nights that begin at the vending machine can't be too bad

there is a vending maching in the plaza catalunya metro stop. it is no regular vending machine. it is the best vending machine. its literally called "supermercado rapido" (fast supermarket), and has everything. fish soup, diapers, entire boxes of cereal and cookies, gallons of milk. everything. and everytime i pass by it i want to buy something and have to show some extreme restraint to keep from spending all my money.

and so i never got to use it, until one beautiful night when emma, ali, jeanna and i were on our way to a gathering and realized we had promised to bring soda. all the supermarkets closed? no problem! and i finally got to use the vending machine, and it was as good as i had always hoped.

so we made it to the apartment, soda in hand. we had planned on going to "el bosque", which is this enchanted forest theme bar. there are swings and trees and it is supposed to be lovely. but it closes early, and we didnt make it in time. so we went to another random bar and sat outside. at one point i go inside to get a drink, and as i return walking towards our table i see a bottle spinning on its side. yes, they were really playing spin the bottle.

and i thought (ignoring the whole regression factor of the situation): wow, the spanish pda tendency must really be rubbing off on everyone. but don't worry. the game was g-rated, kiss on the cheek style. no making out in the streets for us non-spaniards.

life in subtitles

ok, so i won tickets to go to the opera at the liceau, which is this amazingly beautiful opera house here in barcelona. it is supposed to be considered among the best opera houses in europe, not that i would really know the difference. but there were some problems. i don't have opera worthy clothes with me, i don't speak italian, and it was a 6 hour long opera! but in the end it turned out perfect. the ticket was for a wednesday night, so nobody was all that dressed up. we had amazing seats (in the box seats on the side, very close to the stage), and i sat next to a russian guy that was in barcelona for a cellphone conference that took over the city for a week. seriously, it took over the city. the russian guy thought we were funny, and laughed at us during intermission when we were talking. i probably shouldn't assume people don't speak spanish anymore.

anyway, a few minutes into the opera i discovered that theatre had subtitle machines built into the seats! they were beautiful, and once i figured that out, and could actually understand what was going on, i fell in love. the show was amazing. they had some really bizarre entreacts. once was completely silent slapstick skit. suddenly all the actors were in clothes from the 1950's and doing all this ridiculous physical acting. and then at the end of intermission they did this whole piece with the house lights on and the actors walking through the audience. they didnt even warn the audience that everything was beginning. they had camera's set up in the lobby and other places in the theatre, and projected the images onto the stage. i didnt completely understand what was going on, as the subtitles were not yet turned on, but i was still impressed. i didnt want to, but we ended up leaving before the show ended so that we could catch the last metro. i had to wikipedia the ending.

sometimes bigger is better

and sometimes when you are late, you are really early. at least here in spain. the other weekend my friend ali and i decided to go see some castellers (human towers!). but, of course, we were late! and i was all nervous, with that sad feeling in my stomach. and ali was worried we would miss it all. but it turns out that an hour late is really an hour early. so not only did we get to see all of the castellers but also los gigantes, which are these crazy huge puppet things. really, they were intense. haha, they are like 12 feet tall, and people were inside of them making them move. if i understood right (which is usually unlikely) they were all supposed to be "traditional" catalan characters. but they have clearly been working on updating, cause there was one that was a girl in jeans holding a metro pass. there was also this weird bird one with breasts. i'm assuming it has some sort of regional signifigance but i can't figure out what exactly that would be, and it kind of freaked me out. and they danced! they had entire routines with partners and circles and music. they would all be standing still around the edges of the plaza, music would start, and all of sudden they would all be moving and dancing around in the crowd. i really thought they were going to hit someone. but there was some serious dexterity going on.

and then they all disappeared down a long winding road. i kind of wanted to follow them and find out where puppets go when they aren't dancing in the middle of plaza san jaume. but i was not about to miss the castellers.

ok, so you hear the word human castles and you think of cheerleaders and pyramids. and i would just like to say that those pyramids are nothing, in fact i might even say that they are boring. actually, they are boring in all sense of the word. castellers are crazy. first they came out and made towers of just one person stacked, standing on the shoulders of the another, 4 people high. and then they walk around the square stacked like this. so thats ridiculous to begin with. but it´s nothing. they then proceed to make huge castles, with layers, and several people thick. some of the tallest ones got to be almost three stories tall. i couldn't even get a picture that fit the entire tower in it. this is the closest i could get, and you can't see the bottom layer. PLUS, the people who stand at the very top are little kids. seriously, like 6 year old kids climbing a tower of people. much more exciting than climbing a tree. and apparently the kids at the top have only been required to wear helmets starting this year. and they were the only people wearing them. i really can´t explain how amazed i was by this entire situation. it was so crazy.

afterwords, of course, ali and i decided to go and get some dessert like item, and it was a beautiful day.

super-mega-guay

so every day is a lesson in vocabulary. unfortunately i don't remember most of the amazing words i learn, but i will never forget "super mega guay". people here add the adjective "super" to everything. things are always "super guay" (super cool) or "super interesante" (super interesanting) or even "super obsceno" (super obscene). they also say "freaky" sometimes, and i laugh every time i hear the word. the other night my RA mureia informed me that if you meet a girl who is overly trendy, rich and annoying about it, wears dolce sunglasses when its cloudy, you would call her "super mega guay" (which literally translates as super mega cool, but obviously it is an attempt at sarcastic irony). the term is so perfect, i love it. and now i have decided to add "super" or "mega" to as many words as possible throughout the day. i would suggest it, it makes everything much much more exciting.
i would call my RA pretty super. she is definetly on the top of my list of favorite spaniards so far. (that is a picture of her and me singing loudly on las ramblas, sorry you can't really see her, she was a little overly excited)

