Rambla pa'qui Rambla pa'lla
Back from Vienna zero hours sleep. Rush to Cam, repack, back to London to see an amazing concert - Bajofondo Tango Club; a group I saw when in Buenos Aires, amazing electro tango. Next morning - straight to Gatwick to head to Barcelona.
I've been to Spain many times, but never to Barcers. I was going as part of a language exchange with the Language Unit of Cam's Engineering Dept. and the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC). Basically the CompSci dept here funds some students to learn a foreign language, so I chose Spanish. Unfortunately due to the timing of the classes I missed many, though I somehow managed to squeeze-in a week away to hit-up Barcelona. Barcelona isn't the obvious choice for a Spanish exchange trip, given that the language is Catalan (kinda like a French-Spanish mix), though basically everyone understands espanhol. The trip looked great - all organised, visits to companies, tourist attractions, opportunity to stay with a student's family and all well priced. xk no!
So I land Sunday and basically sleep the day + night away, totally needed to recover from Vienna and London. It was easy to do cos we were put up in these sweet student rooms. Next day I met the other six students who came from Cam. As I do Computer Science, which isn't Engineering per-se, I didn't know anyone else from Cambridge. Actually we were meant be a group of 10, but 3 didn't show. That kinda sucked, because each Cam student was paired with a host student (whom we stayed with), which meant three Spanairds missed out on having a local Cam contact for when they came to visit. No big deal, but it woulda been nicer for them...
The first morning we met up with the organisers from the Spanish Uni - Sandra, Jose & Lázaro, all of whom were super cool. They, along with the Lang Unit of Cam had preorganised everything. It is sooooooooo good to go on a trip where you don't have to think, where everything is organised - from transport, activities and also meals! I'm totally not used to stress-free travel - it's almost too easy... We were welcomed by the Uni and then introduced to our student hosts (who in turn would visit us in Cambridge). It was great, as everyone was awesome, and we quickly became good mates. As expected, all of the Spanish students could speak WAY better English than we could Spanish; actually my host, Enrique (Nicky), grew up learning English, and his whole family speak that at home! But it didn't matter, I still got to practice my Espanglish and even better it meant that we could have more meaningful conversations than otherwise would have been possible with my poor level of Spanish. Nicky's family was super nice, and quite large. Six kids total, though only a few were there at the time (they shipped one off to Madrid so that I could have her room :/ Incidentally, her boyfriend from Germany arrived that same week.. heh. I guess I'm a reasonable replacement. JA!). They were great - got on with all of them really well. And lucky for me they had this awesome piso (flat) quite close to the uni - which meant a few extra minutes for sleep after a hard night of partying BCN style.
A major part of the trip involved visiting various Engineering sites - from university departments to various companies. We visited the SEAT automotive factory, to learn of various design/manufacturing processes. They covered everything from general aesthetic design, shell construction, damage & safety testing to sound and pollution control. Another factory we visited was Dow Chemicals, where we got to visit a chemical refinery and learn of various chemical processes. It was very interesting for me, as I knew nothing about chemical engineering - even if we did finish with pig trotters for lunch :) Finally we visited the AGBAR Group - which manages various aspects of water, with the tour focusing on the architectural decisions (quirks?) of the Torre Agbar (building) housing the company's offices. The Torres Agbar is essentially the 'Gherkin' (per London) of Barcelona. This was really interesting, with things such as uneven + unconnected floors, all windows facing the Segrada Familia, etc. Definitely more to this pickle than meets the eye...
As we were paired with students, much of our spare time was spent with them - checking out tourist sights. Barcelona is an awesome coastal city (though the beaches aint nufin on Perth beaches), with lots of crazy architecture, attributed to Gaudi (and his disciples). Very artistic - throughout the city you will see nothing but mad buildings (well, facades), sights, sculptures, etc. Lots and lots of jaw dropping sights. Y la Sagrada Familia. Increible....
