The month of September was filled with memorable times with visitors. My sister and her partner John spent a week in Barcelona. I had my good friend Carol who this year stayed in Barcelona for a month, renting an apartment nearby and had her husband and friends visit with her here. I also had a long-time friend who visited me here and who I hadn't seen for 24 years. These visits plus my own trip this month to Berlin caused me to reflect on the differences between being in another country as a tourist versus living as a resident. But before I begin to philosophize (I really need a glass of Catalan red wine to accompany me for that!), let me give you some highlights of the month, which includes a funny story about my sister's stay here.
Bernadette, John and I waiting for our paella
With my sister Bernadette and John, the plan was for them to stay with me and together visit the tourist sights of the city. We went to Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell, went up to Montjuic, felt the spray of the magic fountain, saw a concert at La Palau de la Musica Catalana, spent the day at Montserrat, ascended to Tibidabo to see the breadth of the city, had a tour of the Gothic Quarter, walked down La Rambla and visited La Boqueria market. We also ate very well and I hosted a gathering with my friends at a local wine bar/bodega to meet my sister. It was very special for me to have my first family member visit me here in Barcelona.
As I said, the plan was for them to stay with me the entire week. But after three days, John's allergies with my cat Sunset caused us to consider having them move to a hotel for the last three days. Of course we wanted the hotel to be close but my first choice, a hotel just a block away, was already filled. The next closest hotel was three blocks away. It is a brand new upscale hotel, Axel II, which caters to mostly the gay community but is hetero-friendly. My sister and John were nonplussed about that and had three enjoyable nights in a cat-free environment.
Carol with Jordi and his brother Roberto
Carol was close by in a very nice and spacious apartment. She had various visitors, and at its height, had four other people staying with her. We met up a few times, but they were pretty busy with sight-seeing, cooking classes, the beach and day-trips. She got to spend four days at my place with Sunset while I was in Amsterdam at the beginning of her stay here. It seems that she got plenty of opportunities to speak Spanish and yet spent a lot of time in English with her husband and friends. My friends are very fond of Carol and were also very welcoming of Carol's entourage when we had a few dinners together.
Projection on Casa Batllo
An old friend Joe, who I knew when I was in the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington DC, was visiting. He had moved to Denver 24 years ago and we hadn't seen each other since. He was going to be here with his partner and his sister. We got to meet one evening for tapas and to visit one of the many spectacles of the city, the projections on the Gaudi house Casa Batllo, during the festivities of La Mercé. I combined that with local friends, so they got to meet some of them as well.
Also, this month, I went to Berlin for the first time. Shambhala had a leadership conference for two days there and so I stretched that to 4 nights and got just a glimpse of the city. Not knowing German, I was in full tourist mode, trying to
At the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin
make my way around this expansive and energetic city in the few days I had there. I only had one full day to see Berlin, so I ran around using the public transportation system, which I felt comfortable with by the end of my stay. Chris and I hope to visit the city soon together, since it's a good halfway point for the both of us.
It's been a long time since I was a tourist in Barcelona. It's not for the faint of heart!! Barcelona is the fourth European city with the most tourists, surpassing 7.5 million visitors in 2013. They are not everywhere in the city, but they concentrate in the tourist areas (duh!) and as such can be a battle making your way in these areas. As much as I enjoyed my time with my sister, it was exhausting being a tourist again! In my time in Berlin I found much more energy touring that city, since it was my first time there.
I find that the goals and aspirations of being a tourist are very different than being a foreign resident. The typical tourist is in a city to visit the tourist sights and may be less interested in touching base with the language and culture of the city. Of course, language can be a major barrier to connecting with the people who actually live there, as well as time. It was interesting to introduce my friends to visitors and the varying degrees of interest that they had in getting to know them.
As a foreign resident, it has always been my goal to integrate myself as much as possible with the culture of the city that I live in. Being a part of the hiking group, cultivating a group of local friends, being involved in the local Shambhala group, improving my Spanish and now beginning to learn the basics of Catalan are all ways for me to be more connected. I find that this connection revitalizes my spirit and renews my energy.
