#25: So What's There to Do in the Yucatan?

Buenas, y'all!

So, as you know, I've been in Mexico for 11 days.  From Sunday the 13th to Wednesday the 16th of February, my classmates and I packed only one backpack each and loaded into a 15 passenger van with our professor, her husband and our tour guide David (who was also the van driver!).

The very first day, we went to the ruins at Chitzen Itza.  It was very fascinating to see the giant pyramids and learn how they aligned with the stars and various astronomical events...  the steps where people were sacrificed to their gods...  the game courts where teams played for honor and sport.  After the exploration, we went to a cenote, which is basically a lagoon fed by a natural underground river.  Gorgeous!!  We got to swim in the cenote, which was quite refreshing after a long day of walking around ancient sites.  That night, we retired at a hotel in Valladolid.

The unrestored side of Chitzen Itza.  Under the grass you can see the ruins of more of the temple underground.

The top of the sacrificial monument.  Despite what you may have seen in the movie Apocalypto, the bodies weren't thrown down the stairs after sacrifice.  In fact, they were honored by having a likeness of each sacrifice carved into a pillar below.

The Royal Observatory.  It was found perfectly intact, but the excavators must have left a piece of metal inside, because it's been hit by lightning--twice--which destroyed half the dome.

Looking down into the cenote... you can see people climbing the stairs to jump in from the highest step.  (There was also a ladder to climb into the water for those of us with less bravery.)

Looking up from the cenote, back to the surface

That was Sunday.  Monday we went to Tulum, which is another set of ancient ruins on a cliff overlooking the ocean--so beautiful!  Tulum was an actual town, so we could see the outlines of houses and temples instead of just giant monuments.  After exploring there, we descended down the cliff (with stairs of course) to the beach and had a great time splashing in the waves and relaxing on the sand.  We had lunch in a gift shop/restaurant/strip mall (what a mashup!), then went to Playa del Carmen.  I was really excited for Playa del Carmen at first, but when I got there I was kind of disappointed.  It's pretty much a tourist trap...  tons of shops with souvenirs and jewelry at exorbitant (tourist) prices... hotels and resorts...  even the beach was crowded and not as pretty as the one at Tulum.  If you're looking for a little piece of America in Mexico, I'd say hit up Playa del Carmen.  But if you want a more authentic experience, go elsewhere.

Tulum:  I believe this was the royal palace?

The beach at Tulum was amazing! (No photoshop needed.)

For the next two nights we stayed in a small town called Puerto Morelos.  Tuesday morning we had a great time snorkeling on the coral reef (Mexico has the 2nd largest coral reef in the world, after Australia's Great Barrier Reef).  I'd never been snorkeling before, mostly because I hate having my face submerged in water (the only reason I don't swim!).  But once I got the hang of using the snorkel tube to breathe, I loved it!  It was like a beautiful underwater garden...  we saw different types of coral, barracudas, tons of fish, a stingray, a little lobster and someone even spotted a sea turtle!

One of our snorkeling guides holding a stingray!

(All snorkeling pics courtesy of Ben B. and his underwater camera.)

After snorkeling, we were all pretty laid back for the rest of the day... some of us hung out on the beach behind the hotel, but once it got cloudy we all returned to our rooms and took siesta time.  That night we had dinner together in town.

Wednesday morning we packed up and went to Ek' Balam, the last set of ruins we would see on the trip.  At Ek' Balam, we were able to actually climb the monuments and take pictures.  One of the coolest things there was a giant pyramid with original Mayan stucco sculptures.  For some reason the Mayans built a wall in front of the sculptures that made the original facade of the building, and during restoration the construction crew cracked it open on accident and found the treasured art within.  We climbed to the top of that structure (which was VERY steep--you had to ascend the stairs on a diagonal angle), and the view was amazing!  You could see the jungle canopy for miles around.  Climbing down was hard, so I actually crabwalked down on my butt.

The original Mayan stucco architecture--how cool is that?!

View from the top of the largest monument in Ek' Balam

The next stop on Wednesday was to a small Mayan village, where we visited a Mayan school.  The kids there were all dressed up in their finest traditional clothes, and were very happy to show us their (complicated) alphabet system made of ancient Mayan glyphs, their counting system (using the base-20 method), and some of their local dances.  We had a delicious lunch there of homemade chicken soup (that chicken probably lost its life about 20 mins before we came, it was THAT homemade) with fresh tortillas and our choice of sodas.  (Fun fact:  Pepsi is not very popular in Mexico, which makes me sad.)

