BCEA Students Take a Trip to Morocco

Liz Kiernan, Shannon Green, Anne-Marie McDonnell, Adam Levy and Alison Ledworowski took the opportunity to visit Morroco last weekend. When asked about their experience, they all agreed that it was an amazing experience, unlike what they had expected it to be. Liz and Shannon commented that it was amazing to visit a Muslim country: "we would walk down the street and everyone was staring at us, no matter where we went". For anyone from the occident, the cultural differences are cause to stop and think. Among those differences, of course, is the role that women occupy in society. "Once it dusk came around I didn´t see any women out", commented Shannon. Liz Kiernan with her head of blondish-red hair was met by unmasked curiosity one day on the street when a young woman came up to her to touch her hair. When asked about the highlights of the trip, "Morrocan bath" definitely ranks up there. We were stripped down naked by this old Moroccan women, and then bathed, massaged, flattened, stretched...the whole works", Shannon told me. Another highlight was visiting the Hassan II Mosque, designed by the French architect, Michel Pinceau, and a tribute to King Hassan II. Started in 1980 the mosque was inaugerated in 1993. Situated on the coast looking out over the Atlantic ocean, the mosque has the largest minaret in the world (standing at 210 meters) and is second is size only to the Shah Faisal Mosque near Islambad. It is possibly the only mosque open to non-muslims and is a master piece of marble and fine wood design. The mosque accomodates 25,000 worshippers inside and another 80,000 in the patio area. Definitely a sight to behold. What about the food?? (one of my favorite questions). The gang didn´t have much feedback to give me. Apparently communication was a problem, as the first language is Moroccan, a dialect of Arabic, and the second official language is French, apparently there were some problems communicating at meal times. Interestingly enough, there was a Kentucky Fried Chicken (wooo, menos mal!). When in an unfamiliar place, caution becomes the rule of thumb: our travelers opted for vegetarian meals (although, Morocco has an internationally celebrated cuisine). Summing up the experience, they all agreed that it was an excellent experience and would definitely recommend it.

Trevor Edmunds

Photos of Las Fallas

Las Fallas

Elijah Katz had the unique opportunity to witness la Nit de Foc (la noche de fuego) from an apartment looking out onto a plaza in the city of Valencia. For those of you unfamiliar with Las Fallas, it is an old tradition that takes place each year in Valencia, March 12 - 19, in which each neighborhood of the city proper presents its falla (a satirical representation of a mythological, religious or social charicature), they are judged, and then, one by one, they are burned to the ground in the climatic Nit de Foc. The whole celebration lasts a week, but the height of the festival is the Nit de Foc, when a year´s hard labor and dedication is set ablaze and burns into nothingness within so many minutes. From first-hand accounts, it is an emotionally stirring night. Some people burst into tears upon seeing their beautiful falla burnt to the ground. Others are busy celebrating the night away, attaining new levels of fiestive abandonment. Despite the way in which las fallas is enjoyed, it is cetain to bring A LOT of people to the relatively small and relaxed city of Valencia. Authorities say that the city swelled with as many as 400,000 people for the Nit de Foc alone. 400,000 people. Wow. Seizing the opportunity Elijah Katz caught the train from Barcelona on Friday evening and stayed at a friend´s apartment in Valencia until Monday morning. The following are some photos he took of the weekend he was there. As one can easily see, it´s no wonder that so many people would flock to the city for las fallas, with such beautiful charicatures built through hard work only to be burnt admist a lively celebration; we are reminded perhaps of the beauty that one life time would represent, and the struggles we undergoe to build something beautiful. The best celebrations, I would say, encompasse life´s journey in a symbolic way. Perhaps we don´t see it that way at the time of the festivity, but its meaning is there, always, and therein lies the real celebration.