The rest of my time in Kiev with Chris was great. I got to relax with no real agenda except to be together and explore more of Kiev. Since then, with Chris starting work, getting to know his fellow-teachers and meeting other new people in his new city, he has discovered many other urban gems that I am looking forward to getting to know the next time I'm back.
We did have one rude awakening after I returned to Barcelona. The very next weekend was a 3 day weekend for Chris and we planned to meet up in Amsterdam. Unfortunately, it was not clearly explained to Chris that he cannot leave the country under any circumstances until his work visa
With Arie & Kevin in Amsterdam
papers are fully processed, which takes about 45 days. I was bummed out, but luckily Chris got a refund on his airline tickets. I did go to Amsterdam and met up with some long-time friends that I knew in Washington DC, all who were associated with the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington when I was in that group. It was great to spend time with Arie and Kevin, & Andy and his husband Sjef. It was also a magnificent weekend in Amsterdam weather-wise. I pretty much stayed outdoors most of the time as a result and didn't get to any museums, except for the Heineken "Experience", which was a tour and high-tech interactive museum in what was before the original brewery.
Learning Catalan
It's interesting that my general plans for the first two years in Spain are coming to fruition, at least up to now. I figured that the first half year would be devoted to finding and buying my flat, furnishing it and settling in. After that I wanted to improve my Spanish and devote myself to refining my language skills, which I did by attending the city-sponsored language school and completing the last two levels that they offer, levels 4 & 5. But I also thought that after that it would be good for me to begin to learn Catalan. As many of you know, most Barcelonians are bi-lingual and speak both Spanish and Catalan. Depending on the person and his/her background, some of them express themselves better in Catalan than in Spanish or it may be just their preference. I find at times in a middle of a conversation within a group, some individuals will switch to Catalan. Also, my Friday night Shambhala meditation group, in group meetings, prefers to converse in Catalan.
For these and other reasons, I will start taking Catalan classes this September. It's a first level course that the city offers for free, which consists of two classes per week, 3 hours per class, for 9 weeks. I just got my book and have started to review the first few pages and take notes. This experience will also help me to better understand and appreciate Chris' early language learning process in Spanish, which I went through myself, but over 35 years ago.
Upcoming Trips
Shambhala Europe is having a leadership conference in mid-September in Berlin. I've never been and I felt that I should be there. I'm getting there a couple of days early so I can get to see some highlights and a sense of the city before the conference begins. Of course at a later time I would like to spend more time in this very fascinating city with Chris.
In mid-October Chris and I will finally be back together again, meeting up in Prague. We are renting a very nice apartment in the center of the city. We will be there for 7 days, so we are sure to not only get to know this city, but to also explore other cities nearby in the Czech Republic.
Oh, BTW, my other general plan was that starting in Year 2 of living in Europe, I would begin to travel and take advantage of my proximity to many amazing and beautiful cities. This also is starting to unfold this year.
I've been here in Kiev for about five days so far. I'm so glad that I came just a couple of days after Chris arrived to help him settle in to his new home and to explore Kiev together. It's a huge city and I felt culture shock the first couple of days after I arrived. There are aspects of this city that are very nice, others that are so-so, and some things are hard to bear. I'll take these one at a time. Please keep in mind that these are only first impressions. I'm sure that Chris will have a lot more to say about Kiev with a lot more substance over time.
The Good
Chris lives here!! That's so good!!! He's only four hours away from Barcelona and we'll be seeing each other more often, traveling to other European cities for weekend-plus getaways. Already we have a trip planned at the end of this month in Amsterdam and a week-long trip in October to Prague.