Our class with the young Mayan students

A demonstration of the Mayan counting system. Black bean dots are 1 and green rods are 5. Each square represents a placeholder (1, 10, 100, 1000).

Finally, we drove back to Merida and to the Hotel Caribe, where we first stayed when we arrived in Mexico.  We all waited for our host moms to meet us there, and that's how I met Mama Mili!  She was just as excited to meet me, because the other students met their host moms before I arrived.

As for this week:  on Friday, the 18th, we went to the beach at Progreso, which is a 20 min (air-conditioned!) bus ride away.  It's the beach where all the locals go, so it's very peaceful without many tourists.  There's a giant flea market there and great shopping, not to mention a yummy restaurant on the water that is famous for its appetizers.  I tried octopus cooked in its own ink (not bad!) three types of calamari (squid, but not fried here), ceviche (which is sort of like a cold mexican sushi salad), and pollo (chicken) pibil, which is a method of cooking the meat...  it's marinated in sauces, then wrapped in banana leaves and roasted.  Very yummy!

Look at all those appetizers! Octopus in its own ink, a lime potato dish (middle), black beans (in the bowl), ceviche (back right), and two of the 3 types of calamari

My lunch: the pollo pibil with black beans and pico de gallo.  The orange was bitter and was only to sprinkle juice on the chicken.

Friday evening, the class and I went to a popular nightclub down the street from my homestay.  Dancehalls and clubs are very popular with the young people in Mexico.  At the one we went to (Club Tequila), ladies pay 80 pesos ($8) and guys pay 100 pesos ($10) to enter, but there are free unlimited drinks and a giant dance floor.  At the door, you receive two tickets--you take one and the bouncer takes the other.  When you're ready to leave, you show your ticket and give a tip to the waitstaff and exit.  For a group of our size (10 people), they asked for a tip of about 500 pesos, or $50--we easily chipped in $5 each.  So, $13-$15 for unlimited drinks and music?  Could be worse.

Saturday morning some of us met on the Paseo de Montejo, which is one of the main scenic avenues in town.  It has sprawling, Spanish Victorian houses and many businesses, as well as a very cool monument showing the history of Mexico.  We also went to the Anthropology Museum (Museo de Antropología) and looked at some of the exhibits there.

Part of the monument showing the history of Mexico. Took 30 years to complete!

The twin houses of Paseo de Montejo. The two wealthiest families in Merida own these.

On Sunday, most of us met again downtown, at the cathedral, to see Domingos en Merida, which is a weekly street fair in the main square.  Dozens of local artisans and vendors have little booths where they sell amazing souvenirs, clothes, jewelry... everything, for great prices!  Bargaining is acceptable there.  There was also some live music playing, and a bounce house for little kids.  Street vendors had food carts with lunch and snacks available for purchase.  It was nice to see what seemed like the whole city shopping, having ice cream and churros and enjoying the beautiful day.  I plan to go back at least one more time while I'm here.

It's crazy to think that I've been here almost two weeks and yet I've done so much!  There's still much more of the city left to explore in my spare time.  I'm now a pro at taking the bus, but navigating the city is hard--let me tell you why.

Each neighborhood (grand scale), or district, in Merida has its own name and its own numbering system for the streets.  Generally, streets going north to south have even numbers, while streets going east to west have odd numbers.  Only major streets have names--the street that my homestay is on, for instance, is Avenida Campestre, in the district of Campestre.  When you're looking for an address, you get the number of street it's on, the building number, and what two streets it's between.  Example:  the house where we have class is on Calle 49 (calle means street), between Calle 52 and Calle 54, in el Centro (the downtown district).  If I told a taxi driver "Calle 49, between 52 and 54" but didn't tell him what district, I could end up in a COMPLETELY different part of town than I wanted.  Not to mention that some of the streets have subnumbers--56a, 17b, etc--if the street splits into a smaller drive.  This happens a lot in residential neighborhoods, where let's say Calle 3 is the main street in a subdivision-type group of houses.  Calle 3a would be a drive with a few houses for say, 2 blocks, before Calle 5 (because Calle 4 would intersect with them, don't forget!).  In my district, Calle 3 actually has like 8 sub-streets--all the way to Calle 3h--that all run no more than 4 blocks in length through residental zones.  Having my classmates come visit is VERY tricky, because of the confusing street names and numbers... Usually I have them meet me at Costco, which is 3 blocks away, and walk them back to my house.

