Créixer / Masá'il

This week I've been reading a novel in Catalan called Tots els ports es diuen Helena by Joan Barril. I'm 65 pages in, and I'm really enjoying it so far. The other night, I read a few passages that I liked so much that I got out of bed to write them down in my notebook:

"Un dia vaig voler saber com eren els Reis i quan vaig treure el cap per la porta de la sala vaig descobrir la mare embolicant regals. Vaig maleir la meva curiositat, perquè a vegades el plaer del misteri és infinitament més gran que la certesa de tal com són les coses. Però la temptació de saber la veritat sempre és massa gran. Créixer és no negar-se a buscar."

"Créixer deu voler dir explorar i acceptar la vida tal com l'anem descobrint, fent-li preguntes amb la mateixa naturalitat amb què la vida ens dóna respostes."

Translated into English:

"One day, I wanted to find out what the Three Wise Men looked like, and when I peeked my head into the living room, I discovered my mother wrapping presents. I cursed my curiosity, because sometimes the thrill of mystery is infinitely greater than being certain about how things really are. But the temptation to know the truth is always even greater. To grow up is to not refuse to search."

"Growing up must mean exploring and accepting life as we find it, asking questions just as naturally as life gives us answers."

I didn't realize it at the time, but it is a very befitting concept to be pondering at the beginning of the Bahá'í month of Masá'il (Questions).

A Flag of Hands

A friend brought it to my attention that Juanes has a new album. One of the songs on it is called Bandera de Manos. Since I couldn't find an adequate translation of it into English, I decided to try my hand at it: (ha!)

A FLAG OF HANDS (Bonus Version)
Juanes, La Vida Es un Ratico

Let’s all make a flag
A flag with black hands
A flag with white hands
For a better world

Right now, let’s all make a flag
A flag with mixed hands
A flag with immigrant hands
For a better world

We’re tired of hearing
The same old outworn stories
Tired of so many unfulfilled promises
Let’s lift up our souls and voices

Let’s hold a demonstration of love
Show that war is no excuse to continue like this
Burning the skin of your hands,
Which are my hands
Of your soul, which is as my soul

How ironic life can be:
While thousands die of hunger
Our leaders buy arsenal and sow agony

Let’s all make one flag together
Let’s all break down barriers
For a better world
Right now, let’s sow peace
More justice, more dignity
Freedom, equality
For a better world

The original Spanish lyrics can be found here.

Flying

It was a blustery autumn day in Barcelona
The wind carried me on my boomerang
Past fallen palm branches
And motorcycles, lying in the fetal position on the pavement

Dried leaves scattering about
Sign posts wobbling to and fro
I zoom by effortlessly
Down the diagonal

Door County Syndrome

Those who know me well know that I put a lot of thought into most decisions, big or small. Whether picking classes, deciding on a paper topic, spending a gift certificate, or choosing tea, I usually take longer than normal to make up my mind. I even caught myself recently spending entirely too much time in the bottled water aisle at the supermarket. There were so many to choose from!

My dad has labelled this phenomenon "Door County Syndrome" and calls me on it from time to time. Many years ago, when I was younger, during a family camping trip to Door County, Wisconsin, we visited an ice cream shop that offered so many wonderful flavors. I probably vacillated for fifteen minutes trying to decide which one I wanted.

I was reminded of my syndrome when I read this yesterday, in a post on lifehack.org:

Embrace limits: There can be no creativity without limits. Sounds strange, but limits are the cause and reason of creativity...

Infinite choice is paralyzing; limits give us something to work with — or against — so we can at least get started.

The truth and wisdom in these words is astounding. Here are some examples of ways in which I embrace this philosophy:

1) Vegetarianism - After 8+ years of not eating meat, being a vegetarian has become very much my modus operandi, and it's mostly inertia that keeps me going. But from time to time I am reminded of the actual reasons why I restrict my diet thus. It's potentially healthier, better for the environment, less gross, etc. Another positive aspect, however, is that at restaurants it drastically reduces the number of menu items that I have to decide between. Sometimes it is a bummer when there are few or no veggie options, but I do a lot better with 4 choices than with 24.