We have visited some beautiful parts of Kiev. The orthodox churches here are stunning, with their unique onion domes, common in this part of the world, and the ornate and iconic sanctuaries. It seems that religion is a big part of Ukrainian life, similar to Poland, although it's too early to verify that. On Sunday afternoon in St. Michael's Golden Dome Church, many long, thin devotional candles were lit and at least 5 women, with their heads covered with kerchiefs, were cleaning parts of the sanctuary with buckets and rags. All the other women in the church had their heads covered and as they entered a certain part of the church they would cross themselves three times. Much of this felt like a throwback to my early years as a child in my Catholic parish, but without the opulent orthodox church decor.
Kiev has some super-sized shopping malls, very modern by western standards, and with air-
conditioning, which is necessary with highs of 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) these last few days, but at least it is a dry heat. They also have super-sized modern supermarkets where you can find just about everything and the food prices for most products are much cheaper than in either Barcelona or Washington DC. The city center is a very pleasant area to walk around as well.
Chris' home is only a 7 minute walk to his British International school, which is located behind a gated community with many high-rise residential buildings and the most luxurious gym that I have ever seen, which I believe Chris will be joining in the next week or so. The school itself is a pleasant and well-equipped facility and it seems like it will be good working environment for Chris.
We had the added pleasure of meeting some locals. The day after I arrived, we joined a small group of members from the local Shambhala meditation group for their weekly meditation session at one of the member's home. It was also her birthday, so we were invited to stay and enjoy food, wine and conversation with them. They were all very kind and their English was good enough for us to have some good discussion. They also contacted a member who was not there but is a museum docent for the Mikail Bulgakov Museum. We visited the museum on Sunday and she gave us a personal tour of this author's home and hear the fascinating story and display about his life in the early 20th century.
The Okay
The Metro has three lines, each in a different color and each station with a unique number. Before the 2012 Euro World Cup in Kiev, the lines were not color-coded. People knew where to go by just knowing the names of the station, which of course is hard for tourists to read in Cyrillic.
Speaking of tourists, Kiev is so different from Barcelona in that regard. There doesn't seem to be any tourists!! I'm sure there are, but they are in hiding, I think.
Back to the metro, it wears on you very quickly. It feels very old, although the first line was built in 1960. It is almost always filled with people and toward the city center you are crammed into the metro car like sardines. It is very unusual that you would ever find a seat. It jerks you around as if you're on a roller coaster ride. And it is super loud. You have to shout to your neighbor to be heard. And yet, when it comes to talking on the metro, it is very unusual to hear or see that. People don't speak to each other. There are few smiles and laughing is hardly ever heard.
In Barcelona, when I would talk with Chris in English in the metro system, people would turn and glance, even though English is spoken with much more frequency there than in Kiev. Here however, there is no sign of curiosity, no head-turning, no glancing. Everyone is in their own world. I wonder whether this is the result of years of Soviet repression and fear-induced self-containment. It does feel cold and barren in these public areas. However, at stores and restaurants, the service is very good and the customer gets very good attention, probably more so than in Barcelona.
The Ugly
There are beautiful sections of the city and the Dnipro River is very pretty. But the city as a whole is very run down. There are large swaths where you feel you are in a 3rd world country - many abandoned buildings, torn-up sidewalks, dilapidated apartment buildings, etc. The closest hospital to Chris from the outside seems like it was in a war zone. I doubt that would be the hospital that Chris would go to, but it is an example of how the city infrastructure seems to have been neglected for many years. I would think that if Ukraine goes forward in eventually joining the European Union, it will get the investments that it needs to make these critical changes to this very historical and richly cultured city.
This morning Chris left to go back to the U.S. after five wonderful weeks of having him here in Barcelona and a taking a trip together to Bilbao. Things didn't turn out exactly as we had planned but they were exactly as they were meant to be.
Changed Plans
One of the things that was planned was for Chris to attend an intensive Spanish class for four weeks. What was unknown was how fast the pace would be and how the teachers seemed to gear their lessons toward those who already had some basics of the Spanish language under their belt, even though it was a level 1 class. I was at a retreat during the first week that Chris was in class, but when I got back I quickly understood his situation and how Chris was feeling that with each passing day, he was getting further and further behind. Although we worked on some of his homework together and in spite of Chris spending 2-3 hours after class studying (that after 4 hours of class each day, every day), Chris decided to drop the class after 2 1/2 weeks. He also had to take care of his visa for Ukraine and other essential matters during this time. I supported Chris' decision in this and his plan to spend some of his newly found free time to review the materials that he had received from the class in the weeks remaining in Barcelona. Chris will also be taking a Spanish class once he gets settled in Kiev.
