E2 - Catalan, Catalunya, y el Burro (donkey)

Saludos!

My Spanish/Castilian is taking on a life of its own and I find myself cursing in Castilian instead of English now. I guess the transformation is well on its way. I am fitting into this life style effortlessly. And no, I haven't started smokingthat will never happen!

I've been neglecting the picture taking, instead opting for the experience. Most nights go well into the morning and I am very rarely home before 3am. I am meeting some great people, one of whom is my flat mate Marta. She is fantastic, and we get along as if we had known each other for years. A little on her, she is in the Independent film industry and has only been back in Spain for 10 months. Born and raised in Madrid, went to New York 10 years ago and speaks fluent English. With that said, we almost exclusively speak Spanish and she is helping me with my vocabulary. She has opened a completely new world for me here in Barcelona, taking me with her to see films and meeting people in the Spanish/Independent film industry. She gets packages in the mail almost daily containing new documentaries or short films, and I have so much fun watching some of these. Well some more than others, for every gem we watch we've had to endure 2 or 3 pieces of crap. But the same, we enjoy discussing the good and bad in each of them. I just keep lucking out with my living arrangements. Not bad for a Craig's List ad.

On the title of this email... Not sure how much most of you know about the region Barcelona is in. In brief, the region is Catalunya and they have their own language, Catalan. I am learning to understand and read it since everything in the city is in Catalan. I find it to be similar to French, though if I ever said that directly to a Catalan they would take offense. The language according to Catalans pre-dates French.from what I can find, there is question, but it has been in existence since the 8th century. There is an obvious separatist movement in Catalunya, where depending on what Catalan you speak with, they want complete separation from Spain or just more governmental control/representation and varying degrees between the extremes. Some Catalans (the youth in particular) often chant "Puta Espana" directly translated in to "whore Spain" but really means "F*ck Spain." I know for sure I don't care for those sentiments, but I haven't really formed a complete opinion on the discussion, and right now I just enjoy playing devils advocate and trying to understand the bigger picture. The national symbol for Spain is the bull, here in Catalunya you often see a sticker of a donkey on the back of the car (think of the fish many Christians put on their cars in the US) to show they are Catalans. I still feel uninformed on this debate, but I am learning more daily. The whole thing makes me wondercould California be its own country too?

One more thing about this region..they love their "Foc" and no I did not misspell the "F-Word" Foc is fire in Catalan, as in fireworks. So far a lot of my pictures seem to have the night/something burning theme. So here are some of my latest. I was here last summer and took a lot of "typical" tourist pics. They are still available on my msn.space account. For me it has been a lot of really late night pics, or pics of little baby Orlando.

Last weekend I went to a beach, Sant Pol about 45 minutes north of Barcelona, and it was lovely to get out of the city. Marta has a car, which is going to be nice for quick getaways. There is so much to tell about this energetic cityhere it is in list form and in no particular order..

Paella in Barceloneta
Free museums, art and dance exhibitions
Swims in the salty tranquil Mediterranean.
Beach parties until 6am
Cheap beer and great wine
4 languages spoken fluently in any group situation (at least)
Typical weekend meeting-up time is 1:30 am
42 Euro for a monthly transportation passthat's it!
Cooking everyday
Eating "Calamares en su tinta" (Calamari in its inkmmmmmm)
The gratification that comes with making new friends
The ease of living with Marta
Quality time with baby Orlando
People speaking Spanish with different accents
Walking everywhere!
And there is sooooo much more.I can't remember the last time I was this happy.

A little advertisement here. An old friend Matt Carpenter is the Executive Chef at a restaurant in West Hollywood, BIN 8945 www.bin8945.com. The food is fantastic and has Latin American influences. Please check it out if you are craving something creative or just want to eat some good food.

Ok, that is it for now. Feedback is appreciated and the list is now well over 200.

Besos! Chao,

For photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/darwin33