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Danish Dream

Hey, do something for the first time.

Sounds quite simple, an “easy peasy” task to complete at first, but later on, I really felt the pressure. I thought: - It can be anything! -, and suddenly I felt a bit overwhelmed because I wanted to be creative, original and really tell something about myself in this task. So, at first, I was thinking of something quotidian that reflected the way I see things and why maybe I have never done that before, but I had so many ideas and none felt right really.

Lucky me, on the 2018thBlack Friday I booked a weekend trip with one of my best friends to one of my dream cities in northern Europe, Copenhagen!

I am not the biggest traveller but lately, when I am able to, I try to visit as many places as possible. Finally, last year we found a good deal to visit my Danish dream city. (Such a coincidence, that was this weekend!)

We started our short trip of two days and a half, (this short because of uni and because as many of you have heard is a bloody expensive city! - But still, believe me, totally worth it!) Since I stepped on the country every minute I felt more in love with the place. Every two seconds I would say to my friend: "how beautiful!"

Everything, e-ve-ry-thing was stunning, even the sewers! The buildings were a mix of the beauty of the historical and the modern Danish simplicity and elegance, the streets were pristine, as clean as the floor of a house. The store windows were one better than the other, and I no longer only refer to the elegance of their clothes and objects, but to the creativity and elegance with which they were exposed, it was exquisite to see. Fashion design, interior design, food design, everything is designed to be pure elegant and artistic in Copenhagen.  

Reflecting on my choice for this activity I could talk a little bit more about me. Briefly, I could describe myself as an observant person, and also a person who is very sensitive to beauty. It sounds weird, I don’t know how to explain it properly in a few words, and in this little time but… Yes, I love beautiful things, I love to talk about them, to look at them, to feel them, to try them, I love beauty. I love art, paintings, music, photography, architecture, I mean anything really because anything can be artistic in their own way. I know it could sound silly because come on, ¿who doesn’t like beautiful stuff too? But who is really sensitive to it knows what I am talking about, because there are people who like it, people who appreciate it a bit, people who don’t care and then is people who love it, I am one of them.

For me Copenhagen is an expression of beauty in a form of a city, for me is the representation of life goals. It’s stunningly designed, people are very polite, elegant, welcoming, educated, handsome, organized, put together. I like everything about these people. I heard that Nordic people are cold as their weather but it these few days I can assure that they gave me a completely contrary impression. It was a beautiful experience, I could constantly hear people laughing on the streets, smiling, smiling back at you, people are happy and welcoming even if it’s very cold up there. And a young sociable girl from the Canary Islands is telling you that it's a myth, people exaggerate.

As you can see in my picture I am so happy and excited, that wasn’t even planned because I thought of doing something silly during my trip and then talk about it, but then I thought… I think to talk about how much I love this place and way I do it, talks a lot about me. And is literally, the first time that I travel so far north, where people is how I like, where it seems that people have their “stuff” together.

What I mean is that I enjoy structured and organized things, not in a crazy way, or obsessive but I like things that are well done. Many times, I prefer to not do something if I know that is not going to be good, sometimes is a problem because I always feel that it never is, but, surely, I can differentiate between something decadent and something, moderately, well thought.

So that is why I very enjoy and admire this city and their people, because they are hardworking, and they do it with style. Despite my more "baroque part" my sober one excels and that is why I enjoy the simplicity and practicality of their designs and problem-solving style.

I’m one of those who thinks that an image could say more than a thousand words; a look or even a little gesture. But I am sure that a context is necessary. I mean if you don’t know me and you don’t know what I want to express with this image I would say that is unlikely that anybody could guess that I am so happy because all I’ve just explained.  

I am so happy because this weekend I filled my eyes with beauty; attractive people, great and precious objects, smiles and sincere looks, impressive buildings and exquisite clothes and delicacies. I am very happy in this photo because I imagine being able to live there and be able to be part of it and enjoy it every day.

And actually, I couldn’t imagine explaining all of these feelings and thoughts just in one image. But I tried, I took a lot of photos during the trip, and when I found this silly one I thought it was perfect, because it represented how I am in general, because I am always laughing, and it also expressed how I was felling these pasts few days in my dream place with my friend.

Angela Idini

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An unexpected first.

To tell you the truth, I didn’t plan on writing my piece on this. I was going to talk about my first bike ride through Barcelona. I had already been playing with some clever metaphors and some quirky lines that I thought of on my way back home after class.

Instead I’m writing about the first time I was robbed.

It was a pretty average night of drinking and partying, me and some friends of mine drank in a bar in Urquinoana for a few hours before eventually losing track of each other and splitting up for the night. This wasn’t so bad. I met some more nice people and I went to a club. I even met a girl who I thought was pretty beautiful who thought I was funny, which if you know me, is the greatest compliment I can possibly receive. Surprisingly I got her number and as I left the club, messaging back and forth with her, safe to say I was feeling pretty good about myself. I started making my way to the nearest metro stop, the sound of the nightlife still echoing behind me. 

Slowly but surely it started to fade out and things became quieter. It was peaceful, the temperature hadn’t quiet reached under 6 degrees yet and I was still pretty drunk. 

All in all, this was a pretty familiar scene for me. A few quick drinks, a quick dance or two and a long walk. 

Since I’d only been in Barcelona for a week at this point, I still had to rely on my phone for directions. I suspect you can see where this story is going at this point.

I had been walking towards a nearby metro stop for about 15 minutes and I was feeling pretty safe. I took my phone out to double check that I was going in the right direction and before I knew it, it was gone. Two guys jumped me, one taking the phone and running, the other making sure that I didn’t chase after him, tripping me as I tried to run. 

Eventually he must have had enough of my repeated attempts to chase after his friend, so he tackled me onto the ground. 

Unfortunately for me, and very fortunate for them, my extreme strength and Kung-Fu skills were inhibited by my intoxication.

The next day was another first. Filling a police report. You might ask yourself, what could possibly make getting your phone stolen better? Well, I can tell you for sure that it isn’t waiting for three hours in a police station to file a report that takes at most 15 minutes.

I had already come to terms with my loss at this point but unfortunately my day was still not over. I had to now spend the entire day trying to find a replacement phone (I didn’t by the way) and also to find a place to print off my boarding pass for a flight I was catching in a day.

This led to many hours in internet cafés, and phone stores until I eventually realised that I couldn’t access my emails on these computers because I had to verify my identity for Google (damn you goggle) which would have been easy enough; send a verification code to my phone and then use it to log in, but alas, I did not have one. I did manage to print off my boarding pass for my trip in Paris and in a weird way I’m actually excited about not being glued to my phone for a trip for what seems like the first time in a really long while.

As with all good stories, there were a few realisations that I had during this whole ordeal. One, was that I should never under any circumstances complain about having to pay for insurance when I never lose or damage my phone. 

Phone insurance is my new god now, and I pray to her twice daily. She doesn’t ask for much other than a few euros a month and in return I am blessed with many benefits such as phone repairs and replacement. 

Another thing I realised it that it might not always be such a bad thing to be without your phone. Granted, there are better ways of doing this than having it stolen and having your friends worried about why you aren’t replying to their messages after a night out, but the message still counts.

One more, slightly more important lesson I learned is to try and focus on the positives after something negative happened. I’m lucky that I wasn’t injured very badly and that all I sustained was a few sore ribs and a tear in my jeans. It’s cooler to wear ripped jeans anyway right? I’m also lucky that all that was stolen was my phone and not my wallet or my money, or else I would have been without any way of getting home. 

I’d also like to take this time to thank the taxi driver who brought me home that night, for talking to me and calming me down and giving me some advice on what to do the following morning. While, I’m on the subject of thanking people, I think I should also thank my lovely housemates, who kept me sane and helped me with going to the police station and offered numerous hugs when they saw that I was feeling down, and my friend Kyle for letting my friends know what had happened and for reminding me not to let this get to me and not to isolate myself and to move forward. Finally, I’d like to thank Orchard Thieves, or as it’s known here Ladron de Manzanas, for teaching me what the word for thief was in Spanish.

This still hasn’t changed how I feel about Barcelona, and the overwhelming feelings of happiness and wonder I felt the moments before, and it is a lesson that I’ll never forget.

I just hope that girl isn’t too angry that I never texted her.

Darren Faul

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This is me. And that's not the title of a song from Camp Rock. This is me doing something for the first time. I could see many of my colleagues thought a lot about this exercise... I'll be honest and say that in my case it came naturally. It just happened, I liked it, and I wanted to tell you how it was. Yes, I'm paddling a boat in Ciutadella. Sounds weird?... I will tell you more...

