Results

From what I've read in the Catalan and the national press, both sides appear to be trying to portray the results of yesterday's referenda as a vindication of their position. What it has come down to is whether you put more emphasis on the result itself or the rate of participation.

The headline figures show the referenda to have been a great victory for those seeking independence for Catalonia, with a resounding 90% of those who went to the polls voting in favour of independence. Following this success, some political figures are arguing that the government should now allow a real referendum to take place across the whole of Catalonia.

Those on the opposition, however, have seized on the rate of participation. The proclaimed target of the organisers was a rate of 40%, but in the end only 27% of those eligible to vote bothered to do so. The Partido Popular (a conservative party that, although one of the two main parties nationally, enjoys little support in Catalonia) seized on these figures as proof that the referenda had "failed" and declared that "good sense" had triumphed. A spokesperon of the ruling Catalan Socialist Party said that it had been a "stragetic error" on the part of the nationalists, and had proved that few people supported independence.

So who is right? It is probably fair to say that the answer lies somewhere between the two. The rate of participation is certainly lower than had been hoped for, but a few things should be kept in mind:

1) This was an unofficial referendum, which was in no way binding. Thus, a lot of people will have decided that it was not worth the effort to vote.

2) The voting was organised by volunteers and lacked the resources and organisational structures that would be behind any official referendum.

3) People who are undecided or would have voted "no" are more likely to have stayed at home, since it is a non-binding vote and opponents may have wished to avoid legitimising it. This explains some of why more people didn't vote.

Of course, this last point also means that in a real vote the percentage of people supporting independence would be much less than 90%. Given the nature of the vote, howver, the rate of participation isn't bad at all. And as 27% of the people in these areas voted and 90% of them voted yes, it seems difficult to accept the line from the PSC spokesperson that nationalists are few in number. Even if they are currently a minority, they are a sizeable one.

(Incidently, in the town were I work there was a participation rate of 41%, with 98% voting in favour of independence.)

Voting Begins in Independence Referenda

The BBC has an interesting article that gives some good background information on today's consultations.

The first vote actually took place yesterday, in a tiny village called Sant Jaume de Frontanyà. It has 24 inhabitants, of which 21 were eligible to vote yesterday. 19 voted in favour of independence whereas only one person voted against.

Barcelona and Girona are both set to have similar consultations in April next year.

Catalanisme and Referenda

This is a pretty good time to bring up the subject of Catalanisme (that is to say, Catalan nationalism), as this Sunday there will be referenda on the question of independence in 167 different municipalities. As it would be illegal under the Spanish constitution for such consultations to be organised by a public body, they are being run by independent groups and individuals.

The first consultation on independence took place this year on the 13th September, in a small Catalan town called Arenys de Munt. The question put to voters was: “Do you agree with Catalonia becoming an independent, democratic and social State of law, integrated in the European Union?”. With a participation rate of 41% of those eligible to vote, the result was a resounding 96% in favour of independence. In the wake of this, referendums are now being planned all over Catalonia (Barcelona, and also the town where I am living, are apparently set to have one next year). Less happily, there were also some demonstrations by far-right Spanish nationalists groups with links back to the Falange movement, complete with symbols of the Franco dictatorship and fascist salutes.

Of course, it’s worth keeping in mind that this was a single vote in a small town (the total ballots cast only numbered 2,671), and the fact that it was a non-binding and unofficial referendum probably means that people who were pro-independence were more likely to take the time and effort to participate than people who were either apathetic or against independence. So this raises the question of how representative of Catalan opinion as a whole the result from Arenys de Munt was.

An opinion poll published in the Spanish-language Catalan newspaper La Vanguardia suggests that it is not particularly representative. According to the results, 35% of Catalans would vote “yes” in a referendum on independence, while 46% would vote “no” – although, interestingly, 53% of Catalans are in favour of these referenda taking place, as opposed to 39% against. Of the two largest political parties in Catalonia, neither is fully in favour of independence. Convergència i Unió, although a Catalan nationalist party, is deliberately vague on the matter so as to win the support of people who do not want full independence, and the PSC (Catalan Socialist Party, linked to the nationally governing PSOE of President Zapatero) is not in favour of independence. The ERC (Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya) are strongly in favour of independence, but are the third party in Catalan politics and are currently part of the governing coalition with the PSC and the ICV.