On the bus!  All the buses are standard shift, which is scary when the bus driver is talking on the phone or is speeding through a yellow light while traffic is slowing down ahead.  The red box, which is not on all models of buses, allows people with discount cards to swipe electronically.  Each bus has some of its major destinations on the front windshield.  In order to ride the bus, you stand on the sidewalk and hail it like you would a taxi, but if the bus is full (or the bus driver doesn't want to switch lanes), sometimes the bus will pass you by.  There's usually another one within 5-10 minutes.

My bus at the changing point downtown.  Everyone on the bus gets off, and other people who want to head north to my neighborhood and beyond get on.  Buses here are red, yellow, green, and white... the green and yellow, and occasionally red, pass by Costco (my bus stop).  There are also 15-passenger vans that act as minibuses around town too.

Have I pumped up Merida enough yet?  I hope so!  I think it's a great city to visit or take your family on vacation.  It's not too congested or too touristy, yet there are tons of attractions in and around the city to make your time here worthwhile.

PS:  As usual, I have open albums on Facebook with all of my pictures--nearly 400 so far!  Here's Album 1 and Album 2.

#24: Who's Who(m) in Merida

Happy Monday, everyone!


Today begins my first day of classes.  Mondays and Wednesdays i have class from 4-6pm (how lucky am i?!), Tuesdays from 9-11am and then 6-8pm (I'll probably go home for lunch), and Thursdays, same as Tuesday but with an extra class from 11-1pm (will probably pack a lunch those days).  Fridays, no class at all!  That means time to go to the beach, study, sleep in and hang out with the host family.


Speaking of my host family, I've finally figured out the dynamics here.  It's a lot like Meet the Robinsons:

Mama Mili--she's my host mom and the one I interact with the most. she's very sweet and a great cook!

Papa Carlos--Mama Mili's husband. I just call him Papa for short (you'll see why). He loves watching the Discovery Channel, the History Channel and Animal Planet. He's also a licenced pilot! He's very funny and we have great intellectual conversations about things like climate change and shark attacks. Oh, and Papa Carlos has a twin sister.  Turns out Papa isn't retired, but he works at a photography studio downtown.

Then there are the grownup kids:

Carla--the oldest daughter.  She's married and has a son named Roberto, whom we call Ricky. Ricky's having a birthday party this Friday at Burger King (he's making 8) and I'm invited!! I bought him a book on dinosaurs, a 3-D T-Rex puzzle and a pinwheel. I think he'll love it.

Carlos--He's the only son, and in this family all the sons are named after their fathers (Carlos y Carlos, Roberto y Roberto... etc.) Everyone calls Carlos, Carlos. He works for the Federal Office of Tourism and does a lot of liason work with National Geographic and the Travel Channel when they go to the ruins here. He's invited me to meet some of the people from Travel Planet in March. In the words of Mama Mili: "Carlos is cute, single and a hard worker. He's very friendly! You will like him."

Gabi--Gabi's the youngest sibling. She's married, with two kids: Octavio, age 10 and Ana Gabriela, 7 months (and omg so presh!!). Gabi comes over every morning to work out... she has a nanny who stays at home with Ana Gabriela. Octavio goes to a very nice bilingual english/spanish school. He loves Katy Perry and american pop music. Oh, and he's having a big 1st communion celebration next month, and I'm going to that too. Fun fact: Octavio plays on a kids' hockey league. Hockey in Mexico?! Who knew!!

As for the extended family:

Abuela--Mama Mili's mom. Abuela's like 86, almost totally deaf and lives downstairs.  (Mama Mili's father passed away a few years ago.  Mama Mili is an only child.)

Linda--Linda is our Mayan housekeeper. She's been with the family for 23 years. In Mexican spanish, your housekeeper is called the "secretario" even though she doesn't do any office duties.

??--we have a houseboy, whose name I don't know. He's very shy, and I think he may be Linda's grandson.

To make things more confusing, I've also met Papa's twin sister, Ana Gabriela's nanny, one of Mama Mili's friends from a civic group, and we used to also have 2 American high school students who lived here for a week on winter break. Oh, and 2 Canadian junior high students will be moving in for about 2 weeks... sometime next week?

So, who lives at the house? Me, Mama and Papa, Carlos, Abuela, the 16-yr old cat Cindy, a flock of pigeons (right outside my bathroom window, in fact), and a fluffy little dog named Mili (after my host mom). But everyone else is over pretty regularly.

 Mama Mili and I downtown at the Cathedral

Carlos and me at home in the kitchen

Alright, when I get home this evening, after dinner and homework I'm going to FINALLY talk about (and show pictures!) of all the cool things I've done so far... like climbing ancient pyramids and snorkeling (when traveling around the region), to trying octopus cooked in its own ink (at a restaurant at the beach in Progreso this weekend).  Hasta tarde!

