Tag Archive for: Paulina Hernandez

BY PAULINA HERNANDEZ

This was the most touching and real walking tour for me in this class.

I didn’t really know anything about Franco or the Spanish Civil War prior to this trip. It was one thing to read about it in our assigned book or even discuss it in lecture, but it’s a completely different story when you see the remains of bomb hits and the places where people fled to protect themselves and their families.

Thanks to the connections provided by our professor, our class was able to take a tour inside the bomb shelters used during the Spanish Civil War which took place from 1936-1939 and was between the Republic (which is the democracy here) and the Fascists. It ended with the victory of the Fascist and a dictatorship by Francisco Franco until his death in 1975.

My mom was born in 1975. That was my first thought when I was first learning about all this. This dictatorship wasn’t far too long ago. This put things into perspective as we entered the underground tunnels of Montjuic that were used as bomb shelters to hold up to 1500 people per shelter.

Rafael Lemkin tried to explain the war in one word: urbicide.

To him, this meant that the war was not only killing cities, but relationships among people, not just merely buildings. This was the first time planes bombed cities. 400,000 Spaniards fled to France as refugees.

After Franco’s victory, no one could talk about it for the entire time of his dictatorship. Our tour guide explained how many Spaniards today are not even aware of the bomb shelters. Although Spain was not officially apart of World World II, Franco did assist Hitler.

Life within the shelters had to have some rules. They were written in Catalan and Spanish on the walls. People were not allowed to talk about politics or religion, for obvious reasons of trying to keep a calm environment. It’s important to note that these shelters were for ALL people, no matter what side you were on. Everyone had to pay their debts by either working or payments to use the shelter to make it fair.

The tunnels were cold and damp. They were constructed in narrow curved forms to withstand the impact of the bombs. The tour guide told us a sad story about how the one room that was not built in this form was the children’s playroom. It had a wider ceiling and was larger in size. Unfortunately, there were two boys playing in this small room when a bomb struck and the walls in this area could not withstand the strike. The ceiling came crashing down, killing the two young children. We saw the room and the destruction; I can’t describe it. I just know that it shattered my heart, thinking about them and the way the families in here were real people, parents, and kids.

There was also another room for the sick so they could be contained in one area. If you were a doctor, you most likely worked here to pay your dues of using the tunnel. The tour guide explained about pregnant woman would also be giving birth in the bomb shelters sometimes. My friends and I just imagined the unsanitary and sad conditions to bring life into this world. It was a lot to take in, but definitely brought everything to life.

After the Spanish Civil War was over, the soldiers kept building and adding to these shelters just in case there was a chance Spain would be apart of WWII. A poor family apparently used the shelter as a home for 10 years without anyone knowing from 1949-1959.

Because Barcelona wanted good branding for the Olympic Games of 1992, the shack towns that once existed in Montjuic up to this point and in Barceloneta were removed and renovated. Only 2 of the bomb shelters are preserved.

As I said time and time again, this was the saddest but most eye-opening learning experience that I’m grateful I had the chance to experience. I hope you do too!

Paulina Hernandez studied abroad in Barcelona, Spain in summer 2018: https://ieo.ucla.edu/travelstudy/span-barcelona/

BY PAULINA HERNANDEZ

Everyone who has studied abroad has had this struggle. Everyone who is thinking about studying abroad wonders about it. But it makes sense because your mind wants to be on vacation 100% of the time of you being in a different city, country, or continent — and you should let yourself enjoy the trip!! Just remember that these programs do cost money and you don’t want to go wasting that by missing your classes. But trust me when I say there’s a balance, and it may be hard at first but you can and WILL find it!

It’s different for everybody and also depends on the classes your taking. This program had me enrolled in 2 upper division Spanish courses that counted towards my minor. There was also an option to add a 3rd upper division class for an extra charge. If there’s anything my professor told us that I remember, it’s that although we were there to experience the city for ourselves, we were still enrolled in 8 units and the work would feel like it. Figuring out how to balance was up to us.

For this program in particular, we had class every day of the week Monday through Friday (minus one free Friday) for the 3 weeks we were enrolled. However, not every one of these days had the same format:

Two of the days of the week, we would have a four-hour lecture at the university. Sometimes there were guest lecturers, and we always had at least a 20 minute break. I would always go to the cafe and get a cafe con leche and donut.

