Montjuïc Park

By Austin Baranko

Portland Community College

More than the average park possibly dreamt of, the confines of Montjuïc Park bleed with historical significance. Rising 184.8 meters or roughly 605 feet above Barcelona, Montjuïc is hardly what most would consider to be a mountain. While perhaps Montjuïc lacks in certain vertical accomplishments, it does satisfie the avid explorer, or nature lover, or student of local history with feats of a tumultuous past, and a promising future. From the Neo-Baroque style Palau Nacional (National Palace), built in 1929 for the International Exhibition and which now houses the Museum of Catalan Art to the Olympic Plaza, constructed for the 1992 games, a visit to Montjuïc is essential to the understanding of Barcelona’s harrowing history.

In medieval Catalan, ‘Montjuïc’ literally translates to ‘Jew Mountain.’ Evidence of the donning of the term can easily be spotted today. Nestled on the north side of the mountain lies a neighborhood by the name Poble Sec. In modern times, this is widely considered to be the immigrant neighborhood, which until recently housed forty six percent of the city’s population. A noted exodus has a occurred in more recent times, due to a flailing economy. The eastern slope is steep and rocky, providing great views to the port below, a boasters a strong sport climbing scene, which gladly calls these mountainsides home.

Despite the current bubbly state of affairs one may perceive upon first entrance in to the park, Montjuïc has been the home to many hardships. The oldest surviving structure on Montjuïc is the aptly named Montjuïc Castle, constructed in 1640. Originally designed to protect the city against invasion, the castle found a different use under the reign of Spain’s fascist dictator Francisco Franco (1939 - 75). Once used to protect and serve the city, the guns of Castle Montjuïc were pointed towards the city.  During this period of the Spanish Civil War and the Franco regime which followed, Castle Montjuïc saw the execution of hundreds of thousands of political prisoners. Nationalists, socialists, anarchists, trade union members, and Republicans met equal fates amongst Castle Montjuïc’s walls under Franco’s rule. More often than not, these executed prisoners found their final resting place in a mass unmarked grave site, many of which can still be seen today, at el Cementerio de Montjuïc.

            

            It may prove difficult to compare Montjuïc to an average American urban park. This could perhaps be due to its history, or its modern societal significance. Today Montjuïc is a popular picnic location and a hive of activity serving the entire city. In the summers, avid movie fans view classic cinema at sunset on the same grounds that once saw the ruthless execution of all those who opposed the Franco regime. There lies a degree of magic held deep within the core of Montjuïc that cannot be properly explained, only experienced -- as could be said for the whole of Europe.

The author and the Palace of Catalan Art

Photos by Austin Baranko

References

http://w3.bcn.cat/turisme/0,4022,495525130_712089581_3,00.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montju%C3%AFc

http://www.barcelona-tourist-information.info/montjuic-castle.html

http://www.aviewoncities.com/barcelona/montjuic.

Our day-to-day life in Barcelona

by Pat Casey, OIEC Instructor

Mt. Hood Community College

So how do things operate on a day-to-day basis here in Barcelona? Our partner, Barcelona SAE http://www.barcelonasae.com offers a variety of student programs both at their own facility and at other institutions in town including University of Barcelona, Universidad de Pompeu Fabua, and Universidad Autonómia de Barcelona.

BIC's offices and most Barcelona 

SAE classrooms are on the top floor

Barcelona International College

(BIC)/Barcelona SAE Headquarters

in the Eixample district

For our Oregon International Education Consortium (OIEC) group, Barcelona SAE created a custom program where two OIEC faculty (Pat Casey from Mt. Hood C.C. and Sarah Bentley from Portland C.C.) teach History, Media, and Spanish Literature courses, and Barcelona SAE faculty offer Spanish language and Spanish Life and Culture classes. As with all OIEC offerings, all Barcelona classes transfer seamlessly to students’ home colleges, so they can fulfill core requirements while studying in Europe. Just like back home, a normal course load is 12 hours per term, which works out to be three or four different classes.

