During our five day break from classes Monj and I went to Valencia, España a few hours south of Barcelona to see something different. Additionally, this past Monday was Día de San Juan here in Spain, which is celebrated a lot like July 4th at home in the States. Since Valencia is on the beach we were able to see all the "hogueras" (bonfires) and people burning "trastos viejos" (useless objects) from the year (on Sunday night). The moon was full and beautiful and we had a lovely dinner of paella beach-side. While in Valencia we also got a chance to see the museum of science and the aquarium, both of which are in a beautiful modern complex built in an old dried up riverbed. Valencia has a lot of green space with parks for miles to walk and pass the time. We also went to the "old town" city center and viewed the ceramic museum, Roman ruins and Torres de Serranos among other various historical sites.
The Roman ruins were SO powerful for me and also moving. It was amazing to see the remnants of what used to be a thriving city, a couple thousand of years ago, now nothing more than mere sand and a chipped block. The museum is underground and anthropologists have put walkways with glass floors over the ruins which can be seen just feet below. We saw old bones in the cemetery, what used to be their bath house, where their Forum took place, where they cured their food like fish and wine, and even an old street convergence. The museum has video screens every few hundred feet to show what a digital reconstruction of the area we were looking at was like 2000 years ago. Its hard to believe that the Romans were so advanced for their time, with aqueducts and written records and an entire system of government! While this may seem obvious, it is mindblowing to view this in person. It suddenly makes the world feel very old and the place you are standing on very sacred.
We took our Valencia trip as a break from the reality and grind of waking up at 7:45 every morning for school. It was nice to sleep in a quiet, air conditioned hotel and eat when we chose. Now, back in Barcelona, we start new classes tomorrow. Life here has finally become a routine, which is something that I never thought would happen. Monj and I are grateful for this sense of comfort in day-to-day practices but also have to keep reminding each other that we are not just living the regular, day-to-day, humdrum life like we do at home. We are in a foreign city, speaking a foreign language 24/7 and trying to learn something new all the time! While it would be easy to go to the beach every day after school, we are still trying to find new activities, new hikes, new cobblestone streets and different neighborhoods to explore on our free time. I never want to feel like anything in Barcelona is redundant or "the usual." I would rather that life in Barcelona feel frustrating and hard at times than mundane simply for the sake of doing what is comfortable.
If you take this philosophy and idea of a "staycation" to your daily life at home, imagine how different life would be! If suddenly you were no longer just trying to "get through" another week but actually had something fabulous to look forward to after classes, after work or after your usual "routine" what would your "routine" really be? I am finally realizing how caging my desire for ritual can be. Finally seeing how every week can be special for some reason, makes life so much more worth living. While I miss some things from home (like comfort food and yoga) I can see how these things blend into the fabric of my daily grind at home and are forgotten. It is amazing what a little foreign perspective can do for you.
As a sidenote: I've decided against my obsession with getting fat from eating too much over here. I am fully of the mindset now that I better enjoy it while I can because sooner rather than later I will be stuck in the cold, dark, Michigan winter, craving a large bowl of Spanish paella, steaming with meat and veggies.
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