Two of the other days of the week, we would have walking tours, which were my favorite because it meant we were learning about the city in a hands-on way. The professor would give us a location somewhere in Barcelona to meet at 10AM on the dot. Sometimes it was in the Gothic Quarter, sometimes it was in a plaza. Either way, we had to make sure we were there whether that meant taking the metro, a taxi, or walking. We would walk around via tour guides or just with the professor explaining what we’ve learned in lecture and see the buildings and city for ourselves. There’s definitely a difference from reading about these places in a textbook and actually visiting them!

Finally on Fridays, we usually would take a field trip somewhere outside of Barcelona, like Gràcia or Montserrat. This would usually be an all day thing and we wouldn’t get back until about 7PM or 8PM. This meant that if we wanted to travel outside the city on the weekends, we had to book our transportation at least past 10PM. It was definitely doable, however.

Anyways, it may seem like class takes up all your time, but it really is only 4 hours of lecture 4 days of the week plus field trips on Fridays (that are fun anyways). The assignments were things like visiting a museum and writing about your experience, presenting on assigned areas we had to explore, or quizzes based on the readings. It’s all dependent of your work ethic, but if you time managed appropriately, you could get your work done just in time to enjoy the rest of the city. Trust me, it IS doable if you want it do be; you just have to be willing to put the time in to make the most of your time! ?

Paulina Hernandez studied abroad in Barcelona, Spain in summer 2018: https://ieo.ucla.edu/travelstudy/span-barcelona/

BY PAULINA HERNANDEZ

When I first heard the name of this town, I instantly thought of the Princess Diaries because the name was far too similar to Genovia. However, this city did have characteristics and architecture that gave you the feeling that you were in some sort of fairytale land. Girona was one of the places for our class’s Friday field trips.

At the entrance, you see a Lioness statue with some small steps right next to it. Our tour guide told us the story of how back in the Roman times when they had walls surrounding the city, citizens of the town had to be within the gates by sunset or else they would be left outside the doors for the evening. This was done to protect the city from outsiders. However, the people came up with a secret code to show the guards if they were locked out and were in fact from Girona: they would kiss the bottom of the lioness statue!

I am not a huge follower of Game of Thrones, but apparently Girona was one of the places used to shoot the show. With its Romaness, gothic and baroque architecture, I do not blame them. The Cathedral of Girona is probably one of the more iconic Game of Throne landmarks (at least that’s what my classmates would tell me). Inside the cathedral was just as beautiful. The glass-stained windows have always been my favorite part of these churches. This one in particular had this courtyard surrounded by pillars; above each pillar, there were carvings of the most famous Bible stories. If you were to follow along the pillars, you could unfold the tale yourself. There was something peaceful about this courtyard that made it my favorite place in Girona.

We also got to tour the Arab baths, which were preserved thanks to local nuns who recognized that this place was in great condition for its age and wanted to continue that. I was surprised myself of the preservation, as our tour guide gave us rich history on the importance of each of the 3 rooms. People of Girona used to only shower once a month, so it was a luxury and recreational time to go to the baths.

We walked to the very top of one of the preserved Roman walls of the city where we had a breathtaking panoramic view of Girona. The walls, now full of greenery, kind of reminded me of a jungle gym, which stairs, bridges and walkways. There’s a line to go to the very top with a steep staircase but it is definitely worth the trek!

Afterwards, we learned more about the Jewish Quarter and how badly they were mistreated in the city back then because they were believed to bring the bad luck to the city. These areas had very narrow roads which would easily be crowded. As we walked through, I overheard a man playing his Spanish guitar on some steps and it was the first time I had heard one all trip! It reminded me of that scene in Cheetah Girls 2 where Angel is playing from the top of the restaurant.

During our down time, my friends and I ate at this great Italian place and got some ice cream at this well-known ice cream shop called Rocambolesc Ice Cream. We also walked across this bridge that was designed by the same man who made the Eiffel Tower!

This was a beautiful field trip and a nice way to explore Spain outside of Barcelona. I enjoy them because it’s like traveling is part of my curriculum for the class.

