Welcome to my nieghborhood...

Alex Verch
Date: April 27th, 2011           

My five roommates and I live in Fort Pienc, a neighborhood of the Eixample area near the Marina Metro stop. Our address is 136 Ausias March, and we absolutely love living there. We are in a great location, situated across the street from the local market, library, and school for young children. Instead of rambling on anymore about my neighborhood I thought actually showing you my neighborhood would be more enjoyable…

Bye Barcelona!

Alex Verch

Date: April 26^th, 2011

            After four months of living in Barcelona it is now time to go back to the United States. I can’t believe how quickly these last 4 months have flown by. It feels like just yeserday that I was boarding the plane at JFK airport. Now I’ll be boarding it with tears in my eyes to go back home.

            I could not have asked for a better abroad experience. Learning the city, the culture, and meeting new people every day in Barcelona has been more than I could have every imagined. I came here knowing very little about Spain and Barcelona and I can now leave with a true sense of the Barcelona Culture.

            I have become very independent as a result of living and studying here. Traveling every weekend and living in my very own apartment has taught me a lot about being an adult. I now am a seasoned traveler, can speak decent Spanish, and can navigate my way around the city of Barcelona.

            I will cherish every moment I spent in Barcelona and can assure you I will be back one day in the near future.

Vietnam, Russia Urged to Enhance Cooperation

Alex Verch

National News

Date: April 26^th, 2011

            In a recent article titled, “Vietnam, Russia Urged to Enhance Cooperation” sparked my attention because I feel as though being in Barcelona has truly made me focus more on what is going on in the rest of the world rather than just in the United States. I enjoy reading the paper and politics is something I am interested in so reading this article definitely kept my attention.

            The article discusses how Prime Minister Dung is needs Vietnam and Russia to work closely with one another to implement agreements signed by leaders, focusing on boosting bilateral cooperation in trade, investment, culture, among other things.

            There are negotiations being made on a free trade agreement between Vietnam and Russia which is why the cooperation of the two countries is very important. This agreement will facilitate trade, investment, and raise two way trade to the United States by billions of dollars starting in 2012.

The article says, “Vietnam asked for Russia’s support in its bid for membership of the UN Human Rights Council for the 2013-2016 term and as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the 2020-2021 term and the Russians acknowledged Vietnam’s proposal”.

            The cooperation of the two countries will be very beneficial to all.

Wounded Barcelona Braced for Latest Real Duel

Alex Verch

Local news

Date: April 26^th, 2011

            As far as recent local news goes, the last article I read was titled, “Wounded Barcelona Braced for Latest Real Duel”.  Barcelona lost to Real Madrid in the exciting Kings Cup game only five short days ago. After Barcelona’s loss to Madrid, Madrid is now one step closer to winning a tenth European Cup Championship.

            The Madrid Manager stated, “There is no reason we can't beat them in the Champions League because we have just drawn once against them and then beaten them." He is referring to the Barcelona team when he explains that he is positive Real Madrid will be victorious over them once again.

            Unfortunately for Barcelona Real Madrid has come out in top in their last two semi final games played against one another. Clearly, the teams have quite a history. Barcelona has made it to the Champions league semi-finals for four years in a row so of course the team is hoping they finally come out of this one as winners. Barcelona, however, is currently on track to win La Liga title as they have for two years in a row now.

            The Barcelona team has certainly had a long season, as any fan can tell you. Although the coach of the Barcelona team believes the long lasting season has worn the team out fans are hoping they stay strong for the big game against Madrid.

            Unfortunately some Barcelona players are out on injury so the team will have to try their best to make up for those players’ absences.

            Although I was not a huge soccer fan before I came to Barcelona I have definitely developed a love for the sport. I am very interested to see what the results of the game are. However, reading this article made me a little skeptical since it seems as though the team has a negative attitude about the upcoming game. I hope they can pull it together.

Small fire set at Sagrada Familia

Alex Verch

Local News

Date:April 25^th, 2011

            I was horrified and stunned when I heard that a small fire had been set at Sagrada Familia. Thankfully no one was harmed and the beautiful structure is still standing. When I heard the news and later read the article I could not understand why someone would want to set fire to such a famous and historical church.

            The article, which is titled Spain: small fire set to Sagrada Familia basilica, states that a suspected arsonist is responsible for the incident. The small fire forced the evacuation of hundreds of people, which of course caused much chaos. The article also states that one Catalan officer estimated around 1500 people were evactuated Tuesday from the church.

            One tourist said he saw smoke and immediately reported it. If it was not for him who knows what could have happened to the beautiful Gaudi structure.  I know that if I had been touring the church that Tuesday I would have been petrified. The arsonist was arrested but his name remains anonymous. There was slight damage caused as a result of the fire but no injuries were reported.

            This is extremely scary news and I pray that nothing else like this ever happens again.

Victory for Rafael Nadal!

Alex Verch

Local News

Date: April 25^th, 2011

            Rafael Nadal won his most recent tennis match in Barcelona yesterday. He is known as the world’s number one tennis player and this win marks six titles for Nadal here in Barcelona. In this particular match Nadal took the victory over David Ferrer, marking his sixth Barcelona Open title in just seven years.

            Nadal also won in last week’s Monte Carlo Masters final, again proving he is the best there is right now. This win here in Barcelona marked Nadal’s 31^st win on clay courts. Having Nadal win in Barcelona is a very big deal because he had won numerous titles in this city and is extremely popular around the world. The Open he played in Barcelona stirred up a lot of tourism and was ultimately very beneficial for the city.

            Also, Rafael Nadal was spotted out at the popular club Opium the night of his big win. If I had to take a guess I’d say he was most definitely celebrating his victory. It is crazy that this 24-year-old tennis superstar is not much older than I am.

Trip #4: MACB

Alex Verch

Trip #4: MACB

Date: April 14^th, 2011

            Today we went on a field trip to the Museum of Contemporary Art, the MACB. We met everyone outside the museum in front of a sign that read, “Ravalejar”. Of course I immediately wondered what that meant, but would soon find out as the field trip progressed.

            The area where the MACB is located is Raval, which is located on the right side of Ramblas. At first, the area was a place where very poor people lived and where sailors first arrived in search of bars and prostitutes. There were many drug issues in the area as well, which was of course not ideal for families to come settle in with their children. Town hall wished to change the image of the area in order to attract families with their kids. Once hotels, boutiques, and hotels started to form in the area it became a more ideal place for people to live and gather. During the field trip I learned that this was one of the few areas where poor people were actually living in the center of the city as opposed to the outskirts.

            As our class continued to walk around we strolled through the inside of the MACB and saw some very interesting exhibits. My favorite was the dancing chairs. I learned that at night there are concerts and events held in the area. We also visited the beautiful Sant Pau del Camp church that was restored in order to attract people to the Raval area.  FAD, which is a design school to help young professionals, also exists in this area and is perfect for young kids to socialize, learn, and have available work space for design if they are interested.

            The Raval area has truly come a long way from its rocky start. The English translation for “Ravalejar” is hang out an explore an area. When the sailors first arrived there that is exactly what they did, hung out and explored. Now Raval of Barcelona is a place for families to hang out, explore, live, and socialize.