#23: La Vida Mexicana

Welcome back dear readership!

My hiatus ended up being longer than expected... it's been almost a month since my last update.  I was at home for 3 weeks, and was supposed to fly to Mérida, Mexico on February 10th... but there were complications, and I arrived a day later to meet the class.  We stayed in a lovely hotel for two nights before departing on a van tour of the region on Sunday, February 13th.

But I guess I should start with a more thorough explanation of what I'm doing in Mexico:  study abroad.  My college was recently ranked #2 in the nation for the number of undergraduates studying abroad, with most of us going more than once.  (The school that beat us has mandatory study abroad in order to fulfill graduation requirements.)   So after my 3-week stint in Barcelona, I'm now spending about 80 days in southern Mexico in the Yucatan, that little finger peninsula that sticks out into the Gulf of Mexico.

There are 10 students from my school who are part of my group, myself included.  Our college bought a house in the center of town (El Centro), where our program director/professor, Núria, and her husband John (whom we affectionately call Don Juan) live and we have classes.  Our school has also hired several local professors to teach classes and act as local guides around town.

 Part of the backyard at the school/house: pool

 poolhouse

 patio and garden #2

again, patio and garden #2 (forgot pic of garden #1)

All 10 of us have homestays here in Merida.  We will live with a Mexican host family so that we can better learn the language and the culture, as well as have people to explore the city with.  The classes offered are Humanities (learning about the culture of the region and the Mayan people), Art History, Anthropology, and varying levels of Spanish.  I'm taking the Humanities, Art History, and two Spanish classes--one on Mexican literature and another on Latin American culture in general.  I also have an independent study for my French senior seminar, to ensure that I graduate on time.

Because of growing concerns over the safety of Mexico in general and for American students in particular, my school placed us only with upper-middle class families to ensure that we live in safe neighborhoods with full amenities.  My host family falls into this category.  Our house is two stories, with at least 5 bedrooms, a kitchen, formal dining room, breakfast nook, formal living room, and family room.  Each bedroom has its own en suite bathroom and there's a half-bath downstairs for guests.  The entire house has marble tile floors, and the upper level has a wraparound balcony with access to the bedrooms.

I have my own room here, and it's very nice.  It was formerly the daughters' room (more on the family dynamics later).  I have two twin beds, a desk and chair, a vanity, two more chairs for company, three nightstands, and a built in armoire all for me to use! (There's also another armoire and a closet in here.)  My bathroom has a toilet and bidet, and a shower/tub with a seat.  I have a key to a little drawer that locks (to hold my important stuff), my bedroom itself, and a house key to let myself in and out.  All of the furniture in my room are antiques.  My room is very well lit and with good ventilation, which is great because the house doesn't have air conditioning!

My host family has been very welcoming.  My host mom, Mama Mili, and her husband are retired.  (Yesterday was my host dad's birthday, so I'm trying to see if we will throw him some sort of fiesta.)  They have 3 grown kids, two daughters and a son.  The son is single and lives here at least part time, in a bedroom off the kitchen.  I think I've met both daughters, who are married with kids of their own.  The oldest daughter has two sons, ages 8 and 11.  The youngest daughter just had a little girl 7 months ago.

There's also an older lady who lives here, who (I think) is my host dad's twin sister, but I also think that Mama Mili's aunt may live here as well.  (Will attempt to confirm this eventually.)  There's a Mayan housekeeper, Linda, who is also Mama Mili's secretary/personal assistant.  She's worked for the family for 23 years.  Finally, there's a teenaged boy who works around the house doing laundry, setting the table, and other tasks.  (He may be Linda's grandson--again, will try to confirm.)  As far as I know, Linda and the young man don't live here.

Oh, and if that isn't confusing enough, there are also 2 other students here!  They're high school students from California, and their class took a trip to Mérida for 10 days and they all have homestays in pairs or triples.  They'll be here until Sunday.  They leave for class activities before I'm awake and come home to sleep late in the evening, so I've only met them once so far (last night at dinner).  They share the bedroom across the hall.

So, I think that's a good place to leave off for now.  I'm going to get ready for an outing with the class and our host moms... we leave at about 4 to meet for 5.  Hasta luego!

#22: Reflections before Hiatus

Today, Sunday is my last full day in Europe.  Everyone in class is hunkered down in our hotel rooms, working hard on our final term paper due on Tuesday night by email.  I've had an amazing time during my month's stay, and I can't even begin to say how grateful I am that I've had this opportunity.

Now that all of the entries are again up to date, feel free to look over my last photo album here (updated with 80 new pictures over the past 4 days).  Also, here are the first four albums: four three two one.