Another plan we had was to spend a half day on a Saturday in the country about an hour outside of
Barcelona with the Shambhala meditation group for group meditation. Well, we never quite made it. I haven't figured out yet how to ensure that I actually board the correct train when riding the regional trains (these are called Rodalies in Catalunya or Cercanías in the rest of Spain). You see, there are many different trains that use the same tracks and come within minutes apart. Although they may have a name (like R1 or R3 or R4, etc), depending on their final destination, they may take different routes or they may not stop at certain towns. So you really need to know your geography of Catalunya, know your train schedule, and know that the town that you want to go to is on the route of the train that is displaying its final destination.
To me it's very confusing. I study it beforehand, but in the moment, I can sometimes board the wrong train. That's what happened that Saturday. We got on an R4, which was going in the right direction, but not exactly the same route as the train we should have been on. However, since there is no graphical display of all the stops of these trains (like on the Barcelona metro), we didn't realize this until we had spent over an hour on this train. We got off at the next train stop, waited 40 minutes and took the next train back to our starting point. We lost four hours and lost the opportunity to do group meditation. But Chris and I did spend a little meditation time together at home afterwards.
New Plans!
Since Chris had the final few weeks without class obligations, we decided to take a short trip to the north of Spain - to Bilbao in the Basque country. It's only an hour trip by plane. I bought the tickets for the both of us. A few days later, before we were going to Bilbao, Chris went to the Ukranian Consulate in Barcelona with all his paperwork to obtain his work visa. They told him that that they needed to keep his passport and he would get it back in a week's time. As we were going back home, I got the sneaky feeling that we might have a problem going to Bilbao, which was before Chris would be able to have his passport returned. As I investigated this, I found out that no other ID for Chris was sufficient for air travel - not his American driver's license, not even his passport card (this is relatively new - the U.S. gives out a passport card for North American travel at the same time it issues a new passport). The only way to fly to Bilbao was for Chris to get his passport back or we would lose our money with our airline tickets.
On Monday, Chris returned to the consulate with his airline tickets. He explained the issue and had to wait most of the morning as the consulate talked with the embassy in Madrid before he was told that they would return his passport at that time and that they would still process his visa the Monday after he got back from his trip. Whew! That was a close call!
Bilbao was great!! It's a very nice city, we had excellent weather, we ate very, very well, and we got to see the Guggenheim Museum with temporary expositions of Jeff Koons and Jean Michel Basquiat as well as the Museum of Fine Arts. To top it all off, as we were posting some Facebook photos, a friend that I met in Barcelona contacted me. I didn't realize that he lived close to Bilbao and he and his partner invited us to the city of Vitoria-Gasteiz, about an hour bus ride from Bilbao for the next day to have lunch with them and their family and to visit the ancient cathedral there, which is in the midst of a major renovation. It was fun to spend time with them and their family and visit the cathedral. In the late afternoon, they drove us back to Bilbao and we spent some time in the old city center having a drink and enjoying each other's company.
Reflection
More than just doing activities together, Chris and I got to be with each other, share more about our lives, deepen the love that already has a solid base, and even practice Spanish together! It has been an amazing five weeks.
Next Up!
Chris will be in the U.S. soon for a whirlwind trip to attend his nephew's wedding in Kentucky. He'll be doing his final packing for Kiev and will arrive there on Aug 4, where he will be welcomed by the school, given a tour of the city and given the keys to his furnished apartment. I'll be arriving on Aug 6 and together we'll get to explore Kiev together until I go back to Barcelona on Aug 15. Chris starts work on Aug 17 with a week of teacher preparations. He has a three day weekend before class starts and we'll be meeting each other in Amsterdam from Aug 21-24. He will meet his students on Aug 25.
