all I can say is wow. This weekend was incredible. After taking a test on Friday, I think everyone in the program was ready for an epic weekend. Friday night we went to this famous nightclub here in Barcelona - Razzmatazz - its in an old factory - is somewhere around 4 stories tall - and has five separate rooms with all different music. Probably 20 of us went with our "Guardian Angels" - Victor, Eric, and Andrea. (each year the program appoints three college-aged people as Guardian Angels who help show us around the city, and accompany us on excursions). This wasn't a coordinated event through the program or anything, we all just decided we needed to go out with the Guardian Angels - it was a great night.
Some of us first went to dinner, then to a smaller bar near the club, and finally around 2 am to the club. It was there that everyone finally met up. Some people started leaving around 4, but a handful of us stayed until 6:30, and the dance floor was still packed with people. We went to get breakfast afterwards, and then all went our separate ways and slept well into the afternoon - we needed to get a good night's sleep for Saturday's festivities - La Noche de San Juan (or in Catalan, La Nit de Sant Joan).
The best way to describe Sant Joan is to think of the Fourth of July back home, then multiply the amount of fireworks by 20, and keep the festivities going until sunrise. We all went to a small Plaça first, where there was some traditional dance and music. Once the sun went down things really got going - the sky was constantly filled with fireworks, and some ceremonies proceeded - I have plenty of pictures but had some trouble uploading them today - I'll try again tomorrow at school. So after a procession with drums, marches, and a procession of giant stilt figures - there was a speaker (who of course spoke not in Spanish but in Catalan) who seemed to get the crowd pretty excited - there were some chants going back and forth - it was amazing. Then, they lit the bonfire, a band started to play, and the fireworks resumed.
After the bonfire started to die down, we (and almost everyone in the city) proceeded to the beach, where we stayed until sunrise. There were plenty of bands and DJs to which everyone was dancing. The beach was so crowded with people of all ages - I remember seeing small children (with plenty of energy) running around at 4 am, as well as some elderly couples. Eventually the sun came up and we left the beach around 7 am. What a night, what a weekend. Its safe to say that things are going well in Barcelona! Check back tomorrow for pictures - I should have them up by then. ¡Hasta Luego!
-Matt
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