So why is Catalonia so divided? There are various factors, but amongst the most important are factors such as language, national identity and immigration. Without wishing to generalise too much (there are, for example, Catalan nationalists who do not speak any Catalan), people who live in rural areas and speak almost exclusively in Catalan are more likely to support independence, whereas people who live in Barcelona and the cities around it and only speak Spanish (many of whom come from families that moved to Catalonia from other parts of Spain in search of work) are less likely to be pro-independence. The Catalan language and a sense of Catalan national identity are strongly linked, and the poll from the La Vanguardia suggests that whereas 80% of those who only feel Catalan and 60% of those who feel more Catalan than Spanish would support independence, 56% of those who feel as Catalan as Spanish and 70% who feel more or exclusively Spanish would vote against. Part of the reason that many in Barcelona and nearby urban areas are not Catalan-speaking and don’t self-identity as Catalan in nationality is due to the aforementioned waves of immigration from outside of Catalonia, and the determined efforts of General Franco to wipe out the Catalan language and identity. As immigration is usually to big cities and it is far harder to impose authoritarian measures in the remote countryside, this has left rural areas of Catalonia more strongly pro-independence.

Thirty-four of the referendums this Sunday are taking place in the comarca of Osona, which includes Prats de Lluçanès (where my school is). I have talked to quite a few people about this, and almost everyone I have asked has said they are in favour of an independent Catalonia. Osona is a very rural area, and Catalan is easily the most dominant language, and I am fairly sure that the overall result on Sunday will be a “yes” to independence. The really fascinating referendum will be when one is held in Barcelona. Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see how these referendums affect the debate about Catalan independence and, indeed, whether they have an effect on the level of support for it.

Barcelona!

This weekend I spent my 21st birthday in Barcelona with my parents, and I finally got to see the Magic Fountain in action. We were treated to a twenty-minute show of light and music, which finished with Freddie Mercury's "Barcelona". I filmed it on my camera, and have now uploaded it to YouTube. Enjoy!

Madrid

It’s fairly reasonable to say that Catalonia is not “typically” Spanish. Of course, a lot of people around here would contest that it isn’t even Spanish at all. So it was interesting to go to Madrid, a place which certainly can be considered culturally Spanish. It has all the typical food and drink, it has the bullfighting, it has many monuments of the most famous cultural and historical figures of Spain, and Castilian reigns uncontested as the main language. It was certainly interesting to see the differences between Madrid and Barcelona, the former being the centre of Spain (both geographically and politically) and the latter being the cultural and political centre of Catalonia (both as a comunidad autónoma within Spain and as a potential country of its own).

I left the school in Prats this Thursday and went to Manresa and from there to Barcelona to catch my night train. I’ve travelled on such trains before, but this time it seemed even worse than I had remembered them being. I had to share a cramped compartment with seven other people with hardly any leg room and a fairly uncomfortable seat. The result was that I got hardly any sleep, and arrived at Madrid at 7:30am in the morning without feeling well-rested at all. Alas, this lack of sleep was to continue over the entire weekend due to some horrendous snoring by a group of Puerto Ricans in my hostel room and another uncomfortable night train back to Catalonia on the Sunday.



Despite this, I had a very enjoyable weekend in the city. After checking in to the hostel I was staying at (which was very reasonably priced and well-located), I headed for the Puerta del Sol (“Gate of the Sun”), perhaps the most famous part of the city. It is a bustling square with quite a few different notable monuments, including the building that houses the President of Madrid and the local government of the city, a statue of King Carlos III, the (apparently famous) Tio Pepe sign, a statue of a bear with a tree (the heraldic symbol of Madrid), and a plaque marking the centre (kilómetro cero) of the Spanish network of roads.





I had wanted to take a day out of my time in Madrid and visit Toledo, but there were so many things to do in the capital that I decided not to. Plus, I’d like to visit Toledo properly and book accommodation there rather than trying to squeeze everything into a day trip from Madrid. The city has many pleasant parks (the Parque del Retiro being the most noteworthy) and a plethora of interesting plazas and monuments. There is also a large number of impressive museums, such as the art museums of El Prado (with works by artists such as El Greco, Rafael and Botticelli) and the Reina Sofia (with more modern artists such as Dali and Picasso, which I found more interesting), and an impressive archaeological museum as well. The Palacio Real (Royal Palace) was also definitely worth a visit, as was the ancient Egyptian temple that has somehow ended up in Spain. I saw many other sights, but there really are too many things to list.