Trevor Edmunds

Barcelona se pone guapa para la primavera

How does one describe the spring time? Green, fresh, vibrant, perhaps an injection of vitality, inspiration and new direction? Describing spring time, just like describing any other observable thing, is an exercise in painting images with words, the most important medium we actually have. To describe Barcelona entering the spring in all its beauty and energy, I choose to use the analogy of a beautiful woman (and excuse me if my analogy would seem chauvinistic; no intentions to convey my ideas of social roles here, simply an honest statement of that which comes to mind), a woman with a very characteristic look, getting dressed up for a special occasion. Not merely a formality, like the baptism of some distant friend´s kid, but an occasion in which you want to dress up and feel beautiful, and not to show-off or to demonstrate something to someone, but simply because you feel it in that moment. March 21 is the official start of spring and it actually really did feel like spring on Tuesday in the city: bright sunshine, clear blue skies and the best thing of all, a visible difference in the people out on the streets. In spring time people have more of a bounce in their step, they smile more and they take more time to look up at you and greet you with a friendly, "hola!". Definitely buen rollo, as they like to say around here. And as spring is an injection of freshly initiated movement, ideas and projects, people begin "warming-up" for summer, becoming more active and "getting in shape", and even formulating plans for summer which is right around the corner. Posted are a few shots of the city. I don´t know that they will convey the fact that it´s spring again in Barcelona, but I hope they at least give the impetus to attempt to imagine how things might be in a foreign city in one of the more vibrant times of the year.

Trevor Edmunds

Photos of the Montserrat Excursion

A Day in Montserrat

Climbing the mountain in our bus on the winding mountain trail up to Montserrat, the sky was grey and overcast. The views of the mountain ranges to the north and the plains to the south were vast, very vast: they made you feel like a small part of existence, a drop in the bucket, albeit a beautiful bucket at that. I love going up to Montserrat, but then again I love visiting any natural beauty in nature. I gives me a sense of peace and inner fullness, which can be difficult to maintain living in the city. And although I´m not a religious type, there is something holy about the location of the basílica, nestled inbetween imposing yet harmoniously formed rock walls, and visiting the Black Madonna (the first time I touched her I swear I felt a jolt beginning at the tips of my fingers, running up through my arm). When we got off the bus we were met by cold, several degrees colder than in Barcelona. We proceeded to visit the Basílica de Montserrat, the Black Madonna, and then we took the funicular to the surrounding foothills, which was taking one step closer to nature: the surrounding foothills and chaparrel were shrouded in mist, much like the history of the Christian monks and ascetics who habitated cave dwellings and mountain hermitages in the area. We walked back down the mountain, back to what is known as Montserrat, taking in vast views of the countryside and the town of Monistrol down below. The views were picturesque like a series of postcards. By then the sun had come out of hiding behind the clouds and our spirits definitely reflected this. After arriving to the plaza of the basílica once again, and having a short break, we entered the Basilica at 12:45 and watched the boy´s choir come out and sing the traditional devotional song to the Black Virgin, followed by another devotional song. Lunch, time to relax, the Museum of Montserrat (which has a pretty impressive collection of paintings from a variety of artists and archaeological relics) and we were on the bus by 4:30 pm, making the descent back to the city, back to civilization and back to the "reality" of our busy lives. It seems fitting that a monastic community and basilica, majestic in its own right, would be located at the top of a mountain with civilization below; it would seem to reflect the intentions of the people who started Montserrat and the ideas that lie behind any such religious/spiritual monument. Regardless of spirituality, it was an enculturing experience and a very pleasant break from the business of Barcelona.

Trevor Edmunds

Carnaval Photos

Rio de Janeiro is for wimps!

