Here we all are in The City hall in Barcelona
Wednesday 13 March 2012
We left Ireland on Wednesday and we arrived in Barcelona
airport, the plane trip was a bit annoying as there was a woman sitting behind
us who would never stop talking. Even Bn. Uí Cheallaigh had to laugh. There was bad fog at Barcelona airport, but we
arrived nevertheless and there we happened to meet a famous rugby player called
Lifemi Mafi. We were collected by Luis, the Spanish coordinator and were
brought to the hostel where we stayed for the night. We went out to a little
local bar and had a pizza together; it was out first experience of ‘real’
Barcelona.
Thursday
On Thursday we went to Barcelona zoo which was very enjoyable,
and we did a bit of wandering around Barcelona city. Later that day we visited
the Picasso museum. It was full of Picasso’s paintings and other art works. It is in the heart of the old city. What an
interesting place that is! On the train out to Vilassar we could see the plam
trees and the Meditarranean sea. We met our hosts later that day and settled
down for the night.
Friday
On Friday we visited the Barcelona town hall. It was full of
beautiful paintings and marble. We were told the history of the hall. We moved
on to the Segrada Familia, a famous cathedral very well known in Barcelona. They
began building it in 1882 and hope to have it finished by 2016 which is the 100th
anniversary of Gaudi who was the original architect. It was an amazing
structure and I was fascinated by it, but we had to rush out of it. We had our
packed lunch and had time to look at the old city again. The Roman ruins were
very interesting and the big open squares.
Saturday
On Saturday we took a coach to Monserrat Abbey an abbey high
up in the mountains. When we arrived we
went straight to the café for some refreshments. Then we went to admire the
amazing view.
A tour guide showed us around the abbey and the museum and
explained how the King of Spain gave the land to the monks. We saw the statue
of the Black Virgin. There are many legends about statues of Black Virgins from
early medieval Europe. Apparently it wasn’t that they were black in skin colour
but that the paint used to decorate them became discoloured and turned black. We
were given two hours of free time and we climbed to the top of the mountain. It
was a tough climb but we made it. The place was full of pilgrims, Spaniards and
foreigners. I was interested to see them queueing up for hours to touch the
statue of the Virgin. We were tired after our adventures but after going
home and relaxing for a while, we played
football and basketball in the school’s playing grounds which was fun.
It was an interesting and enjoyable day.
Sunday
On Sunday we went to the beach. I thought this was the best
day of the trip; no long walks and no Metro! We played rugby, football and we
went swimming. Luckily the weather was fine and all the students were together.
We went home for dinner and we went bowling later in the day. The bowling was
great fun.
Monday
On Monday we visited
the school in Vilissar de Mar. We attended some classes in the morning. We had
a good laugh trying to learn Catalan. The presentation was held and we watched
the DVDs we had made. I had put a lot of work into our film about the Irish language in the Déise
today. I was proud of my work. Lunch had been prepared for us. I really enjoyed
that because it was the only time we were all together. We took a group photo
and we headed into Barcelona for some shopping. This was our last day.
I thoroughly enjoyed this exchange. It’s hard to say what
the highlight was. I had no idea at the start how different it would be to an
ordinary holiday. Not only did I meet the Catalan people but also the
Bulgarians and the Norwegians. It was quite an experience when we all tried to
talk to each other. We Irish had an advantage because we all speak English
fluently. I was surprised at how well some of the other students’ English was.
I don’t think my Spanish would match up to their English!
I have been in Barcelona before staying with good friends
but this experience was completely different. I had to mix with complete
strangers and muster up all the social skills I had to find a place in the
group. Some other people were shy and their English wasn’t good, so we all had
to make a big effort. The trip has certainly got me interested in travelling to
other places in Europe and learning about other cultures.
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