Elisabeth Breivik :: Blog

Just wanna say thank you for a some very very geart mounths as a erasmus student!
Hope to see you all again sometime:)
Will never forget this:)
Byr for now...

....and its not hallelujah...more like home.
We still are getting visits from home, that are so much looking forward to get away from the rain and the wind back there...but no...the are coming to the same weather...
So now i am wondering...please tell me that this is not normal, and that it will be good again??..but if that is not the case...i miss home, sweet home:)but under 5 weeks left...and it feels like we just got here...

The presentasions on friday was very interesting, and all had put a lot of work in to it, and that makes it for sure more fun. And what i like the best is when people do something funny about it, not make it like a normal presentasion just with the powerpoint, but put some fantasy and fun into it, you learn more when it is fun, thats for sure.
Some people had done that on friday, made a "non-usual" presentasion.

First i want to mention the presentasion on "catalan for dummis". That was a non-talking presentasion, witch you also learned alot from, and when they than afterwords made a game out of it, i liked that. "fun with learning" always works, and easesially when you are in teams. I leard some new catalan words from this game, and it was fun, so therefore you remember it more. So that presentasion it worth mentioning.

Second presentasion i liked and why was the presentation about the homeless people in barcelona. This is a question everyone that espesially is not from here asks themselves. There are meny people living on the street here. Where i come from there is not so many, smaller country and easier to help them all. Thats why i found it interesting to hear how difficult it was to find a home for homeless people here, and than understand more why people live on the streets, because not so meny people know how to get help. From this presentation they had made a research, and that made a story out of it, that also was very funny, even if it was a sad story.

The thierd presentation i want to mention is the presentation on The catalan mythologi, the witches and so on. Funny to hear what people here in catalonia also belives in and tells storys about. For me this is more fun that scary, because i dont believe in such things. But interesting to listen to and learn about. Its crazy all myths people can make up, and the myths about witches never dissapares

Jepp, these were mine opinions!

But ofcourse...all presentations were good, ofcourse:)

Catalan person 1
Girl 22:
She felt catalan.
Speek mostly spanish with friends and stuff, but it happens with catalan too at home, since i know them bouth.
Dont want catalonia to be independent, think it is good as it is.

Man 45:
He felt catalan
Speek mostly catalan with catalan people, if not catalan people, he speeks ofcourse spanish.
Would be nice to be independent in one way, but dont think we are big enough to manage, so actually it is nice as it is, we feel "independent" anyway

Girl 21:
Feel a bit spanish and a bit catalan, most catalan mabye.
Speeks catalan at home sometimes...but mostly spanish, with friends, and yong people..
Would like catalonia as it is, dont think it would matter.people here feel catalan anyway

My God, i have seen Barcelona on Nou Camp, what an experience. It was huuuuuuge, there was so much life, it was so fun, i could never believe it. I would never have the change to experience something that big in Norway, never. I guess this was two catalan teams playing,or?? They was talking so much about catalonia, and about their independense, it was weird to see how people was screaming. I thing this catalan thing- about beeing a catalan and not spanish is very strong among people here..or?It seemed like it...

Anyway the game was amazing, Barcelona won ofcourse. It was great, i was like up in the skys, and i really dont like football that much. People shuld go there sometime...go go Barcelona. And by the way...i know the Barcelona team song now, "Barça, Barça, Barçaaaaaa...."

Well, when i first heard i was going to Barcelona, i got really happy, but i didnt know so much what i was gonna do here, just that i was going. Well, I have a friend that was here 2 years ago, doing exactlly the same programme, so he had told us much about the city, and the school, but all he actuallt was saying was "if you have the chance, go there, it is easy...."

Barcelona is BIG BIG BIG...go to my hometown and you will see why, but i have been to other big citys, but not so turistic as this one. I knew it was gonna be hot, and that is a hugh thing for us norwegians, that freeze most of the year. There was so much to see, so much to do, where to start. I knew that Barcelona was in Catalonia, but not that it was so "different" and independent from rest of Spain, with their own lanuaguge and evrything.I knew i was gonna learn some spanish, and i huess i hoped it was gonna be much more easier than it was, but learning bu doing. I have to say that i tought people here would be more helpful and friendly here than they actually was the first days we came here. But the langauge "conflict" makes it more difficult, since so few people speeks english,i never knew it would be so bad....but it got better after a while...now people are more friendly:)But one thing...i never knew that you had to take so much care of your things dawn here, people who steels are everywhere..and all the salesmen that run after you all over...get tired of them really fast. But the worst thing is all the men screaming after you like you wore some kind of a toy, that is absolutly horrible,that you cant walk alone without someone is commenting you....but now i have learned to ignore it.

Barcelona is different from our culture and sosial life. People are more outside, nightlife and familys out in the evenings...just not used to it, but it is a part of the culture, so you see why after a while, but i would never think that the differenses would be so big in many areas.

Mostly i am positiv amased, and many things are as i tought, but like the very local stuff are very diferent. How people live, how people connect, but all together is it very good...but it is gonna be good to go home to quiet Norway...

I must say that this country has a lot of holidays, every mounth, nothing wrong with that, i just wish i knew what all these festivals was for, and i am just not used to it. Last holiday, la marce was like a big festival, so much people in the streets. Then there was a new festival, el pilar. We tought mabye this was the same, alot of things in the streets, "thats what spanish people do...get together.."but no...we was totally wrong. For the first time since i came here, i saw like a empety citycentre, it was amazing, quiet, no salesmen, nothoing. And we could walk whereever we wanted to, i our own speed. So we suddanly notised that this was like a quiet holiday!Felt a bit like home on a normal day...
We tried to find something to do on a day like this....and guess what, we found a cinema, with movies in original langauge....it was so great, to see a movie in english again, after 2 mounths with only spanish spanish and spanish. We know we learn alot from it...but i have to admit that i hate dubbd movies, no matter what, so i will never go to a spanish cinema, onless it is a spanish movie....but original cinemas exist here...so happy, i will deffently go back:)And for the people who wonder, this cinema is in villa olympica:)

ok...i have red in these books, that there is own beaches for nudists...so why why why do i see like two naked people on the beach on the same day?is that normal...?well not for me....clouths are made to be used i have heard...at least in public..:)

Well, after been living in Barcelona for two mounths,there is no doubt about that this is a very very noisy city, and espesially for me that comes from the end of the world (where birds wake you up...not cars)I have been trying to find a place where there is like home, like no noise at all...but it seems to be to hard...until..we went to see the cathedral in barry gothic. We went in just to see (i cant say i am much of a church-person)Than i got in to the "prayers-room", i sat dawn...and that was amazing, for the first time in 2 mounths there was not a sound of cars,no ambulance,no people(drunk or sober), nothing...i just sat there, could not moove...for the first time i liked the church more than nothing...i will go back, defently, to have another quiet moment....amazing!...just too bad that you have to pay everytime you go in there.....