Sitges is for real Carnaval party goers! ARRGGHHH! All right, all right, we won´t over do it here, but we must give credit where credit is due. It´s true that Sitges, a small picturesque beach community right south of Barcelona, isn´t by any means a Rio de Janeiro style hotspot, but it does have a formidable Carnaval scene. The biggest night is usually the last Tuesday night in the month of Febuary, and the following Wednesday is the biggest day, but let´s talk about Tuesday night. Since Wednesday was like a ghost town here, at BCEA, I gathered pretty quickly that a lot of students must have taken part in the festivities Tuesday night. I definitely enjoy a good celebration, and I would´ve liked to have gone, but as I had to work early Wednesday morning, there was no way that I was going out for Carnaval, in Sitges, Tuesday night. 27 years old and over the hill? Perhaps just a terrible lack of dedication on my part. Ah, whatever, I need my sleep. Besides, I comfort myself, there is always next year. For many students abroad for the semester, or the year for that matter, there is no next year, and there is no time like the present, and so, the famous carnaval celebration in Sitges is an event not to be missed. It makes sense, too...or at least to me it does. It is a theme that I have dealt with before, the fact that study abroad students live their experience the most completely, sincerely and intensely possible. It is a question of time and the uniqueness of the opportunity when presented. As it turned out, many students at BCEA seized on the opportunity and went south to Sitges Tuesday night. Adam Levy from Florida Atlantic University, a student with an upbeat, direct and energetic disposition, strolled on into the center Wednesday (after Carnaval Tuesday night), with some pretty meaningful bags underneath his eyes.

-Adam, what the heck happened to you??, I asked surprised to see him like that.

He just sort of grinned and muttered,-Carnaval was really fun.

Hmm, right. Clearly Adam wasn´t in the frame of mind to answer my questions and so I didn´t press the subject. I then talked to Shannon Green, from Lake Forest College, what she thought of Carnaval when she told me that she had gone.

-It was great! It was such a cool atmosphere, with kids, grandparents, parents, college students...just a big mix and everyone was having so much fun! It was the first big street celebration I´d ever been to and I was like, wow, I feel so safe...and the energy is so positive! It was great.

So, dancing, costume parades, imaginative booths and floats...all the typical things of Carnaval and any good celebration, for that matter. I think next year, work or no work, rain or shine, I´ll have to go and check it out. Complacency, be gone! Posted are some photos from Adam and Shannon.

Trevor Edmunds

Elijah´s pictures of Switzerland, cont´d

Elijah and friends, Grafitti in Zurich, and a shot of the Swiss country side.

Students on the move at BCEA

It never ceases to amaze me the number of trips a given student will do in a semester´s time while studying in Barcelona. I swear, EVERY weekend it seems like they´re off to a new destination, and I completely understand their anxiety to travel: with a limited time in Europe it´s only logical that they would want to take advantage of every opportunity they have available. Actually, as Student Services Coordinator, I must admit that I do live just a little vicariously through their adventures, related through the detailed stories they tell upon return to Barcelona (which almost always happens on Monday, which is great for me because I have all kinds of work to do, and Mondays can be a bit rough, and so they give me a nice dose of travel alegría). Let´s see if I can give a little sampling of BCEA student movement: the Heiniken Beer Museum outside of Amsterdam, extreme adventure sports in Interlocken, La Alhambra Moorish Castle Fortress in Granada, people-watching and cafe-drinking in Paris, the bustling activity of Dublin, posh night clubs in London, the Holocast Museum in Munich, the Leather Market in Florence, and the list could go on. Low-cost continental airline companies in Europe and university students itching to see the world...what else would one expect? Nevertheless, I am impressed by the enthusiasm and commitment I see for strapping on a back-pack and heading to new and distinct places throughout Europe.
The following photos are from BCEA student, Elijah Katz, who went to visit a friend in Switzerland last weekend. Elijah stayed in a small farm house above a small provincial town called Kublis, and took advantage of the fabulous skiing of the region. According to Elijah the skiing is great: there is an intricate set of lifts throughout the entire region, as opposed to a designated area of lifts that one would usually find with skii resorts in the US. For approximately $35 you can ski all day. Besides skiing, Elijah explored Zurich, which features some pretty formidable graffiti, among other attractions.

Trevor Edmunds