¡Podemos!

I haven’t updated in the past week, because well, I haven’t done anything. I was pretty much stuck in the apartment for a week. It sucked. I missed all the San Juan craziness, but could hear the fireworks all night long. However, on Wednesday I went to an ankle specialist who took off my cast and checked out my ankle. My foot and ankle are pretty disgusting , all purple and black (I’ll spare you the pictures), but he told me I was going to be just fine, gave me an ankle brace and compression socks (the socks are soooooo dorky), and told me to enjoy my last week in Barcelona. Needless to say I was ecstatic and ready to get going and have some fun. I even enjoyed going to class again, because at least it got me out of the apartment.

So what have I done since I’ve gained my ability to walk (slowly but surely) again? On Thursday I went on a field study with my history class. We went to El Refugio 307, a bomb shelter from the Spanish Civil War. Sidenote: The Spanish Civil War was fought from 1936 to 1939. It was brought on by a failed military coup led by General Francisco Franco. The two sides fighting were the Left (communists, anarchists, socialists, workers, etc), and the Nationalists (the conservative right, the Catholic Church, the military, etc). The Nationalists also had support from the Fascists in Italy and the Nazis in Germany. The Nationalists ultimately won in 1939, largely because the Left was divided internally. Franco was dictator for almost 40 years, until his death in 1975. During the war, there were a lot of bombings and Barcelona was one of the cities hit pretty hard. The bomb shelter we visited was built into the mountain of Montjuic and it was done by pico y palo—meaning it was dug entirely by the people using picks and shovels and such. The shelter is huge---it could accommodate 2,000 people. It was really cool inside, a nice refuge from the summer heat and humidity, but I can imagine the people who had to go into the bomb shelter to avoid getting killed didn’t feel the same way. In some parts, you can actually see the pick marks from construction.

Later on Thursday, Danielle and I finally used our tour bus tickets. It wasn’t all that exciting, plus we had seen most of the places that it drove by. We just sat on the bus and baked under the sun, but at least we used them. Thursday night, Spain played Russia in the Eurocup semifinals. Spain kicked Russia’s ass—3-0, and the final game is tonight, Spain v Germany, it should be a great game! As usual, as soon as the game ended, the honking and the fireworks started. It’s always so exciting. I don’t know exactly if Spain has ever won a large championship, and if they have I don’t think it’s been for a very long time. ¡Que emoción, podemos!

Friday was a day for the beach. About ½ hour outside of Barcelona via train is Sitges, a small coastal town. It’s beautiful with small beaches and coves. It was nice and hot and the beach was wonderful. I was dying to get in the water, but I felt a little nervous going in without my ankle brace on and I can’t get it wet, so I stuck my feet in the cool water. Of course, there are vendors walking up and down the street peddling coconut, bracelets, sunglasses, purses, and women who want to braid you hair. You can also rent paddle-boats that have slides on the back. There were a ton of people, all enjoying the hot sun and the cool ocean. The town had a nice laid back vibe to it. I would have loved to spend more time there.

Sitges

It’s gotten pretty hot here, and while I’m well accustomed to the heat, I’m not a big fan of humidity, and we don’t have air conditioning—a luxury I really miss. But hey, It’s all part of the experience.

Yesterday was a day for the market. We hit up the flea market in Plaza de Las Glorias. I’ve come to the conclusion that flea markets all over are all very similar—a ton of vendors selling clothes, tools, electronics, antiques, etc. I love them, though. I think it must stem from when I was a kid and my mom and grandma would wake Julian and I up really early to go find garage sales. There’s something really fun rummaging through others’ trash to find your own treasures. And I love knowing that what I’m buying has a story before me. I bought some old keys to turn into a necklace, some old photographs (I LOVE old photos), and a small little painting and drawing. There was a great array of old stuff, pocket-watches, lighters, old coins, turn dial telephones, jewelry. It could take all day to really rummage through stuff properly, but the heat catches up with you quick.

The flea market in Plaza de las glorias. The odd shaped building in the background is the water company's building. The locals have a funny nickname for it...if you use your imagination I'm sure you can figure it out.

Today was another fabulous day for the beach. The beaches in Barcelona are kind of dirty and PACKED with people, especially on a day like today. We opted to take the train about 15 minutes north of the city, just to get to a cleaner/ less crowded beach. We ended up in Ocata. The beach was definitely cleaner, but not any less crowded, but either way, it was nice to just lay on the sand and soak up some vitamin D.

The crowded beach

I’ve got to work on a paper today (really summer school just kills me), but at 8:45 I will be parked in front of a tv, watching the game. Go Spain!