Obviously we had to check out BCN nightlife. Nicky's sister Angel is like the queen of the BCN nightlife scene, so she managed to get some tickets to some VIP party with free drinks at some fancy club one night. Then a few nights later she arranged free entry for the whole group at another club - Pacha. Free IS the right price... We went out with the entire Cam-Bcn crew one Thursday (a good night for student parties apparently) - starting with dinner, then hitting various bars until we hit a club. Very messy night, especially since we had to be up bright and early for some company tours. I think the organisers expected us to go out on Thurs as they kindly give us a later start on Friday morning. All of us managed, to survive! One night I checked out a student party for a short while. I heard it was at the facultad de matematicas (Maths faculty). Maths students aren't usually known for their partying skills - but the party was great - people were there from every discipline (the faculty was just the host). Live bands, lots of people, a real festival atmosphere. Oh and a game where you get kisses in exchange for a sticker. Oye! :) I also caught up for a sheesha session with some buddies from Bcn whom I met in Ljubljana (they were touring around in a Caravan). Very cool. Oh - I was sad though when I found out that Manu Chao were playing at a festival near Bcn 5 days after I left. K puta suerte...
I really enjoyed Barcelona, though I think I might prefer Madrid. BCN has that coastal feel, which perhaps I'm more used to - having grown up in Aus. I'm totally living in the wrong country - I should so be in Spain...
So the Barcelona students came to visit Cam a week later (poor things! hahaha), and we tried to reciprocate hospitality-wise. Us 'kids' were more in charge of social aspects. So our hands were tied, I mean Cambridge isn't exactly well known for its fun - _especially_ compared to Bcn. To make matters worse it was quite close to exams, so the streets (and hence, clubs) were basically dead. Though I guess some of the weird aspects of Cambridge are always are interesting to those unfamiliar - such as the chapel tower, punting, formal dinners. Wow as a grad student I had no concept as to the number of penny game variations were out there (i.e. drink before the queen drowns).
All-in-all was an awesome trip, and I'm glad they all came to visit. Made some good mates and was actually sad to see them go. Given that I am constantly going back to Spain, I have no doubt that I'll catch some of them again.
aqui estan las fotos
I've been to Spain many times, but never to Barcers. I was going as part of a language exchange with the Language Unit of Cam's Engineering Dept. and the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC). Basically the CompSci dept here funds some students to learn a foreign language, so I chose Spanish. Unfortunately due to the timing of the classes I missed many, though I somehow managed to squeeze-in a week away to hit-up Barcelona. Barcelona isn't the obvious choice for a Spanish exchange trip, given that the language is Catalan (kinda like a French-Spanish mix), though basically everyone understands espanhol. The trip looked great - all organised, visits to companies, tourist attractions, opportunity to stay with a student's family and all well priced. xk no!
So I land Sunday and basically sleep the day + night away, totally needed to recover from Vienna and London. It was easy to do cos we were put up in these sweet student rooms. Next day I met the other six students who came from Cam. As I do Computer Science, which isn't Engineering per-se, I didn't know anyone else from Cambridge. Actually we were meant be a group of 10, but 3 didn't show. That kinda sucked, because each Cam student was paired with a host student (whom we stayed with), which meant three Spanairds missed out on having a local Cam contact for when they came to visit. No big deal, but it woulda been nicer for them...
 Cambridge possee | -735345.JPG) El grupo |
The first morning we met up with the organisers from the Spanish Uni - Sandra, Jose & Lázaro, all of whom were super cool. They, along with the Lang Unit of Cam had preorganised everything. It is sooooooooo good to go on a trip where you don't have to think, where everything is organised - from transport, activities and also meals! I'm totally not used to stress-free travel - it's almost too easy... We were welcomed by the Uni and then introduced to our student hosts (who in turn would visit us in Cambridge). It was great, as everyone was awesome, and we quickly became good mates. As expected, all of the Spanish students could speak WAY better English than we could Spanish; actually my host, Enrique (Nicky), grew up learning English, and his whole family speak that at home! But it didn't matter, I still got to practice my Espanglish and even better it meant that we could have more meaningful conversations than otherwise would have been possible with my poor level of Spanish. Nicky's family was super nice, and quite large. Six kids total, though only a few were there at the time (they shipped one off to Madrid so that I could have her room :/ Incidentally, her boyfriend from Germany arrived that same week.. heh. I guess I'm a reasonable replacement. JA!). They were great - got on with all of them really well. And lucky for me they had this awesome piso (flat) quite close to the uni - which meant a few extra minutes for sleep after a hard night of partying BCN style.
