Fort Pienc Neighborhood

The neighborhood I have lived in for the past 4 months is called Fort Pienc. I have loved the location of our residencia. Everything that I have needed I could walk five minutes from my apartment and get it.

I live in a place called Onix Residencia with students from around the world and some from Spain. It is a very nice place. Each room has a kitchen and bathroom and study area. There is also a pool on the roof with a great view of the city. One nice thing about this place is that if you have guests come visit they can pay for a room and stay in the same building as you. Every Friday our room gets cleaned and we get new sheets and towels. The only bad thing about this place is the price of laundry. To wash and dry a load of clothes it is 5 euros. For the most part the staff is very kind and helpful.

Attached to my building is the community library, market, grocery store and elementary school. From what I have noticed the library is a great place for older people and very young children. During the colder months, the seats and couches will be filled with elderly people reading their papers and chatting to eachother. There is also a childrens room where they read and play educational games. My favorite part about our library is the terrace on the second floor. Here you can take a book or do your homework on a balcony and get fresh air.

The Mercat de Fort Pienc is also attached to our residencia and is a great place to get fresh food. It is one of the newest markets in all of Barcelona. It was built in 2003 because before people had to go very far to get to the nearest market. There are fifteen stands selling fresh fish, vegetables, fruits, meats etc. There is also a little cafe where you can get a sandwhich, soup and a drink. I don't go to our market often, except to get fresh vegetables. One of the unique things about this market is it has a delivery service for people who cannot go out and buy their own groceries.

The supermarket called "Mercadona" is located under the market. Here they have a great selection of beer and liqour. This is also where I have spent the most money in Barcelona. I pretty much buy all of my groceries here. I have probably bought over 300 euros worth of chicken, pasta, tuna and cheese.

There are two very famous places in my neighborhood. The first is the Arc de Triumf. This is a huge arc built in the middle of the neighborhood by Josep Vilaseca i Casanovas. He built it for the Universal Exhibition in 1888. It served as the exhibition's main access gate. The arc is a moorish style and features art by Torquat Tasso and Antoni Vilanova. On the front of this monument it reads in Catalan "Barcelona Welcomes Nations". Today, the arc serves as a meeting point for people. Many young people will bike or skateboard around the monument.

Another place in Fort Pienc that is very famous is Parc de la Ciutadella. This is at located at the bottom street of the Arc de Triumf. This park was the designated site of the 1888 Universal Exhibition. It was converted to a park in 1872. Now adays, this park is Barcelona's most central park and includes a zoo, lake, large fountain and several museums. The Catalan Parliament is also located in the center of the park.

The hospital for our neighborhood is Hospital Sant Pau. It is also one of the most famous buildings in the city. This amazing building was constructed between 1901 and 1930. It was designed by Lluis Domenech Montaner. This was the largest project built in the Catalan modernism period. It is located up the street from Sagrada Familia. Thankfully I have not had to visit this place as a patient yet.

Across the street from our residencia also contains a sporting complex with basketball courts and soccer fields. At all hours of the day there are games going on. Leagues for all ages are available. It really accomodates everyone in the neighborhood who are looking to get good excercise.

This neighborhood is ideal for someone who is studying abroad. It is a 10 minute walk to the beach and also a 10 minute walk to school. This saves a lot of time and money from taking the metro or taxis. Being able to walk downstairs to get your groceries and beer is one of the most convenient things ever.

Field Trip to Raval

The last field trip was to Raval neighborhood. Raval means "Neighborhood of the Harbor". This is located on the right side of La Rambla. We learned that this is a newly renovated area of Barcelona. It used to be a place full of drugs and homeless people, and the city council decided to complete a massive overhaul. In some parts of this neighborhood they stopped letting cars on some streets and also developed and underground trash system to clean up the city and minimize odors.
Raval used to be full of monestaries and other religous buildings that are now converted to public places. The MACBA (Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art) contains all types of modern art. It was designed by Richard Meier and was opened in 1995. Outside of this building is a place where many young people hang out and skateboard and bike.

The CCCB (Barcelona Center for Contemporary Culture) is another museum located near the MACBA. The building has a mix of modern and contemporary art as seen below. Here contains many exhibits. I went here to see the World Photo Press 2009 exhibit. They also hold many cultural activities in the auditorium and always encourage young people to come and see these.

