Settling In

AFS Catalunya at Parc Güel!
*can you believe this isn't even all of us!!
huge chapter

Hello again!

In the past month I have continued to settle into my new life here and get to know people a little better. I have started taking Flamenco lessons close by at “Casa de Andalucia.” There is a dance studio in the back of the restaurant where people come of all ages to learn how to dance Flamenco. It is something I look forward too doing every week and not just for the dancing.

The atmosphere in dance class in a completely new experience! I have almost always been involved with dance, but the lightness and laughter during class is something that makes it that much more fun!! We have an upcoming festival in December and will be performing four different dances that we will have learned in a little over a month!!!

Tourism:

Some of the things I have done outside of my town include an AFS orientation in which all the students in my chapter (Catalunya) got to go to a famous park in Barcelona called Parc Güell. It was designed by Gaudi and is home to the longest bench in the world… which happens to be completely mosaic!! It was incredible!! It is possibly one of my favorite things in the city. However, the architecture here is only one of the things I love.

Parc Güel

Parc Güel is absolutely enormous!


The old section of Barcelona is fantastic too with its plaças and the cathedrals dating back more than one hundred years. It is hard to imagine building such impressive buildings even with the technology we have today, let alone then.

I have also gone to the Les Rambles in Barcelona along with a place called La Boqueria. Les Rambles is a street in Barcelona that is home to street performers and shops as well as the Boqueria.

La Boqueria is the one of the largest, continually open, world markets and is home to almost any type of produce or ingredient. It the most impressive market I have ever seen with all of the people and venders! Also, the fresh made juice that most of the shops sell is incredible!! (Luckily, my host mom also knows how to make it just like they do there, so I have learned!)

In my town there was a festival a few weekends ago as well. The festival was for Castells (Catalan). Castells are effectively human castles and are either very big with many people across and high, or a single base with 4 or 5 people high. In addition, there are always 2 other outside groups invited to participate in the celebrations which are held in plaças (Catalan). 

 Group from Mataró! (dark blue shirts... the other groups had lighter blue shirts)

 The castells are usually several stories high and music is played while those who participate climb up. Once the very last person is at the top, the music changes so that those below are aware of the descent. The crowd awaits in silence until the last person is on top and then errupts with applause and then grows silent again until the last person has safely reached the ground. Again, the crowd goes wild. It is a very impressive celebration and one that all ages enjoying going to.  

Overall, I have discovered that Barcelona is one of my favorite cities. It is impressive, but still friendly and unique at the same time. The smell of castañas (roasted nuts) and sweet potatoes in the fall sold by the many street vendors fills the air with a sweet and salty smell unlike any I have ever smelt before.

School:

The structure of school where I am is as follows:

ESO: grades 6 through 10 roughly

Batxillerat: grades 11 and 12

*I am not too familiar with the school system before this since I do not go to a school that includes the lower levels.

In Spain, Batxillerat is not mandatory and if you choose to take courses, they are a lot more rigorous and the teachers expect a lot more out of you. Basically, not like any high school I have ever witnessed!

I am in primer batxillerat which is 11^th grade in the U.S. Segon Batxillerat is 12^th grade. (these are in catalan… they are similar, but spelled a little differently in Spanish)

Here, they have courses you choose as well. I am in sciences, but you can take a course similar to the equivalent of history, language, or art. In addition, the required classes for each course such as math, English, P.E., Spanish, and Catalan differ depending on which course you are taking.

For example: I am in the sciences course and our math is a lot more difficult than the math of those taking the art course, but it is still the same course in the eyes of the country… it’s difficult to explain.

And, need I say it?? Yes, I am probably only going to pass English, sorry Mom. As much as I would like to say that I am an excellent student, this would simply be lying. If school was in Spanish I feel like I could say that I was getting what they were talking about in lessons and passing the tests. However, school is in Catalan and I only understand if I concentrate very hard on what my teachers are saying. Even then I have no idea what I am supposed to do when it comes time to apply it. It is somewhat frustrating because when Catalan is spoken I still feel like I only understand part of what is going on. It is something I am learning to accept and I know that it is normal to be confused and not knowing is part of life. It has, believe it or not, made me more comfortable with asking questions and feeling stupid! As of right now, I do feel a lot more comfortable with the language and try to speak it when I can, but for now, I mainly communicate in Spanish. My family is very encouraging and helps me a lot with both Spanish and Catalan. It is still very funny to hear my pronunciation issues with Catalan and they often come up when I am trying to do homework.

***I will write again soon and next time will most likely write about the Christmas traditions here in Catalunya. I can’t wait to take part!!!

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT LIFE HERE IN CATALUNYA PLEASE FEEL FREE TO COMMENT AND I WILL DO MY BEST TO ANSWER THEM! THANKS!!!

¡Mataró!

Hello Everybody!!!!

