Hello Class !
Anyways, I am sure you've seen a lot of entries from me lately. Almost too many............ Yes, well the fact is ever since my Spanish class ended, I have been home most of the time during the day, cherishing the time I have left with my laptop and fast internet service.
I am moving to a new city this weekend and I don't know how much internet access I will have, or if I can even use my own laptop there. So, I have been writing a lot so I'll have a lot of entries to look back on some day.
Okay, on to the Spanish lesson of the day..............................
As you can see, I've posted different pictures. The first one is of Spain and it's various regions. I have been staying in Barcelona, which is part of Cataluna (or Catalonia, can't remember the correct spelling). Here, people speak Catalan and Spanish and refer to themselves as "Catalans" . Pic #2 is of the Spanish flag and Pic #3 is of the Catalan flag.
On Sunday I will be moving to the region, Pais Vasco. It is a Basque region and people there speak Basque and Spanish. By the way, the food there rocks !! I think it's the best food I've ever tasted.
People that have never visited Spain, think that Catalan is a dialect. It is not, and it is a completely different language, even though it is a little similar to Spanish. In fact the fastest way to piss these people off is to tell them that Catalan is a dialect of Spanish. The Catalans here are very proud of their culture.Throughout history, leaders have tried to forbid people from speaking Catalan, and forced them to speak Spanish, especially when Franco, the dictator of Spain during WWII was in power. Many older people still have terrible memories of the times when he was in power. The Catalan culture is alive and strong today.
All the signs here are in Catalan, and sometimes Spanish. Little children here grow up speaking only Catalan at home, and learn Spanish when they start going to school. I met 2 little girls, who are cousins to my roommate. They only spoke Catalan. I couldn't even speak to them in Spanish.
On another note, I was watching the news today. I am happy that I am starting to finally understand whole phrases. Yeah ! I still have a long way to go, but hey, I am getting better.
The images shown here are much more graphic than in the US news. For example, if a US news reporter is talking about the war in Iraq, usually only images of soldiers marching, or military planes are shown. Bloodshed is rarely shown. Maybe one bloody man is shown in a hospital. Here, the news is another story. I saw so much more blood.
The media in the US are pussies. I am sorry, but we need to see the truth. The US invaded Iraq, and US soldiers are fighting. We, the taxpayers should be seeing what our men and women fighting are going through and where our $87 billion dollars are going. We're so sheltered.
I also saw images of the kidnappings in Russia. I saw soldiers carrying little babies carried out into cars. I saw dead bodies lined up against a wall with rags over their faces. I saw things happening in action. I saw soldiers invading homes with guns. I wanted to cry. This world is such a messed up place.
If the media in the US started publishing atrocious images, I know a lot of people would be complaining. I am sure many parents would complain because they don't want their little ones to see such ugliness. But these same children will have to face the truth someday. Maybe I don't know what I am talking about. I don't have children, and I am not a parent struggling to raise a child the best way possible in a messed up world like this.
But I can speak for myself as a child. My parents didn't sugarcoat everything. Sometimes we talked about issues on the news, and I think it was good for me.
We need to have the shit scared out of us sometimes and see how other people live. Why ? For one, it makes us thank our lucky stars to be living in the US and it makes us more appreciative of what we have. Another reason is because it could happen to us someday. Unlikely ? Maybe, but it's not impossible. I don't know.
On the news, I also heard more sad news about the hurricane in Florida. I hope that people don't get hurt. I will be praying. I have some family there and I hope that they are all safe.
Speaking of natural disaster, CA is known for it's earthquakes. We haven't had any major earthquakes in a while, and I know we're due for another big one any day now. That's where most of my family is and I hope that day doesn't come for a while.
Anywho, today's entry wasn't particularly happy, but I am sure I'll have something nicer to write about tommorow. I hope y'all enjoy your weekend.
Ciao.
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