My friend Daniel, from Portugal, visited me this weekend, so we could gather together and let him know Barcelona for the first time. The thing is that, though I love traveling, I hate the feeling of being a tourist. I strongly enjoy getting into the real culture, life, and spirit of a country. That's why I always tend to avoid every single activity an average tourist would do.

That's the moment where Barcelona appears in the scene. It's actually very easy to feel like a tourist in our own city, so paddling a boat in Ciutadella would be that kind of activity you would never see me doing... until this weekend. Daniel asked me once and once again to do it, so I ended up saying yes. So I was there, being the most average tourist I was able to be, surrounded by lovely guiris, who were spending a lovely Saturday in Barcelona.

Even though I was pretending to be a tough guy at the beginning, I had to recognize that I enjoyed the experience and that it's not so bad to feel a little bit guiri in your own city. This weekend was, for sure, different for Daniel. Going abroad is always nice. But it was definitely different for me. Because I could see Barcelona with a different vision, and I fell in love with her, again, as if it was my first time visiting.

Everybody I know is in love with Barcelona, and they do not hesitate to define it as "the best city in the world". Regarding us, those lucky people able to see it every single day; we end up losing the perception of where we are... I have a theory that I deeply defend, people abroad are more opened for new activities, new people, new places, new experiences. And that could be applied to Erasmus people or those who are living abroad for a period of their life. When people come back from an Erasmus, they always say that it's the experience of their life, that it was unique and unforgettable. What I think is that these people don't act the same way in their country of origin and where they did the Erasmus. As simple as that.

As I also lived abroad, and I'm living abroad again very soon, I realized that my attitude was absolutely different abroad. Even though I was working, not on holidays, and I didn't have all the free and nap time as I wanted to, I felt guilty if any single day I just decided to stay home and rest. I was actually feeling guilty because I could think I wasn't squeezing the experience I was living.

Probably it's the fact that we have a date of return. When we live abroad for a period of time, we know that there's a day we're going back home, so as we have a deadline, we feel anxious to live it up. It's not the same in your city, in our case, Barcelona. As we have it here, closer and without a deadline, we do not feel the need to take advantatge of all the possibilities the city has to offer. "Bah, I can do it tomorrow, I'll stay at home" - if you're abroad, this sentence will never come out of your mouth, or if it does, you will feel kinda guilty for it. Though you shouldn't.

For the first time, I felt that anxiety to amble another street, to squeeze every single minute in the city because I was running out of time. I didn't have a deadline, Daniel did, but I felt it as mine.

For the first time, feeling like a tourist, wasn't that bad. Not only paddling a boat, of course, in general, visiting Barcelona as I knew nothing about it. It made me able to realize how is the experience for a person that lives the scenarios of my life... for the first time.

We should never lose our vontade* to discover, to live, to experience (*Portuguese word that means "look forward to"). We do not need to travel abroad to do it. Our own country is amazing to do that. I felt Lisbon as my home. I feel Barcelona as my home. And soon I'll be spending 7 months of my life living abroad, expecting to feel at home, but never losing that vontade to do as much as I can at the end of the day...

Now I have a countdown. Now I have a mark on the calendar where I know I'm leaving Barcelona behind me. I'm sad, excited, nervous, worried, happy and many other feelings at the same time. I want to be here, in the most beautiful city in the world - guiris approved -.

But I kinda like the pressure of the mark on my calendar, it gives me the anxiety I had abroad. I feel the need to do stuff, to never lose a single second. Because I'll have Barcelona very far from me, so I need to make the most out of my time.

If I can write a conclusion of everything, would be to encourage you. Not actually to be a tourist, but to squeeze Barcelona. You study here, you work here, you live here. This is a city you see every single day. But never forget where you are, never forget all the options near you in this amazing city. Never lose the vontade to do something for the first time...

Change your vision, open your eyes. Get ready and enjoy.

/ Hèctor R. Vilanova

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Santa María

The first time I wore all of it at once. My great grandfather’s watch, my great grandmother’s earrings, one of my father’s old button downs, a shirt. My clothing and the jewelry I wear with it is filled with anecdotes. On my day to day, I would wear at least one of these, maybe match two of them together and wear them. No big deal, it’s only what I would wear to class, work, or on a weekend. This time, though, I wore every single heirloom (I consider them as such) simultaneously.

This was my first weekend here in the city from my visit back home. When I put all of this on, I was able to make a quick visit, so to speak. When you create a life in a place so distant from your country, your family, it can be frightening to forget anything from it, from them. Only by being away. I wear hand me downs or secondhand clothing because I enjoy wearing them and knowing (or wondering) where they come from, how long that person has had it for and/or how they acquired it. When you think of it, everything that comes to us had to start somewhere, and we often disregard the past life of things, people even, because we weren’t included in that past particularly. For whatever reason that may be. This was simply a lingering thought that went back and forth through my head as I packed for my return to Europe.   This time was different. I packed this button-down shirt my father used to wear. Dark purple and white stripes. These same stripes that draped over my father’s shoulders as he once told my mother he wanted to marry her. My mother walked in on me packing and smiled at me as I held it in my hands. I was bringing, once again, another part of home with me. In the process of deciding what I should do “for the first time”, I would initially think about what I already have done and what I would like to do that I haven’t done yet. I over thought it, searching for something fresh and new to me. It was late at night, Aretha Franklin playing in the background. The incense smelled peaceful. I was organizing my closet and I hung the striped shirt. I looked down at the earrings. The watch. I had never worn these pieces simultaneously, I thought. Whenever I do wear any of them, though, my thoughts turn to that person, to the moment I was bestowed this object. A watch that cannot be repaired that used to be owned by a person who loved to repair things, two pairs of earrings that I feel only my abuelita had the elegance to wear, a shirt worn during a conversation about an agreement that no longer exists. And for the first time I wore all of those pieces together. I decided to turn off the music, and find myself in silence as I did this. Not overthinking, simply holding each piece of jewelry in my hand for a few seconds before I’d put it on. When I held the earrings, sadness came upon me. Nostalgia in knowing these earrings are what’s left of her in this Earth. I remembered the way she would put them on. The way she held her breath so she’d have a steady hand when she needed to slide the latch back onto each earring. Hold her earlobes with her thumbs and check both earrings were on correctly. Then came the watch. I can’t say I remember my great grandfather all too well, not in the way I would like to, at least. I put on the watch — its golden band stretches, pinching some of my arm hairs as it slips onto my wrist. Because it has no clip nor specific adjustment to any waist, I felt curious as to how this same watch would fit my grandfather. I tried to imagine him wearing it, picturing where he would find himself using it. Again, I can’t remember abuelito that well: my most vivid memory of him is his tired expression in his bed, his Alzheimer’s advanced; although I always think of him as a talented and generous orthotics bracing support designer with a big heart and frequent, cheesy jokes. So humble. When I put on the watch right after the earrings, they were both with me for a moment.   I later put on the shirt. My feelings towards this were quite ambivalent at first. The memory this shirt has is obviously a beautiful one, despite the fact that things have changed since then. Then I just felt love— from my mother when she smiled and reminded me of that story, from my father when he talks about my mother sometimes, and from both of them in their attempt to continue being the nurturing people they are. This ‘first time’ was irrevocably inundated by past memory. It was a ritual of reminiscence, it was getting dressed. An ordinary part of my day to day routine. The difference this time was the reason why I got dressed. Who and why I put everything on for. I always dress up for myself, wearing whatever brings me joy and feels representative of who I am. I still did that, in the sense that this was expressly for an academic assignment and the items I wore worked together, but in the end, it ended up being for them, and how I was able to bring them with me to the present. In the end, it felt like going home. Like stopping by to say hello and check up on how everyone is doing, and only that (at first). Except you then want to stay and catch up, ask them how they’re doing but you have to go because you have somewhere to be. You have to be here. So you say goodbye and know you’ll always have them somehow.

Paloma S. Rodríguez Ramírez

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Basic instinct 

When we received the task of doing something we had never done before, I thought about writing about something big. Something that could make me change or have already changed me. It did not take me long to realize that I had just done it. One more check on my list of things to do before dying: travel alone. But travel big.

And they sent us sent us homework the same week that I was returning from my exchange of studies. Six months living alone in Santiago de Chile. Six months that helped me to learn a little more about South America and, therefore, to know more about myself. For this reason, I would like to take advantage of the task of the subject to do something that I had not done after these last months: reflect on this experience and write about what and how much I had learned.

I had always traveled accompanied. And yes, traveling with friends is amazing and very fun; traveling with the family is very comfortable and traveling as a couple is very romantic. But traveling alone is something totally different: it means marking your own rhythm and knowing yourself. Traveling alone means changing your perspective of the world and revolutionizing your personal development.