I'm going to be signing off for about a week so that I can unpack, relax with my family, and repack to move to Mexico--what a short week!  It will be nice to sleep in my own bed again, even if just for a little while.  Until my next departure flight--keep well readership and see you soon!

#21: FC Barcelona

Saturday morning we were supposed to have a cava tour (cava is a champagne-like drink made here in Catalonia) but unfortunately, only 4 people showed up at the appointed time--not enough for the tour.  Instead I worked on my paper for class and had an early dinner with Ellen before the FC Barcelona game.  Our college purchased the tickets for us and will bill them to our student accounts in the spring, but unfortunately the tickets weren't all together--they were in twos and threes around the stadium.  Most people were at least in the same section but a few rows apart, if they weren't sitting directly next to each other.

On the Jumbotron:  FC Barcelona versus Real Racing

I'm not much of a soccer person, but you can't say you've been to Barcelona and didn't see a Barça game.  Soccer is practically a religion, and a game at Camp Nou (the name of the stadium) is like a fellowship.  On the metro to get to the match, there were a large number of Germans in town for the game.  At the stadium, I also ran into Brits, French, Americans, Portuguese...  everybody loves Barça.

Here are the rules to be a successful FC Barcelona spectator:

1)  There is no team better than Barça.

2)  There is NO TEAM better than Barça.

3)  Wear your team spirit in the form of a jersey, scarf, hat, flag, lap blanket, or facepaint. Don't be ashamed.

4)  When someone makes a goal, you stand up to cheer, shout and clap.  Lack of participation is only acceptable if you are elderly, pregnant, or looking for a good beatdown after the match.

5)  When anyone on the team makes a goal, you chant their name a few times to show your pleasure.

6)  When someone on the pitch makes a good play but is unsuccessful, clap anyway.

7)   Learn the chants and songs before you attend.  You will hear them A LOT.

8)   Be prepared to do the wave.  For no apparent reason, we did the wave 4 times before it died out.

9)  If you don't know anything about soccer, pay attention to the reactions of the people around you during plays.  A good play will be capped by a "Mol ve!" (Very good!).  A bad call by a ref will be followed by a string of swear words, booing and sulking.  Take note of the swear words--they are very florid and may come in handy during later matches.  

10)  Notice I didn't say a bad play by Barcelona.  THERE ARE NO BAD PLAYS BY BARCELONA.

Rule #3 in full effect! Go Barça!!

Barça wins 3-0! Underneath the crest are the names of the 3 players that made goals.

Travel tips:  To be polite, ask your questions in Spanish but don't be surprised when most people say "I don't speak Spanish."  A large population at each game are tourists just like you.  Ladies, go to the bathroom whenever you like--even halftime.  The best part about being at a male-dominated activity is that there are no long lines for the restroom.  Before you enter the stadium, buy souvenirs you're interested in from the street vendors.  They may be pricey, but it's very hard to cross through a stream of 100,000 people to find what you want after the match.  Same goes for food--buy snacks before the game while the lines aren't long.  In fact, we arrived about an hour before the match and there was still a sizeable crowd (although nobody tailgates, from what i've seen).  It was perfect because I had time to find the seats, get a snack, and figure out where the restrooms were before the bulk of the spectators arrived.

Above all: BE EXTRA VIGILANT.  With thousands of people getting on and off the metro at various stops and huge, thick crowds, pickpocketing is at an all time high after Barça games.  It's so simple for someone to bump you while trying to squeeze into the train car or for a stray hand to steal your ticket or cash from your purse walking through the crowds.  Although I did take my satchel with me, my hand was directly covering the zipper at all times and I didn't put anything in my coat or pants pockets.  But sometimes even that isn't enough--one girl's wristlet was stolen off her arm as she tried to get onto a crowded metro train.  With so many people everywhere, it's impossible to see who did what or where they went, so just be careful.

#20: Sitges and the Castellers

Friday morning a small group met for breakfast and joined Julie and Patrice for some mini-vacation time in Sitges, a beach resort town not far from Barcelona.  Paige, Becca, Laura, Ellen, Bethany, myself and the professors took the metro to one of the main hubs and transferred to the train that took us out of town.

