Wow, I almost forgot to write today, I was so involved with art history, communication, and religion. Ok and browsing through the TOMS website, but that is besides the point. I remember the JCREW website being my friend while studying for the SATs. Probably not the best influence, but hey, I made it somewhere 🙂
Ran through Parc Guell again. I think I might be overdoing it with Parc Guell, but it is really the only route I know, that has trails, and that allows me to go out for almost an hour without getting extremely bored or annoyed by the constant traffic on the streets.
Was able to sit around during breakfast and read some notes on Picasso and attempt to wrap my head around the Iberian Peninsula. I really don’t like long mornings before school because I am not sure how much to do or start before I have to stop and pack up. I don’t like pausing mid-project, so I was a tad bit stressed out this morning. Was feeling like some things were out of my control. Midterms-wise, would help if I just sit down and start pounding some notes and review sheets out. Did so this afternoon/evening and will continue tomorrow. Then, there were aspects of home and family that I wanted to control. It is funny because for the longest time, I wouldn’t even talk to my sister (ok that was mainly in cross country season senior year, but it was sisterly competition) and now I have become a bit more protective. I just want to make sure things work out for her. But, we all need life lessons and with a little (or lot) of perseverance, things tend to work out how they need to. Everything happens for a reason. Would like to plan out some itinerary things for Mom’s trip to Barcelona and our trip to Madrid, but those can wait until Tuesday, post-midterm. So, everything in steps and it will all get done.
Walked with Liz part way to school and then split paths to find the Picasso museum. This museum in on a random side street close to the Ciudadella park and always seems to be crowded. It was nice to walk through with our art history class, because the teacher, while sometimes a little over-enthusiastic, can make the information more informative and interesting than the little hand-held devices given or rented out to guests. I couldn’t believe how much work they crammed into the building. Picasso really had talent, even at a young age of 13. He was turning out portraits and landscapes that I probably couldn’t dream of producing. I enjoyed looking at the paintings that my professor, Matthew Clear, had been discussing such as the Las Meninas portraits and portrayals. Picasso was in the south of France and basically locked himself in an attic to paint all the pictures of the series. He must have created at least 100 or so different pictures, small and large based on Velasquez’s Las Meninas. It is interesting because when Picasso was younger, he was placed in art classes and under his father’s instruction, became a refined and structured artist. After some rebellion and much later on, he sought out a more child-like artistic style. He must have felt he was missing something, so because he was deprived of this luxury of child-art, he tried to make it up when he got older.
Throughout the class, I not only enjoyed looking at all the painting and ceramics, but watching and trying to understand our class dynamics. It is funny to watch and see how we break out into groups, how different people are acting in the museum, their span of attention, etc. I guess you could say I was practicing the art of people watching. Very important indeed.
Dana and I left the Picasso museum around 2 and wandered through the streets, ending up at a frozen yogurt shop and then making our way back to IES. She said I must have a radar for frozen yogurt and I have to say it is true. From there I sat on the patio with Bonnie and Liz to study and chat.
In communication, Xavie was very disappointed by some of the efforts put forth by the students and the Boqueria field trip form. It was like a flash back to Mrs. Chahine’s AP European History class, where she would tell us how badly we did on a quiz, test, or essay, and that we didn’t seem to study. This time, I learned not to take it all to heart and just listen to what he had to say. We had quite a bit of awkward silence during class today, in terms of people not wanting to speak up, voice their opinion, or ask questions. So I did what Kaitlin would do and just started talking and asking questions. Seemed to cover some of the awkwardness. Xavie also cleared up some issues we had been having while reviewing for the midterm. I was honestly unsure of how much to study, which parts of the reader to study and so on. We are able to type or write notes to use and he emphasizes quality, not quantity. His parting words to us were, “I don’t want you to think this is something you don’t have to prepare for, but don’t stress out, relax, have fun.” Definitely a load off my chest.
After walking home I guzzled the remainder of my milk and sat down to study. I will be making a special trip to the Alimentacio tomorrow to buy more milk and am so excited.
Chicken, Potatoes, Pepper Dinner - 10.18.11
For dinner we had grilled chicken strips, peppers, salad, bread, and a veggie/potato mix. The chicken was very tender and much better than the fried kind she likes to make for us. It was funny because our R.A., Elena showed up to check in (she has to check-in every couple of weeks) and Conchita was bragging about our athletic skills – my running and Liz’s soccer. She even made her go into our room to look at my little cup that I won from the Montjuic race. Supposedly we are going to get together with Elena and some of the other students she works with for an outing next week. Should be fun
Finished off the night with studying for art history, religion, and munching on some frosted animal cookies thanks to Liz’s aunt. Delish.
“I don’t believe in accidents. There are only encounters in history. There are no accidents.”
Pablo Picasso
buen.viaje.a.espana 