The thing is that when you travel accompanied, you always have a piece of comfort zone with you. Someone who knows you, someone who speaks your own language, someone who is better oriented than you with a map, someone who is better at dealing with English, someone who is less embarrassing when it comes to socializing with people - whether it is to engage conversation or to ask someone random about an address- or simply someone who keeps you company so that on menstrual days you feel less alone.

Now I know that, from time to time, getting rid of that comfort zone is not so bad. Because you learn. And you get spayed. Of course you are sparing. What are you going to do but

But the simple idea of not traveling accompanied can cause many insecurities in a person. And, let's face it, unfortunately, the condition of a woman sometimes does not accompany the moment of entering into this adventure. Wherever you go, sexism is present in all parts of the world. However, something I have learned in recent months is that you do not need to develop a supernatural talent to keep you safe. You just need a little common sense and caution. And instinct. Basic instinct.

Also, I do not believe that any destination in the world is a hundred percent safe to travel alone: most dangerous situations you might encounter in another country, you could also find them in your city. For that reason, and I insist, who else you should trust is your own instinct.

So you are not only in another country, but in another continent that you had not trod in your life before. Suddenly, that blue dot of Google Maps that we are so familiar with moves from Barcelona to the other side of the world. You're alone. And the first thing you think about is if they're going to rip you off, rob you, drug you, kill you or rape you. But no. It does not have to be this way. I had a very distorted view of what is out there. Many people come to you for the sole purpose of knowing you, helping you or simply talking for a while. Although sometimes it does not seem like it, there are very good people out there who just want to help.

For that reason, I have learned to trust people more. What a remedy, I had no other choice. But now I know that when you lose the shame and fear to relate to others, you gain much more confidence and confidence in yourself. Looking back, I realize that only trusting in the goodness of the people I have been able to take the best experiences of this exchange: from dancing with a coastal in Cartagena de Indias, to hitchhiking in the middle of the Chilean Andes –or as call them, hacer dedito– or stay at the house of an unknown guy on Easter Island.

Definitely, traveling alone I have learned to get rid of those useless prejudices that only served as a barrier when doing new things for me. And, to this day, I still can not believe I did it. You're alone, in front of a landscape that you've only seen in incredible posts on Instagram, and you can not believe it. And you think: I've done it. I am here, knowing a part of the world that I never thought I could step on.

I have spent the best months of my life eleven thousand five hundred kilometers from home. And not only that, but it has helped me to meet incredible people, to be in places that have left me completely open-mouthed and to discover what I really like: traveling the world and documenting everything through photography.

Without a doubt, 2018 has been the year in which I have grown the most as a person. The year in which I have most encountered myself as a person and have learned. And now, on January 13, I want to make a purpose for myself. And not a simple New Year's resolution that gets lost in a long list of false promises like do more sport or quit smoking. I want to propose and promise to do it again. Go back to travel. I do not want to stay in the comfort zone anymore. I want to continue stamping my passport with stamps from other countries, along with my Quechua backpack, the same one that has accompanied me through incredible places in Latin America.

And of course, as many of you are thinking: I am already saving and planning my next trip. Because these last months I've learned that when you travel alone, you're never alone.

Dana Miranda

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In each life, there are seasons when we feel like nothing is out of the regular experiences that can happen to us. The typical situation where someone asks you: ‘What's’up?’ and you are like: ‘Well, nothing new, you know, as always, fine.’ However, there are other seasons when you get to feel all type of different and relevant situations that would definitely make the difference.

This is what happened to me in 2018. After years saying ‘Nothing new’, I could finally gather all sort of different changes in my life that are worth to give credit to somehow. And that’s how I decided to use my ‘First time’: Creating a very personal collection of moments printed on analogic photographs telling the story of my 2018.

Sometimes, memories fade apart in such an ephemeral society like ours. You take a photo and, even though you get to remember in short term the details of what had happened, in a long term you would probably lose a slightly amount of memories related to it.  That’s why I chose analogical photography and, also, describe each situation handwritten, which is even more personal.

Get through this process has made me get back to those special moments recreated on the album, also that special places where I felt something different, something worthy. Good things and not as good ones. Anyhow, this 2018 has been to me a year of changes and different paths on my way.

To begin with, I started the year quitting my almost 4-year-old job. I remember the feeling of vertigo linked to letting go my first job, and the family I would leave behind it. Today, I see it with another perspective, as it is not such a big deal to quit a job that only provides you with some money, but no professional realization. So, I was changing my job for another one.

On March, I was about to participate in my first 'Unirun' when the previous night they called me and told me my father had got a heart attack.

We tend to think that when a heart attack happens the patient is about to fight between life and death, but medicine has evolved so much that it can be controlled effectively and in about hours. But that broke my perspective about something. I have seen my family growing up and building a different kind of lives, but as I never experienced any important or dangerous fact within my parents’ health, I tended to think they were untouchable, that there was no way they could get sick somehow. And it has definitely changed me. Luckily, my father is perfectly fine and his condition doesn’t prevent him from doing a regular life. He’s even healthier now as he has quit smoking.

In June I finished my second year at college and, in July I also finished working. What does it mean? I had from August to the beginning of the third course in college free. Yes, FREE. So I invested a big deal of my savings in the summer of my life (because I really don’t know if I could have a better one). I’ve planned to travel to three amazing destinations:

Praga - During a weekend, and it was absolutely beautiful. First time traveling with my sister.

Punta Cana – I’ve never traveled as far as Punta Cana, and neither to a destination where the main purpose is to rest, enjoy and relax. The weather and the paradise landscape were amazing, but we basically lived in the resort. That made me think that I prefer to travel to a place where I can discover new things and get to know the history of it. So, I enjoyed it (as it is impossible not to), but doing this type of holidays once in a lifetime is pretty enough for me.

New York – WOW. An absolutely wonderful place. The journey of my life. A dream come true. I was really impressed by everything there. I would come back a million times.

After this magnificent summer, I had to return to my reality and some changes were also about to come.

All summer long my car had been struggling with a serious issue of its mechanism and it could create that it could not be started. And, after several times trying to get it fixed, I finally had to give up on it as it was nothing else to do. That means another change of this 2018, my car.

In September I start college again and I manage to take care of two kids as a job, which is the only one I can have due to my lack of time in my college schedule. Everything was going just fine when…

My grandmother died in November. My last grandmother. The one who was born the same day as me. The one that I felt closer to. It broke my heart, and it still does. She was sick of cancer from a previous year, and she was not able to be on treatment due to her advanced age. She was 91, but her head was as she was 20 years less. As painful as it is, it has also been beautiful somehow. She told me many times she was not afraid to die, in fact, I was more afraid of her dying. And she has passed away like she wanted: painless, fast and happy.

After that, we have had to learn how to live without her, but all wounds can heal, and we learn and recover from everything that happens to us.

This has been my 2018. Full of changes. Full of experiences, some good, some bad. But all of them have made a difference in me, and I can proudly say that I will never be the same.

PD. Doing this exercise is also my first time sharing such personal details of my life, as I do not post anything on my social networks, and even less something that could be that personal.

Yosune Rodríguez.

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And my heart will go on and on

The instant our teacher presented this assignment of “losing our virginity” I knew it was the moment. For the first time in my life I felt ready to do it. ‘That is my night. I have waited so long for that moment to come...’ I thought. So yes, that same night, when I arrived home, I put on some comfortable clothes for that special occasion (yes, I was wearing the pyjama); I sat on the sofa in a snugly position (I was taking up the whole couch); and then, I slowly introduced the DVD in the computer. Oh my gosh! I could not believe it. I was doing it!

As a very young boy, I already loved the audiovisual communication world. I have always been very passionate about watching films and TV series, and during these 20 years (almost 21), I have seen hundreds and hundreds of movies that have had a great impact in my soul making me the man I have become. In fact, I have always wanted to be an actor but, sometimes, we choose different paths. In an effort of listening to other’s advices and making proud everybody around me, I put my wills and my wishes aside without opening myself and expressing them to anyone. Then (two years ago), I started a degree on Advertising and PR in Universitat Pompeu Fabra, and I discovered a whole new world and I am enjoying it. I am not saying that I have given up my dreams nor I will never follow them again; I am just saying that I started this engaging chapter of my life and now I can’t put it down until the next one starts. In fact, once I end my studies I would like to take acting classes. And after two years and a half, dear fellows, I am where I am now: I am doing an assignment of Internal Communication about a first time that, in my case is the first time I have ever seen the film Titanic.

I know it sounds incredible. Me, a person who has always been a keen on films and series, a cinema buff, a true cinephile had never seen before such a classic as Titanic. I declare myself guilty for my sins. However, in my defence I have to say that I had never been presented with the opportunity of watching this film before. It was a must on my list but I didn’t find the moment until now. So, as I said before, I started watching that amazing three hours film, and I felt glory. It was an emotional rollercoaster I was not expecting. It burst into my consciousness since the very beginning.