There is still a strong anarchist influence in this neighborhood. Walking by there were signs with anarchist symbols and messages written on the walls. We also walked by traditional anarchists bars near Carrer d/ Carme.

La Rambla de Raval is another famous road in this area. Here there is a high concentration of Morroccan and Pakistani people. This causes great debate in things such as schools because actual Spanish children are the minority. This street is filled with Doner restaurants and shops run by these people. One thing that is out of place is a five star hotel located right off the left side of Rambla de Raval. After walking down this street I definitely prefer the normal La Rambla.

Field Trip to El Born

During the trip to El Born there were many things that caught my eye. I would have to say my favorite thing about El Born is Santa Maria Del Mar. This was the church built by the middle class people under Jaume I. It was very interesting because although it is a very vast and beautiful church, the outside isn’t as decorated as the other churches around. I like this because the middle class people didn’t want to be fancy, they just wanted to make a place where they could go and worship God.

We got to see the Cathedral and learned about Carrer de Piutat which runs along the back of the Cathedral. This is where people would go plea for their lives after being condemned by the church. I found this extremely interesting because of how much power the church had. They had a hand in every aspect of life, even when deciding if people should be killed or not. It is very ironic how they could do this and still preach on living the way of Jesus and teaching forgiveness.

The guilds were also part of El Born district and they served a huge purpose. These were lobbies of people with the same profession. They held all the power in the economy of Barcelona. They would set the same prices for all of the shops selling the same product to ensure that everyone is safe. We saw examples of the casa taller which was the family house for the craftsman. On the ground floor was the workshop where everyone worked, the first floor was where the owner lived and the floors above it were where the workers and apprentices lived. You could tell the difference in the first floor to the top floors because the windows where larger and could let more light in for the owner. These houses were mostly built out of stone because they were less wealthy. It was very interesting because all of these streets were named after the professions of the guilds. These are streets such as Carrer de les Candeles, and Correr de Corrers.

At the end of the trip we saw the Consulat de Mar. This was built under Jaume I in 1258 to settle trade disputes during this his time. Today it still stands as a center for the Chamber of Commerce.

Field Trip to Roman Barcino

The field trip to Roman Barcino was a very interesting trip because you got to see how the city of Barcelona was layed out when it was under Roman rule.

We went to the Museu d'Historia de la Ciutat and saw the way of life that people in the city had to live by. It was amazing to see the ruins of the old Roman city that was in Barcelona. The fact that it still exists is incredible due to the fact of how long ago the Romans were occupying Barcelona.

Here, the class got to see a model of the layout of the old Roman houses. It was very intriguing how intricate and large the house was. I found it very interesting to see that the slaves quarters were attached to the houses and that the shops were part of the house too.

The museum contained many artifacts that caught my eye. You could see the old pots made out of clay that the women used to cook in, and also the objects that they used as toothbrushes were here and made out of wood. I had no idea that these were used back in the Roman times.

The baths were also a very cool part of this field trip. I learned that these were the places where intellectuals would come and sit and talk to each other about the things going on in the city. It is kind of the same idea as business meetings nowadays but in a spa.

Above all, this trip showed the viewer how organized and smart the Romans were. I learned about how they used to use salt to dehydrate the fish so it wouldn’t go bad as fast. This let them stock pile an amount of food so they wouldn’t always have to go fish every day.

During this field trip we also got to see the Roman wall and entrance to the old city. It is so amazing that it is still standing after all these years. You can see that later civilizations built on top of the Roman wall and it is still standing today.



The Jewish ghetto was another important part of this trip. It is located next to plaza St. Jaume. Although it was later destroyed, people put up signs and artifacts to show people that the ghetto was once there.

This trip helped show us the roots of the city that we have been living in for the entire semester.

FC Barcelona Games (Leisure)

One of the coolest leisure activities that I have done in Barcelona is attending different FC Barcelona sports games. The first soccer match I’ve ever attended in my life was FC Barcelona vs. Atletico Madrid. Barcelona won the match 5-2 and the game was at no point close. It was interesting to see the differences in this game and professional sports game in the United States. The crowd at this game was very quiet and under control and was focusing on the play of the game. Games in the U.S. the crowd is very loud and rowdy. There is a lot more drunken people

and more of an adult atmosphere. I feel that part of this is because of the tradition of FC Barcelona soccer.

