Economics & Culture, Spring 2013, Issue III

“Jamming with My Family”

  Athena, George Washington University student, submitted this picture to CIEE Barcelona's Photo Contest that is held every semester. She aptly titled it “Jamming with my Family” and the picture won for the category “Host Family Ties.”  Athena mentioned that she felt very blessed to have had such a great “match” with her host family.  In her housing questionnaire she stated that she played the piano and would love to be with a family who was also “musically inclined”.  To her pleasant surprise, everyone in her Spanish family plays an instrument and they frequently practiced together.  “I am at a beginner´s level with my Spanish and often at times I found it difficult to communicate with my host mother and sisters.  However when we played together, there was definite mutual understanding about what we wanted to convey” explained Athena.

You can see more photos from this semester's photo contest here on our facebook page! Don't forget to "like" us to keep on top of events and activities at the study center.

EC Farewell Luncheon

EC students celebrated their departure with a good-bye luncheon with fellow CIEE students from other study programs (Architecture and Design; Liberal Arts; and Language and Culture) as well as their professors, “guardian angels” and other staff members.  During the meal, many stories were shared, such as when the students had all their first met during the Orientation, about how their homestay/residence experiences had developed over the semester, as well as the many memories that they shared during their weekend trip with CIEE or when they had ventured out on their own.  The “guardian angels” made note of how many students had improved on their language skills and how some seemed like a native “barcelonian”. 

It was wonderful to note how many of the students had already made plans to keep in touch, not only back at their own home school starting in the Fall, but already for this summer.  For example, there were three student who planned on meeting up in San Francisco, one on lives near there, and the other two, both students from George Washington University, who will be there doing an internship.  

 

Cuando la vida te de limones mientras que se lleva tus calçots

Name: Jasmyn
CIEE Barcelona Program: Liberal Arts
Semester: Spring 2013
Home School: Cornell University

Lo que quería hacer era dar un paseo por una hora y media y luego comer una comida deliciosa llena de carnes y calçots, un tipo de cebolla de verdeo. Calçotada, un plato tradicional de Cataluña, se compone de calçots asados en salsa romesco, supuestamente la mejor parte. Junto con esto, íbamos a consumir barbacoa, que escuché fue absolutamente delicioso.

Por ahora, te has probablemente dado cuenta de que, en realidad, no llegue a ir en esta caminata o comer los calçots. No, en cambio yo, junto con mi compañera, nos perdimos, y el grupo se fue sin nosotras. Me gustaría usar este momento a darles una pieza de consejo: siempre cuando tengas que reunirse con alguien o llegar a una cita a tiempo, no pruebes a ir de una nuevo modo. Intentamos tomar un autobús que nunca habíamos tomado, en lugar de tomar el metro que conocemos y amamos. Entonces estuvimos perdidas y confundidas. Por supuesto, llegamos donde habíamos necesitado estar, Tibidabo, después de todo el mundo ya se había ido.

En este momento, tuvimos dos decisiones. Regresar a casa y estar triste por un rato, o seguir. Decidimos a seguir. Subimos Tibidabo por un rato, y cuando empezó a llover y hacer frío, salimos. Después, mientras que andamos hacia la casa, encontramos un señal que dijo: Museo de Ciencia. Decidimos a seguir este señal, y estoy tan contenta que hicimos. Era el mejor museo que he visitado en toda mi vida. Estuvimos allí por tres horas y todavía no vimos todo. Me encanta la ciencia, y me encantó este museo, especialmente porque puedes tocar y jugar con casi todos las exhibiciones. Me dí cuenta de que, si bien no había tomado mis calçots, tuve un gran día con mi compañera y me disfruté muchísimo. Así que, es verdad lo que la gente dice, cuando la vida te de limones, puedes llorar y sentir triste, o puedes aceptarlos y hacer lo que puedes para mejorar la situación.

My wonderful host family

Name: Julia
CIEE Barcelona Program: Business & Culture
Semester: Spring 2013
Home School: Bradley University

I can’t imagine a better four months abroad than with my lovely host family, Sol y José. It might be scary at first to dive into living with a family that you have never met before in your life and know that you will be spending the next four months with them, but it couldn’t have been more opposite of a reaction for me. I was more excited than ever to meet them, and go to the place that I would call home in Barcelona. CIEE does such a good job of picking families that are warm and hospitable. You expose yourself to more Barcelona culture when you’re living with a Catalan family.

My host family lives in the Sants area, a great residential district with such nice people. My family in particular is so helpful with my intermediate speaking abilities. They would accommodate their speaking for me by always speak Spanish instead of Catalan.