Everything was perfect: the acting, the transition between scenes, the special effects and even the soundtrack were memorable. The young Leonardo DiCaprio (Jack Dawson) is wonderful in it, and Kate Winslet (Rose DeWitt) is so powerful in that film you easily hooked on it. They both portrayed their characters in a very beautiful way.

The most impressive thing about the movie is that it is based on a true story (that it is the sinking of the Titanic) and that made me look up for more information of what happened.

Moreover, I think James Cameron (the director) managed to recreate “the Unsinkable Ship” in a completely realistic and believable way, making me feel the terror of that tragic night (which I believe he wanted to transmit it to us). The scene where the Titanic is sinking it is just incredible and I don’t know why it made me remember of the famous scene of Odessa Steps in Battleship Potempkin.

Also, it is a film with one surpassing scene after another. The amazing setting all along the film and scenes like the embark of the ship in the Southampton port or the “flying” scene the leading roles share a kiss for the first time (which I believe is one of the most famous scenes in all times) where; make it an unforgettable and terrific film.

And after the whole three hours of film (time that for me flown very fast), we arrived at the few last minutes of the movie where I had an emotional outburst. The tears in my eyes made me lost some details of the moment Jack starts sinking. My vision was blurred and that made me rewind the movie for trying to see it clearly. And guess what? I cried again. Oh hang on... it looked like the Niagara Falls sliding on my cheeks. What the hell was happening?

It was a marvellous adventure and I would like to recommend this classic to all those who like me love the world of cinema and have not seen the film before. I guarantee you will never forget and maybe it will become one of your top 5 favourite movies (which it’s not my case though I love it).  You won’t regret it.

So as I started this written piece, I assure you it was a magical night. I have never expected that I would feel this way during my first time. It was an amazing experience, and a very pleasant and satisfactory moment. And I think I am falling short. Oh come on, it was brilliant! At last, I can say I heaved a sigh of relieve doing it, and also, that I am so glad for doing this in that moment. It came just when I was ready. And now, I can not wait to repeat it again. And why not with more people? I am sure a lot of my friends will love to join me to this adventure again, and maybe it will be the first time for some of them Anyway, I just wanted to say that it was awesome.

My heart will go on and on with that film.

P.S. And just in case you all are a group of dirty minded souls, I am still talking about the film; you perverts! ;-)

Òscar Franco

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CALL FOR CHARITY

Something you have never done, sometimes is something you might never think about of doing it. This is the case of those actions that you are afraid of realize or you just don’t think them fit you because of the personality you have or the role in the society you pertain.

Empathy is one of the fundamental values needed to spread in the civilized societies. Being the others, acting as the others and feeling what the others feel is the sixth sense we all must be activated. It is about attitude and consciousness, if we are aware of which is the impact of our deeds it is easier to look up and put up with different ways to act, think or simply live.

The run out of tolerance and peripheral view has turned a lethargic community build via means of the pure livelihood of selfishness and egoism. We have become apathetic of injustices and social inequalities just because otherwise, we couldn’t bear the pressure to cope with the amount of hardships in our daily routines.

Every situation arise from a simple question, the same one which make it dies: Why? Suddenly after, we add us as subject of it: Why am I deserving that? Afterwards, the long list of speculative answers and more questions begins to burn our brain, and we finish calming ourselves with soft self justicating arguments in order to avoid the evil conscience of not doing enough. I am talking about responsibility, a word that starts to appear in our life the transition period of time when we quit the childhood and begin to tread the adolescence. The era of confrontation of interests, insecurities and learning of what responsibility means, implies and do need. Parents, teachers and the Governments tried to inculcate this feeling in order to make better people, better students and better countries. The point is that this apparently educational technique for growing up is more about passing the buck than a benefit for us. To build the chain of responsibility, at the end, makes easier to feel free of guilt the authorities implanting the seed of obligation in every citizen. We should go further and analyze and judge through under own criterion what really depends on us and what we do not have a countable impact on. Because of the politics, some make us firmly believe that if things don’t work is due to our bad behavior, I partly agree, we all have a personal responsibility in our choices, but they could not pretend to take advantage of the emotional feeling of guilt, specially in vulnerable collectives.

During my way home thinking about what action could I do that I had never done, suddenly a guitar sounds. I wasn’t in a concert, at least that I did pay the ticket for, I just paid for my usual train journey. It turned out to be also the daily routine of the singer I already knew. He probably hadn’t got the luck to go to University and afterwards find a job, or maybe an enough good job enable to economically maintain himself and his family. After playing the guitar piece he runs among the seats and people, with any guarantee of success, but smiling and calling for charity with the energy and good mood of them who just receive the email that notifies that they got the job.

It was after witnessing this scene when I realized I had the perfect action needed for the task assigned. I would call for charity during a train journey. Suddenly a feeling of lack of respect invaded my mind. I thought that depending on the way I analyze it could seem a way of laughing about these people. Otherwise, I also considered that was the ideal case to take advantage of it and be part of a situation that I hope and wish I should never experience...

The courage I need to sit and ask for money wasn’t enough to do it alone, is for that reason that I waited till Friday night, after going to a theater play in Barcelona with my sister and mum when I decided that was then the right moment. It may seem I have a cowardly character, I would better say that I didn’t have enough guts to perform a social unfairness I am against of just for the sake of it, but at the same time I also wanted to accomplish the work. In spite of the contradictory arguments or excuses I had in order not to face the reality I assumed, I just fall down, sat on my knees and lower my head and extend my open hand on the platform of the train carriage. I didn’t try to speak or say word, I limited myself to give a sad and poor smile and use my eyes as the unique tool I had for survival.

Some said that is a strategic job even easier than the other one that need more effort or intelligence. I just know that even it doesn’t require many capacities to do the work you must have a big amount of love reserve if you pretend not to falling in a depression. I did the same but with different context, having the reason why of the university exercise and the guarantee of the complicity gaze of my mother and sister, enough strong to know that it was passenger, a five-minute fake reality that could break whenever I decided. I just could stand the role for three stations, not time enough or not luck enough to receive any coin. But sufficient in order to notice that it has been one of the worst senses I have ever suffered.

Afterwards, when the task was done and the picture took, I just stand up and look after me just to make sure that there has been nobody I knew that could recognize me. It is clear that something has been doing wrong. We must change it.

LAIA GONZÁLEZ SOLÀ

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Christmas, Christmas, Christmas… Something I can not take out of my mind for a couple of months, even if I tried to since it is everywhere: streets light-filled, cups of coffee shops decorated with green and red mandalas... And suddenly it came to my mind, PRESENTS! What on earth am I going to give to that special someone? It had to be unique, memorable, but I had the feeling that I had already given it all.

Something I was crystal clear about was that it had to be an activity the both of us could enjoy, that’s what we always do. And in the word always was the problem, it felt like we had already done it all! This is why I started to look on the internet, literally, “things left to do when you have already done it all” and voila!

That was it, we were on Monday the 7th of January at 7 o’clock driving alongside Catalonia to meet some dogs in Andorra in order to go mushing.

My first feeling was excitement but, at the same time, I kind of felt like I was doing something wrong. Maybe the word wrong isn’t the best one. Maybe I felt sorry for the dogs since when I spread the news about doing the activity, a friend told me “oh, don’t you feel sad about the dogs? They aren’t usually living their best life”. That made me think and felt guilty somehow so, between the excitement there also was some guilt. Even though now I can say the experience was awesome.

But let’s go step by step… we were on the car listening to our favorite songs and observing the marvelous Pyrenees landscapes. After a three hour and a half car drive, we were finally on Grandvalira! Big white mountains on the right, big white mountains on the left… Wow! I live in Mataro, by the sea, so that is not a landscape I’m used to see. Besides, that was the first time I was in the snow this year! (meaning this winter, since we were just in the 7th day of the new year).

Excitement was what I felt the most at that moment. My partner and I went directly to the meeting point (since we woke up an hour late that day and had little time) looking for the instructors, but instead we found the dogs, lots of them! There were above 30 dogs and for our surprise, they were in really good conditions. Obviously, they were in jails and they’d be a lot better outside of them, but they looked either happy and healthy. We stayed there until two young men came to us: the instructors. We were lucky, they were super nice to us. Something that made us laugh a bit was that one of them was wearing lip balm to the level you could not even see his lips. Even though, I still regret my lips did not look like that because I have them really bad, even after almost a week.

He explained us a little bit what was the activity about, that we were going to see the white snowed forest but, sadly, that the land was in kind of bad conditions since the weather had been really bad (ironically, meaning too many sunny days) so we were not going to see it in all its splendor but, anyways, it was going to be a good experience. He also told us a little about the dogs, how was their day to day life, and relieved us a little bit more since we could see they are actually in a good conditions environment.