other things i think are super:
1)lists
2) torre agbar. i mean, who wouldn't want a huge phallic shaped building that lights up at night near your home? (i actually haven't been to torre agbar, but it is so ridiculous i can't help but enjoy it a little)
3) my oceanography teacher. he is super nerdy and i think its awesome. he doesnt speak english very well, and pronounces everything in the most beautifully ridiculous ways, and it pretty much makes the class perfect. his nerd-dom is also wonderful, and then we took a field trip to the ocean with him, and all of a sudden he was super hardcore, and putting random things in his mouth, and digging in the freezing sand, and wading into the wintery ocean.we also saw some awesome pirates during the oceanography trip. unfortunately they wouldnt let us stop the bus. very disappointing.
4) Noche en el Museo (aka, night in the museum) is a beautiful movie. emma, ali, and i went to go see it at the movie theatre, and i actually understood what was going on. and, may i just say, we were not the only 20 somethings there that weren't babysitting. and the theatre was awesome and had a bathroom inside it. you didnt even have to go to the lobby to pee.
5) Double Choc's are the best cookies in creation. at lunch we (as in, 4 of us) split a sleeve. and it's never enough. i go home and eat more. they are kind of like oreo's, in that they are sandwich cookies. except they way better than oreo's. chocolate in the middle, vanilla cookies on the outside. creamy goodness.that is a picture of jeanna, me, and ali at a picnic at ciutadella. thats another think i think is super. picnics. especially on sunny days. and picnics with double choc's are even better.

organic 911

We went to a resaurant called "origen 99.9", and it was amazing. it is ths place that servers "99.9%" local products. so all of the food, all of the wine, all of the everything (well, except whatever that .1% is) is from catalonia. I had this funny tosta thing, which is mostly just an openfaced sandwhich, and then for dessert i had mato, which is a sweet cheese that you smother in honey. Well, apparently my friends love honey, and most of the table ended up eating spoonfulls of honey straight. (that picture is of ali admiring the honey, but don't be deceived by her innocent face) it was so ridiculous. anyway, long story short (as talking about food is not that interesting) it was pretty much the best meal, and afterwords we were all on the biggest sugar rush. of course, we decided that going for some gelato would be a good idea, because there is never a bad time for gelato. and, thankfully, borne (the part of the city we were in) has some amazing gelato places and then walkied around and explored that area of the city. beautiful date.

table wine and techno

my senora has a son alex who works in the music industry. one night at dinner she asks emma and i if we wanted to go to a concert with him. sure, why not, right? we ask juaq and alex about the concert, and this is the info we get: electronica, at a small venue near torre agbar (there will be a short posting regarding torre agbar and my love for it soon, i promise). sounds fun. dancing, young people, spaniards. you know, general goodness all around.
we meet alex at the metro station, go to the concert early (cause he is working it, so he has to get there to set up and such). emma and i stay downstairs at the bar area to wait for the concert to start. Everyone is drinking beer, but i really want wine, so we ask the bartender if they have any white wine. He pulls out a dusty bottle lableled with huge letters "TABLE WINE" ( it was even in english, not a good sign). We ask for two glasses of it. and continue to play with this random pog thing we found on the table as we sip our vinegar.

it comes time for the concert to begin. emma and i go upstairs, to find the room and after a bit of searching, are led to an auditorium like room. as in, high school auditorium, possibly even smaller, and more pathetic. for my ithacans: park school auditorium, only less high tech. for my cdale loves: central high auditorium, plastic chairs and everything. on the stage was nothing but two mac laptops and a projection screen. bad sign, flashback to film aesthetics and analysis. i had a nervous feeling in my stomach. and then the first act came on, and the bad feelings were confirmed.

i would just like to say that i am all for experimental music. in fact, i generally enjoy it. however, when one piece an hour in length consists only of metallic banging, dogs barking, and a projection of tissue paper being crinkled up, i get tired and cranky. and emma falls asleep. i wish i had a better picture, but here is an example of what the concert was like. this was followed by alex's performance. all i need to say about this portion of the show is phallic symbols! the entire visual portion was a sexual reference, choreographed to the beat of the music. as in, round egg like image on one side of the screen, with a long line (slowly getting thicker and more forceful) thrusting towards it. leading eventually to a bursting of all. repeat from beginning. i began to get quite uncomfortable after an hour of this. blushing galore.

needless to say, the pog and table wine was the best part of the night

jamon jamon, and other encounters of the fear factor kind

dear ham, i do not like you very much. i do not like your hairy legs on the counters in bars. and i do not like the way you make half of the supermarket smell.

everything here is meat. and ham is god. there are even ham flavored potato chips. seriously.

but i greatly miss vegetables. my senora likes to argue with me and emma about vegetarianism. according to her beans don't have protein, and we are the reason all americans are fat. thankfully, after some crying and RA talking, she only feeds us fish now. and even though it seems she is only able to make fish one way (fried), i am quite ok with it.

i can even handle the little fish with eyes that she feeds us. you eat them whole, eyes, tails, and all. if you close your eyes tightly enough they almost seem like really crunchy french fries. and the watery potatos from a box that you have to eat with a spoon could be bland soup.

there have been some pretty exciting meal times. some of us have come to believe that our host families are trying to kill us slowly, hansel and gretel style. my friend kevin's senora has been the best at it so far. one night, as just an example, she served them ham and cheese sandwiches that were then deep fried, with french fries, and mashed potatoes that were topped with chopped up hot dogs. followed by chocolate souflet for dessert. i wish i were exaggerating.

however, i did get paella today and it was beautiful.