Monday, September 21, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
The Good Homesick...
Is homesickness the same as wishing that parts of home were with you?
Funny...going back to Santa Barbara for school never really caused feelings of homesickness. Perhaps it was the idea of knowing how close home is, that convenience factor, which made it easy to cope with leaving all of your friends and family for the new school-year (not that I ever took much advantage of the short trek). Being on the other side of the world sort of puts visiting home for the weekend out of the question, that is unless you are Richard Branson or have figured out the impossibility of teleportation. Don't get me wrong, loss of convenience is a small price to pay for such an experience...and I am more than capable of dealing with such a minor and normal disposition....simply thought I would throw the feeling out there in the name of Los Angeles/California and all the god damn great people/places it occupies.
Ohhhhh...got it...its because now I had to leave both Santa Barbara and LA behind, the double whammy is new to me... Glad to be able to call these two paradises home... and to now be in the process of adding a third. This city is alive and I wish all of the people i care for could feel its pulse, or maybe its just the metro lines vibrating underneath our apartment building... either way, it feels nice.
Relevant tunes:
Wish you were here: Pink Floyd or Incubus
Funny...going back to Santa Barbara for school never really caused feelings of homesickness. Perhaps it was the idea of knowing how close home is, that convenience factor, which made it easy to cope with leaving all of your friends and family for the new school-year (not that I ever took much advantage of the short trek). Being on the other side of the world sort of puts visiting home for the weekend out of the question, that is unless you are Richard Branson or have figured out the impossibility of teleportation. Don't get me wrong, loss of convenience is a small price to pay for such an experience...and I am more than capable of dealing with such a minor and normal disposition....simply thought I would throw the feeling out there in the name of Los Angeles/California and all the god damn great people/places it occupies.
Ohhhhh...got it...its because now I had to leave both Santa Barbara and LA behind, the double whammy is new to me... Glad to be able to call these two paradises home... and to now be in the process of adding a third. This city is alive and I wish all of the people i care for could feel its pulse, or maybe its just the metro lines vibrating underneath our apartment building... either way, it feels nice.
Relevant tunes:
Wish you were here: Pink Floyd or Incubus
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Familiar Faces in Foreign Places
En route to study in England...schoolmates and friends Matt McLaughlin and Justin Kassan have graced us with their presence. Despite the rain we were able to enjoy an eventful day by first introducing to them our neighborhood of the Sagrada Familia, then indulging in some Spanish snacks (most notably Patatas Bravas), and continuing with a futbol battle in a nearby park (probably looked like an FC Barce Club practice, its just how we do). They then went out while I let the rest of the evening borrow my time for studies...now the sojourners lay fast asleep in front of me as I write this post...not in any weird way ya freaks (exercise, chupitas, cervesas, and jet-lag prove a good recipe for exhaustion). Well, glad to have them here and I am excited to show them the city that I am still getting accustomed to.
Best,
Jordan
Best,
Jordan
Friday, September 11, 2009
Today is the National Day of Catalonia / 9-11 attacks we remember
I have taken a moment of silence for those who suffered most in the tragedies of 9/11.
Barcelona - On September 11, Catalonia (Spain) commemorates the 1714 Siege of Barcelona defeat during the War of the Spanish Succession. As a punishment for their support to the claim of Habsburg Archduke Charles to the throne of Spain, institutions and rights of the territories of the Crown of Catalonia and Aragon were abolished by the victorious absolutist Bourbon monarchy in line with the political evolution occurring in other parts of Europe at the same time.
In 1980, the restored Generalitat de Catalunya (autonomous Government of Catalonia), as its first public act proclaimed 11 September La Diada, the Catalan National holiday.
Organizations and political parties traditionally lay floral offerings at the monuments of Rafael Casanova and General Moragues for their fight against the Bourbon army.
Catalan nationalists also meet in the Fossar de les Moreres, where they pay homage to the defenders of city who died during the siege and were buried there.
Throughout the day, there are political demonstrations, concerts and celebration events. Many citizens wave either senyeres or estelades and hang them on their balconies.
USA - The September 11 attacks (often referred to as September 11th or 9/11) were a series of coordinated suicide attacks by Al-Qaeda upon the United States on September 11, 2001. On that morning, 19 Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial passenger jet airliners. The hijackers intentionally crashed two of the airliners into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing everyone on board and many others working in the buildings. Both buildings collapsed within two hours, destroying nearby buildings and damaging others. The hijackers crashed a third airliner into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, just outside of Washington, D.C. The fourth plane crashed into a field near Shanksville in rural Pennsylvania, after some of its passengers and flight crew attempted to retake control of the plane, which the hijackers had redirected toward Washington, D.C. There were no survivors from any of the flights.
