Wikileaks

29 November 2010
Wikileaks are a series of documents from February 2010 that were leaked to at least 5 different European newspapers.  The documents contain 251,287 messages that pose a serious risk to many people across the world, but almost more importantly, represent a horribly massive potential for danger if something like this happens again.  Lots of the documents have been attempted to be kept secret by the media in order to protect public safety.  While the media is trying to keep everything quiet, the White House has made it known that they will be doing a major investigation to try to understand how this catastrophe was possible.  They will definitely need to rethink their routine systems of communication to further ensure safety from here on out.  The U.S. attorney general, Eric Holder, has reported that its department has opened an investigation by the massive filtration of diplomatic documents on the Wikileaks Internet page.  Holder has stated that the Government condemns the spread of these documents.  He added on that Wikileaks are dangerous not only to certain individuals, but in a bigger picture, to the nation’s foreign relations with all other countries in the world.  This was a scary encounter not only to America, but to every country in the world, who can all see the potential for disaster that could come of the leaking of these political documents anywhere in the world.  While America is taking the blow right now, nobody is to say that something like this won’t happen again, in another place, on an even more disastrous scale.

Barcelona Takes on AIDS

29 November 2010
World AIDS Day, on December 1^st, will be taking Barcelona by storm.  The 2010 campaign’s goal is to raise awareness that will lead to prevention, but also to the promotion of early diagnosis, in which case those affected will have a better chance of survival.  Barcelona has joined forces with Lluita contra la Sida Foundation, taking on the phrase, “if you’re not infected, you’re not affected”.  These events will begin on 30 November, when at 7 pm, the lights in Placa Jaume will be turned off as a symbol of need for action by UNAIDS.  The following day, beginning at 10 am, many organizations will provide materials, information, and be running activities at Placa Universitat.  While activities will be taking place here as well as Placa Jaume all day, there will be a Gala at Hotel W at night.  The Gala against AIDS will have attendees of both Spanish and global importance.  The goal is collect money in order to be capable of further AIDS research and also to donate to the smaller organizations which have been working so hard to promote knowledge about AIDS for many years.  The money received from the Gala, donations, and bracelet sales (the bracelets read “jo dono la cara per la sida”), which will be going on throughout the day as well as days after, will all be compiled and given to Lluita contra la Sida Foundtion for AIDS research.  The “Let’s Take on AIDS” campaign, which was created by such organization, is an Internet initiative that accepts pictures from people worldwide who want to share an AIDS story.  It takes these images to create a type of mosaic of their faces.   The major publicity of this event in 2010 will hopefully benefit the organization and bring in lots of profit for the fight against AIDS.

Castellers Go Universal

19 November 2010
This week, the Castellers, or human towers, that are so infamous in the Catalonia region of Spain, have been deemed a UNESCO item of cultural value.  As of late, there are only 60 Casteller groups, and about 700 members in the traditions 200 year history.  A large majority of this history and these participants and groups exist in Catalonia.  As a result, the Castellers organization will receive financial aid, benefits, and protection from such organization that will attempt to spread to the joy of human towers throughout more parts of the globe.  These castles are a true tradition that is passed down from generation to generation in Catalonia.  “Continuity, social cohesion, and solidarity” in Catalonia are results of this community-building activity that should be shared with the world.  Eduard Paris, who runs on group of Castellers, shared his joy with the decision and excitement that with more involvement, the towers can grow to even bigger than ever before.  It would be interesting to follow up on this UNESCO decision over the next months and years to see now only how these Catalonian groups are using the publicity and the money, but if the phenomenon of human towers that is so popular here in Spain truly does spread to other parts of the world.

Unemployment Problems in Barcelona's Youth

08 November 2010
Unemployment has been a major problem for Barcelona for many years.  The youngest age group specifically has been the focus of a lot of unemployment in recent years.  A new project called “Suma’t” has been launched by the City Council and Catalan government to try and stop this unemployment from continuing or getting worse.  Over 25,000 between the ages of 24 and 28 are currently out of school and unemployed.  Over 1,500 people in Barcelona (5,000 in all of Catalonia) between the ages of 18 and 24 who have not graduated from high school are currently unemployed but eligible for this new program.  This program uses professional career guidance, training, and employment contracts to compel young people out of work to get their act together.  The program would provide specific training for the individuals and then even a 6-month employment contract for the participants who are successful in the training.  The 14 million Euro budget in Barcelona (20 million total including Catalonia) will hopefully be enough to get this project launched and on its way towards success.  Jordie Hereu, the Mayor, discussed the need for the participants of this project to show desire for higher education and work or they will not be successful.  He makes a good point, it is essentially a two-way street, and even though the program does try to do some of the hard work for them, if it is not reciprocated, these people will get nowhere.  The program is not meant to do the work for them, but give these struggling people a leg up and a push in the right direction.