The instructors left us alone with the dogs for fifteen minutes so we could meet them and take some photos. Each of the dogs greeted us as we were passing by to say hello to them and gave us the greatest feeling of all the activity since my partner and I love animals and being in contact with them.

The time came and the instructors helped us sit into the sled and with the time we closed and opened our eyes we were finally mushing! At first, the dogs ran. A lot. Maybe too much, since the sled was old and had a little gap we were about to get out of it! The driver saw that so he decided to make them walk along the forest instead of running, and that was a great experience too.

Sadly, the activity lasted for just about five minutes, something we were a little sad about. Even though, we were happy since we knew that was a really good memory we were going to keep in our minds for the rest of our lives.

I have not explained only the activity but also all the road trip and things we had to do to get there because, in some time, when I remember going mushing for the first time I’m not only going to remember the five minutes we were in the sled. Probably is the last thing I’m going to remember since it kind of deceived us (we had too many high hopes). The first thing that will come to my mind is going to be the greetment of the dogs towards us, everything the instructors explained us about the mushing world or even the songs we sang into the car. This is why I think going mushing made me remember how life is made of little moments that pass by without us even noticing them. That even though you decide to do something new and extraordinary that no one you know has ever done before, you are not necessarily going to remember doing the activity, but other little silly moments that get out the best part of you.

I’m going to end with an obvious recommendation I heard in a movie, which name I can’t remember: happiness is only real when shared. So do extraordinary things with the ones you love.

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Eating blind.

That has been the activity that I have decided to do for the first time. I feel fortunate that it is something new for me when there are more than 45 million people in the world who do it every day.

But... Before explaining my experience eating blind, I want to contextualize you a bit.

During this last month, I have come across a couple of facts that refer to the blind. And since I believe little in coincidences, I think that behind these events, there was a lesson to be learned.

A few weeks ago, I watched a movie called Birdbox on Netflix. I have always liked the post-apocalypse movies that make you think, and transport you to a limit situation. I love that they contain a great load of suspense, tension and drama, because that is what makes me unable to take my eyes off the screen. I will not cheat you, my sister chose it because Sandra Bullock was the protagonist. And I honestly did not expect much about the movie. But I was wrong! And I do not mind recognizing it, because the message and the implicit values that it transmits are very beautiful and important for society. I could not stand the tears and that’s why I strongly recommend it!

This week, in the first class of Sound Advertising we did an exercise in pairs. We had to cover our eyes and walk through the university. Always with the support of a partner in case there was a mishap. The objective of the activity was to feel how is the context in which we live without a sense as relevant as the view. When we had finished, we discussed the main differences between sight and hearing. Some examples are that the ear does not rest, it is working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and it is also 360º, in other words, we listen from any angle.

These two experiences taught me to see the blind in a different way and I think they deserved to put me on their skin, at least once, just because I wanted to.

Therefore, I decided to eat blindfolded. How difficult! I faced the challenge with optimism, the truth is that I did not know what I was going to eat until I got to taste it. The dish smelled, and it smells pretty good but I could not distinguish what it was. It was very strange to me. It was not the first time I ate chicken and potatoes, but it tasted different. My family laughed because it was hard for me to cut up the chicken with my fork and knife. Chicken is a very difficult thing to cut without being able to see for the first time! I must say that I feel admiration towards blind people. And what did you expect? I concluded with various lessons learned that I would like to share with you.

1. It is sad to say, that in order to get the best out of each sense, we have to incapacitate one of them. When I did the exercise, it seemed that my ear was much more powerful, it seemed that I could hear more sounds that I did not even appreciate before. The same thing happened to me with touch, taste or smell. It seemed they had sharpened. We are too used to seeing things, and sometimes, when we do not see them, they seem different. That happens to us because we pay attention to other aspects that we had previously overlooked.

2. Society is not adapted to the blind. This is something we already know but I want to go further. The world does not make life easier for the blind. And not only in terms of communication, the acquisition of products adapted to them, or the provision of infrastructures, which tends to be disastrous. I want to talk about empathy. We live daily with the blind and many of us think that with a guide dog or a cane they can move perfectly. True, these systems do not restrict their freedom and independence, but has anyone thought about how they feel? The blind are more susceptible to the dangers lurking in every corner. They can be more easily cheated, swindled, robbed, run over ... The feeling of insecurity and helplessness with which they have to live is very big. They are afraid. And we should not be overprotective, but we have to help when necessary, since they need additional stimulus. His hands and ears, are his eyes.

3. We do not value what we have. The famous Spanish sentence "You do not know what you have until you lose it." We are very lucky to be able to enjoy the view, and I think we should not wait to lose it to begin to value it.

4. We often refer to the blind as disabled. Many times, this causes them to be seen as inferior to others. Please, stop using that term. The blind are not disabled, they are people with other abilities, and unfortunately, nowadays, and in this society, we hardly value them. The blind can do anything that another person can do, you just have to adapt the way in which that task is performed. We do not realize the importance of these people and the fundamental role they can play in society. And if only for one day, the planet changes? Maybe they would be the trained ones, and we the disabled ones.

For these 4 reasons, I would like you all to put yourself in the shoes of a blind man, for a day, a few hours or a few minutes. I assure you that this empathic gesture will change the perception you have.

I'm going to go a step further. I'm going to contact a girl who lost her sight at 18 in a motorcycle accident. And I am convinced that she will teach me another life lesson, with which I will learn about the struggle against adversity, having a spirit of courage and self-improvement.

Alejandro Vera.

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A special dinner

Throughout the week, I had many ideas about what subject I would choose for our assignment “the first time”. In the beginning, I got carried on and considered options that later I figured were impossible to do for this weekend. So, I started looking for easier things, although most of them did not convince me. I told myself that I would search for one idea that would suit my interests at best (yes, I'm very stubborn). At least, I was sure of something: I wanted to share this first experience with someone close to me. That is why, I finally decided to prepare a surprise for my family: a special dinner cooked only by me, for the first time.

Those who know me, are aware that I am a very active person, I like to spend a lot of time with my friends and people I care for. Because of the wide range of activities that I have participated in throughout my 20 years, I have had the luck of meeting many incredible people. Of all these, some are still in my day to day, but others are part of the past. This is how, over the years, I have been able to confirm what my father always tells me "the only people you know with certainty that will always be with you is your family".

I live with my parents and my twin brother. Years ago, we had the same schedules and that's why we spent a lot of time together, but since my brother and I started university, we hardly see each other. Last Thursday night, after watching the movie "Cheaper by the Dozen" I became nostalgic and at that moment I decided I wanted to involve them in this experience. Considering that we practically only run into each other at meals, I thought it would be a good idea to prepare dinner on Friday and cook something that I never had cooked before. Also, I wanted to give it a more emotional touch and that's why I decided I would do it as a surprise.

Some of you will think that preparing a dinner does not have too much complication, but for me, it was a challenge since I practically never cook. It had to be something easy and fast because I didn’t have much time until they arrived. That's why I decided to make a "quiche" as a single dish and cookies for desserts.

After having decided what I would cook, I went to the supermarket to buy the ingredients. For the “quiche”, I needed dough, bacon, spinach, cheese, three eggs and cream. For the cookies; an egg, butter, flour and sugar.

Now the most complicated part arrived, the execution of my plan. I must confess that I was a little nervous because I had to get it right at the first time. I started with the "quiche", the main course and the most important part of my dinner. If the cookies would not work out, it wouldn’t be a disaster because they were only the dessert, but without the "quiche" we would end up heating a pizza and I would not be able to achieve my goal. But luckily, it went great.

As for the quiche, I first put the dough in a mold and introduced it into the oven. Meanwhile, I started to boil the spinach and fry the bacon. When it was all heated, I put it into the dough and on top of this, a large amount of cheese.  To finish, I beat the eggs with the cream and spread all this over the vegetables and cheese. Finally, it had to be cooked for half an hour in the oven.

Until this point, it was all a piece of a cake. But then I had to go for the cookies, which turned out to be a little bit more complicated. In a large capacity bowl, I introduced the flour, the butter and the sugar, but when I was about to start mixing, I realized that the sugar should have been put after the flour and butter had been mashed. The excess of trust, after the "quiche”, is what made me commit this mistake. I thought I was an expert already! Nevertheless, I mixed the three ingredients together trusting that nothing would happen. Then I introduced the egg and mixed again, all with my hands. The truth is that it gave me a bit of anguish, I'm too much a princess for these things. I had to mix until the dough became compact, I had the feeling that it would be impossible, but after a long time having the mass stuck in my hands, I got it. Then I stretched the mass and put molds of different shapes. Removing the mass from the molds is what I found more difficult, the figures broke! It was a little stressful, but I ended up solving it. All that remained was to put them in the oven and wait eight minutes. They were very tasteful!