Barcelona - On September 11, Catalonia (Spain) commemorates the 1714 Siege of Barcelona defeat during the War of the Spanish Succession. As a punishment for their support to the claim of Habsburg Archduke Charles to the throne of Spain, institutions and rights of the territories of the Crown of Catalonia and Aragon were abolished by the victorious absolutist Bourbon monarchy in line with the political evolution occurring in other parts of Europe at the same time.
In 1980, the restored Generalitat de Catalunya (autonomous Government of Catalonia), as its first public act proclaimed 11 September La Diada, the Catalan National holiday.
Organizations and political parties traditionally lay floral offerings at the monuments of Rafael Casanova and General Moragues for their fight against the Bourbon army.
Catalan nationalists also meet in the Fossar de les Moreres, where they pay homage to the defenders of city who died during the siege and were buried there.
USA - The September 11 attacks (often referred to as September 11th or 9/11) were a series of coordinated suicide attacks by Al-Qaeda upon the United States on September 11, 2001. On that morning, 19 Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial passenger jet airliners. The hijackers intentionally crashed two of the airliners into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing everyone on board and many others working in the buildings. Both buildings collapsed within two hours, destroying nearby buildings and damaging others. The hijackers crashed a third airliner into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, just outside of Washington, D.C. The fourth plane crashed into a field near Shanksville in rural Pennsylvania, after some of its passengers and flight crew attempted to retake control of the plane, which the hijackers had redirected toward Washington, D.C. There were no survivors from any of the flights.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Few things that I have noticed..
- We display our affection to family and friends much differently...For instance, a greeting or saluda is comprised of a few kisses and hugs, and even some men holds hands around town...similar to some men we saw in Africa and Dubai.
- They do not display a certain pride for their Spanish country as a whole, the Catalans or Barcelona people consider themselves separated form the country of Spain...very dissimilar from the states in my opinion, or perhaps I am just bias from being born and raised in Cali, however I doubt this.
- We eat a lot more...however our food has more flavor.
- We use a lot more cussing in regular conversation than the Catalan people.
- We do indeed over-consume energy, no household i have seen yet has a dryer for clothing.
- We have an obsession with stardom and entertainment that the Spanish have not yet expressed.
- LA sucks in the area of transportation...really effin sucks.
- They have a very arcane style: many women have neon colored die in the hair, and the majority of Catalans I have seen have either numerous piercings or tattoos...maybe i should get a few, what do you think Dad/Bubby?
Thats a little.
BOBO
- They do not display a certain pride for their Spanish country as a whole, the Catalans or Barcelona people consider themselves separated form the country of Spain...very dissimilar from the states in my opinion, or perhaps I am just bias from being born and raised in Cali, however I doubt this.
- We eat a lot more...however our food has more flavor.
- We use a lot more cussing in regular conversation than the Catalan people.
- We do indeed over-consume energy, no household i have seen yet has a dryer for clothing.
- We have an obsession with stardom and entertainment that the Spanish have not yet expressed.
- LA sucks in the area of transportation...really effin sucks.
- They have a very arcane style: many women have neon colored die in the hair, and the majority of Catalans I have seen have either numerous piercings or tattoos...maybe i should get a few, what do you think Dad/Bubby?
Thats a little.
BOBO
Finally...
Got and international phone...calling me is free.
685-483-377
...I believe that the code to call Spain is 34 before the number.
BOBO
685-483-377
...I believe that the code to call Spain is 34 before the number.
BOBO
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Dan and Lauren Visited!
Barcelona Arrival
Now have been officially living in Barcelona for about a week. Upon arrival we were acquainted with our advisor and sent from the aiport to a hotel for the first two nights of stay.
- Got settled.
- Met up with our new roommates Bryce and Sam from Maryland...(awesome guys and we all get along very very well).
- Did orientation the next day and met a bunch of new people from all over the states...partied that night with our "friends that are girls" from Santa Barbara and got introduced to their roommates...who just so happen to know plenty of the same people that i know from back in LA...then we continued to rant on how small the world really is.
- Were eventually taken to our apartment in the center of the Sagrada Familia...which is a neighborhood surrounding Gaudi's most famous creation...and if you dont know well now you know:
- Got settled.
- Met up with our new roommates Bryce and Sam from Maryland...(awesome guys and we all get along very very well).
- Did orientation the next day and met a bunch of new people from all over the states...partied that night with our "friends that are girls" from Santa Barbara and got introduced to their roommates...who just so happen to know plenty of the same people that i know from back in LA...then we continued to rant on how small the world really is.
- Were eventually taken to our apartment in the center of the Sagrada Familia...which is a neighborhood surrounding Gaudi's most famous creation...and if you dont know well now you know:
- The apartment is amazing, contemporary, great balcony, etc etc...however for some reason Mason and I were assigned to the double and were shafted with beds half the size of everyone elses...less shelving space, and a same sized room as all the singles...so at this point we feel a little jipped...but whateva.
