Getting started with junior youth in El Vendrell...

...requires A LOT of time, planning, organizing and effort!

A core group of us have been working tirelessly in the past month to open a junior youth group and every day it seems we are closer and closer.  

We started with planning at the youth conference in Madrid last month. Immediately following, we met again and created a more step by step plan of action. We invited our friends to become animators and offered a study of books 1 and 5. We invited friends from other communities to help us conduct outreach in our neighborhood to invite junior youth and help us plan/prepare for our first sessions. Now we have met with some 12 junior youth four times and we have another group of 8-10 that wants to form too, with whom we have met twice.

At the moment, Kilian and I are the only two trained animators with two more going through books 1 and 5. Our challenge will be to fortify the youth and consolidate the junior youth so that we have enough resources to have and sustain two junior youth groups. 

Every day we are learning something new about this process.

Chocolate Almond Cake

Enjoying a large slice of homemade chocolate almond cake with a decaf coffee with milk (café amb llet) at La Xocolateria in the Plaça Nova of El Vendrell.

The cake is moist and not too sugary or overwhelmingly chocolaty. It is just sweet enough, making it an ideal complement with an unsweetened hot drink of choice.

Delish!!

The Friday Market

El Vendrell's Friday morning market has all you want and more. From locally grown and fresh from the field produce to clothing and household goods, you can get lost in this market for hours.

Look at those tomatoes and peppers!

Fresh seasonal fruit (and look at all those stands in the background).

Car traffic is blocked for this market.

The Rambla, re-envisioned as shopping district.

Musica a la Vila in El Vendrell

Band from Valencia

For those of you who are interested in visiting Barcelona and getting out of the city for the day, you can easily take the train to El Vendrell. Every Wednesday in August, there is this Música a la Vila festival, where traditional music from the Catalan countries is performed. This is provided free of charge and takes place in one of the town's many plazas.

Every week the music is different and this week we heard a Valencian band play traditional music with hand drum, banjo, cello, flute and other instruments. Pretty awesome.

Quilting in Catalonia (Part IV)

...and it's complete! 

This project ended up being more challenging than expected. I started off with polyester batting (the first time I tried this because it was the only available option in town) but quickly the machine was not able to handle it. It couldn't keep the tension right. So after quilting a few rows, I had to back track, undo all the quilting, order cotton batting online and wait until it arrived before I could continue.

I continued to have problems with the tension from time to time, especially every time the bobbin needed replacing; it would take about an hour of starting and stopping before the tension would be right, then I could start quilting again. But alas, it is "finished" (I'm still contemplating redoing some of the quilting and it needs a label).

I quilted this in-the-ditch, not that interesting but I quilted all the lines so the back looks pretty fun.

Here you can see the pattern a bit.

Close up of the alphabet fabric with red thread used for quilting.

Cuckoo's Calling (Book Review)

 

I just finished reading The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith, who is actually J.K. Rowling, author of the much-loved Harry Potter series. This is the first crime novel that I've ever read so I can't compare it with any others.

I am not one for reading much, as I bore very easily, and this book did not bore once. The pace was steady throughout. At no point was I eagerly anticipating a semi-climax, which often happened in the Harry Potter series and at no point, did I feel like she had simply written filler pages, which kind of lull that require a bit of patience to read through. At any given moment, it was an equally compelling read. Maybe a second read would change my novice mind.

Since she has refined her writing skill, all the story elements went together without any awkwardness. In some cases, almost too easily - and it would have been nice to see her stretch her imagination a bit more. She was working with many concepts that are all too-clique and rather uninteresting intellectually, such as paparazzi, fame, and wealth, which made me want for more in these parts of the story.

There were also some cases in which there was repetition of word usage and sentence structure within a few pages of one another, which were at times distracting. For example, she used the word "gaudy" and then a page or two later,  used "gaudish." Her main character, Strike, at one point was caught by someone's "striking" beauty. In another moment, her characters were dining at a restaurant named Cipriani and they mentioned another character named Cyprian. All I could think about was, why not give one or both a different name? I found it distracting.

Another technique she used for dialogue was first referring to a character by name and then at the next moment referring to that same character by his occupation, such as detective or lawyer. I see the strategy effective for not repeating the character's name but I found it distracting to repeat the pattern within a couple pages of one another - this only happened once that I noticed, which means if it was used at other times, it was less obvious.

Despite these minor nuances, it's a worthwhile read. Maybe I am too dense but I couldn't figure out which character was at fault. Even at the climax, when the private detective was explaining the facts, I found myself impressed that I had not caught on. She did something right.

It's a good book. It's not a masterpiece, but it is well-written and easy to read. It's the type that takes you out of this world for a short while.

Recommended.

