Dia 340... 8 de junio 2011

Today in Culture and Civilization class we had a guest speaker to talk about Catalan Culture, Catalan Language, and what it means to be Catalan as well as prospects for future independence from Spain. He was a former mayor of one of the principalities in Tarragona and you could tell from the way he spoke and interacted with the class. He was very passionate about Catalunya and it provided for a very interesting (although extreme) lecture.

For a short excursion we traveled to Poblet to check out a monestary where 35 monks live. I was hoping to see a Friar Tuck look-alike but no such luck today. The tour was full of fascinating facts (atleast I thought so but judging from the blank stares of my peers I might have been the only one who felt that way...) As soon as we got on the bus I scribbled down everything I could remember from the hour long tour. A few bits of information are as follows: In the old days, monks only ate one meal a day (lunch at noon) and didn't shower because the hot water opens your pores and they thought this would allow illness to enter the body. The way I see it, poor hygiene is a better way to catch a cold than taking a warm shower but to each his own. Now they eat 3 meals a day and I'm pretty sure they shower... They are only allowed one blanket for sleeping (even in the dead of winter!) and never sleep more than 4 hours at a time because they go to church 8 times a day so although they have to be in bed at 8pm they get up at midnight and again at 4am (so on and so on) to pray. Rough life.

Next we drove to Montblanc to visit a vineyard. I was super carsick so I was too lazy to bring my camera which I instantly regreted when we walked into the cellar full of fat wine barrels. Live and learn. After the tour (which I didn't understand much of because he talked so fast but he was a really cute old man so it's ok) we had a wine tasting of 4 of his wines but I'm no lover of wine so I watched...

Finally back in Tarragona we grabbed some choco fro yo with brownie chunks and dulce de leche drizzled on top. What can I say? I'm addicted to this ice cream. ¡Hasta mañana!