Barça and Pueblo Español

Sports mania is not foreign to us in the United States, but the obsession with European football--or soccer, as it is known to us--is one that exceeds even the most rabid of Red Sox fandom. Last night's match for the European championship between Football Club Barcelona and Manchester United was, according to my host, "el espectáculo más grande del mundo." That comment seemed an exaggeration to me, but to many Europeans and certainly almost all Catalans, it was indeed the most important event happening in the world this week. At any rate, Barça prevailed, much to the delight of the locals, and their victory provided not only one more example of the recent dominance of Spanish sport in Europe, but also, and more importantly in this city, proof of the superiority of the Catalan team (and hence of Cataluña itself) over its arch-enemy, Real Madrid. In all of Europe, soccer is not just a sport, but also a political game, and Pingree students have had the rare opportunity to catch a glimpse of this cultural phenomenon during an important week.

On a less political and philosophical level, after morning classes today, we will go to Pueblo Español, an outdoor museum that provides a taste of village life of all the provinces of Spain--a cultural experience of a different kind.

Tonight, the school and families will host us at a dinner to mark the end of our experience here.
The week has provided all of us with an overview of Spanish and Catalan culture, language, family life--and especially its hospitality--which we will carry back home and hope to revisit soon.