Our neighborhood...

Festival Season!

Hello again! It was festival season recently, and here are a few of the highlights! Above you can see the street decorations in Gracia during that neighborhood's festival. There were stages in every plaza and the residents competed with each other for the title of Best-Decorated Street. They used recycled materials that had been collected all year in preparation for the event. On the left you can see the alien-themed street that won, and on the right...well, everyone likes sunflowers.

The main festival for the city is La Merce, which took place at the end of September. There were fire-breathing dragons that went parading through the streets, and free outdoor concerts throughout the city. We enjoyed fireworks shows on our beach all weekend! By far the most amazing spectacle was the "castellers", which are human "castles" that were enacted in one of the main squares. People train all year for this event, with neighborhoods forming teams of men, women, and children in order to compete. Larger men form the base and first tier of the castles, with slighter men and then women forming the middle levels. Teenagers and children work together to form the top, with tiny, helmeted little girls crowning the structures. It is breathtaking to watch the final levels put into place, as the participants shimmy up other human beings as if climbing the trunk of a tree. Here is the first tower that we saw:

This was pretty amazing to watch, but we had no idea what was going to come next! The next team built a slightly larger tower that went up fairly quickly. However, the increased height and difficulty were apparent as we watched the participants' legs shaking under the weight of the structure. The two little girls made it to the top as the silenced crowd watched, in awe, below. The tower was executed perfectly, but as the girls began their descent on either side, the precarious balance was lost and the upper tiers began to sway. With each back and forth motion the situation became worse and finally, to our horror, first one, then the other girl fell into the crowd below. As they went down, instinct caused them to grasp at the clothes of those they brushed as they fell. This created more movement in the tower than could be sustained and the next two tiers fell apart, sending more people into the crowds below. Thankfully, no one was hurt. The other teams are packed tightly below while the performing group builds its tower and they stand ready to catch or otherwise support their fellow group. Everyone who fell had his or her fall at least partially broken by their peers below. Needless to say, as an amateur photographer I stood transfixed as this occurred and missed the chance to bring you, gentle reader, photos of five-year old girls tumbling through the air while thousands of onlookers let out a collective gasp. There goes my chance at the The National Enquirer. Here is the team in all its glory, just as the girls began to descend, and only seconds before the collapse:

So, there are the latest going-ons here. Thanks to those of you who posted comments! Unfortunately, this site is still losing your comments before we can post them, mais ficamos muito feliz ter noticias de voces. Jodi, esperamos que todo vaya bien contigo y con Josh y Zeke. Vamos a mandarte un correo con la informacion que nos pediste! Washington, wow!

For all of our family and friends, un abrazo--James and Maggie

Online...at last!

Hello! We have once again joined the modern world and are back to our virtual selves. This once a month blogging should be a thing of the past. The only problem is, where to start? We went on a day-trip to Girona (see above), we visited Roman ruins in Tarragona (see below), and then the whole town went absolutely crazy with festivals. It would take awhile to describe it in detail...

Maggie and I are now working as English teachers here in Barcelona. It's a bit hectic; having started new jobs, moved into a new flat, and otherwise changed our accustomed way of life. It seems, however, as though we will have enough free time to continue enjoying our new surroundings. Our studio apartment is small. Very small. I have put a "before" picture on this post, which shows what it looked like when we moved in. (Note that the bed is just behind the red couch, with walls immediately on either side.) We have since made a few modifications, but as we are still in the process of adding our own "touch," I am not allowed to show its current state. Stay tuned.

We live on the beach. Well, not right on it, as we haven't robbed a bank. But, we are only about a hundred meters from the water. We have two wee balconies from which you can see the beach, and our Sunday morning coffee can be enjoyed in a lovely cafe, the only downside being that you have to shake the sand out of your shoes after leaving. God bless them, they call these marvels "chiringuitos". If that's a mouthful, call it a beach bar.


The weather right now is more than anyone could ask for. Sunny days, light cloud cover, and cool nights with the windows open. When it rains, it comes down like in Arizona. They call these storms "chubascos" which I believe is the equivalent to "raining cats and dogs". Still, the ocean breeze is incredible, and when combined with the afternoon sun, our clothes dry in no time! There is a shop at the end of the next street that rents windsurfing equipment, I'm thinking about starting a new hobby.

Our neighborhood has its own market, as do most places here in Spain. It is currently undergoing a complete renovation, but will probably be done before the end of the year. It is only two blocks from our house and is located at the end of a bakery and winery-lined street. There are temporary stalls set up right now, and there are vendors selling fresh fish, cheeses, fruits, etc. Now that I have given some background, it should be said that we live in a pretty old area of town. The sidewalks aren't straight, the buildings are old, and you don't want to stand too close to a drainage grate in the street (stinky, except after the aforementioned rains). There are a bunch of older people living in the neighborhood which makes for a generally quiet evening (this is to be appreciated here, as some of you know!) It's not a perfect comparison, but it's probably a bit like a reitirement community in Florida that just happens to be next to a famous beach. That said, the surrounding area includes the medieval city and is filled with all types of people enjoying the area's history and natural beauty.

I guess that's enough for now. I hope to put up pictures from the Grácia and Mercé festivals on the next post. Some of the things that we saw were incredible!

Love,

James and Maggie