...In Which Sarah Becomes Obsessed With Castellers

Hola a tothom,

It's been a good week or so. As you can probably guess from the title of this post, I have continued going to practices with my castellers colla, and with gusto! I've been to three now, and I learn a lot every time I go. Practice on Tuesday was really fun, because there were less people and more inexperienced people like me, so we spent more time on basics, practicing how to climb, etc. I got stood on a lot, and my shoulders were really sore afterwards, but I was happy about it. It was a very similar feeling to how your collarbones feel after you've just started backpacking - bruised and rubbed on, but accomplished (can collarbones feel accomplished? Well, mine did, anyway). I also learned more about how the pinya is set up and got to be in a position called contrafort, which is one person out from the very center, directly supporting the people who are being stood on. I still don't completely understand this, but it seems to me that sometimes the pinya is just made up of a mass of people all standing around with their hands in the air, whereas sometimes it is extremely well-organized, with everyone in a specific position (crossos, contrafort, bens, laterals, primeres mans, segones mans, etc.), and each of the sections exactly square to each other. In the latter case, it almost seems that the pinya needs to be more precisely organized than the tower itself; if it's lined up slightly wrong, they'll take the whole thing apart and start over. Anyway, clearly I have a lot to learn, but it's all very interesting. I'm also pleased that people remember my name more and more. This past Thursday, we had to practice inside because of the rain, which wasn't as fun, but it meant we were all concentrating and had to be really quiet to hear the cap de pinya calling out positions. At one point he came over to adjust how I had my hands and asked what my name was. When I said Sarah, he said something like, "Another one?!" I laughed and clarified, "Amb h" ("With an h"). In Catalan, the letter h is pronounced "hac," so when I said they could call me "Sarah amb h," he agreed and shortened it to "Sarah-amb-hac, Saramac." We'll see what my name ends up being ... thus far people tend to refer to me either as "Sarah-amb-hac" or "Sarahhh," with an exaggerated sound of aspiration on the end. Either way, at least I'm differentiated from the other Sara's.

Let's see - other exciting things from this week: Yesterday (Saturday) I took a day trip to Girona. It's a lovely little city, half-perched on a mountainside. I was supposed to go for a tour with the Language Voluntariat from UPF, but, unfortunately, I missed the train and had to catch the next one an hour later. By the time I got there, the tour was almost over. Luckily, I had the phone number of my friend Belén, whom I had met last weekend and who is also in the Voluntariat, so I called her and met up with them. I caught the tail end of the tour, which was nice, and then Belén, her boyfriend, visiting from France, and I went to eat lunch. The Fires de Sant Narcís were happening, which are kind of like a weeklong street fair/festival, so there were lots of vendors out with delicious food. We ate in a big park where there was a creepily deserted carnival set up between stands of sycamore trees, then decided to go back to the old part of the city to explore a bit more. We saw the Ramblas, which is much smaller and nicer than the Ramblas in Barcelona, the cathedral, and a good part of the old Jewish neighborhood. We also had coffee (of course) and went in a wine store where the French boyfriend asked in not-very-good Spanish if he could try many of the different local varieties, which were housed in big barrels with taps, before finally buying about 3 liters' worth, which the store owner presented to him in old plastic Coca-Cola bottles. It was a lot of fun. Here's a picture of Belén and me on one of the bridges in the old city:


Belén and her boyfriend had to leave at about 6:30 because they had dinner plans in Barcelona, but I decided to stay on and explore the city some more. I bought a delicious traditional chocolate pastry and ate it sitting on the old city wall, which dates to the 9th century. Here's a picture, for your viewing pleasure:After enjoying my pastry and getting some odd looks from passers-by, I hiked around the slightly-less-old city walls (from the 14th century) and watched the sun set over the University of Girona, the cathedral, and, in the background, the mountains:

It was really beautiful. I could have lived there, I think.

To end the evening, I had seen in a program that there would be castellers, so, of course, I had to go! The only problem was, I had no idea where the plaza was where they would be performing. I was going to ask someone, but then I saw someone walking by in a castellers outfit! I decided to just follow along - surreptitiously, of course. This proved problematic when he went into a bar and started chatting, and I couldn't just stand outside and wait. A very silly half hour or so then ensued during which I followed various castellers around the old neighborhood, trying to be discreet, periodically losing track of one group and then spotting another. Finally they seemed to be converging on one small plaza, so I noted it in my mind and decided to go to a cafe for a bit, since it was still a while before they were scheduled to perform. Shortly afterward, however, I heard the traditional music that's played while a castell is in progress! I thought, "Oh no, they've started early after all!" But no, they were actually having a parade through the city, so I jumped up and went along with them! We processed across a bridge and wound our way through the newer part of the city to an entirely different plaza that I never would have found on my own, traditional instruments playing the whole time. Then, after much organizing and milling around, they finally started making castells. I only got to stay for a few, because I had to catch the last train back to Barcelona at 9:30, but it was a lot of fun to watch them and actually know what was going on. Plus, it made me that much more excited to imagine myself all dressed up in my shirt and faixa, actually participating in an actuacion. I can't wait!

So, overall I would say the week and the weekend were a success. I can't wait until practice on Tuesday now - also, we have a welcome dinner for the new members of the colla like me on Thursday night! I'm so glad I've joined - I think it's my favorite thing I've done so far in Catalunya. I'll keep you updated as to how things go!

Fins aviat,
Sarah