Chris arrived on June 29 without a hitch. He had a wonderful send-off in the U.S. with two going away parties in his home town at his mom's home and in Washington D.C. at the home of a good friend. With no regrets he came with his three bags of luggage to his home here in Barcelona. He will be returning to the U.S. for a few days at the end of July for his nephew's wedding and then will be flying to Kiev on Aug 3 with his other 5 bags. I'll be meeting him in Kiev from Aug 6 - 15 to help him settle into his new apartment.
The first couple of days were a whirlwind because just a day and a half later I was leaving for France
Chris took this pic as we met up with
friends who would be learning
Spanish at Chris' language school.
for a week-long retreat. I wanted to get Chris settled into our home, set up his gym membership, get his phone working, ensure he was ready to start his Spanish intensive class on July 1, and meet a couple of other North American friends that were going to the same school. All that on June 29, the day he arrived. We didn't even have a chance to take a picture of us! On June 30, Chris asked me to leave that day open for us to celebrate my birthday which was on June 26. On that day, he gave me a fantastic relaxing gift at a luxurious spa and massage, where I floated in 7 various kinds of arab-like pools with a steam room after getting my massage. I felt totally pampered. We then had a very nice lunch and early dinner so I could finish up packing before my trip the next day. Shambhala Meditation Retreat
On July 1, I left Chris back in Barcelona and rode in a car with three Spaniards for 8 hours to the mid-western part of France at Dechen Choling, one of Shambhala's land centers, for a week long retreat. It was designed to train those who had the interest and demonstrated skills and knowledge to be meditation instructors. There were 60 of us from all over Europe. We were asked to study and prepare for this week, which I had done. We received talks, extended times of group meditation, excellent food, as well as times working in small groups to practice and demonstrate the skills of working one-on-one with a meditation student.
Given that we were in Europe, where multiple languages are spoken, I requested that I could be assigned to an English-speaking group, so that I could express myself more easily and from the heart. But it was not meant to be. They needed a fourth person for the Spanish-speaking group. However, it actually turned out to be the best thing for me. I discovered that although I still need to continue to learn more vocabulary, expressions, etc, I am fully capable to converse in Spanish with a meditation student about meditation practice and how that is experienced in one's life. The experience gave me the confidence to take this next step in my involvement with the Shambhala group in Barcelona and with Shambhala Europe in general.
Back on the Home Front
During my week in France, I had occasional contact with Chris, although internet communications are not readily available from there. Some issues came up for him, including the changing of the front door of the building and receiving a new key, which Chris did not get immediately and was stuck outside for a little while.
When I got home, I realized that he was having a really difficult week in the intensive Spanish class. Their pace was very fast and although he was starting at the first level, there were others in the class that had some prior experience and skills. It was not a level playing field and I could see that Chris was somewhat discouraged. We spent that evening going over his homework and I encouraged him to get out of the class what he could in the remaining few weeks. I think he has regained his motivation and is diligently applying himself and at the same time taking time to relax some and enjoy his time here in Barcelona.
Over the last few days we went to a dinner party at a friend's home with a beautiful terrace overlooking the city and yesterday we spent the day at the beach with friends.
In about a week, my life will change in a very significant way. Chris will be moving to Europe. This will be a huge change for the both of us, and we can't wait!! For Chris, this is a big leap. He has sold or given away almost everything he owns, other than what he is bringing with him. He has requested a sabbatical from his job in the U.S. (rather than just quit his job, he has wisely decided to take this option, as he explores and settles into a European lifestyle). He is leaving family and friends, many of whom he has known most of his life. I think this move is even more momentous for Chris than it was for me when I moved over a year ago because the idea of moving probably entered his mind just a couple of months before I left for Barcelona. To be honest, I was shocked and amazed when he began to talk about his desire to move here and then even more shocked and more amazed at his persistence in trying to find a way to do so. And of course I was very happy that he found a way to continue his teaching career in Europe. This puts us on the same continent and will increase our frequency of seeing each other fourfold.