- Met a spanish women and fell in love! no just kidding, but did meet one...giggity.
- Was supposed to have recieved my box with the rest of my clothes, laptop, backpack, etc etc, however DHL messed up and I literally just recieved all of my stuff...which means that I have been living on all of the stuff that I have been backpacking with the three weeks...Que Finalmente!
- I still need a phone really badly...effinay.
- Started school and dig most of my classes: Intercultural Psychology, International Business, International Marketing, Intermediate Spanish dos, and Photography...may drop one but we shall see.
- Getting around fine by now, know the metro system pretty damn well for only 5 days of living here.
- Went to the beach with everybody after doing some grocery shopping...and later made a delicious dinner for five of our girlfriends. After we all killed a bottle of vodka that they had brought as a gift, played games, and listened to good jams...specifically the Fleet Foxes and Beach Boys (round round get around I get around!)...After we went to a few bars, most notably the Icebar which is made completely out of ice and you must wear a parka and gloves upon entering...cool yet not something you can do for over an hour, especially if you are girl in heels and a dress.
...this place is so dreamy.
As for the rest of Interlaken and Paris...
Interlaken:
-Happened to be there during their annual Festival Switzerland and decided not to see the show because not only was it quite expensive, but in German. However we did shoot Crossbow's and eat Swiss chocolate and hot dogs. Was a blast.
-Went to the hostel known as Funny Farm because we had heard that they had a dope slide...indeed! We have video of us doing multiple flips off of a 60 foot high slide that was originally meant for BMX bike jumps...I will attempt to get the videos up. But I busted my nose on the last jump and thought I had broken it...still have a scab. HAHHA.
Paris:
-What an amazing place. I can remember our approach for landing and how I could see the sparkling Eiffel Tower through my window, Que Bonita!
-Mason's grandparents were kind enough to put us up in a luxury hotel room in the district known as Beaux Artes. We were treated to breakfast in bed and more.
-Swept this city as well: La Louvre and saw awesome art...most notably the tiny yet dazzling Mona Lisa. The gardens, the Cathedral de Notre Dame, hopped on a double decker and took an audio tour (however the rain forced us onto the sheltered level).
-Nick and I got in a few tiffs, because he is stubborn. But I am very calm and merciful so luckily we were able to get over it. He also made us a little late for the flight, I will let him describe if he feels it necessary.
-We were unable to indulge in the night scene because we were there on a Sunday, Monday, Tuesday...but no biggie.
-I did not notice the stereotype that French people are rude...I found most of them to be delightful.
-Thank you Mason's grandparents...very much.
-Happened to be there during their annual Festival Switzerland and decided not to see the show because not only was it quite expensive, but in German. However we did shoot Crossbow's and eat Swiss chocolate and hot dogs. Was a blast.
-Went to the hostel known as Funny Farm because we had heard that they had a dope slide...indeed! We have video of us doing multiple flips off of a 60 foot high slide that was originally meant for BMX bike jumps...I will attempt to get the videos up. But I busted my nose on the last jump and thought I had broken it...still have a scab. HAHHA.
Paris:
-What an amazing place. I can remember our approach for landing and how I could see the sparkling Eiffel Tower through my window, Que Bonita!
-Mason's grandparents were kind enough to put us up in a luxury hotel room in the district known as Beaux Artes. We were treated to breakfast in bed and more.
-Swept this city as well: La Louvre and saw awesome art...most notably the tiny yet dazzling Mona Lisa. The gardens, the Cathedral de Notre Dame, hopped on a double decker and took an audio tour (however the rain forced us onto the sheltered level).
-Nick and I got in a few tiffs, because he is stubborn. But I am very calm and merciful so luckily we were able to get over it. He also made us a little late for the flight, I will let him describe if he feels it necessary.
-We were unable to indulge in the night scene because we were there on a Sunday, Monday, Tuesday...but no biggie.
-I did not notice the stereotype that French people are rude...I found most of them to be delightful.
-Thank you Mason's grandparents...very much.
Frank Lloyd Wright
Forgot to mention that when we were in New York and went to the Guggenheim...some how we were oblivious that it was the very last day of their 50 year anniversary and therefore a six-floor special Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit (my favorite architect...Bubs and pops took me to his Falling Water masterpiece home while we were in Pittsburgh a few years back). Awesome exhibit, had draftings and miniature models of both buildings he has and had not built. This happened by chance!
BOBO
BOBO
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Message to Family and Friends from first journal entries...
Hello All,
Just a quick update on the European charade...the blog will be developed once we settle down in Spain. I believe I told most of you about New York, however for those I did not....in short:
New York:
-We swept the city in basically two days, did not pay for one taxi (met a woman on the plane who expensed our cab to her company...then used the metro for everything else.