I also made sure I sampled some of the local cuisine. As well as taking the opportunity to enjoy a bit of sangria, I tried “churros” for the first time, with some melted chocolate to dip them in. Very tasty indeed!



As I said, I enjoyed my time in Madrid. It’s a place with many interesting things to see and do, and it is also a very enjoyable place to just walk around, whether it be through the parks or the vibrant main commercial street that runs through the city (the Gran Via). Nonetheless, the city seemed to lack a certain something which I can’t quite put my finger on. One of the problems is that although it has many great sights, it doesn’t really have a monument that stands out from the rest in terms of reputation and impact, such as, for example, the Eiffel Tower in Paris or the Alhambra in Granada. And it just seems to lack the atmosphere and character of Barcelona. I think part of the reason is that Madrid was picked as the capital city of Spain in the 16th century by the Spanish monarchy and it was then expanded and developed very quickly, so lacks the character that you might get from a more historical city which developed in a more “organic” way. Instead, many areas of the city are filled with grand and ornate buildings whose charms are somewhat artificial.

Nonetheless, I intend to return sometime next year. There are still a few things in the city that I didn’t get a chance to see, and as I mentioned I’d love to travel to Toledo, which is only about half an hour away. And although I’ve visited more impressive European capitals (and would say Barcelona, which very much feels like a capital city itself, is a nicer place), it’s certainly worth a visit.

But of course...

When the Spanish Ministerio de Educación said that they would pay us last week, what they really meant was that they weren't going to pay us last week at all...

(Will write a longer post on my trip to Madrid later on!)

Update

I haven't updated this in over a week. In part that is because I just haven't gotten around to it, but it is also because apart from work I haven't been doing much that would warrant a blog post! I am now working extra hours on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays doing private classes, which means a bit of extra money.

Speaking of which, I have been told by the Catalan Departament d'Educació that the the Ministerio de Educación in Madrid is finally going to pay me this week, and that I will get my grant for both October and November in one go. Great!

Anyway, I thought I might as well do a quick blog post now because I will be away all weekend. After finishing at the school tomorrow I will be going to Barcelona and then catching a night train to Madrid. I'll arrive nice and early (7.30am) and won't be leaving until Sunday night, so I'll have three full days there.

Depending on how much time I have, I'd like to go to Toledo, which is steeped in history and by all acounts a great place to visit. But I imagine Madrid has enough to keep me occupied for the whole time, so I might have to go to Madrid again after Christmas so I can visit anything I miss this weekend and fit in a trip to Toledo.

If nothing else this trip will be a chance to spend a few days speaking Spanish instead of Catalan! My Catalan has been improving since I got here, but my Spanish obviously hasn't improved as much since I get fewer chances to use it. On the other hand youth hostels tend to be full of people from England, Australia, America, etc who all speak English...which is even worse for my Spanish than only speaking Catalan! We shall see.

Busy few weeks ahead. Madrid this weekend, of course. Then I am going back to England the weekend after to visit the lovely folk in Durham, and then the weekend after my parents will be coming to Barcelona for my 21st birthday. All good fun, and then there will only be a couple of weeks left before I head home for Christmas and New Year!

La Fira Mediterrània

This weekend I went to the "Fira Mediterrània", a festival held in the nearby city of Manresa (the capital of the comarca - basically a county - where I am living) which consisted of music, dance and theatre from all across the Mediterranean. It was a great experience, and I got to watch and listen to some really good artists.

Although the events didn't start until 11am, I was in Manresa by about 9.20am due to the rather poor provision of public transport here on the weekends. Whereas during the week buses run between Artés and Manresa every half an hour or so until quite late, on Saturday this is reduced to a mere three buses going each way over the entire day! So my choices were either to arrive early or to arrive half way through all the events. Despite being on the verge of changing my mind when it was time to get up I dragged myself to the bus stop to get there before the start.

To be fair it was worth it. The main street of the city was lined with various stalls, ranging from local arts and crafts to various foodstuffs, and once things got going there were lots of people about, which combined with the several musical acts that played in the streets made for a great atmosphere.