ROAR vs. Applause

Last week we experienced a battle of two of the biggest pop stars in current history. Both Katy Perry and Lady Gaga had their new singles leaked before the scheduled release date, so of course I listened to them. I secretly hoped I would love both, since a good pop song makes for good dance music which is a nice contrast to my more subdued playlists consisting of The National, Bon Iver and the likes.  In the end, however, I only felt love for Lady Gaga's Applause. 

When I heard Applause, I immediately wanted to start moving. It made want to dance because it's energetic and fun with a techno beat. The lyrical content is not the most uplifting or spiritual, but this cannot be expected from pop music; at least it is not about alcohol, drugs and sex. I am not impressed with the music video (no surprise here) as Lady Gaga's taste is dark and strange. She tries to hard to be provocative and I find it quite unappealing. In this regard, I prefer Katy Perry's more superficial approach to pop culture.

 

Katy Perry's Roar feels too juvenile, just watch the lyric video to see an example of what I mean.  It's so strange that someone my age (actually two years older) is making music for 12 year olds. It also sounds much of what we have heard from her previously (maybe Gaga is no different). It's a bit slow, in a controlled way - maybe it would have been better with a little more ______ (insert word here). Don't get me wrong; the song fits the pop music bill: it's catchy, poppy, and superficial. It actually has a decent message of empowerment, unlike most songs these days and it is outselling Lady Gaga's Applause on iTunes, so Katy Perry's team has succeeded, just not with me.  

Curious to know which song you prefer.

The Old City of Girona

We arrived early and it was a bit overcast. Nevertheless, it was gorgeous.

We visited the old city of Girona a few weeks ago and it was so colorful and green. It is situated on the banks of a river and somewhat reminded me of Venice. The locals have painted the house these incredibly vibrant and warm shades of red, oranges and yellows.

The town is covered in Catalan independence flags, which was quite a sight, in and of itself.

We only had time for a walking tour - not to enter the city's main sights such as the Cathedral, museum, or enjoy the view from the old city walls but it left such a strong impression that I am eager to go back. Here are a few photos of its charm.

The Cathedral

Details of the Cathedral

A freaking cool modern door.

Walking through one of the plazas, enjoying the shade.

The narrowest of walkways.

Large keys being sold at an outdoor antique market.

Outside the entry of one of the churches, there was this decoration in the cobblestone.

We started climbing the wall but turned back after we realized how far up it is.

The church tower from the walk to to the top.

A door suspended on the city wall. I wonder where those stairs lead.

The Sardana: Catalan Circle Dance

 On Sunday evenings in the summer, the Rambla is cleared of its dining tables and room is made for a stage. This stage will host a band who will play sardana music and the spacious Rambla converts into a dance floor. Young and old alike gather to watch and dance.

The Rambla of El Vendrell with church tower in background.

The sardana is a traditional Catalan circle dance. The participants hold hands in unity and with light movements of the feet and hands, they dance to the rhythm of the music. Watching the sardana dance while listening to its accompanying music generates feelings of peace, tranquility and joy (I loved it so much, we had a professional Sardana group perform at our wedding and show us how its done).

Here's a short video so you can see what it is all about (it gets interesting about one minute in). These folks are in the typical costume.

More photos from our visit to the Rambla to watch Sardanes. I can't wait to learn!

With the band playing sardana music, the circle starts out small...

...then more people are eager to join.

It grows very large; anyone can join.

The Rambla is so beautiful in the summer with the trees in full bloom.

Fatoumata Diawara

Music by Fatoumata Diawara is refreshing and upbeat. I find it quite relaxing to listen to from time to time. Give her a listen and let me know what you think. I would love to find some more music similar to this.

NPR showcased her this year on NPR Front Row and GlobalFest.

Antoni Gaudí's Casa Batlló in Barcelona

At first, modernist architecture did not appeal to me much but with time, it's growing on me. This week, I was able to visit Casa Batlló with my friend Roxanne and it was gorgeous! Every room was different, unique and full of subtle details. The visit comes with an audio guide, which provides helpful insights into these details that would otherwise be missed. These are just a few snapshots from our visit.

Also, fun fact: the verb "gaudir" means "to enjoy" in Catalan. Que gaudeixis!

Spine-shaped wood and ergonomic handrail at the main entrance of the home.

There are no straight lines in this home; every surface is curved.

The chandelier from the room with the mushroom fireplace.

This living room has a very sea-like theme - the ceiling reminded me of a shell.

Some of the shades of blue from the living room.

The tiles on the lower levels are a very light blue whereas the higher you climb, the darker they become. This has to do with the need to lighten up the space based on how close it is to the natural light.

Here you can see the darker tiles. The windows also became smaller on the higher levels.

Gaudi used recycled pieces of glass for this detail.

Gaudi-style flower pots on the patio.

Some roof details...

If you decide to visit Barcelona, I highly recommend visiting this site. For more information, visit the official website.

A view of the exterior of the home on Passeig de Gracia (it's third from left).