Chris will be here in Barcelona most of the summer before he starts his teaching job in Kiev in mid-August. We will have even more opportunities to deepen our relationship and our love, expand our Spanish as Chris will be taking an intensive Spanish course in July and we will introduce more and more Spanish into our conversations, and continue to explore the city and the beaches around Barcelona together.
To say I'm the luckiest man alive is an understatement. I would not have imagined this possibility a year and a half ago. But the love of my life will be more physically present in my life in just a few days, and for that I am both humbled and grateful for this incredible new chapter in our lives.
Passed Driver's Test
Yes, I passed! And I passed both the written and driving tests the first time around. As I talk with more people here, I realize that this is the exception and not the rule. For many, it takes two, three or more tries before they pass and obtain their driver's license.
What I learned later, however, is that almost all car rental agencies here will not rent cars to drivers who have their license in the first year. I will need to investigate this further and see if in my case, since I have my U.S. driver's license as well, they will make an exception. I can't use that license to drive, but I could possibly use it to rent a car but when driving the car, use my Spanish license.
Spanish Class
I have not mentioned much about my latest Spanish class, which started in February and ended with our exams last week. It was quite a different classroom experience than the class I had last semester, and not for the better. The teacher was diligent, friendly and dedicated. But he was neither skillful nor capable of teaching at this level. He confused more than clarified and did not have a coherent pedagogic structure to present different topics and skills, which left most students lost and frustrated. At the very least, I have a better appreciation of the excellent teaching skills of my former Spanish teacher last Fall and have a better understanding of what is needed to increase a student's language level.
The exam consisted of five parts. Speaking was done on a different day and was about an hour in length. The other four parts, reading comprehension, listening, grammar and writing took place on a different day and was four hours in length. It was grueling. I won't know if I passed until June 26, when they release the exam results.
Shambhala Retreat
It may seem odd to most, but two days after Chris arrives, I will be going to France for a week retreat. It's a program that has not been offered for a number of years and will not be offered again for quite a while. Chris and I talked about this before I registered and he will be just fine here at our home while I'm gone. He has been here three times already and knows his way around, has friends here, and will be very busy with his intensive Spanish class, which starts the day I leave. There are two other non-Spanish friends of mine who will be going to the same language school in July and we will be getting together before I leave, so he'll have even more new friends, besides those that he will meet in his class.
This particular program that I will be taking in France at the Shambhala Retreat center Dechen Choling requires me to do some study and contemplation on the topic of meditation before I arrive. I have been doing that over the last few months and have found it to be very enriching and is helping me deepen my practice. I am looking forward to the retreat but will be missing Chris immensely.
Over the last few weeks I had the opportunity to have some in-depth discussions with two Catalans, a man and a woman, regarding how they feel about themselves and their land in relationship with the country of Spain. This isn't the first time that I've had discussions about this topic. But what was different about these latest conversations was it was more about the heart than about the politics. And I began to appreciate more the unique struggle that many Catalans feel in the current environment that they are in.
Sense of Identity
In talking with Miquel, one of the first things that he brought up was how much he does NOT feel
like a Spaniard. He does not identify with being a Spanish citizen, although technically he has been one all his life. He grew up in a pueblo outside of Barcelona. There his family and his pueblo all spoke Catalan. He learned Spanish (or Castellano) in school, but it was an academic language that he learned, not a language that he lived in. All that changed when he moved to Barcelona, where as many people speak Spanish as they do Catalan. What shocked him was how difficult it was for him to speak fluently in Castellano. It took a while for him to feel comfortable expressing himself. When meeting new people in the city, he always starts off speaking Spanish, because that is usually what is expected, but as soon as he knows that the other person can speak Catalan, he'll immediately switch to his native language, where he can speak more from the heart. It irritates him a little bit that although he is in the capital city of Catalunya, he is not able to freely express himself in his own language. Catalans, especially in Barcelona, are always adjusting their choice of language, especially in group settings when not everyone can speak Catalan, reverting back to Spanish, in order to be understood.