Sitges is a very, very beautiful area.  In the off season, it was a quiet and idyllic little area with beautful beaches (nine, to be exact), nice landscape, and lots of friendly people walking their dogs.  Even though it's January, the weather was sunny and cooperative, so it felt fairly warm (close to 60*F).  We walked through town and down the beach for a mile or so, then found lunch at a sandwich shop and sat on the beach to enjoy it.  We all shed our winter coats and shoes to roll up our jeans and soak our feet in the (brisk!) water, or just snuggle our toes in the sand while we worked on journal entries and presentations.  Of course, we took lots of pictures!  On our way back to the train station, we met an American couple from Oklahoma.  They visit Spain every year, but Catalonia is their favorite region.

 reclining on the beach wall--i had to be careful not to fall in!

 View back down the beach.  That wall was where the previous picture was taken.

Isn't the water just gorgeous? I bet that's the inspiration for the crayon color cerulean.

It was almost a bit of a shock to be back in the city after just 35 minutes by rail, into the hustle and bustle of crowds after a slow afternoon next to the sea.  I've heard that Sitges is really popping during the summer months, when all the giant tourist crowds come in and the clubs open.  According to Wikipedia, the area is very expensive to live in, which explains why we didn't see many people in our age range--most residents were retirees.  I wouldn't mind returning to Sitges again--same time of year--as another adventure.

That evening, the class went to watch the Castellers (cas-tell-yays) practice.  The art of making the castell (tower) comes from a traditional dance in Catalunya that eventually evolved into a modern feat of acrobatics.  The first castellers were all men, but now the practice is opened to women as well.

Basically, the tower starts from the bottom up.  You need a group of people en masse to be the base, or the pinya.  Typically they form a roundish shape highlighted by access rows of very strong people.  The access rows form most of the support and structure for the tower, and is 10 or so people deep.  Each person pushes on the back of the person in front of him/ her with his/her head down (to prevent neck strain).  The combined strength of the group helps keep the tower upright.

There's the pinya, with a coach looking on

The people in the access rows also are like human stairs.  The first layer of castellers will climb up this human staircase to the middle, where the heart of the pinya holds them upright.  The people in the heart of the pinya tend to be strong, stout men.  The subsequent layers of people climb up the first person on their part of the tower and stands barefoot on the sides of his neck, directly on the muscle--too far out onto the shoulder can cause injury.  This is why the heart of the pinya must be strong--they hold the weight of the tower--and why the pinya itself provides support, to make sure that they hold the inner men upright.  On the ground is a coach who assesses each layer before the next can ascend (but very quickly!) to make sure that the structure of bodies remains safe.  In order to be a member of the team, the coach and criers (the people who direct each formation) must know your exact height, weight and strength tolerance to ensure that you are in the best place to support the tower.

The man at the end of his access row is the first "stair", as two upper-level girls practice their grip.

The top person on the tower is usually a small child, between the ages of 3 and 8, I believe.  They are usually the best at climbing up and adjusting quickly.  The tower is "complete" when the child stands up and puts a hand in the air.  The children wear helmets in case of falls, because at that point the tower is about three stories in the air.  Once the child has given the signal of completion, he or she climbs back down the opposite side just as quickly, and the tower disassembles from the top down.  This is usually the hardest part of the event, where the most injuries can occur.  In recorded history there have only been 3 deaths, thank goodness, and usually at competitions where the towers can be 8 or 9 layers [5-6 stories] high.

A completed 5-layer tower (the heart of the pinya can't be seen) reaching up 3 stories tall!

The best part of this event was that after we watched a few demonstrations, the castellers let any of us who were interested take part.  Most of us were part of the pinya on the outside, providing structural support, but a few lucky people got to practice being a base or climbing up each other to form second and third layers.  (From what they said, it was hard work!)

Bethany as the third level of a practice tower

Even though I only participated a few times as part of the pinya, I really must say that you feel like you're part of something the instant you walk towards the group.  Part of the tradition in tower-building is the sense of community--everyone plays a role in making the tower a success.  People take turns being criers (giving setup directions for each formation), outer pinya, inner pinya, access rows, first layer, second layer... everything.  Even the little kids take turns being at the top of the tower.  It's not so much about competition as it is about unity.  If you join a casteller club with your family, the younger children are trained to climb and be the top of the tower (some of the best kids had only been in the program  two weeks!).  As they get older, they descend a level, supporting someone else on their shoulders until eventually, they become part of the pinya.  There were four year olds at the top of the tower, and there were 70-year old grandparents in the pinya, with every age represented in between.  Inside the facility, there was also a small bar where families could buy a speedy dinner and watch their relatives practice from the 2nd floor.  One of the women who was giving us tips had seen her daughter go from being at the top of the tower to part of the pinya, and her grandchildren were now training to be at the top.

