Zoe's first blog post

Hello, my name is Zoe. I am ten years old. I am an American girl living in Barcelona.

In Barcelona, people speak two different languages.  They speak Spanish because this is Spain, but Barcelona is part of the province of Catalunya, which wants to be its own country.  The language of Catalunya is Catalan, so most people here also speak Catalan.  My father taught me to speak Spanish, but when we moved here I needed to learn Catalan because my classes are mostly in Catalan.  Catalan is similar to Spanish, French, and Portuguese, so it’s not that hard to learn if you already speak Spanish.

One of the things I really had to get used to here was the daily schedule.  Most kids in Barcelona wake up around 7:30, eat a light breakfast (milk and crackers) around 8:30, start school at 9am, have morning snack (a sandwich) at 11am, eat lunch at 1:30pm, get out of school at 5pm, have afternoon snack (a muffin or croissant) at 5:15pm, eat dinner at 8:30pm and go to sleep at 10:30pm!  This made me too tired because I was used to getting out of school at 2:45 and going to bed at 8:30pm.   

At school, lunch break is very long:  from 1-3pm.  During that time some kids go home to eat lunch, and come back at 3.  The other kids eat lunch in the cafeteria and then play or have study time.  At my school, lunch is always served in three courses:  entree, main course, and dessert.  Our first course might be salad or soup.  Our second course might be croquettes, potatoes and beans, or pasta.  Dessert is often fresh fruit, yogurt, ice cream, or flan.  My brother and I think it is funny that at school people do not eat their fruit by holding it in their hands and biting it.  Instead, they cut the whole apple or pear into pieces using a fork and knife!

Speaking of food, the names of some foods here are different.  For example, in California, a tortilla is a corn or wheat pancake, but in Spain, a tortilla is an omelet, usually with potato in it.  Also, macaroni here are not the elbow-shaped pasta, but any type of shaped pasta.  In addition, people here eat bread with every meal.  

The water fountains here are just faucets like in a sink.  When you turn them on, you have to turn your head sideways to drink and try not to spill water on your feet.    

Catalunya has different traditions, holidays, and celebrations.  Instead of Halloween, they celebrate Castanyada, which is the chestnut festival.  People eat roasted chestnuts and sweet potatoes, and bake little cookies called panellets.  In September, there is a big festival called La Mercè.  During the day, there are parades of giant figures called gegants, which had people inside of them.  In addition to parades, there are folk dances like the sardana and the bastoner.  In the sardana, dancers stand in circles and hold hands.  In the bastoner,  dancers hold sticks and hit them together.  In the plaza we watched teams of people called castellers and falcons.
      
These people work together to build human structures more than three stories high!  The falcons made human pyramids, and the castellers made tall towers by standing on each other’s shoulders. I hope to be in one of those groups next year.  At night there is a big parade of people dressed like devils pushing giant fire-breathing dragons and carrying poles with spinning fireworks which rain sparks down on everybody.  The sparks stung my back through my shirt and even burned my brother’s cheek!


At Christmas time the Catalonians believe that the Three Wise Men bring the presents, not Santa. They don’t even show up until January 6th! They also believe in The Christmas Uncle. The Christmas Uncle is a log which every family gives food to and covers with a blanket. On Christmas Eve Night, kids sit on it, hit it with sticks and sing a song which says: “Go poo, Christmas Uncle! Poop out my present!” Then they lift the blanket and find their presents. Personally I think it is a crazy idea and can’t wait to find out how it works.



When kids lose their teeth, instead of the tooth fairy, they believe in a little mouse called El Ratoncito Perez. I lost 5 teeth in one month and he gave me 10 euros.