I May Take a Holiday in Spain, Leave my Wings Behind Me

So, I spent my week in Barcelona, which was pretty cool. It's a good 20 degrees warmer there than Copenhagen or Ireland, so that was nice. I got to see a bit of the city, and the mountains around it. The whole city is packed on a gradual slope between the coast in the southeast and the mountains a few miles out northwest. On one of the small mountains sits a very, very old church. Several hundred years later, they built a theme park on the hill and a tram leading up to it. So, from pretty much any high point in the city, you can see the lone figures of a cathedral and a ferris wheel next to each other.

One of the highlights of the trip was the Picasso museum. I've never been that into art museums, and even less when it comes to learning about "the greats." But there was good art, and some of the displayed talked about Picasso in a historical context, which I found interesting. He lived to be very, very old, so his career spanned a dozen different artistic movements. That's just what happens when you're an artist for a full 75 years. There was also a special exhibit on Japanese erotica, which apparently was an influence on many artists of that time. I learned the historical basis of tentacle porn, which is something I've always wondered about (I have not actually ever wondered about that, ever).

I also got to visit the American embassy, thanks to the guy we were staying with, who works for the government (if I told you more than that, I'd have to kill you). It was a short visit, but I learned a bit more about what embassies do. Our host suggested that I might be the type to work for the state department in the foreign service, which is something I'd never considered. I have the right set of skills, though. I pick up language quickly, for one, which is important for going from country to country for just a few years at a time. Plus, a Peace Studies mindset might do some good in the government. My Peace Practice professor, Ailish, has encouraged all the students in the department not to limit ourselves to professions I might describe as "Peaceish," like starting a non-profit, or working in Baltimore inner-city schools. We need practicioners in all professions; Ailish suggested that she'd like to see a few of us on Wall Street. So, maybe this is something I should consider.

My last afternoon in Barcelona, I went down to Port Vell, the touristy waterfront area. There was a big mall, and a nice boardwalk. I sat on the edge of the water for a while, and I noticed that the water was unusually clear. Then I noticed the fish. Yes, there were fish in the harbor of a city of 4,000,000. That's mind-boggling to me; I had accepted in Boston, New York, Baltimore, etc., that city harbors are gross, and you go to an uninhabited place if you want to swim or see fish. Yet, the water in the Mediterranean was clean and healthy, at least enough to support some kind of ecosystem.

Friday evening, I headed to the airport to fly to Cork, Ireland, where I just finished two days and three nights with my old friend Scott. I'll save that for another post, though. Expect this one to be editted with photos when I get back to Copenhagen, though.