2) Translation - I think one of the main reasons why I am so attracted to translation is that it allows for an incredible amount of creativity, but within bounds. The translator is very much a writer--he can and must be resourceful, play with words, re-express ideas in any of a number of ways, and exploit the subtleties of language, with one key restriction: the meaning of the original text must be preserved. Thus, I can write (which I have always enjoyed) without having to deal with the unpleasant "what am I going to write about" stage. Score!

Another area in which this concept of infinity vs. limits comes into play is entirely open-ended questions, which I abhor. I don't need you to formulate everything as a "yes" or "no" question, but give me something to work with, geez!

Un viatge andalús

This past weekend I went with four other students in my program to Granada and Sevilla, two cities in the Andalucía region in southern Spain.

A verbal description will follow, but in the meantime, take a look at my photos.

Castanyes torrades

This evening I rode my bike all the way down to campus, to find out that my Pragmatics professor was out with a migraine. The trip, however, was not made in vain:



As I was leaving, I passed by a woman on the side of street selling roasted chestnuts. Never having sampled the delights of their flavor, I was intrigued, and turned back to purchase a dozen. At 20 eurocents a piece, they were a bit pricey, but incredibly delicious nonetheless. Instead of going straight home, I took a walk around campus with a newspaper pocket full of warm chestnuts, and finally ended up sitting on a bench eagerly eating them like a squirrel.

Apparently there is a very important custom here called the Castanyada, which is celebrated on All Saints Day (November 1) and involves roasted chestnuts. I can't wait.

Un partit amistos de futbol sala

Some background:
Barcelona is in the autonomous community of Catalonia, a semi-self governing region of Spain. Due to oppression during the Franco regime, among other reasons, Catalans are generally not fond of Spain, and there is a significant separatist movement that would have nothing to do with it. Regardless of personal political leanings, most Catalans are extremely proud of their culture and language, and displays of nationalism are abundant.

This past Friday there was supposed to be a soccer game between the national teams of Catalunya and the USA, but the Real Federación Española de Fútbol (The Royal Spanish Football Federation) did not approve of the match, and denied permission for it to be held. This was ostensibly because it was scheduled too close to other international games, as well as on Día de la Hispanidad (Hispanic Day), a Spanish national holiday. As an act of defiance, the Catalan Court Soccer Federation set up two matches against the USA court soccer team, to be held on Friday and Sunday.




I went to the second game on Sunday night, which was in a small indoor arena and was sparsely attended. It was fun, though. I went with my Catalan language exchange partner, Marc. He told me to bring my American flag, but, alas, I did not have one.




The USA team lost both games, 7-1 and 6-1. I missed the only American goal, as I was too busy taking a picture. Only afterwards did I realize that I happened to capture it going in.

Excursiones y fotos

This past weekend we went on two excursions: Saturday we visited two Cistercian monasteries, the Monastir de Santes Creus and the Monastir de Poblet; Sunday we went to a Birds of Prey show (seriously) at Cim de les Àligues, then to the beautiful nature area at Sant Miquel del Fai. The monasteries were interesting, and they almost made me want to become a monk and pray, work, meditate, and copy manuscripts all day. They actually do allow guests for up to week...we’ll see.


I’ve uploaded a bunch of photos to my Flickr account for your viewing pleasure. They can be accessed by clicking the mosaic to the right.

In other news, I broke the toilet, and my Semantics professor finally came to class! I think I will enjoy the course, as the first lecture was quite interesting indeed. I also joined an Easy Catalan Reading Club. I missed the first meeting last Wednesday, but went today to pick up the book and CD and had a nice conversation with the instructor (in Spanish).

Ponte mayonesa en la pasta

I woke up this afternoon to this note, which lay on the floor outside my bedroom door. From the top, it reads:

Put mayonnaise on the pasta
---
David,

I’m leaving dinner for you in case I don’t get back in time.

Bye,
Rosa