I started the day off by going to a concert by "Grollers de Sa Factoria", a group from the Balearic Islands who played a mixture of funk, rock and folk music, followed by another group from the Balearic Islands called "Xaloc Música", who played a more traditional-sounding set. After these two concerts I strolled around the city listening to the aforementioned bands playing in various plazas, including a brass band listed as being from "Occitania" and another group comprised of musicians from France and the Maghreb. In a small plaza slightly out of the centre there was a concert which was described in the programme as "improvised song", which turned out to be five Catalans sitting around a table on a stage playing simple music and making up pretty nonsensical lyrics as they went.

As I was watching this (and considering whether or not I should queue for the free paella that was being offered) it began to rain heavily. This was probably only the third time it has rained since I arrived, so I can't really complain, but since it was on a day when I was outside and enjoying a festival it was a bit of a pain! I left the concert and found a sheltered place to have some lunch until the rain stopped.

The afternoon events started with a performance by "PerkImBa", a group of mainly young people whose name comes from the mixture of the words "Percussion", "Improvisation" and "Ballet". The name pretty much explains it all - the show consisted of an elaborate dance involving the use of drums and a few other instruments. I wasn't expecting much (I went as it was the only event on at the time), but it was actually a mesmerising and impressive performance. By the end there was a large crowd of spectators, and the applause lasted for a fair while.

After this I went to a really good concert called "Mar Mur", which was put on by a group of musicians from Italy and the Paisos Catalans. It had a unifying theme of immigration and the exchange of cultures across the Mediterranean, and lyrics in both Catalan and Occitan. I finished the day off with a concert by a Valencian singer who goes by the stage name of "Botifarra", and who is supposedly very well known here. It was another good concert, even if I couldn't understand the stories and jokes he was telling between songs (apart from the one joke he decided to tell in Spanish instead of Catalan). I returned today for a couple of hours with the family I'm living with to watch a couple more concerts by two Catalan folk groups, "21 BOuTONS" and "Randalleries".

It was all good fun, and very interesting to see different artists from the various cultures that surround the Mediterranean.

Incidentally, for those of you who have expressed jealousy at one point or another at the fact I am in a warm country, you can stop now. Winter has arrived in Catalonia, and it feels bloody freezing. Some areas have even had snow.

Oysters! (The Problem With Online Translators)

When I was in secondary school the language teachers always warned us about the general unreliability of online translators, and the fact that it was usually immediately obvious if one had been used.

They can be of use if you are translating a word or relatively simple phrases, but anything more complicated and it all tends to go wrong. Although some are better than others, all online translators struggle to deal with complex sentence structures and have little ability to take context into account, which is absolutely crucial if you are looking for an accurate translation. They also tend to have problems with colloquial language and sayings.

A group of my students who are taking a special module about cinema had been tasked with writing a script for a movie, which I was given today to look over and correct mistakes in the English (the language the module is taught in). It quickly became apparent that they had written it in Catalan, and then pasted it into an online translator. I could just about make out the general plot (a sordid affair involving drugs and prostitution), but large parts of the script were completely unintelligible.

My favourite parts were:

"She goes to scroll her body to the disco sweet." (When I read this I burst out laughing.)

"Oysters! If in nothing do I have between the legs...Matches you shit it, where I have the head? Has gone for me of a hair!" (Impossible to understand, but it sounds almost like the kind of language you'd find in a Shakespeare play!)

The phrase "Oysters!" confused me particularly. I asked one of the English teachers, and it is a direct translation of "ostres", which is both the Catalan word for oysters but also an exclamation that roughly translates as "damn".

Why the word for oysters is used as an exclamation, I have no idea...

VIDEOS: "Castells" (Girona)

I've now uploaded the videos I took in Girona of the "castellers". Enjoy!

Swine Flu Strikes?

It appears that the school where I am working may have been struck by an outbreak of swine flu (or "gripe A" as it is known here).

It's not entirely clear that it IS swine flu that has caused a large number of teachers and students to call in ill over the past week, but given the frequent and slightly apocalyptic reporting on the illness by the media (which is just as bad here as in the UK) that is the first conclusion pretty much everyone has jumped to. Although it could well be right!