I've been in Mataró for a little over a month now and I absolutely love it here! It's a place of beauty, friendship, and patriotism. It's a city in which everything is beautiful and has significance. However, the people are, by far, my favorite.

Mataró:

The people I meet are extremely friendly. When you leave a shop you say a warm Adéu (goodbye) to the clerk . For example, when we went to the fruit stand for the first time, my host mom explained to the elderly women running the shop that I was from America and was going to be staying with them for the duration of the year. She then started picking up fruit and handing it to me to try! (Raw figs are basically the best thing ever! Who knew?)

The weather here is hot and sunny one minute and rainy the next. Now that it is fall I am told there will be many rainy days. I love how the beach is only a short walk away here. In reality, everything is just a short walk away I guess!

The few things that I do here currently include choir. I hope to take a dance class, but this will have to wait. I think the options are hip hop and flamenco. Why not right? Choir is fun though... I am in the choir at a local theater and will be part of a musical this spring. Also, I am in the school choir and they will be taking 2 trips to other parts of Spain that I will hopefully get to participate in!

Luckily, Barcelona is just a short drive or train ride away and I have been in a few times already! It is truely and incredible city! The history is amazing! I'm sure I will write more about it later...

Family:

I live with a family of women. My poor host dad! (No really though, he's a good sport.)I have 3 sisters now and they are all hilarious, loud, and full of energy. The eldest is Aina who is 14 yrs old. Next there is Alba, who is 11, and finally Queralt who is the baby of the family. She is 7 yrs old. My host mom and dad are Núria and Carles. We are always singing something or talking louder than necessary. We are always learning something too. For example, I will ask, "How do you say this in Castellano (castilian spanish) and then Català?" then, they will ask what it is in English. It's always funny when we try to pronounce things in each others language!

They are also a family who seems to know everyone in Mataró and we often run into many of their friends while out and about. I love it here though and it already feels a lot like home!

Random story number 1: My host mom has now started calling my host dad Mary Poppins without his knowledge. Why? Well for starters, my host dad is basically a well-oiled machine. He is always the one who knows exactly what everyone's schedule looks like and always goes to pick whoever needs to be picked up at the proper time and place, and he does all the laundry (whites/colors) because my host mom accidentaly washed new shirts with other clothes turning everything blue... 20 yrs ago! He also makes sure everyone always has everything they need for school/activities/ or AFS, he makes pati sandwhiches every single school/work day for the 6 of us, he wakes us all up for school in the morning, and makes lunch for my host sister Aina and I everyday that we are home for lunch!!! So basically, my host mom jokingly says that all he needs is an umbrella and a wig(he's bald) and he could be Mary Poppins with no extra effort! (Don't tell him this though ;D)

Catalunya:

As most of you already know, I'm participating in an intercultural program which includes spending my junior year abroad. However, you may not know that the culture in Catalunya is a mix of two similar, yet very different worlds.

Here in Catalunya people most often speak Catalán as their first language. Still, Castellano is also spoken fluently by almost any native. For example, my school is taught entirely in Català, but I have friends who actually speak Castellano at home. (Everybody speaks to me in Castellano still because I am a hopeless cause with Català!) Yet, I am learning two languages at the same time... this is sometimes very difficult. I will mix up my languages and often speak half in one and half in the other. My pronounciation is also hilarious sometimes, usually this is with my Català since it's sometimes pronounced with more of a french accent and sometimes with more of a spanish accent. Then, there are other times where it sounds like neither of these!

If you have any questions about my life here or things that you are just curious about just ask!!

*Also, if my English is wrong... you'll have to forgive me!

AHHHHHHH SO MUCH TO DO!!!

From the title, I'm sure you can see that I am a little overwhelmed. :/ I recently had a meeting with my school counselor and was informed that this summer, I have to take a few classes in summer school in a near by high school as well as an online class so that when I return, I will have enough credits to graduate with honors. This will be a big part of my summer vacation as well as finishing this year out with good grades and still managing to spend some time with my friends before I leave.
Something that I am definitely not looking forward to is saying goodbye to all of my friends and family at the end of the summer.... You all better stay in touch!!!
Right now, I have so many things to sew up with AFS before I leave such as payments, meetings/orientations, and much much more. However, I am so so so excited to find out who my host family will be, where I will be staying, and what kinds of activities that I will be able to participate in while I am there. Unfortunately, these things take some time to figure out and I will not know where I am going for a while yet...

Spain

Hello,
My name is Karen O'Brien. I am participating in a foreign exchange through the organization AFS. The trip that I have applied for is one that leaves for Spain in the fall of 2010 and returns summer of 2011. This would mean that I would be away for the entirety of my junior year of high school. This is something that I am very passionate about and desperately want to do.
I am very familiar with the program and my family has also been involved in AFS for many years. I have previously been a host sister and volunteer. My mom was also a host sister and an exchange student.
Every experience that I have had with AFS has been life changing and I don't think that I'd be the person I am now without it.