History students Lauren Fedance, Brenda Pyle, Justin Hastay,
Erin Brownlee, Martine Daley, and Tiffany Lewelling in
Rm 304, their home away from home every Monday and
Wednesday morning

BIC Offices & classrooms

Classes meet Mondays through Thursdays so weekend travel is very much an option. So far term students (and faculty!) have visited London, Dublin, Galway, Paris, Amsterdam, Rome, Florence, Sevilla, Córdoba, Granada, Madrid, San Sebastián, Gibraltar, Lisbon, Lyon, München, Tangier, and Fez, Morocco – so we’ve become quite adept at local rail and air transport!

Spanish Life & Culture students Erin 

Brownlee and Brenda Pyle riding 

the Metro on their way to a

presentation at a Spanish Civil War 

bomb shelter

The bulk of the Spanish Life and Culture classes meet around town, using the city as a classroom. Examples include Barcelona’s Bari Gòtic (Gothic Quarter); the Camp Nou Fútbol (Soccer) Stadium -- home to Barcelona’s famous FC Barça soccer team; a Spanish Civil War bomb shelter in the Proble Sec neighborhood; a day trip to the Salvador Dalí Museum in the nearby town of Figures; and a Spanish and Catalan cooking (and eating!) class offered at a cooking school.

Classrooms are at the Barcelona SAE/Barcelona International College headquarters on Carrier Diputació, in Barcelona’s very central Eixample district. The building is a three minute walk from the Rocafort metro (subway) station as well as several bus lines, and is a 15 minute walk from Plaça Catalunya, the very heart of town.

Barcelona historian and SAE Prof. Layla
Dworkin explaining the Italian Air Force
bombing campaign against Barcelona
during the Spanish Civil War 

Prof. Dworkin, a local tour guide as well as historian, 

arranged a special visit inside Refugio 307, a recently 

restored Spanish Civil War air raid shelter.

Student housing is in furnished apartments around town; typically four share a two-bedroom flat and all apartments are either walking distance to Barcelona International College or to mass transit; no student is more than 15 or 20 minutes from the classrooms. The apartments all have wireless internet and washing machines, and students prepare their own meals.

All photos by Pat Casey

Media & Society students Kristin Young,  Shanayia Munoz, 

Selena Tamme-Juarez, Austin Baranko, and Maleia Sheldon 

atop Barcelona's Caixa Forum after visiting an exhibition on 

groundbreaking early filmmaker Georges Melies.

Barcelona's Metro

Maleia Sheldon

Portland Community College

            The one thing that I knew before I came to Barcelona was that its public transportation was better than in Portland, so I expected a lot out of it in Barcelona because I wanted to be able to see everything the city has to offer.  The day that I arrived we were greeted at the airport by the program director and staff. They were there to take us to our new homes for the next ten weeks and to give us a very short tour of our neighborhood including where the closest Metro (Subway) stop was so we could find our way to our new school the following day.

As I opened the folder that I received I saw a Barcelona Metro map, which was going to become my new best friend.  As I familiarized myself with it I could only think there are so many different lines -- green, yellow, red, purple, blue, and so on; it was going to be a learning experience.

           

Now that I have ridden the Metro numerous times it doesn’t seem so intense, and the more I walked around the more I realized how much I only needed the Metro for convenience.  For example one of my favorite spots in Barcelona is the Gracia neighborhood. I realized if I walked about a mile or less to the right of my neighborhood I would be there.

From this experience I learned that our public transit system in Portland is lacking in so many ways; for one thing it seems to be much more expensive. Here in Barcelona if you are under 25 years of age you can get a 90-day pass for 105 Euro ($136) and it is unlimited, while in Portland a Tri-Met pass for only one month is around $110.00.

           

Being in Barcelona I am very happy with how I have been able to get around the city. There are always a few things that are annoying when riding the Metro such as pushy patrons or people who are in a huge hurry who force you out of their way but those are all things that can be overlooked when you get off the Metro and start exploring the beautiful city you are in.