How Some Spaniards View Catalans
Miquel is weary of the demagoguery that some Spaniards express, especially politicians, of the character and integrity of Catalans. Catalans are a gentle, peaceful people, who simply want others to respect their language and culture and their right to self-determination. But some people and politicians accuse Catalans as being terrorists if they are pro-independence. He believes that Catalunya will someday be an independent nation, but it will only happen by peaceful endeavors, at least on the part of the Catalan people.
My Conversation with Isis
Isis lives in Barcelona but she and her sister own the house where their parents lived in a town near Girona. I went there with a friend to be part of the main festival of the year in this village. Isis was having a dinner party prior to the festivities, which was right down the block from her place. We got there a little late, and when we entered, she immediately started talking to me in Catalan. My friend Oscar explained that I can only speak Spanish and English. She immediately switched to Spanish and the first thing she told me was that I needed to learn Catalan.
Isis was a very gracious host. She introduced me to her sister and her friends, all from Barcelona and were there to enjoy the festivities. They were all speaking in Catalan with each other, but were very kind in switching to Spanish when I joined in on the conversation.
Even before I got to speak with Isis some more, it was obvious how her life and her friends were immersed in everything Catalán: the food, the drink, the festivities with Catalan music and dance (la Sardanya). When I got to chat some more with her, she talked about the long history of injustice between the Catalan people and Spain; how their rights to self-govern, at least on a local level, and to speak their own language have been suppressed time and time again, for centuries. Even in modern times, regardless of the political stripes, socialist or conservative, the central government of Spain has rarely supported or respected the life, language and culture of Catalunya. In this last year, the current conservative administration has passed new laws to cut back the amount of Catalan that is spoken and taught in the Catalan schools, requiring more time to be spent teaching courses in Castellano.
Isis also is pro-independence and feels strongly that based on the economic strength of Catalunya and the disproportionate tax contribution that Catalunya gives to the Spanish state, that her country would survive just fine if it separated from Spain, but that Spain would not fair as well and would struggle with it's own survival without Catalunya.
I cannot say that these views are correct or not. I can say however, that there is a deep wound that has continually been exposed and festered, fed by prejudice, usurpation of power, injustice, and lack of understanding and respect. I don't see much evidence today of this changing. What is changing is the growing swell of voices speaking more boldly about being an independent country. Those voices are somewhat muffled in the cosmopolitan city of Barcelona, but they are much clearer when you go out to the smaller towns and pueblos of Catalunya.
La Patum de Berga
On the day of Corpus Christi, this year was on June 4, the town of Berga, a pueblo near the Pyrenees and Andorra, has their century's old tradition of celebrating this day with music, fire and dance, in the plaza in front of the town hall. It was an incredible event! On the town hall building were a few Catalan independent flags and a count-down clock to the next elections on 9/27/2015. They believe that these next elections will determine the future direction of Catalunya.
Personal Thoughts
What I have attempted to capture here is not a summary of the issues of Catalunya and Spain. It's a complex issue with many different perspectives and facts to consider. Nor am I choosing sides. Personally, I believe that a permanent fracture between these two states would make my life living here much more complex with lots of unknowns. But I am convinced that Catalans are longing to be understood and to receive the respect that they deserve. If that doesn't change, I believe more and more of its citizens will seriously consider annexing themselves from Spain in a peaceful way, if given the chance.
Addendum
This topic is a sensitive one for almost everyone who lives in Catalunya. I have only given the perspective of two individuals who's ancestors were from this region for generations. However, there are many other voices who love this land including sons and daughters of immigrants from other parts of Spain and Latin America as well as other Catalans who want to continue to be part of Spain and yet seek to feel the freedom to express themselves fully as Catalans. I hope to write more about these other viewpoints in future articles.
Below are a few of the videos that I took of the amazing festivities in Berga.