I also attended the first home basketball game for FC Barcelona vs. Valencia. This game was also a blowout in favor of the home team. They won 87-62. This was the first time that the soon to be NBA player Ricky Rubio played for FC Barcelona. He was drafted number 5 in the NBA draft this year, but will not play in the U.S. till at least 2012. It was also his 19th birthday. The best player on the court was Juan Carlos Navarro, who came back to FC Barcelona after a few years in the NBA. Another cool thing about FC Barca basketball is they have a player named Terrance Morris who went to University of Maryland. I grew up watching him play and it was neat to see him

again. The crowd at this game seemed way more like the American style. Everyone was always on their feet and the crowd was yelling and screaming. Some people had huge drums and would bang on them constantly throughout the game. This was more of what I am used to when going to a professional game.

The second soccer match I attended was FC Barcelona vs. Zarragoza. Barcelona ended up winning the match 6-1. I liked how the fans supported the team no matter what they did. When Leo Messi missed an easy goal, the crowd

still clapped and chanted his name. In the U.S. if a player blows an easy play, the crowd will yell at the player and maybe even boo him. These matches were very interesting to compare sporting events between home and here.

Holmes Place Gym (Leisure)

This gym is where I spend a great deal of time during my stay in Barcelona. I go basically every day except when I’m traveling. Here I get to stay fit during my stay so I can take care of my body. It also keeps me in shape for lacrosse season in the spring when I return home. This is a great place to let off steam and take your mind of things while you are here. It gives you a place to be so you aren’t cooped up in these little apartments. There are many differences to this gym and my gym at home. Here there aren’t as many free weights used and are more cardio machines and cable machines. I think it is partly because in the United States, people try to model themselves after football or basketball players, so there is more of a demand for free weights. In Barcelona, people model themselves after soccer players, so they try to be lean and fit, which means they need more of these cardio machines. Also, Holmes place is more of a gym and a spa. People are there to give you towels and wash them, and this locker room also has a tanning facility in it. It is much more of a fancy place than my gym at home. There you just go and lift, shower and leave. There isn’t much else to do.

Pickup Basketball at Monumental (Leisure)

Another one of my favorite things to do here is play basketball at the courts next to the Monumental metro stop. In the beginning of the trip during the warm weather, a group of us CEA students would go there around 3 times a week to play. It started off with just us playing against each other, but eventually we started playing against the local people. This was a great way to mix cultures because although we couldn’t communicate well, the rules of the game are the same and everyone knows them. It was interesting to see the differences in the style of play between us and them. They were trying to be all fancy and play like the NBA players that they get to watch sometimes, and could tell they never learned the fundamentals of the game at an early age. I think this is partly because of how dominating soccer is in the Barcelona culture. No child really grows up playing basketball and doesn’t learn the game as they do soccer. I also found it funny how most of the Spanish people playing at this court were wearing jerseys of NBA players. They are very fascinated by American players who play this game.

La Merce (Cultural)

One of the most cultural activities I have participated in was La Merce. This half of a week festival was one of the craziest weeks of my life. I attended a bull fight, watched the castellers, ran in el Correfoc, and saw the best fireworks of my life.

The bullfight was one of the most interesting and bloody things I’ve seen in my life. I knew that the bulls were killed, but I had no clue how brutally tortured they were too. It was interesting because people here weren’t vulgar about it, they wore very nice clothes and cheered for the matador. This could never happen in the United States because people would be out of control and throw things in the ring and start yelling at every little thing that went on. Outside the bullfighting venue were the protestors arguing against this sport. This is very similar to the organization PETA in the U.S. that protests every little time they can for animal rights. It was a very fun and cultural experience in Barcelona.

Running at El Correfoc was extremely crazy. You basically had to run and dance while people and huge dragons sprayed you with industrial sized sparklers all over. You had to be covered from head to toe so you wouldn’t get badly burned. It was so interesting because everyone participated, even little kids. In the U.S. no one would even think to have this activity because it would be considered too dangerous.

This festival shed light on the differences in celebration between Barcelona and the United States. They couldn’t have these activities over in the states because people would be too out of control. El correfoc is already chaos, but if it were in the United States, it would be a riot and people would die.

