MichaelOrr.net

Does nobody want free stuff from Spain? Honestly, here is your chance to ask for anything.

The only stipulations:

• Must fit in my suitcase
• I don’t have to take out a loan
• It won’t get me arrested at the border

So, in case anybody cares… I had the timezone settings for the site wrong. Which basically means that all your comments were showing up with the wrong time on them. But I fixed it. Yay! I know that many of you are visiting from all over (7 different countries and 14 US states, in fact) but 50% come from the Eastern Time Zone so EST it is.

P.S. I follow a lot of blogs on a regular basis but one of my favorites by a cool dude named Carlos Whittaker. He has been asked to be a journalist for a pretty sweet invite-only event at Saddleback Church hosted by Rick Warren. He has some awesome perspectives and random fun stuff to say. You should check out his blog at http://www.ragamuffinsoul.com/ (Plus, he works at my church, which makes him just that much cooler)

Today I had two classes: Architecture of Barcelona and City Literacy. In both, we talked a lot about how metropolitan cities grow and consume the space around them, how they grow on top of themselves, and how they reuse and repurpose existing space to meet the changing needs of its constituents. I know I’ve already bored half of you but I actually found the classes extremely interesting. I have a feeling that both classes will be quite difficult but extremely engaging, especially with Barcelona as a backdrop. Barca has a very rich culture and history that has brought it from being an ancient Roman outpost 2000 years ago to the sleek modern European city which has not forgotten its roots. Barca has somehow been able to hang on to its ancient heritage and yet become a growing center of industry, culture and commerce at the same time. Not many cities can claim both.

In between classes I took a short metro ride to Placa d’Espanya to take pictures. In the ~90 minutes I I was there, realized a few things….

1. My camera chews through batteries like crazy (I depleted 2 new AA’s in 90 minutes)
2. I want a camera with a better optical zoom
3. I want to take a class in photographic composition

See the rest of the pictures

It is Sunday night. I have just finished a long day of reading for class. We had crazy amounts of reading to do for both my architecture class and my city literacy class. Mainly they were a survey of Barca history and how the different societal, economical, political and national issues combined to form the diverse city that exists on the Mediterranean coast today. Although there were some interesting things in the articles, they were very dense and there was a lot of it. I’m talking about 160 pages worth! So this afternoon and evening was spent hanging out with some lovely Alphi Chi’s and reading indoors. We took a break for dinner and helado across the street. Delicious. Some people went to a soccer game tonight but we felt like we would at least start the summer off being good students. (We’ll see how long it lasts… if the readings don’t lighten up, not long)

Oh, I did go to my first Catholic mass this morning. It was… interesting. I think I would’ve enjoyed it more if it were in English. I caught a few phrases of the Spanish but the only part that I actually understood was the Lord’s Prayer and communion. I did find a protestant church not too far away that is the remnant of a Methodist outpost from the 1870s. I think I will check it out next Sunday. Hopefully the service is in English. 

Today, Gaby and I went to Figueres, the birthplace of Salvador Dali. Instead of trying to describe this place, I’ll just let the pictures do the talking…

[gmap map:4]

One thing I’ve noticed about European culture is their opinion of beauty. The European stance on beauty is significantly different than that in America. In Europe, there is more freedom of personal expression and individuality. It is funny to think that in America, the land of the free and the home of the brave, we are convinced that acceptance comes from looking and acting a certain way. Admittedly, big cities and urban areas have more diversity than other places in America, but there is still the ‘Abercrombie’ look that is so appealing to upper middle class Americans, which just plain doesn’t exist over here. Sure, there are plenty of people in America who don’t follow the trends but they are looked on as rebels, people who are bucking the trends, as opposed to being looked on as just another person. Here, people wear what they want, fix their hair how they want, they are just themselves and don’t know any other way. Looking at popular American fashion, it is all so monochromatic. I wonder what it is about American culture that makes people feel like they have to ‘fit in’. Or maybe I’m completely wrong and Europeans are in the same situation as us, just with different tastes. Figure out how to leave a comment and let me know your thoughts.

Things to note: I changed the name of this site… I hate the word blog, so I rolled with that thought. I felt bad though since there was no real winner of the contest so I am starting a new contest. It’s an easy one. You tell me something you want from Europe, I pick the coolest thing mentioned and bring it to you. It’s that easy. Oh, and this weekend is going to be neither Madrid nor Picasso. I am taking Saturday to venture out to Figueres and see the Salvador Dali museum. Expect a lot of pictures from there.

I’ve gotten several questions concerning how to post comments here. I admit that it wasn’t very straightforward before so I’ve made a small change that hopefully will help. Now, below each post there is a small link that says ‘Write a Comment’ which …. you guessed it, lets you write a comment. Keep the feedback coming, if there is something you want to see different or changed around here, you can always email me, write a comment, or use the little skribit widget on the right. Go on, click on it, its really cool, I promise.

Yesterday was a great day at the beach. We just relaxed and played soccer in the sand. Of course, right after we stopped playing, some locals came over and totally showed us up. There were even some people playing volleyball with a soccer ball and they were only using their heads and feet. I’ll see if I can take some video of it next time, it was pretty incredible! Today I’ve got two classes and none tomorrow so we will probably be hitting the town again tonight. Turns out Madrid is weekend after next so this weekend has turned into a trip to the Slavador Dali museum in Figueres. I’m really looking forward to that trip! Alright, this has been a boring post but I’ve only got 15 minutes till class and I need to run into the cafe and grab some lunch. Expect a much more interesting post later today.

Morr

Yesterday was the first day of class. The vacation had to end at some point right? Barcelona Leap is basically going to be a crash course in entrepreneurship, then I’m taking 2 architecture classes and a beginner Spanish class. Yesterday I had class from 2-8:30. I know that sounds real late by American standards, but that lets us get back to the residence by 9 so that we can cook for dinner by 10. The only bad thing is that the market closes at 9. Oh, and everything here is on the 24 hour clock, so I finished with school yesterday at 20:30, which sounds so incredibly late.

Luckily though, one of my profs had a problem with his passport and won’t make it here until the end of the week. Which means, no class today! I am looking forward to a day at the beach. We’ve been going full-speed with the touristy stuff and walking around, getting acclimated, and figuring out classes since we got here so today will be a nice relaxation. We going to make a few sandwiches, grab some drinks from the market, and just chill at the beach today.

I’m debating about wether I should go to Madrid this weekend or stay in Barca and check out some of the Picasso stuff around town. What do y’all think? Leave a comment.

Jackhammers. Bleh. Some things don’t change no matter what continent you are on.

It is currently 3:40 AM.

Click on the image for a bigger version and go to phdcomics for more.

Dennis Liu, a digital filmmaker, used his mac as the backdrop for a music video. The song is “Again & Again” by The Bird and The Bee. A great idea, worth checking out below:

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kxDxLAjkO8]