A major part of the trip involved visiting various Engineering sites - from university departments to various companies. We visited the SEAT automotive factory, to learn of various design/manufacturing processes. They covered everything from general aesthetic design, shell construction, damage & safety testing to sound and pollution control. Another factory we visited was Dow Chemicals, where we got to visit a chemical refinery and learn of various chemical processes. It was very interesting for me, as I knew nothing about chemical engineering - even if we did finish with pig trotters for lunch :) Finally we visited the AGBAR Group - which manages various aspects of water, with the tour focusing on the architectural decisions (quirks?) of the Torre Agbar (building) housing the company's offices. The Torres Agbar is essentially the 'Gherkin' (per London) of Barcelona. This was really interesting, with things such as uneven + unconnected floors, all windows facing the Segrada Familia, etc. Definitely more to this pickle than meets the eye...
 Engineers get all the chicks... |  Torre Agbar, floors aren't level, nor touch the edge |
As we were paired with students, much of our spare time was spent with them - checking out tourist sights. Barcelona is an awesome coastal city (though the beaches aint nufin on Perth beaches), with lots of crazy architecture, attributed to Gaudi (and his disciples). Very artistic - throughout the city you will see nothing but mad buildings (well, facades), sights, sculptures, etc. Lots and lots of jaw dropping sights. Y la Sagrada Familia. Increible....
 |  |  | BCN is VERY tourist friendly, though locals get sick of it. Some of our hosts were amused by some of the graffiti, but it ain't always easy to pick a local, huh...:) |
Obviously we had to check out BCN nightlife. Nicky's sister Angel is like the queen of the BCN nightlife scene, so she managed to get some tickets to some VIP party with free drinks at some fancy club one night. Then a few nights later she arranged free entry for the whole group at another club - Pacha. Free IS the right price... We went out with the entire Cam-Bcn crew one Thursday (a good night for student parties apparently) - starting with dinner, then hitting various bars until we hit a club. Very messy night, especially since we had to be up bright and early for some company tours. I think the organisers expected us to go out on Thurs as they kindly give us a later start on Friday morning. All of us managed, to survive! One night I checked out a student party for a short while. I heard it was at the facultad de matematicas (Maths faculty). Maths students aren't usually known for their partying skills - but the party was great - people were there from every discipline (the faculty was just the host). Live bands, lots of people, a real festival atmosphere. Oh and a game where you get kisses in exchange for a sticker. Oye! :) I also caught up for a sheesha session with some buddies from Bcn whom I met in Ljubljana (they were touring around in a Caravan). Very cool. Oh - I was sad though when I found out that Manu Chao were playing at a festival near Bcn 5 days after I left. K puta suerte...
-794319.JPG) Party people.... |  Just like in Cam, keep off the grass in BCN... |
I really enjoyed Barcelona, though I think I might prefer Madrid. BCN has that coastal feel, which perhaps I'm more used to - having grown up in Aus. I'm totally living in the wrong country - I should so be in Spain...
So the Barcelona students came to visit Cam a week later (poor things! hahaha), and we tried to reciprocate hospitality-wise. Us 'kids' were more in charge of social aspects. So our hands were tied, I mean Cambridge isn't exactly well known for its fun - _especially_ compared to Bcn. To make matters worse it was quite close to exams, so the streets (and hence, clubs) were basically dead. Though I guess some of the weird aspects of Cambridge are always are interesting to those unfamiliar - such as the chapel tower, punting, formal dinners. Wow as a grad student I had no concept as to the number of penny game variations were out there (i.e. drink before the queen drowns).
All-in-all was an awesome trip, and I'm glad they all came to visit. Made some good mates and was actually sad to see them go. Given that I am constantly going back to Spain, I have no doubt that I'll catch some of them again.
aqui estan las fotos
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