Fonda Gaig

Fonda Gaig is one of the nicest restaurants I have been to in Barcelona.  My parents treated me and my sister to a dinner here on the American Thanksgiving holiday, and although it wasn’t traditional turkey, stuffing, and sweet potatoes, it was mouth-watering all the same.  The restaurant was chic and clean cut.  It attracted a fairly older crowd and was more expensive than most of the restaurants my friends and I have gone to in Barcelona.  I started with patatas bravas, which came with the scrumptious customary red and white sauces.  This was followed by a steak fillet which was one of the best I’ve ever had.  My family got an assortment of pasta, fish, and duck, along with a variety of different appetizers, as well.  We all shared plates and thoroughly enjoyed the restaurant.  Great service, great cuisine, great atmosphere.  The waiters were polite, and although spoke very little English, and m family speaks very little Spanish, it was definitely more an authentic-feeling dinner.  Something that was particularly great about this restaurant is that they had a smoking and non-smoking section.  In general I have found in Spain that restaurants tend to be uniform in their allowance of smoking at meals.  While I don’t mind whether other people smoke, if the person sitting at the table next to me decides to smoke, it sometimes puts a damper on the enjoyment of my food.  At Fonda Gaig, the fancy vibe and clean cut atmosphere were complemented by separating smokers and non-smokers, which was appreciated on my end.

Celler de Tapas

If Spain were to have a traditional meal, tapas would definitely be up there as one of the classics.  In customary terms, a tapa is a bite-sized dish that is eaten as a sort of appetizer or snack, often served at a bar.  A tapas menu can range from a wide variety of things, some hot and some cold, some with meat and others with just cheese or vegetables.  One type of tapa is called a “pincho”, which is a similar concept but uses a toothpick and a bread base to hold the tapa together.  With pinchos, it is traditional that a customer takes as many as he or she would like, and then pays a fixed price for the number of toothpicks that remain on his or her plate.  I have eaten tapas at a variety of restaurants throughout Spain, but Celler de Tapas, although not very traditional, was a delicious spot.  While the tapas here are almost meal sized, they are all freshly made and delicious.  Tortilla Espanola, a traditional tapa of egg, onion, and potato is especially delicious at this eatery.  Another meal that I enjoyed here was the grilled vegetables in Romanesco sauce.  This red sauce, coming originally from Tarragona and made of almonds, pine nuts, garlic, olive oil, and red pepper is one of my favorite aspects of Spanish cuisine.  It is sweet and salty and a great accent to so many different dishes to which it gives great character.  An interesting experience I had was at a tapas bar, Poe, in Granada.  At this tapas bar, customers order some sort of drink, whether it be wine, beer, or a cocktail, and with each drink are given a free tapa.  In my opinion, this is truly the way to serve tapas.  However, I have yet to find such a bar in Barcelona.  While Celler de Tapas is not as conventional as other Tapas restaurants, the food was delicious, and the concept of tapas is still in place.  The traditional tapas are all offered, and it is definitely worth a try by anyone who has yet to dine here.

La Luna

La Luna was one of the first restaurants in Barcelona in which I dined, and it has been a classic for my friends and I throughout our time abroad.  Nestled in the heart of “El Born” district, it is on a small side street next to Santa Maria del Mar, called Calle Abaixadores.  It is a perfect fit for a young student, looking for a delicious meal at a reasonable price.  The atmosphere is very chic, with its red tones, dark lighting, and stone vaulting.  The entrance leads to a room with a prominent bar, but the dining section of the restaurant is in a separate room in the back.  The room is cozy and the stone and wooden accents give it a natural feel.  The menu is not enormous but is not too small; it is just right.  It has a few salads, soups, pastas, and a variety of delectable chicken, fish, and red meats.  The meals are fairly large and you definitely get what you pay for.  One interesting meal was the hamburger, which is not served as most Americans may be used to.  My disappointed friend complained the whole meal about his hamburger’s lack of a top bun, which apparently is often the custom in Barcelona.  Aside from this minor glitch, I would go as far as calling the restaurant “flawless”.  The rocket salad with goat cheese, apple, tomato glaze, walnuts, and arugula is out of this world.  The ravioli is another of my favorites.  I’ve also enjoyed the honey-glazed chicken., the tuna steak, and many more.  La Luna is a great place for a more upscale group dinner or even just a casual date with a friend.  With this restaurant you really can’t go wrong.