I was very happy that everything had gone well, but now I was anxious for my family to see the surprise. I set the table and decorate it with candles. There was still time until they would be home and the wait seemed eternal to me.

When they arrived, they were very surprised. They couldn’t believe their eyes! It was a fun dinner and we laughed taking the pictures. The food was very nice. Everything went perfect, the only thing I regretted was that my father couldn’t be there, he was in Germany for his work.

Cooking was a very fun experience for me, but what I liked most was seeing how my brother and my mother enjoyed it. Seeing them happy is what made me joyful. From now on, I think I'm going to spend more time in the kitchen when I have the occasion. I'm already thinking about the next dish I'll cook!

Nina Cortès Lucassen

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It was about ten years since I didn’t went to the Pyrenees to ski or simply see the snow when last year I mishandled one of my best friends to drive to Andorra. The day before, I was telling her that if we rented the material online would be much better than once there, so I needed to know her ski size. The thing is, she is so stubborn and told me she wanted to try to snowboard instead. I said a thousand times that was crazy, we haven’t been in the snow since a long time and didn’t have any idea of snowboarding. After 2 hour discussion, I rented some snowboard material. I didn’t book any classes, we decided we should ask for it once in Andorra.

The day after, we took a bus at 6 a.m. in Plaça Catalunya that went directly to Andorra. We were so excited but so sleepy too, consequently we spent all the journey sleeping. When we got up, it was a very sunny day in Andorra. We went to the renting desk to take our material and asked the renting boy about how to book a snowboard class. “There is no one free until 13 p.m” he told us. It was 9 a.m. My friend and I had a look at each other and thought that it wasn’t worth it waiting until 13 p.m. when the ski station closing was at 16 p.m. We had all day ahead so we said “Let’s kick our asses down!”.  We set out to the slope without idea of snowboarding.  We even didn’t knew how to tie the table to the feet.

Once in the slope we saw some beginners standing up in the table at the top of a gradient. We went there with these people and tried to imitate them. The first time, my best friend stood up, but I fell and I did myself a capsulitis. “Nothing can go worse” I thought.

The next half hour was about how to get up without falling, testing our balance and reflex. Then, my friend tried to go down the first slope. As I watched her go, I suffered a little because there were a moment when she started to scream – she didn’t knew how to slow down. That was our next challenge. When I went down, I discovered that if I drove my body a little at the back, the table slows down. I told her about my discovery and we unfastened our snows to walk to top of the gradient and go down again.

This second time, it was a couple of little kids with a teacher, and he was telling how to slid down hill. We sat next to them so we could hear the teachers’ tips. Suddenly, the man turned to us and said “Is it everything OK? Have you ever snowboarded before?” We said “No” and he said “Ok I can help you to get up, and then you should follow my kids to learn how to go down the slope”. It was very nice from him, we didn’t had paid anything because we decided to take no classes and learn by ourselves to snowboard. But indeed, we needed some help and the teacher gave us some tips to leverage the day to the most.

After falling too many times we decided to go to the first green slope. We didn’t thought our next challenge would be how to get on the teledrag and then, how to get off. It seemed the snow table disturbed everywhere.

There we were, looking to the gradient, waiting for our moment. We started to slide downhill together, sliding from left to right very softly. I felt very comfortable. Finally, I had found my balance and knew how to switch from left to right, without rush nor pause. I arrived to the end safely and hadn’t fell this time.

It was very intense. I fell very proud of myself because I had never done this and neither never before I had skate (people say it is very similar to snowboarding). What is more, sometimes I feel a little clumsy with sports. But I did my first “true” downhill and I hadn’t fell to the snow. Even I couldn’t remember I did myself a capsulitis at the beginning of the day.

Then it was adrenaline. It happened the same to my friend so we got into the slope again and again, and finally even we tried to upgrade ourselves and get on the chairlift to end the day by down hilling a blue slope.

The chairlift was much more difficult to get on than the teledrag but nothing could stop us. That freedom feeling when you are sliding through the soft snow was everything we could think of. It is very intense, and you are very conscious it’s all driven by yourself in pure contact with nature. We were ready to make our last downhill of the day, in a slope that were almost the double large than the other where we had been all day. Everything was beautiful, the trees, the sunset… I felt so happy I could share this first time experience with a very close friend of mine. We looked each other and started to glide down the slope. We tried to twirl and even take some velocity. In snowboarding when you glide in perpendicular to the gradient, you go faster.

The faster I went, the happier I felt. Maybe I was going at 3km/h but I felt like a pro. I found my technique and balance on my first day so I had a huge reason to feel proud about myself. Furthermore, the blue slope was amazing. It had some turns that went through the forest and some places with a breathtaking mountain view.

We finally arrived to the end, knowing we couldn’t snowboarding it again because it was closing time. We hadn’t had any lunch so after returning the material, we went directly to the cafeteria and had a bacon & cheese sandwitch with some cola. We really deserved a champion’s meal.

Now I am looking forward to come back. I feel I can’t wait to snow again!

Marina Tórtola

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Coffee, friends and the sunrise

Ari, Lidia and I slept in Ari’s house yesterday. Our intention was sleep early in order to wake up easily this morning. But the fact is that we went to sleep at 1 a.m. because we were watching a film and talking about everything. Even so, today we have woken up at 6:30 am.

Lidia and I have slept in the middle of the living room and Ari in her bedroom. When finally I have got up from the sofa, I went to the bathroom. While I have washed my face and brushed my teeth, my friends have prepared coffee with milk in order to put in a thermos. Also, they put in a bag three cups, some sugar and spoons. Then we all have dressed up with a lot of warm clothes and before leaving home, we have taken a couple of blankets.

At 7:00 am we were on the street. We have gone to pick up Lidia’s car that was three streets below our location. In the five minutes we have been walking towards the car, our hands have frozen. We picked up the car and, on the screen, it said that we were…oh my god! Two degrees centigrade. Suddenly, Ari told us: "Girls, before going to the beach, we could go for “churros”". Of course, the answer of Lidia and mine was "of course yes!". So, we have gone to the nearest “churrería” that is barely 200 meters or so away. While Lidia and I were waiting in the car, Ari has run down to buy 3 euros of churros and has come back to the car.

We have set a course for the beach. We have gone to Mar Bella’s beach, very close to the Diagonal Mar shopping centre. We have arrived there at 7:15 am. We have parked the car in a large car park next to the beach and we pick all the things we have in the boot.  It was still night and the sun had not come out. There was nobody neither in the car park nor on the beach. We three were alone with an overwhelming silence. The truth, at first, we looked at each other and said "It's a bit scary" but without thinking about it, we went down to the beach.

Once placed on the sand, we have extended a giant blanket to be able to lie above. We have lain down, we have put on some warm socks each one and we have covered ourselves with two more blankets. When we were already facing the sea prepared to watch the sunrise, I looked at the time on my mobile phone. It was 7:22 a.m. and the sky was still very black. I told the time to my friends and Ari asked me: "Have you looked at what time is the sunrise?". I remained silent and after a few seconds I answered: "Good question." Indeed, it hadn’t occurred to me to look at the exact time the sun rises. Then, I took my phone and, in the application called "Weather" I checked it. And to my surprise, the application said that the sun was rising at 8:14 am. And it was only 7:30 am! That is why we have decided to wait a little bit for breakfast. The smell of "churros" was tempting but even so, we were not so hungry yet.

While we were stretched out in the sand covered with the blanket, we started talking about how beautiful nature was and how little we value it. Lidia also said "And it's free" trying to say that we have no excuse to enjoy it. In addition, they have commented that it was also their first time watching the sunrise on the beach and they have never woken up so early on a Sunday. And we have all come to the conclusion that if it had not been for the Internal Communication homework, maybe we would never have done it. For that reason, we have been grateful.

The topic of conversation has changed when the sky has begun to turn reddish, orange and pink. The truth is that the shapes and colours that have been created with the first rays of sun that have appeared are indescribable. There were many clouds, but this has made the sky even more beautiful. Lidia has had a brilliant idea and she has left her mobile phone static next to my boot recording a time-lapse video.

Around 8:00 am, it has started to make a lot of air. A family has also appeared on the beach: a marriage with their young son. We don't know what country they were from but we are sure they were not Spanish because they spoke in English. They have sat close to us and have started taking pictures of the sky and the sea. We have been looking at the little boy, about three years old because he was very happy and excited to be on the beach.

