Gaudí Afternoon

Thursday morning was a bus tour of Barcelona arranged by the school. It was interesting and informative since the guide was the same guy who gave the lecture on the sociopolitical history of modern Spain and who was also a cultural volunteer during the 1992 Olympics. We toured through Gaudi's Parc Güell and around Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia. Things I learned: 1) Gaudi was one of the first artists to use mosaics because it was easier to use broken tile to conform to his extensive use of undulating shapes; 2) It is expiatory, or atonement, because Sagrada Familia is financed largely through public funds with the idea that visitors atone for their sins with the admission. This also explains why it will probably never be completed.

Then we drove to San Sebastián (Donostia), a beach town in northern Spain near the Pyrénées, and Pamplona (Iruña), home of the bull run (San Fermin). Getting there was quite an adventure. There were about 12 of us that went and we thought that we could get an automatic but that turned out not to be the case. Only one girl in my car drove since the 2 Chinese exchange students didn't bring their licenses and I can't drive manual. So the Chinese girl offers to drive later in the trip but reveals, once we're on the road, that she's "slightly" near sighted and didn't bring her glasses. She continues to reassure us that, however, she can see large objects like cars. She illustrates this by weaving in and out of lanes after the other American girl suggests that she stick to driving in one lane. So we ask the Chinese guy to drive and he alternates between 80 and 140 km/hr. When we suggest that he try to maintain a constant speed, he shares that this is his first time driving on the highway. We actually spent the night in Pamplona because it took so long to get there but it took us forever to find the hotel because the street it's on was closed for renovations and we kept passing it. We walked the route of the bull run the next morning before leaving for San Sebastián.

The drive there is absolutely beautiful but I won't bore you with those pictures or the ones of San Sebastián, which is also gorgeous and very French, architecture-wise. We ate tapas and drank, climbed a small mountain, danced, walked on the beach, and saw Lonely Hearts at the San Sebastián Film Festival. It stars James Gandolifini, John Travolta, Salma Hayek, and Jared Leto and is based on a true story about a couple who defraud and murder rich, lonely women through the personals. I couldn't make up my mind if I hated it or liked it but it will also show at the Tribeca Film Festival if you're interested in seeing it. The last night, we lined up on the red carpet to possibly see celebs. We only saw Spanish films stars who we didn't recognize (does Juan Diego ring a bell for anyone?) and not Clive Owen, who was there earlier in the week. The saving grace was that we had a full-on view of the hottest cop we had ever seen (dimples and cleft chin).

Spending so much time with 12 strangers was enlightening. The group of 8, who's already very exclusive and hooking up and partying. The couple consisting of a Australian guy who I wasn't sure was listening to parts of the conversation that he wasn't actively engaged in and his Asian girlfriend who deferred everything to him (eg, he has a cellphone so she doesn't need one). The Chinese exchange students who took pictures of everything and went to bed early. The guy from Hong Kong who's very nice but warned us that he talks a lot (about himself, his MBA program, and Outward Bound). I got along best with the other American girl, who unfortunately doesn't drink. Period. However, she did agree that the other girls in this MBA program are not the friendliest.

I highly recommend San Sebastián as it is close to Pamplona, Bilbao, and also Biarritz. The holiday was great but horrible since I think I gained back the weight I lost. In addition to tapas, the Spainards are crazy for pastries and ice cream. You can't go anywhere without seeing a dozen pastry shops and ice cream machines/stores. I also did a lot of shopping for gifts and was proud to be able to get by on what little Spanish I know and to navigate through Spain. Luckily, the people in Basque, Aragon, and Navarra speak more Spanish than the people in Catalunya. Following are pictures, with a little something for everyone: first for Mark, second for the manongs, and third for the ladies (sorry, Mark).











Last night when we got back, we celebrated the Chinese girl's birthday with some other exchange students and today I had a full day of classes (9-6). 3 hours each of China/India and Capturing Customer Preferences. The professor for China/India is supersmart and really young. He's an economist who taught at Cambridge, worked at the UN and World Bank, and spent some time at Stanford. He uses words like hegemonic and I feel a little smart because I know what that means. The school is much easier academically (knock on wood) and the format seems to be in-class lecture/reading, small groups to discuss, coffee break, class discussion. Much less in terms of deliverables and only 2 exams and 2 projects for the 8 classes I'm taking. I also took a Spanish test (written and oral) for which I was not at all qualified (such hubris after a 2-month class of which I skipped a quarter of the classes). But it was still better than having to actually attend a 2-hour Spanish class like I'll have to do from now on. Then, I went to a presentation where I realized that I really don't want to work for that company and freaked out about (not) finding a job. But I felt better after having dinner with my roommates and tomorrow I only have Spanish, which leaves the rest of the day to join a gym and do some actual work.