     My host brother, José is proficient in English as well, so whenever Sol and I would get lost in translation, he would always help out. Along with the great food I would come home to for dinner, the laundry that was done every week for me, I also received so much more love and appreciation for this place. I got to know their extended family the first weekend during Los Reyes Magos. Not only have I developed a love for fútbol and Barça from the atmosphere here, but also, at 13 years old José is an excellent fútbol player here. His love for the sport has been quite contagious this semester. I’m a proud supporter of FCB now! My host mom, Sol, and I always have a fun time singing around the house and watching movies. The three of us also like to take part in watching Spanish reality shows like Frank de la Jungla and Gandia Shore. My Spanish has skills have tremendously improved from being exposed to Spanish TV as well as having deep conversations …as well as some silly ones …with Sol and José.

    I will miss this family dearly when the time comes for me to leave. But it’s not adios, but hasta luego; because I know that one day I will return to Barcelona and reunite with them.

Parc de la ciutadella

Name: Sam
CIEE Barcelona Program: Business & Culture
Semester: Spring 2013
Home School: University of Wisconsin - Madison School of Business

I thought I would write a blog post about Parc de la ciutadella for those of you still may not have discovered this gem. As you may have noticed on your walk to ESCI or just passed by on it a stroll the gorgeous park, there is a large fountain in northern corner. This amazing fountain is called Font de la Cascada. If you have not seen it I highly encourage you to go. It may not be one of the most famous attractions in Barcelona, but it is certainly, in my book, a must see. There are always tourists and even locals taking pictures here. An interesting fact this fountain is that it was loosely designed to resemble the Trevi Fountain (in Rome).

  Another area of the park is the beautiful lake. There really isn't too much to the lake besides the fact that it is very romantic. When the weather is nice there are row boats on the lake that the public can rent. This appears to be a very popular thing to do for young couples. If you are looking for a fun thing to do, renting a boat on this lake could be an option.

One more interesting thing on the edge of the park is the Barcelona Zoo. At one time the zoo was internationally known as the home of Snowflake, the only known albino gorilla. Admission into the zoo costs about 19.60 Euros, but it is very worth it. The zoo is pretty big and has quite an extensive collection of animals so you should give yourself at least an hour to walk around the entire thing. A few other interesting things about the zoo are that is was founded in 1892 by the mayor of Barcelona at the time. In the 1960's the zoo was positioned as a state of the art facility because it housed the first dolphinarium in Europe. Finally, in 1980, the zoo gradually joins international organizations in protecting nature.

the beauty that lies between the sea and the mountains

Name: Lauren
CIEE Barcelona Program: Business & Culture
Semester: Spring 2013
Home School: Indiana University

As my days here in Barcelona are winding down, I am really starting to realize all the things I still have to do as well as all the amazing places I have already been to and seen. After being to Barcelona for my third time, I believe that through the courses I have taken this semester here, I have truly come to appreciate the real culture and beauty that lies between the sea and the mountains. The city has so more than enough to offer its people and visitors. After, making some unforgettable weekend trips these past couple of months, there has never been a time that I wasn’t ready to come home to Barcelona by Sunday night. I think Barcelona is such a great place, a simply enjoyable one at best.

I must say, my favorite days have not so much been sightseeing, but more or less wandering through the city and finding its hidden gems. Whether those be tiny stores in alleyways, restaurants in a secret plaza, candy stores, cafes etc. They all contribute to Barcelona as the icon and brand that it has developed itself into today, particularly since the 1992 Olympics. It has been fun being able to immerse ourselves into the local parts of the city and act like residents for a day, instead of just the temporary ones we are. Plus, the weather is always a motivation spend the day outside doing fun activities like walking around or hanging out at the beach. The sunsets are the best! Overall, I can’t imagine myself going home so soon and I will definitely miss Barcelona back in frigid Wisconsin!

Business & Culture, Spring 2013, Issue III

The Talented Side of Business + Culture

This semester CIEE offered Kevin, from the University of Vermont, the opportunity to take some Flamenco guitar classes during his time here in Barcelona with a local teacher, David. After lots of practice, we all enjoyed a surprise performance at the Farewell Party where Kevin, together with our fantastic receptionist Elena and his teacher David, performed a typical “Rumba Catalana” song. Kevin and his teacher, David had clearly become close over the semester. David was so moved by Kevin’s effort and connection to the music, he decided to give him the Spanish guitar that Kevin had been using to practice with! Talk about a great souvenir! Below, you can see a small part of their performance, Kevin is in the middle with his teacher David (right) and our staff member Elena (left) singing. Olé!