Either way, yesterday there was a particularly large amount of staff and students off sick. One of the classes I had in the afternoon normally consists of twenty-seven students, of which I usually teach half each week. Yesterday, however, I ended up taking all of the class. Or at least the seven of them that weren't off sick...

I should point out that this class was an exceptional case and that most classes were nowhere near as badly depleted as this one!

(If you are wondering about the picture, then it happens to be the first thing that came up on Google Image search for "swine flu"!)

Girona

This weekend I decided to go to Girona, which is only a couple of hours or so away from where I am by coach. Girona is a fantastic little city, with a history that stretches back to when Rome controlled the Iberian peninsula. Sadly there is very little to be seen from the periods of Roman or Moorish rule, but there is a lot of very impressive Romanesque and Gothic architecture. More modern, but still very nice, are the painted houses that can be seen along the river that runs through the heart of the city.



I arrived slightly later than I had intended, since I missed the first bus to Girona and had to wait another two hours for the next one. Nor was this the first piece of back luck I've had with buses - the weekend before I went to Barcelona for the day on Saturday and managed to miss the last bus back! But I arrived in Girona eventually...only to spend the best part of an hour looking for my hostel. The directions on the website had been very vague, but to fair it has to be said that a large part of the problem was my own lack of observational skills, since I walked right past the hostel at least three times before finding it, and even looked straight through the window (I saw people sitting at tables and assumed it was a café).

Once I was finally all sorted with the hostel, I headed out into the city to explore. Girona is a very nice city to wander around, with lots of interesting architecture and a generally pleasant atmosphere. The cathedral is particularly impressive (with what is supposedly one of the largest naves in the world), as is the Benedictine church of Sant Pere de Galligants, a fine Romanesque structure that now houses the archaeological museum.

The weekend I was in Girona was the start of "Les Fires de Girona", a week-long festival for the patron saint of the city, Saint Narcissus. It started with a short sermon given from the balcony of the town hall, which was followed by a fairly strange performance by two men on a trampoline set to the tune of "Daddy Cool" by Boney M. I can't say I really understood the point of it all, but it was quite entertaining anyway!

The next day, after a night of sleep that was disturbed several times by rowdy French schoolchildren who were staying in the hostel, I continued exploring the city. I also met up with a friend for a tour of the city and some lunch, which was good. In the evening I headed out to see more of the festivities. My first stop was at a small plaza to see two groups of "castellers". "Castell" is the Catalan for "castle", and the peformances involved the construction of a human tower that looked something like this. The outer ring of people then climbed down layer by layer, leaving a central pillar with each person standing on the shoulders of the person beneath them. It's really quite impressive, and I will try and upload one of the videos I took of them soon.

After this I headed to the Parc de la Devesa, which is the largest park in the city. For the festival it had been converted into a large carnival ground, with a great range of stalls offering all sorts of food/drink and games and also plenty of rides and other attractions. There were loads of people and a great atmosphere, and if I had been able to it would have been nice to be able to stay for the whole week and enjoy all of the various activities and entertainment on offer.



On the night I was at the park there happened to be a free concert by a group called "Els Pets", who are very well known in Catalonia. Their name translates as "The Farts". In a way the name is quite fitting for one of the most successful Catalan bands, since the Catalans have some fairly interesting cultural quirks based around a similar sort of thing...but I will go into that nearer to Christmas time! The concert was good fun, and by the time it was finished it was well past midnight. It was early by Spanish standards, but since I needed to catch a train at 8.30am the next morning I headed back to the hostel to get some sleep. Alas, the hostel was inhabited by more noisy people, but I guess that's what you get when you pay for a cheap bed in a hostel dorm (only €15 a night, with breakfast included)!

Girona was well worth a visit. In fact, I would have to say that it is my favourite place in Catalunya after Barcelona. Having said that, there are still plenty of places in Catalunya for me to visit, so who knows? It will be pretty hard to beat, however.

American / English?

Although there are language assistants in Spain that have come from places such as America and Australia, UK English is the version of the language that is taught in Spanish schools. Of course, from my point of view that is a good thing as I don't have to worry about inadvertently teaching my students something that might be deemed "incorrect" by an exam board.