We were already starting to feel hungry and it was almost dawn time. That's why Lidia has taken out the thermos and Ari and I have taken the cups and the churros. Lidia has poured us coffee with milk in each cup and it was still very hot. We have started having breakfast on the beach with spectacular views. The feeling of happiness we have felt is indescribable. We have felt very rich with very little.

About 8:15 a.m. as put in my mobile phone, the sun has started to rise. A perfectly round sun and with an intense yellow. So I have taken out my mobile phone and I have started taking photos to capture the best picture for the post. I have photographed my friends, the sea and also some birds that were in there. Finally, I have taken the photo that I have published in this post because it has seemed the most descriptive to me: a special breakfast with my friends watching an amazing sunrise.

Nerea Castellano

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the first day

I like looking around me.

I like noticing things, and reveling in the peacefulness of the environment. I like the mornings most especially. The calm, the rays of the sun shining through, the chance to catch the peace and quiet that are rare in public spaces. This was why I loved arriving early to my university in the Philippines. There was a tranquility that could not be found elsewhere, that even the burdens of a stressful week couldn’t avoid being sucked into.

When I arrived in Spain a little over a week ago, I went to UPF for the first time, and the first thing I did at school was reminiscent of what I used to do at home: I looked up. I looked at my new campus and at the sun that rose over the unfamiliar buildings, and I felt the chilly breeze that was rarely felt at home. I took it all in. There was a sense of being alien, of being somewhere I shouldn’t be at. Not because I didn’t belong, exactly, but because I was so used to being somewhere else, a somewhere else that I considered home. This campus was not my territory, and I felt it immediately.

It was in that moment that I felt stuck in an odd place. I was awed at how far I had come (figuratively and literally) and excited for the upcoming months, yet I also felt anxious, hesitant, and doubtful. My biggest question in the days since I had arrived in Barcelona echoed more strongly in my head: What am I doing here?

The question came not in the sense of “get me out of here, I don’t want to do this anymore”, but more in the feeling that I had come so far, done so much, only to be looking up and thinking, now what? What was the next step? Literally, of course, my next few steps were towards the auditorium, where the International Students orientation was. But that first chilly Monday, I found myself sitting on the main plaza, looking up, and really reflecting. What did I have to do next? Did I have any plans? If yes, what? If no, why did I not have plans? Did I really come so far to end up sitting here?

It was there that I stopped these reflections, before I spiralled completely. I wasn’t looking at the next few months with dread. It is not like I wanted to just drop everything and go home. I still wanted to stay, to explore and all that, but what lay ahead for me definitely held a lot of uncertainty. And uncertainty was not something I liked being around or working toward. I had spent a good chunk of time back home fulfilling the requirements necessary to become an exchange student, and it only dawned on me that I did not have an exact plan of action the minute I arrived. Sure, I had generalizations drawn up in my head: learn something new, take interesting classes, travel around, meet new people. But it became a little difficult for me when I realized I had to pinpoint where exactly “around” was in my traveling, who the “new people” were, and what “new” things I had to learn.

There was so much more I had to figure out. This seems like a pretty obvious statement for an exchange student, but it is worth saying anyway. No matter how uncertain or “unfigured” I was, there was consolation in me being able to admit it.

I took a deep breath, and breathed it all in again. I looked to the sun shining over the library and I thought back to all the times I would look at the same sun, shining over different, more familiar buildings, in a more familiar campus (at least for me). I thought back to all the times I had looked at that view, worrying about some test, some problem, some something. And yet, day in and day out, the sun would shine again. I would find myself in a new day, probably in a new chair or angle or perspective, but still – I would be able to look out. And the day would start all over again.

Safe to say, absolutely none of my problems changed or got better because I looked out the window at the start of the day. I probably even spent too much time sometimes, reducing my time to actually solve the problem. (It was probably even borderline procrastination sometimes, but what can I say? I’m a college student. It happens!) But I can’t say my days got worse because I would start it that way. If anything, having that pocket of time alone helped me to collect myself and my thoughts. And as I looked out that Monday, with all those doubts echoing off in my head, I found it easier to breathe a little. Everything was going to work out, not by some stroke of luck or magic, but because I would figure it out and work on it - somehow, in some way. I was able to breathe a little easier after that.

I looked around, and I liked what I saw.

It gave me the opportunity to realize where I was. Amidst all the uncertainty I thought and felt, there was something I knew, and that Monday helped me realize it.

It finally hit me that I was in Barcelona.

I couldn’t pinpoint where I would be, but I knew where I was, and shouldn’t that be enough, at least for now? I slowly started to appreciate what I was seeing and feeling. The campus, the weather, the excitement of it all. It was new and strange and alien to me, for sure, but it was not so scary anymore. I would figure it out, and the plans and specifics would surely come later.

I took the picture above, got up, and went to the Auditorium. Monday would be a new day.

Chelsea De Roca

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Forever and always, sort of.

Honestly, I’ve never believed in forever and always. I don’t like to compromise. I don’t even like the words forever and always. I’m scared of them. It frightens me to think “oh, this is all”. That's how it was, is and will be. Just as you see it now. No changes, ties implied. Without being able to regret it, because that's how it stays. Forever and always.

I might think this way because I’m only (or much) 21 years old. Probably, in a few years, I will have a stable life: flat, job, partner, maybe family. But let's talk about the present, which is the only thing I can judge. I don’t have anything ingrained, and nothing ingrains me. I believe this lifestyle is strongly linked to the constant construction of my personality, which changes up to the new social interactions and experiences I live. I let things flow and I learn from them. Without staying forever, without being forever.

In the same way that I’ve never had and don’t have a forever in my life, I’ve never meant a forever to someone. People have described me as an independent person, others would rather say I’m unstable. I prefer to witness the essential and shine in my absence. No emotional dependencies required.

But for the first time, I’m going to break up with this lifestyle.

I’m going to get tattooed.

I’ve needed a previous meditation about it, but it really is an act that will be the first time in my life, and not only getting a tattoo but also for many facets of my life.

First of all, I’ve been tattooed. I was aware of the pain I might feel, so I already had a premeditated idea about what I’d sense. However, the pain is far from the reality. I felt the pain that I awaited for but less than expected. It approached an annoying, and contradictorily pleasant tickle. It was a rare combination of ticklish and sufferable pain. However, the initial intention was to feel pain, so I congratulate myself for daring to feel pain, even knowing that it wouldn’t be pleasant. Hey! Another feeling that I have experienced for the first time: willing to go through pain. Although in the end, it wasn’t as bad. Such a disappointment, by the way! Objectively, of course.

Second, and subjectively, what really hurts me about getting a tattoo is uncertainty. The restlessness of knowing that the ink will remain forever in my body. The lack of certainty that what occupies space on my skin is relevant enough to remain and accompany me in the present and in the future. Forever and always.

Let’s go back to forever and always. What I detest, what scares me, what shudders me. For the first time, I realize what an always and forever means in my life. Whatever happens, in spite of everything, that will stay in me. It will accompany me in my decisions; in the good ones and the lessons ones. It might advise me in that decision making since it will remember me what I am or have been at my 21’s. Or maybe it reminds me of the path I shouldn’t follow to avoid ending up like now, as in my 21’s. This tattoo will accompany me in my travels, will meet new people, will pity my sorrows and losses, and will celebrate my joys and triumphs.

Thus, I feel that having this tattoo is the biggest of my problems, and the only one I don’t want to solve. It's the beginning of a new and exciting adventure. The adventure of committing. To not shut the door to staying. To focus on what I have, and get to know deeply whatever and whoever surrounds me. To give more, be more, stay more. Whatever happens and in spite of everything.

Thanks to this tattoo, I have understood that emotional dependencies, if they are healthy, are a beautiful relationship we can aspire to. In other words, be someone's tattoo. Although being separated by continents, countries, cities. Of course, it entails responsibility and commitment, but precisely because of that, you have to choose who or what you are willing to give yourself or suffer for, in the same way that you specifically choose a symbol to get tattooed.

Another facet that I realized for the first time, is the art that the tattoos hide. Without wanting to, my skin has become a canvas. It should be noted that I have always been passionate about art, but I have never felt so close to it so far. My skin is a canvas in which I have just drawn the first brushstroke. And I am the artist behind every inspiration. It may have been the beginning of a masterpiece, a greatest abstract artwork. Or maybe that's just the end of a road in which I will turn myself back. As I said, I can only judge the present, so I’m simply appreciating the potential masterpiece, but I am not taking any steps towards it.

In conclusion, experiencing for the first time leads you to feel things that you wouldn’t have been able to feel if you hadn’t risked from the beginning. In my case, I have risked for the first time to dare to feel pain, to commit myself, to will to stay, to paint myself. Through a tattoo. You may think it’s an insignificant and simple drawing of permanent ink, but hey! get tattooed for the first time, and let me know what you feel afterwards. I have a feeling that this act will change my personality. I want to be the tattoo of the people I care for. And if I forget to be, I will have on my skin the reminder of my intention.