-Nick's (my co-traveler) aunt Amanda literally gave us her small apartment for the three nights and stayed elsewhere (we treated her to authentic Dim-Sum in Chinatown to show our thanks for her kindness...and yes mom, the same one we went to a few months back)
-A friend of ours Charlotte moved to the Soho district for workafter graduating Santa Barbara, so we got in contact and she took us on a very eventfull night on the town with some of her friends (got us free tables and bottles at two separate popular clubs, thank you Charlotte).
-On the way out we were quite late to the JFK aiport for our international flight because we overestimated the timeliness of the Metro...so we arrived 45 minutes til as opposed to two hours, and how were we rewarded?...UPGRADED PREMIUM SEATS were all the airlines had left (ironic in the Alanis Morrissette type of way).
London:
-London Eye, Tate Modern, Buckingham Palace, London Tower, Changing of the guards, Covent Gardens, Oxford Circus, Big Ben, stayed in a great hostel in a cute village named Camden Town (equivalent of the Venice Beach of London if I could relate anything to the US and A), and much much more that I will elaborate on further in the blog.
Switzerland:
-Took EasyJet from London to Geneva scheduled to land at 10:15, giving us a comfortable amount of time to make our train to Interlaken at 12:30...however the plane took off and landed an hour and a half late at 11:45, so we figured we'd still be fine considering the train station is right next to the airport...that is unless we had to go through something like claim lost baggage...yep, they lost Nick's baggage...so in order to make our train we left his name, number, and email and left...hoping to receive it at Geneva Aiport when we return to head for Paris.
-Arrived at Interloken, an amazing little quaint village squeezed between two lakes in Mid-Switzerland, and made our way to our hostel Balmers Herberge (rated one of the top hostels in the world, and has the only bar in Interloken (great selling point)).
-Today we went Canyoning, http://www.outdoor-interlaken.
Hope this description of the trip thus far will suffice...Also, forgot to mention that we have met plenty of people from all over the world already. It has been very interesting to see and learn the different slang, accent, culture, etc. etc.
Specifically:
- Scotty from Melvin Australia
- Bryntal Case from Dublin, Ireland (cheeky bastard)
- Randon English Homeless guy: "Well hello dawling!"
- Woman from Germany
- and more.
Cheers,
BOBO
Just a quick update on the European charade...the blog will be developed once we settle down in Spain. I believe I told most of you about New York, however for those I did not....in short:
New York:
-We swept the city in basically two days, did not pay for one taxi (met a woman on the plane who expensed our cab to her company...then used the metro for everything else.
-Nick's (my co-traveler) aunt Amanda literally gave us her small apartment for the three nights and stayed elsewhere (we treated her to authentic Dim-Sum in Chinatown to show our thanks for her kindness...and yes mom, the same one we went to a few months back)
-A friend of ours Charlotte moved to the Soho district for workafter graduating Santa Barbara, so we got in contact and she took us on a very eventfull night on the town with some of her friends (got us free tables and bottles at two separate popular clubs, thank you Charlotte).
-On the way out we were quite late to the JFK aiport for our international flight because we overestimated the timeliness of the Metro...so we arrived 45 minutes til as opposed to two hours, and how were we rewarded?...UPGRADED PREMIUM SEATS were all the airlines had left (ironic in the Alanis Morrissette type of way).
London:
-London Eye, Tate Modern, Buckingham Palace, London Tower, Changing of the guards, Covent Gardens, Oxford Circus, Big Ben, stayed in a great hostel in a cute village named Camden Town (equivalent of the Venice Beach of London if I could relate anything to the US and A), and much much more that I will elaborate on further in the blog.
Switzerland:
-Took EasyJet from London to Geneva scheduled to land at 10:15, giving us a comfortable amount of time to make our train to Interlaken at 12:30...however the plane took off and landed an hour and a half late at 11:45, so we figured we'd still be fine considering the train station is right next to the airport...that is unless we had to go through something like claim lost baggage...yep, they lost Nick's baggage...so in order to make our train we left his name, number, and email and left...hoping to receive it at Geneva Aiport when we return to head for Paris.
-Arrived at Interloken, an amazing little quaint village squeezed between two lakes in Mid-Switzerland, and made our way to our hostel Balmers Herberge (rated one of the top hostels in the world, and has the only bar in Interloken (great selling point)).
-Today we went Canyoning, http://www.outdoor-interlaken.
Hope this description of the trip thus far will suffice...Also, forgot to mention that we have met plenty of people from all over the world already. It has been very interesting to see and learn the different slang, accent, culture, etc. etc.
Specifically:
- Scotty from Melvin Australia
- Bryntal Case from Dublin, Ireland (cheeky bastard)
- Randon English Homeless guy: "Well hello dawling!"
- Woman from Germany
- and more.
Cheers,
BOBO
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