I don't know if such a sport would go over well in the States.  We're far too individualistic to work on something so complex, where so much trust is needed between parties to succeed.  There's also too much  competition involved in our sports as well--there wasn't a pushy parent insisting that their child was the best, or trying to "encourage" their child to be the one on top all the time.  There was no "star member" of the team who was involved in every tower or had the same position.  It was all about teamwork, rotation, and mutual collaboration so that everyone could be involved.  It was a wonderful atmosphere and a great example of the Catalan spirit.

#19: Universitat Barcelona

On Thursday morning we took the metro to the Universitat Barcelona to meet with Professor David Casals.  Professor Casals gave us a great presentation about the importance of linguistic diversity within Spain and around the world.  For instance, did you know that there are over 6000 languages in the world, but fewer than 300 of those languages have over 1 million speakers?  Can you name the top 10?  (Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, English, Hindi, Arabic, Bengali, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese and German.  French comes in at #16.)  96% of the world's languages are spoken by only 4% of the world's population--isn't that crazy?  If the world were represented in a room of 100 people that knew 100 languages, 4 of those people would know 24 languages EACH (96 languages total), while the other 96 people in the room would know one to four of the last four remaining languages.  (If you're reading this blog, you're one of the 96 people who only knows 1-4 of the "main" languages.)  In fact, half of the world's languages are concentrated in 8 nation-states (or "countries", if that's better for you): Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Nigeria, India, Mexico, Cameroon, Australia and Brazil.

In fact, some linguists (essentially, language scientists) are afraid that by the year 2100, half the world's languages will be extinct.  Not dead, like Latin, where nobody speaks it daily but it's recorded in books.  Extinct, like the dinosaurs, with little to no written record and nobody left who understands the language or knows its history.  Why?  Since the era of exploration began (circa 1300s), the conquerors forced their language upon the indigenous cultures they found.  Indigenous speakers of these rare languages were killed by disease, war, famine, or maybe as they learned the new "main" language, they stopped speaking in their native tongue and didn't carry the tradition on with their children.  Of course, most of these languages didn't have written records, and those that did were usually destroyed, sometimes singlehandedly:  If you get some free time, look up bishop Diego de Landa and the Mayan language.  In order to convert the Mayans to Christianity, he ordered the destruction of every Mayan book and school in the region.  While he half-heartedly attempted to "record" some of the written glyphs through transliteration, it still didn't change the fact that 500 years later, there are only four original Mayan books in the world and centuries went by before anyone could decipher the language again.

So where does Catalan factor in in all of this?  Well, Catalan is the co-official language of Catalonia (along with Castillian Spanish, known as castellano here).  It is not, however, recognized officially by the country of Spain.  The European Union has a policy that if a country is admitted to the Union, any and all of their official languages are also made to be official languages of the Union and acceptable for any political discourse and interaction at the international level.  Spain's only officially recognized language is Spanish, so Catalan more or less doesn't count to the EU.

Look at it this way:  Catalan has about 10 million speakers, most of which are concentrated in and around Barcelona, Spain's most prosperous city.  By contrast, the island nation of Malta has 400,000 Maltese speakers (the other official language is English), and Maltese is an official language of the EU.

The good news is that in 2005, Catalan was issued a "semi-official" status by the European Union.  All this means is that if Catalonia wants to draft a document to the EU, they can send it to Madrid (Spain's capital), who will translate it into Spanish so it will be accepted.  Of course, this is both a great hassle and a bone of contention for Madrid (remember, Spain wants to dissuade Catalonia away from their "silly little independence and recognition thing"), so it's easier to just stick with Spanish.  All of this would be made so much easier if Andorra just became a full member of the EU.  Since Andorra's official language for all state business is Catalan, Catalan would automatically be recognized fully (another bone of contention for Spain).  However, Andorra enjoys all the perks of being an EU ally without many of the bureaucratic regulations on industry, so that may not change anytime soon.

So what can you take away from all of this?  Be linguistically sustainable.  It's just ten very simple steps:
1) Respect all languages.
2) Observe and listen:  Take an interest in the languages around you.
3) Don't be afraid to learn new languages; they'll only ever help you.
4) Don't renounce the source(s) of knowledge that different languages present.
5) Give voice to minorities and listen to them.
6) Don't impose dominant languages, replant threatened languages.
7) A small market might be a great gateway--don't overlook anyone!
8) Practice linguistic diversity on your travels (use phrases from the host country).
9) Preserve your space of freedom:  No one can take your language from you if you don't want them to.
10) Don't exclude anyone from a language.

