hapless Frat Dude, etc. You get where this is going: these people are pretty boring, and the most exotic location in the world isn't going to change that. Plus, if Mexico felt like high school in how clicky it became, this group of 80 plus students was already subdivided into odd social circles before it even began. I mentioned before I don't really enjoy this period of social mingling, and I'm looking forward to meeting some foreign students (or God forbid, some Spanish people) as soon as possible.
That would be easier if a) I had classes with them or b) the classes that I do have weren't so long and time-consuming to the point that I don't have the energy to venture outside at all. These intensive language classes are *tough* and some of our teachers are even tougher. Today our language and grammar teacher nearly scared me to death with a Medusa Stare after I took too long to finish reading the instructions for an exercise she gave us. I've heard that sometimes Americans misinterpret the accent here as reflecting anger, but this woman is seriously angry all of the time. Yikes.
But neither endless swarms of sadly, stunningly stereotypical Americans nor obscenely intense Spanish teachers can ruin the overpowering awesomeness that is Barcelona, which I've experience a little since I got here. After I flew in Saturday evening we decided to fight the jet lag and go experience the Fiesta Mayor in Grasia, which is a once-a-year, week-long outdoor festival where the various barios in Grasia compete to see who can decorate their streets best using purely recycled materials. They each have a theme, too: we made it the butterfly neighborhood, which had (you guessed it) butterflies everywhere along with lots of reggae bands, and also the winter neighborhood, which was covered in fake snow and featured lots of techno and 80's music.
After getting tired of walking around, I befriended two loud, friendly Spanish brothers (and the younger one's girlfriend) and followed them to a bar with cheap mojitos and the best sangria I've ever had. Due to my daily mountain of classes I haven't been able to go out since that night, but if it was any indication I'm going to have a blast doing so in the future. If only that future were here now, instead of what looks to be an agonizing two and half weeks away.
3 comments:
haha I can relate to your story about "intensive" language study. It takes a lot out of you, but it makes going out the few times per week all so much better.
...I certainly wouldn't mind Out of Control Asian Girl in a... nevermind I won't finish that thought.
and Cyrus. I think I may have found THE. BEST. SONG. EVER.
Ready for this?
The Shonen Knife cover of "Top of the World" by The Carpenters from their tribute album.
I was actually just finishing that thought that you chose not to with my friends just now (heheh, or "jejeje" as those wacky Spaniards type) and we decided it wouldn't be worth the shame and guilt, especially because she would probably pass out before the deed was done (I wish I were joking about that).
And once I get up on the torrents Ima get me that Shonen Knife track, cause it sounds incredible. I actually have a quasi-Asian music recommendation for you: it's the soundtrack to a Chinese opera called Monkey: Journey to the West, but all the music is scored by Damon Albarn, the singer for Blur and Gorillaz. It doesn't sound anything like either of those groups, though, and if I hadn't known would have thought it was some kind of anciently-composed Chinese opera from the Ch'ing dynasty, or something. You can download one of the tracks, "Heavenly Peach Banquet," here: http://www.fluxblog.net/monkey_heavenlypeachbanquet.mp3
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