However, despite UK English being used as the standard in schools, there are occasional signs of US English creeping in. This is probably inevitable given the global importance of America and its unparalleled ability to project itself culturally across the world, but it is nonetheless irksome.

The two most obvious "Americanisms" that keep cropping up are the use of the term "high school" and the pronunciation of the word "tomato".

Partly, of course, this is down to the teachers. Indeed, I've heard some of the English teachers here saying both of these things. But it is also partly down to the widespread presence of American cultural products. The use of "high school" instead of "secondary school" (despite the Catalan equivalent - "escola d'educació secundària" - being closer to the UK English term) is quite probably reinforced by the great popularity here of the "High School Musical" films. As students are naturally more likely to be influenced by their favourite films, books, music, etc than by me telling them something in a classroom, I suspect that it would be very hard to get them to use the term "secondary school" instead. And if this is what their teachers are telling them as well, it is probably best not to give them a different version and cause confusion. So I think I will largely let that one pass.

With the pronunciation of "tomato", however, I am determined to have my way and encourage students to use the common British pronunciation of "tom-ah-toe" instead of "tom-ay-toe". Today I ended up standing at the front of one of my classes and getting students to repeat it until I was satisfied. ("It's pronounced 'tom-ah-toe'. 'Tom-aaaah-toe'.") They probably thought I was quite strange.

These things are not "mistakes" as such. And even within the UK there are variations, making the concept of encouraging a "correct" version of something a bit dubious. So perhaps I shouldn't be doing so at all. On the other hand, since the syllabus is in UK English I feel I have some justification for correcting Americanisms!

What I found more surprising was the apparent blurring of the distinction between British and American culture. More than once in my classes I've heard both Madonna and Hannah Montana described as being English. They are, of course, both American.

Given that American culture is dominant globally, it struck me as a bit odd that some students are assuming that American cultural icons are British rather than the other way around. Perhaps it is something to do with the geographical proximity of Britain? I honestly couldn't say.

Education in Catalonia

When I was still in the UK I asked my tutor at the school here in Catalonia whether there was a dress code for teachers. I was aware that school children in Spain don't wear any uniform, but I thought that perhaps staff were expected to dress a bit more formally.

When my tutor, Alba, replied to my email she told me that I could "dress the way you like as long as you are dressed!".

I'm mentioning this because the first thing I noticed when I arrived at the school on the first day was has informally dressed everyone was. I was half-expecting it, but still opted for a smart shirt and smart brown shoes to avoid dressing too casually. I really needn't have bothered. It's quite common for teachers to be walking around in jeans, t-shirts and trainers, just like the students.

That's just the most immediately apparent of the ways in which the atmosphere in schools here is a lot more informal than that in their British counterparts. Students don't call teachers "Sir", but use first names instead (whereas I was calling teachers "Sir" or "Miss" until the start of Sixth Form).

I'm not generally a big fan of overly formal situations, so I'm finding the more relaxed and informal way of doing things very positive. It's especially interesting in the light of Michael Gove, Tory education spokesperson in the UK, opening his speech at the recent Conservative party conference with a discussion of the need for more discipline in the classroom and the importance of a smart school uniform. From what I've seen here the lack of such formality does not seem to have any clearly adverse effect on teaching, although perhaps the schoolchildren here are a bit rowdier and it can take a long time to get them settled down. On the other hand I have no doubt that it is the same (if not worse) in some British schools.

There are, of course, plenty of other differences. The first class starts at 8.30am (groan) and the last finishes at 5.30pm, making for a much longer school day. However, on Friday school finishes early. Students doing the Batxillerat (equivalent of AS/A-levels) study a minimum of eight subjects, as opposed to the three or four that a British college student will usually do.

A distinct feature of Catalan (as opposed to Spanish) education is, of course the use of Catalan. Castilian is taught in Catalan schools as a second language, and nearly all of the classes and administration are conducted in Catalan. In fact, there was recently a story in the news here over the ongoing controversy over whether Catalan schools should have to provide two hours of tuition per week in Castilian or whether this should be increased to three hours, as the central government in Madrid has been trying to impose. Given that Castilian is the main language of the country, it is striking that the amount of time being talked about is so small.

From what I've seen I have to say I like the education system here. I'm happy not to have to dress up smartly to go to work, and the atmosphere is friendly and relaxed.

