Observations

We arrived at the Barcelona train station which was buzzing with activity which seemed a little overwhelming after the long night. Brandon immediately insisted that we buy a Neopolitano, which is a pastry with a chocolate and hazelnut filling. It was a wise choice because I felt better almost immediately. I think part of his love for Barcelona can be directly traced to his feelings for their pastries.

We took the metro and another train to a community outside of the city called Sant Boi where we would be staying with the coolest family. Brandon had worked with Pilar at the beginning and end of his mission and she was baptized right before he left. Even though that was ten years ago, she opened up her house to us and welcomed us like we were family.
Her daughter, Elsa, and her son-in-law, Christian also lived there with their little boy, Roger (pronounced Roo-jay).

We stayed there for almost a week and it was like a little piece of paradise. We would spend all day out and about trying to see as much as possible and then as it got late we returned to a happy home with family and lots of fantastic food. It was a special opportunity to stay with them because at least part of the time we were there I didn't feel like a tourist. They also helped us out a lot with Brandon's study because nobody really wants to talk about the war with some American that they've never heard of before. On his own, Brandon was hardly able to get anyone to talk to him.

Pilar called in some connections and because her family is very well respected he was received with much more trust. We spent late nights laughing and discussing the pronunciation rules of Catalan.
While we were in Madrid I felt like my Spanish was improving pretty rapidly, but once we got to Barcelona it seemed like everything was in Catalan. Before Spain was a unified country it consisted of several kingdoms. Each kingdom had its own language and culture. When they combined the kingdoms became regions and all of the regions basically hung on to their roots. All of the different languages are considered official languages of Spain and that is why Spaniards will refer to what we consider 'Spanish' as Castellano. Some people think that Catalan and the other regional languages are dialects of Castellano but they are actually very different. They are different enough to be considered separate languages. One person told me that the difference between Catalan and Spanish are similar to the difference between Spanish and Portugese. They have a lot of similarities because they are Latin based but the Catalan includes a lot more of a French influence. After the Spanish Civil War when Franco took over as the dictator he banned all use of languages other than Castellano. In Catalonia all the street signs and textbooks for schools had to be changed. To the people this was a great insult and after Franco's death in the 70s there was a huge movement to change all the signs back. Everyone throughout the country speaks Castellano, but now they also proudly speak in their native tongues.
This sign is a good example to study because it is written first in Catalan, then in Castellano and then in English. There are so many tourists in some of the areas that English words are not that uncommon to see.

Brandon loves languages so much and talked to people all over the city to improve his pronunciation. The people were charmed to see an American trying to learn a language that is only spoken in their part of the world and would open up immediately.
While we were in touristy areas we hardly heard Castellano or Catalan. People were speaking German, French, Portugese, Italian and about a million other languages. Apparently because it gets so hot during the month of August all the Spaniards take off on vacations to cooler areas. We saw all kinds of businesses that were closed for a month while the owners were off enjoying the southern coasts. The streets during that time are filled with tourists from all over the world. Luckily we were able to enjoy the tourism, but we also had Sant Boi and Pilar's community that gave us a taste for the pure un-touristed life of the country. We also were able to walk around some of Brandon's areas which were more residential and I could get more of a feel for the daily life of the regular people. Although it was fun to see all the amazing buildings that bring the tourists by the millions, I think I enjoyed the quiet back streets even more.
In classes I had heard that the Spanish are known for taking a mid-day siesta. Still, I was surprised when around 2:00 it seemed that everything closed. People went home to enjoy a meal and a rest and returned at around 4:00. It is a strange feeling for someone who is used to seeing "Now open 24 hours" to see so many closed signs during such prime daytime hours. It was surprising, but I loved it. Because everything was closed there was really no choice except to go home to relax. Since we were only going to be there for a short time we didn't always take advantage of the break, but we did have a few days that we returned to Pilar's to savor a delicious meal and some great conversation. I admire the attitude that we should all slow down a little bit. Even the businesses that stayed open had shorter summer hours. Maybe those shopkeepers that took off for the whole month of August missed out on some money-making sales, but I bet they also made some great memories while vacationing with their families. This sign says 'closed for the vacation.'

We walked street after street as we moved from one part of the city to another and I enjoyed seeing the small bakeries, pharmacies, groceries, ice cream shops, hardware and fruit stores. The specialized businesses that are becoming extinct in the U.S. provide the income for thousands of independent shopkeepers. The idea of a Wal-Mart seems ridiculous because it is so convenient to walk around the corner to the Dia grocery or the pasteleria which take up such a small amount of space. A large shopping complex would have to be located outside of the residential area and be much more of a hassle.
For me it was also a treat to see all the beautiful types of breads. People were buying, selling and eating all kinds of bread everywhere you would look. It was delicious and probably one of the only things in the country that I would have considered a bargain.
Every single thing that we ate while we were there was amazing especially the meals that Pilar cooked. She always had the table set beautifully and would serve a meal with several courses. The meal not only tasted good, but was presented in such a visually appealing way. Once again I felt like I was being treated to luxury that was disproportionate to our situation.
The truth is that some people consider food as more of an art than something just to be gulped down. As you can see from this menu, presentation is key.


I, of course, also took note that there was a lot of really great candy.

I wanted to eat all day long every day, but I quickly noticed that I was already a lot bigger than almost everyone we would see on the streets. Not only are the people fit, but they are small in stature. I felt like a giant when we would be packed into the Metro and everyone around me would be an inch or two shorter. And speaking of short, I've never seen so many short skirts and shorts in my life. The women had beautiful legs and they weren't afraid to show them off. The styles of the 80s are in full force (and that includes mullets). At first I kind of felt like a nun walking around wearing long capris. That is until I actually saw a nun all decked out in a white robe with a black veil and I realized that my pants were probably a lot cooler than her getup.
I also observed a few other differences. One is that eggs in the grocery store are kept on the shelf and not refrigerated. By the time I had discovered this, I had already eaten several tortillas and figured that I didn't need to worry if it was safe or not.
The outlets are circular and even use a different frequency than those that we have here in the U.S. This contributed a lot to my beautiful pony-tailed hair during the entire trip. I had packed my straight iron but it proved to be nothing more than a dead-weight because it was impossible to use. We also had to buy a new camera battery. I share this as a warning, if you ever go to Europe, plan accordingly.