Parc Guell (Cultural)

Parc Guell is one of my favorite places to go in Barcelona. It is a gigantic park located in the Gracia district. The first time I visited was when my friend Alex came out to see me during his fall break. It has many statues and buildings that are completely out of the ordinary. It almost looks like a park in some sort of cartoon. You can get a great view of the coast from the balcony in the park. It also has gardens and trails that can keep you occupied for hours.

The park was designed by the most famous architect in Barcelona, Anotoni Gaudi. He has also done famous works in Barcelona such as Casa Battlo and Casa Mila. He also helped with Sagrada Familia. Parc Guell was built between 1900 and 1914. Here you can find a wide range of people. There are plenty of tourists taking pictures of the vast gardens, but you can also find lots of local people. People bring their dates to the park to talk or have a picnic while others bring scarves and fans to sell to people. There are also a lot of entertainers throughout the park. People will play music or sing and dance for the people inside the park.

World Press Photo Exhibition (Cultural)

The World Press Photo Exhibition is being held in Barcelona between November 11 and December 13. It is being held at the Contemporary Culture Center in Barcelona.

Here I have seen some of the most intruiging and moving photographs in my life. On display are photos such in war zones, sporting events and everyday lives in different countries around the world. One of the photographers in my opinion was head and shoulders above the rest.

My favorite photographs I have seen here were by Walter Astrada. He has captured photographs of the conflict in Kenya. I find it amazing how he gets so close to all of the violence and gruesome events to capture these vivid images. He truely is risking his life doing a hobby that he loves and moving all of the audiences that view his pictures.

Here are some of my favorite images by Astrada. The first is of a Kenyan boy who is yelling for his life from a police officer. The next is of a child who is shooting a bow and arrow and running to revolt. The last is of a man who is getting stomped in the face and you can see the agony and fear in his eyes. Astrada's vivid photographs truely made this gallery visit for me.

El Cafe D'en Victor (Restaurant)

This restaurant was one of my favorites for food quality. El Cafe D'en Victor is located right next to the Cathedral. Colin and I took our friend Bryan here when he came to visit. Here we all tried paella for the first time and all loved it. I got the paella mixta which is the rice with a combination of chicken and the seafood paella. It took me a while to peel and eat the little crawfish that they put in the middle but other than that it was delicious.

The service was terrible at this place though. The food took forever and the waiter made us wait about a half an hour to get our check. The only good thing was some liqour company was there giving out each person a free martini. That kind of made up for the poor service.

Prince Restaurant

This restaurant is one of the places I go to very often during my stay in Barcelona. It is located on Carrer de Marina, very close to the beach. This is the place where a bunch of my friends and I go to watch the FC Barcelona soccer games. They have a huge projection T.V. and a lot of people come to watch. It’s a very fun atmosphere to watch the games. People come in their jerseys and yell for Barcelona. They also have very good food for a very good price. The breaded calamari is very good and only 5 euro. They have a huge selection of pizzas and meats that also only cost around 6 euro. During the games we all get Estrella Damms which are 1.50.

Pita House Restaurant

When my study abroad advisor from Marymount University came to visit us, he took Colin and I out to the Pita House restaurant on Las Ramblas. Here I had my first experience with Spanish tapas. We ordered a deal where you can try 9 different tapas for 55 euro. This place also served giant mugs of beer, so we were feeling pretty good. It was a good experience because I got to eat traditional Spanish food for the first time. I had octopus, sardines and calamari for the first time in my life. If I were back in the United States I would never order these if they were on the menu. It was a very good thing that I got to broaden my taste. The restaurant was very cool because we got to sit out on the tables in the middle of Las Ramblas, which is a huge tourist street that everyone hangs out at. Here you get to see people dressed up in wacky outfits and watch street performers do cool things. It was a good dinner because we got to catch up with Victor (our advisor) and find out how things were going back at our school in the states and how other students were doing while they were studying abroad in different countries at this time.

Injection Rooms in Gracia, Les Corts, and Sant Marti (Local News)

In an article on December 2 in El Periodico, the writer describes how in 2010 there will be injection rooms for recovering drug addicts to take methadone in the Gracia, Sant Marti and Les Corts areas. The CAS (Centro de Atencion y Seguimiento) are the places that offer metadone injections to try and help these heroine addicts. All districts in Barcelona have a CAS except these neighborhoods. This plan is to prevent high concentration of addicts in places like Ciutat Villa.