                          

MANGO Company Visit

Ferran Macipe (top right) with his students from The Capitalist System: A critical Review, in front of the MANGO headquarters outside of Barcelona.

Ferran headed out of the classroom with is students for a hands-on visit to MANGO, learning about everything from the environmental friendly supply chain to the impact of the company within the international environment. MANGO’s first store was built in 1984 on Passeig de Gracia (Barcelona) and now has over 1200 stores in 102 countries.  They were the first Catalan clothing line to start shopping online in 2000. 

Barcelona as a Brand

Business + Culture students not only learned about the famous brand names around Barcelona and Catalunya, but discovered that Barcelona itself is a brand.  This semester almost half of the BC students enrolled in our Branding and Cultural Icons: the Case of Barcelona where they learned the importance of FC Barcelona and Josep Guardiola, El Bulli and Ferran Adrià, the Barcelona skyline, Catalan fashion and the representation of the city in the movies as forming Barcelona as a brand.  Cristina from Babson College says, “Through Barça, gastronomy, and art I have seen how proud people are to be from Barcelona, and could not be happier about my choice to study abroad here for five months.” Read more about Cristina’s experience and others like her in the Branding and Cultural Icons class in this blog post.

All Good Things Must Come to an End

Professors, staff, and students gathered in the picturesque Placa Real to say our goodbyes, share our experiences and eat one last Spanish lunch all together at Les Quinzenits restaurant.

Students had the time to reflect on their four months in Barcelona and when asked about her experience and advice to future students, Carly from Bradley University said: “I now look back at who I was as a person 4 months ago- a closed-minded, scared girl who wasn't able to look and see the big picture of things. My eyes were opened up to such a bigger world out there, and taught me how to appreciate the small things of the other place that I call my home. This experience have been the most trying of my life, full of trepidation, questions, fear, love, passion for life, new beginnings, and more.. But I wouldn't trade it for anything. The only big thing I regret is not grabbing the opportunity by the reigns and riding full force from the very beginning. To anyone traveling abroad here: don't be afraid to feel the way that I did. It is okay, just learn from my mistake and soak up every ounce of what you can while you are here. Travel to every single place you want to, try every new thing that you can, and start living life to the fullest here, because you will never have this chance again. Just live, love, and enjoy.” Read more about Carly’s experience (with some great photos) in her blog post.

Liberal Arts, Spring 2013, Issue III

RE-ENTRY WORKSHOP

The last day of the semester, LA students participated in the Re-entry Workshop, a session dedicated to reflect on their experience studying abroad in Barcelona, to understand the re-entry process and challenges, to learn strategies for adjustment and ways to stay globally engaged and how to incorporate their experiences into their daily lives. One of the activities consisted in sharing their best memory of the semester while forming a web between them, symbolizing their interconnection. Some of the best memories of our students shared were related to their experiences living with a host family, their volunteer work, and travelling.

VOLUNTEERING AT ESCOLA MONTSENY

This semester, four students volunteered and one completed an internship at a local school, Escola Montseny. Students worked as English teaching assistants helping with oral practice and communication skills. Lauren, from Providence College wrote on our blog, “I loved the time I spent with students at the school  and I was looking forward to that time each week. The professors were very nice and they took care of students. I had a lot of fun but I also learned a lot. Students helped me with my Spanish and I helped them with their English as we all learned about our cultures.”  You can read more in her blog post here.

PICNIC AT LABYRINTH PARK

The last activity with our Quijotes students was a picnic at the Labyrinth Park in Barcelona. Students enjoyed it a lot; they shared their experiences, talked in Spanish, got lost in the labyrinth and wondered around some cascades, fountains and a forest.

“Reasons to love Barcelona” is the title of a blog post by Lucia from Washington University. She writes: “My favorite moments have been things I never considered before coming, such as walking alone in the city, make connections with people from my program, and the deep conversations at the dinner table with my Spanish host family. I have grown a lot with this experience and the lessons will be with me the rest of my life. Barcelona always will have a special place in my heart”. You can read more of Lucia's post here.

escuela montseny

Name: Lauren
CIEE Barcelona Program: Liberal Arts
Semester: Spring 2013
Home School: Providence College

Mientras estuve en Barcelona, me ofrecí como voluntaria a una escuela pública llamada Montseny.  Fui allí una vez a la semana y ayudé con el programa de actividades extraescolares.  Me encantó el tiempo que tuve para estar con los estudiantes allí y lo esperaba que todas las semanas.  También, los profesores eran muy agradables y cuidaban mucho a los estudiantes. Me divertí un montón en el Montseny, pero también aprendí mucho.  Los estudiantes me ayudaron con mi español, yo les ayudé con su inglés, y  todos aprendimos sobre nuestras culturas.  Mi parte favorita de trabajar en Montseny fue que me puse a trabajar con los estudiantes jóvenes y mayores.