And to you, dear reader, I want to remind you how incredible it is to live something for the first time. So ask yourself: when was the last time you did something for the first time?

Irene Gironella

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ICING ON THE CAKE, ICING ON THE MOMENT

Apples, flour, sugar, eggs, lemons, oil and a huge amount of love, joy and memories.

When I was a kid, my grandma and I used to spend hours in the kitchen cooking, specially pastries. It was our moment, just us: granny and granddaughter, granddaughter and granny.

We made so many different cakes, biscuits, pancakes and muffins together but never one of her specialities: the apple pie. Hard to believe but true.

I used to spend the afternoons at my grandparents’ because my mom and dad were working. As I grew up, my afternoons turned to be very busy going to my extracurriculars activities, spending time with friends, etc. And, gradually, the grandma-granddaughter moment was only during holidays.

Every time she made the apple pie on her own my answer was: “someday you’ll show me how to make it!”. But years passed and finding our meeting date was quite a challenge. Since this week.

There’s a moment in your life when you realize how time flies, how things have changed and how many years have passed since that little Meritxell asked her grandma for making that cake.

And this week, now the twenty-two-year-old Meritxell has finally made the cake.

Sometimes we need to stop and think. Think about what we want or what we do not want. Think about what we have done or what’s still in our bucket list. We tend to think we have plenty of time for achieving our goals, but some of them have a date of expiration. You’ll never know when your life could change so do not leave for tomorrow what you can do today. It might sound like a cliché, but if not, you’ll always regret not having done it before.

So, start by asking yourself about something you have never done before. Most of us tend to think about adventurous experiences, travelling to exotic places or trying new unusual food. But what we don’t know is that sometimes ‘something we have never done’ is closer that expected. We just have to look around to realize that there are still so many local places, experiences or even food that we haven’t tried yet.

But why? One possible answer is that we tend to postpone events because of a ‘lack of time’, although this expression needs to be carefully analized. We do have time for going out with our friends, for laying on the sofa or for just being with the phone, but “we do not have time” for being with our family.

That reminds me of the Ikea advertising spot. Its aim is to show people how communication has recently changed. We know it all about famous people’s life, but do we really know all about our family? When you ask yourself different questions about your family and you do not know what to answer, then you realize we have done something wrong. Our communication skills have changed and sometimes we are just sitting next to one of our relatives, using our phone and without even exchanging a single word.  

There is no need to travel on the other side of the world to get to know the unknown. The unknown is much closer than you realize! One example would be our grandparents.

They are wealths of knowledge ready to be listened. They are walking enciclopedias full of valuable information. We all should, at least, spend an hour a week with our grandparents and we would learn more than just being an hour surfing on the internet. And that’s what I did.

I left apart any social media platform that could distract us for just being my grandma and I again. Reliving once more the sensation of just being the two of us. We both have gotten older, although it was like going back to the past when that curious little Meri followed her grandma’s instructions. That time when I was still innocent and I didn’t know how my future would be.

“Now add a mug of flour and afterwards three eggs”, my grandma ordered. The only cooking steps to be followed where the ones she was saying. The recipe was written down on a piece of envelope. What’s more authentic than that? It also made me think about how things have changed. Nowadays, when we want to cook something we’ve never tried before, we usually search the recipe on the internet. Although, in my opinion, you’ll never find a recipe as good as the one that has been passed down from generation to generation. That’s what makes a recipe special and unique.

Sharing again the kitchen with my grandma made me think about how time flies. Making her apple pie recipe was a promise we did a few years ago but until now it hasn’t been put into practice. Then you realize there are so many new things we could have done a long time ago although we keep postponing them.

We tend to think our family will be forever by our side but as, a natural process, all comes to an end. Spending more time working, rather than with your family won’t give you more happiness. Relationships need to be cultivated and well worked, as a cake. It takes time, patience and good ingredients to get a sweet final result.

Sharing experiences with the ones you love is icing on the cake.

Stop, think and ask yourself about what you have never done before. That’s an exercise we all should do. Then you’ll realize there are so many things you haven’t done before that you could have done them a long time ago. I would add afterwards: ask yourself ‘why haven’t you done it earlier?’

Life are experiences. Let’s collect moments, not things. Dream to the fullest and make your wish come true.

We should take care of our present and make it last through time. Take special care of the ones you love and bake your relationships as if they were a cake.

                                                                                                   Meritxell Deulofeu

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TIDYING MY BROTHER’S ROOM

My brother and I have a very similar room; folding bed, multiple shelves and tall closets… But with a big difference; Even so I am a completely disaster, I tidy up my room at least, twice a week. That’s right, I am an untidy women but I hate the mess.  So, the dirt and disorder are by far worse in my brother’s room taking into an account that he cleans and tidy his room once every two or three months.

So I divided this ‘’activity’’ in two parts: Firstly, picking up all the objects scattered around the room and secondly cleaning the furniture.

On your marks, get, set and go!

When I went into my brother’s cave the first that I did was to raise the blind to be more optimistic and be aware of everything that could appear until reach my final goal. Then, I made his bed and folded it. The blanket and the pillow could smelled like farts or night slim, something that could be normal because we are human but not desirable for a sister, but luck was on my side; It smelled like the characteristic smell of my brother.  

There were a lot of clothes scattered on the floor and on some shelves so the other step was to separate clean clothes from dirty clothes. I only knew one way to know in which of the groups the clothes belonged: smelling one by one. I felt that it was a really bad idea so I picked up all that clothes, no mattered if it was clean or dirty and I threw it into the laundry basket.

There were only a folded pants on the desk so I supposed that were clean. I decided to keep them into his closet.  When I opened the door of his closet, I got stunned: His wardrobe was impeccable, much more than mine, although that is not very difficult, because with the large amount of clothing I have especially adopted clothes that others don’t know how to combine and I do, it seems that my wardrobe is always messy. It’s just that the clothes are under pressure. So my brother wins me for ‘’The tidiest closet’’.

 To continuous, It was very difficult to know if one paper or a bill or a ticket was important for him so I took all the papers that weren’t few and I stacked them.

After that, I took the heaviest part; know where the different objects scattered around the room belonged. Firstly, I found a mountain of Cd’s. I looked in the third drawer and bingo! the other one’s were there! That one was easy because I have exactly the same drawers in my room and I use it with the same function. Maybe it is the only thing that we have in common… I’m just kidding, but we are really different!

Then, a pile of books on the floor: school dictionary, school books, science fiction... I was sure that he didn’t know what to do with them so they stayed where they were. I looked on the right side and I saw the car keys. At first one idea came to my mind, like took a ride with the car, but I am too good girl, so I leave them hanging from the drawer. While I put the keys, my eyes crossed with a box full of sweets, those that are lengthened battered in sugar. So as I was doing him the good favor of ordering the room, I gave my palate a prize and food for my cavities. I’m sure he didn’t realize that I had taken any.

Well, the next thing that I did was to tidy under the desk: A trainer without its partner, some pen, loose wires, dust that I would clean later and finally the computer, which sounds easy, but it was chaotic because it is a computer tower opened, that made himself, with all the cables coming out. I don’t know anything about computing, so I left it as it was but a little more hidden.

To end up the first part of tidying the room, I closed the sliding closets that were only two, without looking what was in there.

For the second part, I opened the window so that the air could circulate around the room. My mother taught me that first we must sweep the floor and then clean the furniture because if we do it the other way around, dust from the floor goes up to the shelves. Well, I do it the other way around. More than anything because in our shelves, there are always remnants of pieces of paper, threads and small particles that can be swept away. Another option is vacuum the floor, but is too noisy and our vacuum cleaner is very stored in our balcony cupboard.

So I took the broom, the cleaning cloth, the mop and the bucket. At first I was a little cold  because of the open window but I forgot it quickly when I was passing the rag down the shelves and a ‘’lepisma saccharina’’ peeked out to greet me. You could thing that is a silly situation or you will be imagining that I am the typical hysteric who hates bugs (I am not), but depend on the situation. If I see it or is expected, I am calm but if it appears out of nowhere scampering, I get scared. I already had a traumatic situation with a family of lepisma saccharinas without being prepared…

Well the last thing that I did was sweep and wash. On one hand I must say that it took me two hours to tidy and clean the room, although it was not 100% as expected by all those objects that I didn’t know where to place. On the other hand, my brother's reaction to such action was neutral thinking that I would ask a favor in return. Definitely, I did it once and no more.

P.S; In spite of all the things I could say about my brother and that we are like the dog and the cat, I love my brother even if I never tell him!

 Anna Parera.