Currently the only centers with these injection rooms are in Raval and Vall d´Hebron. The rooms are intended for the addicts to inject their medicine with proper hygiene and medical assistance. There is a big debate whether this is a good idea, and most people in these 3 districts are not happy about the future opening of the CAS.

Here is a link to the actual article online: http://www.elperiodico.com/default.asp?idpublicacio_PK=46&idioma=CAS&idnoticia_PK=666958&idseccio_PK=1022

Combating Alcoholism in Ciutat Vella (Local News)

In an article on Dec. 6 in El Periodico, the councilor of Ciutat Vella, Itziar Gonzalez is doing his best to help alcoholics in his district. He believes that if he can fight alcoholism that the homelessness problem will decrease too. The program will help direct the people with problems to social services. He thinks that this will get to the root of their alcoholism. People in the community are excited for this because some people have complained about the alcoholics being aggresive and annoying to the people who live in the neighborhood. The main thing Gonzalez is trying to do is bring together all of the social services and community organization so they can all fight the same problem as one.

Here is a link to the article online: http://www.elperiodico.com/default.asp?idpublicacio_PK=46&idioma=CAS&idnoticia_PK=667980&idseccio_PK=1022

Taxi Line for Women (Local News)

Barcelona will now have a taxi service especially for women. The company doing this is Barcelona Servitaxi. This is mainly geared for young women who are leaving nightclubs early in the morning and women that have family troubles.

Cities such as New York, Moscow and London have this sort of service, but all these taxis are painted pink. The plan for Barcelona is to have these taxis have a distinctive pink interior so they can keep the traditional black and yellow paint on the outside. There will be a full plan for this service released later in the week.

Here is the link to the online article: http://www.elperiodico.com/default.asp?idpublicacio_PK=46&idioma=CAS&idnoticia_PK=667482&idseccio_PK=1049

Barca vs. Real Madrid Basketball (Regional News)

In a news article from El Periodico on December 1st, it announces that FC Barcelona will play Real Madrid in basketball for the quarterfinal match in El Copa del Rey. This has been a surprise draw because the teams are now ranked number 1 and 2 in the league so people think it shouldnt be a quarterfinal match. Barcelona beat Real Madrid in Barcelona 87 to 67 on December 20th. The quarterfinals are going to be held between the 19th and the 21st of February.

The other 3 quarterfinal matches are DKV Joventut vs. MMT Estudiantes, Unicaja Malaga vs. Kalise Gran Canaria, and Tau Vitoria vs. Pamesa Valencia. The winner of the Barcelona and Real Madrid match will go on to play the winner of the Tau Vitoria and Pamesa Valencia match in the semifinals.


Here is a link to the online article: http://www.elperiodico.com/default.asp?idpublicacio_PK=46&idioma=CAS&idnoticia_PK=577818&idseccio_PK=1011

Sales of Cars in Spain up (Regional News)

The sales of cars is continuing to rise in the past few months but will still be down from recent years by this year´s end. The sales of cars rose 37% last month with 86,693 units being sold. This is all thanks to a plan developed called the 2000E plan. November marked the 3rd consecutive month that the car sales have risen.

Throughout all of this recent success, by years end there is expected to be 940 to 950 thousand units sold. This unfortunately is a 19% discount from the year before.

29 People Killed in Traffic Accidents (Regional News)

In an article in El Periodico on December 9th the writer describes how 29 people have been killed in auto accidents since December 4th on the Bridge of the Constitution Immaculate. 8 Motorcyclists have died. Most of the reasons for the crashes have been speed and distractions.

Sunday December 6th was the most tragic day when 10 people died. On Saturday there were 7 deaths, Tuesday there were 6, Monday there were 5 and Friday there was only 1.

This entire year there have been 1782 traffic deaths in Spain. This is a decrease of 13.6% from the past year. Although this is a terrible number, Spanish officials are happy to say that 280 more lives were saved this year from last year.

Here is a link to the online article: http://www.elperiodico.com/default.asp?idpublicacio_PK=46&idioma=CAS&idnoticia_PK=668902&idseccio_PK=1021