The last point is the most relevant for me.  Here in Catalonia, people are both shocked and excited when I greet them in a few basic Catalan words or am able to understand a phrase or two.  Language is the strongest bond that they all have to each other, and they are glad to share it with other interested people.  It's said that you aren't always born Catalonian, but you can become one:  live and work in the region, get to know the people and customs, and try to speak the language as best you can.  If you do that, the local people here will embrace an immigrant from another culture just as well as they would someone whose family has been here for generations.  I can't say the same for all languages or regions--some places have a defined ethnic identity with their language--but if you try just a little and show a real interest, people become a lot more hospitable just about anywhere.

#18: Meeting of the Minds

Hola, bon dia!  Or, bona nit, as the Catalans would say this time of evening.

Today the class and I went to a Catholic school to contrast the education system in France with the one here in Spain.  It was ok.  The kids weren't interactive like they were at the Bressola school, and our speaker was long on words and short on remembering that we're not native speakers and can't keep up with historical terms and dates that fast.  We toured a couple classrooms, observed some students at recess, and asked a few questions.

The exciting part of my day was going to visit Catalonian Parliament (hence the entry title).  We had been told in advance that this was a possibility on the itinerary, so we all had to pack one "nice" outfit (slacks or a skirt/dress, blouse, sweater or button down, and appropriate shoes).  We also had to bring our passports in order to enter.  For some reason, the Catalonian Parliament house is next door to the Barcelona Zoo (politics, zookeepers--I can see it).  However, it's a beautiful park--loaded with Audis.  Apparently Audi makes the official car for all Catalonian lawmakers.  We waited outside for the session to be finished, and we actually caught a glimpse of the Catalonian president, recently elected last month! It was all very low-key--no paparazzi or anything, just a couple journalists for local papers and legislative aides walking to their cars or having a smoke.  (Note: Everyone smokes in Europe.  Even the dogs.  And  in Andorra, our hotel was smoking-friendly, so be forewarned.)

The guide announced that the president was coming, we all readied our cameras...  He walked up to a car waiting on the curb, got in, and took off.  He didn't even "act" like a celebrity, just a guy leaving work for the day.  I was still adequately impressed, of course.

Señor Presidente!  Oh, I don't think he heard me.

The Parliament house was ritzy.  I've been to Congress as a kid, but it didn't leave nearly as much as an impression on me as the Parliament house did (then again, I wasn't paying attention back then).  EVERYTHING is marble and polished wood.  All the chairs are plush red velvet.  The draperies and area rugs look like something out of magazines.  And since most of the legislators left, it was quiet and we could peep in without being asked to leave.

We met with the current house leader, whose party of "independentists" are the majority right now.  His party believes that Catalonia should become its own nation independent from Spain.  It was interesting to hear his take on things.  I asked him "What do you think would happen to Spain if Catalonia left?"  Basically, Barcelona is the most prosperous city in Spain, and this entire region is doing the best economically--most of their taxes bankroll the rest of Spain right now.  Literally, Spain's economy would tank, possibly to almost third world status, nearly overnight if Catalonia seceded.

"Well, first Spain would not like it at all," he joked.  Basically, the politician's views are that the relationship between Spain and Catalonia has always been terse and it would be better if Catalonia moved on, took care of itself and remained political and economic allies with Spain. He cited Portugal as an example (back in like the 11th century Portugal was part of Spain for all of 39 minutes or so).  He also showed that Canada and Australia, while separate and independent nations, still cite their queen as the Queen of England (despite having completely different political systems and answering to their respective presidents).  Catalonians really like the King of Spain because whenever he comes to visit, he tries to speak in Catalan, which is a huge compliment to the people (remember, there are a generation of Catalans who grew up speaking their language in private for fear of death--not even 40 years ago, so this is still in recent memory).  So maybe if Catalonia were its own nation yet still considered a subject of the Spanish crown, it would still be okay.

the front of the meeting room we were in to hear the party leader speak

look!  i'm signing a bill into law!  (the big green button meant we were visitors)

After the house leader's Q&A session with us, he gave us a short look around to the chamber where all of the legislative work actually takes place.  Again, plushy red seats and lots of wood and velvet.  We got to sit in various spots and he told us which important party leaders sit where, and what they do during a typical session.  He had to leave to attend another session, but we took pictures and relaxed in a small lobby (with leather armchairs!) until we left.

Wouldn't it be cool to have your office look like this?

 We weren't allowed up at the podium on top.

The party leader, explaining what goes on in chamber

I want to close this entry by saying I had some of the best gelato (white chocolate) of my life with lunch today, at a little cafe on the Rambla.  It was amazing, and I was actually sad to finish it.  Barcelona is number one city to eat gelato in all the world.  What a fabulous city!