And of course there is the wine at lunch time...

All Things Must Come to an End...

After three weeks of almost uninterrupted sunshine and temperatures of around 25 degrees every day, it was all brought to an abrupt end today.

This morning it was very cold and overcast, and by the afternoon it was absolutely pouring it down with rain.

A few students and teachers felt the need to point out that it was like English weather and that I should be used to it. I guess they have a point. In a way it made me feel more at home!

My First Days in Catalonia

I’ve already been out here for nearly three weeks now (three weeks tomorrow, in fact), and I’ve done too much to fit into one post without it being incredibly long and very boring. But it’s probably worth describing my first few days here.

On my fist day (29th September) I arrived in Barcelona airport and was picked up by the wife and oldest son of the headmaster of the school where I am working, and whose house I am currently living in. The trip to Artés is only about an hour by car, although in public transport it takes over two hours. I was a little apprehensive about the whole thing, but the family I am staying with are very welcoming so there was no trouble on that front. The only problem was that we didn’t eat dinner until 9pm (a lot of Spaniards eat even later than this), and since I had had an early lunch before leaving the UK I was extremely hungry by this point!

My second day was spent in Barcelona, attending an induction day organised by the Catalan Departament d’Educació. I had to get up at some silly hour in the morning to meet up with my tutor, Alba, in the city of Manresa and then get to Barcelona for a 9am start. All of this would have been bearable were it not for the fact that, apart from the presentation at the end of the day on administrative issues, the series of presentations that followed were on the whole tediously dull and did little more than repeat information that we have been given already.

The next day was the one that I was a bit nervous about – my first day of work at I.E.S. Castell del Quer. As the headmaster had to go in early, I was picked up by one of the other teachers in the morning. Upon arriving I was given a guided tour of the school and introduced to lots of people before doing my first two hours of lessons. It was immediately clear that schools here are quite different from those in the UK, but I’ll go into that another time.

My first week in the school was fairly easy, since all of my classes were done with another teacher and I was just doing a presentation before answering questions from students and getting them to talk about themselves. At lunch on the first day I went with a group of teachers to a restaurant called Restaurant Cal Quico, where I admit I was a little surprised by the teachers drinking wine before afternoon classes.

“We need wine to get through the afternoon!” one of the teachers said when I mentioned it. I’m not entirely sure he was joking. Either way, I decided that it was a great idea and helped myself to a glass.

So, the first few days in Catalonia were very enjoyable, and after them I have to say I felt a lot more positive about the forthcoming year. Things are still going well, and with any luck they will continue to do so!

First Post

Hello, and welcome to my blog about my year in Catalonia!

Before I left the UK several people suggested that I write a blog to keep people updated about what I'm doing on my year abroad. After having to describe what I've been doing so far to quite a few different people, I decided that it was actually a very good idea. So here it is.

For anyone who isn't exactly sure what I'm doing out here, then I am working as an English-language assistant at a secondary school (I.E.S. Castell del Quer) in a small Catalan town called Prats de Lluçanès . For twelve hours a week I do speaking classes with groups of students, and I have the rest of the week free to travel around the country and immerse myself in local culture (or something like that).

I'm doing this as part of my degree (History and Modern European Languages), with the aim of improving my language skills when I'm not in the classroom teaching English. The only problem with this is that the language component of my degree primarily consists of Spanish. Naturally this means that the main goal of my year here should be to consolidate and build upon my Spanish skills.

This would be fine if it weren't for the fact that I've come to rural Catalonia, where the spoken language is, of course, Catalan. In the area where I work and live, Castilian Spanish is spoken infrequently, and some people are loath to use it at all. Fortunately, however, I studied Catalan for a year before coming here and am picking it up quickly.

Catalonia has a very strong sense of cultural identity, largely centred around the Catalan language, and many Catalans are in favour of becoming independent from Spain. I decided that it made much more sense to call this a "Catalan" rather than a "Spanish" blog in recognition of this acute sense of being different from the rest of the country. After spending all your time around people who think like this it is hard not to be influenced by them!

I intend to post on here fairly frequently with tales of what I've been up to, snippets about my life here in Catalonia, and also some comments about Catalan (and Spanish) culture in general.

I hope you find it interesting, and please feel free to leave comments on any of the posts!