Los niños más pequeños con los que trabajé tenían unos 7-10 años de edad.  Eran muy divertidos y siempre reían..  Me quedé muy impresionada de lo bien que hablan inglés.  También, todos los estudiantes hablaban tres o cuatro idiomas.  Los niños siempre me preguntaban acerca de las tradiciones en los EE.UU. y también me contaban acerca de las tradiciones de España.  Fue interesante para mí comparar las dos culturas y ver lo diferentes que son. A una niña le encantó la historia de la tradición del Conejo de Pascua en los EE.UU..  En general, fue muy interesante ver cómo los niños de otro país crecen, y lo diferente que es de cómo yo crecí. 

Otra gran parte del voluntariado fue que me puse a trabajar con los estudiantes de la misma edad que yo.  De hecho, muchos de los estudiantes fueron a la misma universidad que yo en Barcelona.  Por lo tanto, tuve la oportunidad de relacionarme con estos estudiantes socialmente y académicamente.  Me dijeron un montón de cosas que hacer en Barcelona, ​​y yo les hablé de mi vida en mi universidad en los EE.UU..  Los estudiantes no podían creer que los estudiantes universitarios en los EE.UU. viven por su cuenta, y yo no podía creer que vivían con sus padres.  Además, fue interesante para mí aprender acerca de la vida en sus casas y con sus familias.  Por ejemplo, la mayoría de los estudiantes con los que hablé bastante hablaban una lengua con uno de los padres, y un idioma diferente con su otro progenitor.

En general, me encantó la experiencia de voluntariado en Montseny.  Los estudiantes y los profesores fueron geniales e inolvidables.  Todos estaban muy agradecidos de que yo viniera cada semana, aunque no pensé en ello como una carga.  En la escuela Montseny he aprendido mucho acerca de la parte académica y de la cultura en España y esto fue sin duda una de mis partes favoritas de mi tiempo en Barcelona.

Language & Culture, Spring 2013, Issue III

The Language & Culture students at the CIEE study center with Resident Director, Marilena de Chiara

More Than A Club

“I find myself in the largest stadium in Europe. A tad fewer than 100,000 people are in the stands, getting ready for history. There’s no feeling like it. Before this trip to Barcelona, I didn’t even care much for football (soccer). This amazing city hosts FC Barcelona, the football team widely regarded to be the best in the world. The night before the game, I managed to find a ticket to “El Clásico”, the most important football game in Spain. This match between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona is much more than another football match. The teams lay everything out on the table and refuse to lose to each other…” This is how Harsh, from Rutgers University, began his blog post, explaining his luck at seeing a Barça Madrid game from the famous Camp Nou stadium.

This semester students have spent time in classes and in the streets talking about Spain’s current political situation. They’ve met people that want Catalonia to be independent, some who want to remain united with Spain, and in their politics class they have discussed what the reproductions could be in both situations. As part of the LC seminar, we included a talk by professor Toni Raja, who compared the desire to Catalan Independence to other movements that happened throughout Europe over the past 500 years, and showing how the continent has been politically divided over time.

Nowhere are feelings of independence more obvious than in the Camp Nou stadium on a match against Madrid. The games are fueled by a century of rivalry as well as the political sentiments behind it. As the team slogan says, FCB is “Mes que un club” (More than a club) and it does mean more to millions of fans. Harsh’s experience, backed with the knowledge he has learned through his classes and discussions, is a great way to appreciate fully what this really means.

You can read the rest of Harsh’s post here: http://study-abroad-blog-barcelona.ciee.org/2013/03/el-cl%C3%A1sico.html

How we’ve changed

Students share their favorite memories at the Re-entry Workshop

The LC seminar is meant to help students gain a deeper understanding of the culture they are visiting. Throughout the semester we have had a talk on politics, on local music, on tensions and stereotypes about this part of Spain vs other regions, and had time to reflect on and share experiences.

In the last session, the “re-entry workshop,” students had a chance to reflect on their time and to remember the moments (both good and bad) that made this an unforgettable experience. They identified and learned how to explain the ways that they’ve changed and matured (avoiding the “study abroad changed my life” phrase used all too often), and how they can include their new skills in job interviews and resumes in the future. We also discussed the cultural and physical challenges of returning home after study abroad and tips for how to overcome these.

Amun, from University of California, reads the letter she wrote to herself when she first arrived in Barcelona.