Euro Coffee Culture

by Selena Tamme-Juarez

Portland Community College

As long as there was coffee in the world, how bad could things be? Cassandra Clair once said this in her book City of Ashes, and it’s true. Until I arrived in Barcelona I never thought about the culture behind the cup of coffee I held in my hand every day. I had assumed the rest of the world had the same coffee culture as the United States; how could it be different? I thought in my head. At home in Oregon it rains for two thirds of the year, so having a tasty hand warmer while walking to a destination is normal and quite comforting. When purchasing coffee it is known that you get in and get out, of the line at least. Coffee isn’t a break, a half hour, or even fifteen minutes for most. Coffee is a moment in-between destinations, typing on the computer, or studying. It is an escape from reality from the unbelievably hectic culture we live in, much different than Barcelona.

In Barcelona everyone should take time for a coffee. This simple quote from My Life in Ruins describes the culture I have seen and experienced during my time here. If you walk into a cafe here you won’t see laptops, cell phones, or students doing homework. However, you will see people enjoying their food or coffee, without chugging it down, or socializing daily with friends. In my favorite cafe nearest to my apartment there are 5 ladies that gather every morning for coffee and maybe a couple of bocodillos.

One by one they show up, as is the routine, and when they all arrive you will never hear a moment of silence. They share each other’s lives, laugh, and cope with every day things. Now when I walk in they say Hola guapa, buenas dias, which means hello beautiful and good morning in Spanish, and it melts my heart because I feel as if I am now a small part of the community.  

In comparison I could pick out a million differences between Barcelona’s cafe culture and our own, but I will share only a few. Cafes here generally play upbeat music -- you won’t normally hear John Mayer or Norah Jones coming through the speakers as you would back at home. I remember after going to a club one evening it was almost daytime and so I went to visit Cafe Riera and the same music was playing; I felt as if I should have still been dancing.

When you order your drink or food you will not be asked to pay beforehand here, but instead to pay when you finish. In the U.S. you are asked to pay first to make sure that the business receives their money but here they often times run on the honor system. Anytime, anywhere, you can strike up a conversation with someone, if you know the language of course. The people are not afraid to strike up a conversation with strangers, and frequently do. If someone talks to you in a coffee shop back home most people think it’s odd or that they’re up to something other than just having a friendly conversation.

The last and most important one I have noticed is that the Spanish people make time for what is important in life whether it’s family, education, or their daily coffee and conversation. It’s something I really admire when coming from a fast paced culture where we sacrifice some things that feed our soul.

Foreign Tourists at home and in Barcelona

by Shanayia Munoz

Portland Community College

During my stay in Barcelona, I’ve made a personal realization regarding my tendencies at home compared to the habits I have while abroad. While I am at home in Oregon, I am always so eager to meet foreigners visiting or living in Portland.

One year I was working at a huge festival in North Plains helping people get around the festival, and I met a small group of Australians that had never been before, they were just there visiting their cousin and decided to go. It was a cool experience to meet some people from another country and show them where to go.

While I am in another country however, I try to avoid tourists or people from other countries so I can focus solely on that culture. I like to surround myself with true natives and locals.  I live in a neighborhood called Sants and this is a great neighborhood to be surrounded by locals -- I am constantly meeting locals and having conversations with them in Spanish, this helps me get better at Spanish and learn about their culture.

The reason for this is to obtain as much cultural experience as possible; I want to see the way of life of a local and try to see if I can adopt their ways while I am there as well. America is a newer country compared to most, therefore, it doesn't have as much history or old traditions as other countries.

In Portland in particular there are not many tourists so when I do see one in Portland it is very exciting. In Barcelona there are many tourists, sometimes hard to avoid; for example in Plaça de Catalunya or Espanya there are always a bunch of tourists that aren't there to learn about culture but are just there to relax and have fun.

One night I was walking to a bar and had to go past Las Ramblas and I noticed a group of Americans drunk and singing aloud, they didn't care about bothering others or being quiet at a certain time; all they cared about was having fun -- it was as if they thought Barcelona was only a place for tourists and that people don't live there or have to sleep. Those are the kind of people who put Americans in a bad light. I have had many other encounters with tourists here, especially Americans who don't care to be nice to the locals and who are very demanding. I wish there was something I could say to them so they wouldn't be so obnoxious or disrespectful but instead I just go to the local areas and learn real Spanish or Catalonian culture and avoid tourists.