i still need to write about my quick trip to paris and the french open, but first i just had to write about the post victory barca celebration yesterday. i'm teaching a "survival spanish" class to foreign law students here for the next three weeks and last night there was a gathering at a bar near the port. as i left there, i came face to face with thousands upon thousands (official estimates of 750K to 1 million) barca fans lining the streets for the official arrival of the team back to barcelona.
as i was about to go down to the metro, the crowd got even louder and there it was, the open bus with the team. i had to stop and watch for a few minutes, and i couldn't stop from smiling. so much happiness around me. kind of crazy, i know. in fact, totally ludicrous, but a happy occasion. as the bus passed, people starting running to follow it. hilarious. not so hilarious when i went down to the metro with part of the crowd, all sweaty and chanting at the top of their lungs.
i wondered whether they would come out for something more serious...a protest, say. and i have to say, yes, they do come out for that stuff too. barcelona had one of the biggest anti-iraq war marches in the world. probably not the exact same crowd, but a lot of overlap. more overlap than i think there would be in the u.s. (my eurovision again fooling me? i don't think so!)
anyway, lots and lots of people are happy here. in a good mood for a change, and that is nice.
off to class.