One of the best parts of the seminar is when students get back a letter they wrote to themselves on the first day of their program, 4 months ago. Most of them wrote the letter in Spanish and were able to see how much they had improved. Others laughed at what they had described as their “biggest fears” about study abroad. “I wrote that I was nervous about living with a host family and now I am so sad to be leaving them,” said Kate from Vanderbilt University, “It feels like someone else wrote this.”

One day

A poem written for our Spring LC students from Resident Director, Marilena de Chiara:

One day you wake up.
The sun is shining on your Barcelona.
Sun and light, trees and shadows, Mediterranean blue.
Colors and flavors right deep inside you.

Together with words: new words, real words, enchanting words.
Words translating your feeling, your senses, yourself.
Parpadeando, admirando, explorando.
Te encanta: this Spanish language you made your own.Then you walk and walk and think.
While thinking, you sing and sing and see.

You see history: Barcino, the Gothic quarter, the Medieval past. Then the Eixample, two International Exhibitions, Gràcia and Raval.
You see art: Gaudí, Picasso, Miró.
You see people: from here, from there, from everywhere.
You see food: Boquería, Santa Caterina, pan con tomate y crema catalana.
Saboreando.
In class you read, you listen, you learn: politics, elections, Spanish art and literature, poetry and metaphors, between tolerance and conflicts, social movements and contemporary media.
Language and culture.

In Barcelona, beyond Barcelona.
History and nature, Besalú and Montserrat.
Las Meninas and Guernica, art and war, streets and squares, Puerta del Sol: the same sun opening the doors of Madrid.
Viajando.
Compartiendo: thoughts, feelings, experiences.
In a seminar session, on a walking tour, in a cooking class, volunteering at the high school, looking your Intercambio partner in the eyes, having dinner with your host family, travelling with your friends.

And then you go back home (your home away from home), you close your eyes and smile.
And when you smile you breath and breath.
Picturing that day in your mind.
The moon is shining on your Barcelona.

One day.
Just one CIEE Barcelona day.
Your day.
Today.
Every day.

Just another day in Barcelona. Photo by Dina, from Northeastern University on a CIEE day trip. For more photos student's submitted to the photo contest, click here.

Architecture & Design, Spring 2013, Issue III

COMPOSITION IV: ESARQ PROJECTS PRESENTATION

The end of Spring term is already here and the students are finishing their projects for the semester. The students who took a class in the ESARQ host university had the final presentations of their projects for “Composition IV”. In pairs, they were asked to analyze a recently constructed building in Barcelona and sumarize it into the one main characteristic that defines the entire building. The students worked with sites like the Forum, the reform of Picornell Swimming Pool and the City of Justice by Chipperfield as the basis for their projects.

The students presented their completed projects and a 20x30 cm model and accompanying panel to explain their work to the jury, other students and the general public (it was an open house day at ESARQ). The jury gave feedback and graded the students on the quality of their presentation and their ability to identify and synthesize their project around a central theme.

CONFERENCE: FROM VANCOUVER TO BARCELONA

The AAAB (Agencia de Apoyo a la Arquitectura de Barcelona) and CIEE joined forces to organize a conference contrasting two of the most well know urban planning models of recent years: Barcelona and Vancouver. Rafael Gómez-Moriana, one of our Architecture Studio professors, moderated the discussion. The guest speakers were Dr. Trevor Boddy, from Vancouver, who explained his personal perspective on “Vancouverism” and “hybrid cities” and Dr. Francesc Muñoz from the UAB (Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona), who explained the most recent developments in urban planning in Barcelona and recent themes of "urbanization."

The students attending the conference were able to learn more about how these cities have grown and how a city can incorporate its personal image, brand and values into its structure. The guest speakers explained the complexity and variety of factors that come into the expansion and reconstruction of a contemporary city. It was great to have experts able to explain these themes using their first hand experience in cities so historically and geographically diverse!

MEETING LOCALS

Students have made an effort to get out of the "American Bubble" to meet locals and get involved in the daily life of the city. Abby, from Kenyon College, recently told us how she befrended Zalma, a student from Barcelona that goes to Elisava (one of our host institutions). Abby had joined an international student orientation at Elisava where she was introduced to some local students.

During her time in Barcelona, Abby, Zalma and their group of friends from Elisava have been getting together often to “make dinner together using recipes from our different homes.” Zalma invited them to her house for a Spanish night and they all made food together there together.

Now that it is almost time to leave, Abby and Zalma know for sure that they will keep in touch over the internet, using the social networks but that, unfortunately, they will have to wait awhile before they will be able to cook together again.