Pictures say a thousand words

My first thoughts about completing this major project always seem to bring me back to the title of my album, "Mas Alla", which means "Further Beyond." This trip and this experience goes further beyond any other trips and experiences I have taken. When I was Seventeen I went on a cross country trip with my Aunt. Starting in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado we drove to 10 different national parks and I got to indulge myself into the beauty of the land that America has to offer. That trip was absolutely amazing, however, in comparison to my journey in Spain so far, hands down, no if-ands-or-buts, and all the cliche quotes you can use or think of, Spain has been by far the greatest decision of my life.  Like I said before the trip cross country was absolutely amazing, but I was seventeen, and now that I am twenty one and yes more mature and on a completely different path in my life then I was in high school I am able to truly appreciate so much more the beauty and wonders of the world. So, yes, personally, "Mas Alla" seems to sum up my experience here - but tying this title and this theme into creating a video about culture seems to put a damper on my thoughts about using this quote, which by the way is Spain's motto. I could bring into the fact that the culture is "further beyond" any other cultures -- and explain the food, the people, and well the entire package. Further beyond, could almost be bended and interpreted as "different", am I correct? Or is this too far of a stretch? Please let me know if any of you have thoughts about this theme or any suggestions. For now and for this assignment I will use this theme! 

This photo is actually a group shot of my API group, that I took on our first day in the city of Barcelona. When we first landed in Barcelona the directors immediately threw us out into the big city and from that moment on, with loads of excitement and hopeful minds, we all new that this was going to be a life changing experience. And the picture above tells this story. I saw the opportunity to take this picture when I was walking behind the group. The way the sun shone through the buildings and even the placement of the group members got my attention and well I took it! Glad I did! But if you look in the distance is the sun shining bright onto the people, illustrating a oh so cliche, "bright" future! And then if you look in the foreground of the picture are the member's shadows, representing their past. So, the picture is telling the story of how these people are leaving behind their pasts and embarking on a new journey, here in Barcelona. I included the buildings because overtly Barcelona is a huge city and it gives the audience a sense of where the picture is. I also like the fact that the picture is blurry. The blurriness to me represents the unknown or grey matter if you will -- what are we about to take on? How are our lives about to change? Will I be scared? Will be this challenging? Will I come out a live...for some!? 

This is the University that I go to here in Barcelona -- Universitat de Barcelona. Yes, I know "Universitat" is supposed to be "Universidad" as us spanish speakers from America would know it but here my friends is an example of Catalan. Catalan is the "dialect" of Spanish that the people in Barcelona speak. And might I add this is the only country that speaks this "dialect". Okay, so I put "dialect" in quotes because well if you listen to the language and you know spanish you will quickly find that Catalan is in fact not a dialect but its own language. This type of spanish sounds, is spelled, is spoken, and is pronounced completely different then the Latin American spanish that I have learned from home. So that is a short introduction into the spoken culture of BCN and is besides the point of this picture. Tangent number one for the day! But like I said this is a picture of my school. It is the oldest school in Barcelona and I chose to use the picture of my school because 1) I go there. 2) The education system here is so different than that at home, which can be explained in more detail but not now. 3) It expresses the beauty and richness of the architecture of the buildings in the city at the same time showing the gorgeous landscaping of trees and flowers that decorate the city. 4) This picture goes further and beyond to tell the story of all these aspects of this culture and is tied in again by the light of sun which gives the picture a sense of warmth and comfort and also hope with the illumination of the trees. The contrast of the darkness in the lower right hand corner of the picture with the brightness and lightness in the upper left hand corner allows the audience to feel the feelings that were mentioned above. 

Barcelona a romantic city? YES! Again this picture was taken at my school and I love it because it just seems so real and so sincere. The couple just sat down to lunch and the girl got out her guitar and started singing. The way she sang the song, and closed her eyes to feel the truth of what she was singing made me believe it as well. If pictures could speak this picture speaks to me if not anyone else true words of true love. Like I have mentioned in my other blogs this city is very romantic. Couples, and there are lots of them, are always hand-in-hand, aggressively kissing each other on the metro, or caressing each other in such a soft and tender manner such as something you see in the movies. They truly love each other and they love to show everyone else which I find almost relieving because Americans hold back when it comes to the whole emotional aspect of relationships. Americans are very big on keeping their relationships quiet. I love this picture...it might actually be one of my favorites that I have taken. 

Okay, I can go on and on about my pictures taken here in Barcelona and below I have included some of them. So give me some feedback about which ones you like and which ones you don't. Make sure to include some suggestions about the theme of my video. Also, I have some great pictures from Paris and Rome that I have taken and I would love to include some of those in this culture video of mine but don't know if its appropriate considering its not Spain and its not where I have spent a majority of my time. Let me know if any of you know how to incorporate these experiences into the video. Thanks! 

 Another picture of my School.

La Placa Cataluyna...Large Plaza in the center of he city.

Another picture of La Placa Cataluyna but during the day. It tells a completely different story than the picture above.

 The metro. I would like to get a picture with a lot of people in it because the metro is a large form of transportation here in BCN. But this photo suggests and shows how fast pace this city is. 

 Las Ramblas. The famous/infamous street here in Barcelona. 

 Just some neat architecture that I really liked. 

 Graffiti paints the city of Barcelona

 Some of my girl friends walking in the city.

This man is painting the glass. I actually bought this artwork that he is painting right now. He did it in three minutes and it looks exactly like La Sagrada Familia. 

 We cannot dismiss the obvious...Barcelona is considered the party capital of the world. Festivals, bars, riots, soccer games, dinner, lunch, fiestas, discotecas are all events that call for massive amounts of people to get together, share stories, laugh, talk, cry, sing, chant, enjoy each other, dance, and just all in all have loads of fun! These people know how to embrace life! 

 More gorgeous artwork on the doors of buildings. 

A woman admiring her artwork on the park bench.