Paulina Hernandez studied abroad in Barcelona, Spain in summer 2018: https://ieo.ucla.edu/travelstudy/span-barcelona/

BY PAULINA HERNANDEZ

As I had mentioned in previous blogs, I had always dreamed of studying abroad because I wanted to assimilate to another culture that was completely different than anything I was familiar with. Even though this program is about 3 ½ weeks, I still felt like I got that. However, the defining factor of this experience was when we had the privilege of meeting John Arboleda, a fellow Bruin now living in the neighborhood of Gràcia in Barcelona with his beautiful wife and 2 children.

Our professor had us meet Arboleda at the IED School of Design Barcelona, where he works as the director of Special Programs and Innovation. We got a small tour of the modern and colorful campus, received some small gifts, and ended up in a classroom where we got the opportunity to hear Arboleda’s story: where he grew up, his own study abroad experiences, and the opportunities for living abroad. I never really considered living outside of The States until this lecture. His charisma and sense of humor kept us students engaged and wanting to hear more about how a Colombian LA-native ended up living in Spain away from everything he knew. The timeline of how he got to where he is now is something of a story that I hope you get to hear if you decide to go on this program!

It was awesome being able to relate to a fellow Bruin who wore many caps of first-generation to transfer student. He talked about the struggle of finding employment post-grad and how studying abroad in college shaped the way he wanted to live his life.

Afterwards, we walked over to his home through Gràcia. He explained to us how during the evening, families and kids, adults and teenagers, all come to the plazas to eat, talk and enjoy each others company. I saw this group of little ones playing with those battling spin tops that I haven’t seen since I was a kid. It was so refreshing to see people outside, socializing and playing instead of locked inside with electronics.

Inviting 30 students over to your home for food is more than generous. Arboleda let us know how in Spain, the home is supposed to be private and intimate for the family, so having someone come over was a big deal — which made us feel all the more special and welcomed. He also had a fellow friend he studied abroad with over. We got a tour of his home, met his kids and got a chance to mingle some more with him, his wife and family friend. I asked questions about how it felt moving so far from family, how to continue traveling under a budget and his lifestyle in Barcelona.

I was so intrigued that this could be a reality. Since then, I have thought about possibly taking a gap year abroad.

Arboleda also serves on the UCLA Alumni Association and visits the campus every few months for his meetings. I currently am in the Student Alumni Association (SAA) which is a branch of the Alumni Association, so it was fun to talk to him about how we could work together to get more events like this going– having students abroad meeting up with Bruins living abroad in that area. It was definitely a unique experience that gave us more insight the idea of living abroad.

Paulina Hernandez studied abroad in Barcelona, Spain in summer 2018: https://ieo.ucla.edu/travelstudy/span-barcelona/

BY PAULINA HERNANDEZ

Well in my book, a siesta can be just as good a fiesta! A siesta is basically like this afternoon nap during the hottest parts of the day, and they are a big deal in Barcelona!

I’m originally from California, so the time change was something that took a while to get used to being 9 hours ahead of my normal schedule, but I promise these siestas saved my life because I was able to sleep during the day and it was perfectly normal!

Our professor told us right when we got there that usually, anywhere from 4-8PM, shops and restaurants would close for “siesta” so that the workers could go home and see their family, rest or even nap. Since we were near a tourist area, most stores now stay open but it wouldn’t be uncommon to find yourself locked outside of a store.

To a Californian girl like myself, it seemed odd at first to take break right in the MIDDLE of the day. [I mean I love sleeping in but 4PM!?] This is normal in Barcelona because they follow a different daily timeline that can look something like this (I modified it for the way I adapted as a student but it follows the same structure):

8AM – 10AM →  Go into work/school

2 PM →  Lunchtime!

4-7 PM →  Siesta ?

9-11 PM →  Start Dinner

After midnight — Enjoy your night!

Eating lunch at 2PM or eating dinner at 10PM definitely took some getting used to, since back home my lunch and dinner times are usually 12PM and 6PM, but there’s a reason for this!! I discovered it my first evening in Barcelona actually. After the orientation we had that first day, a group of us decided to go eat and watch the World Cup match that was going on that night. As we sat there eating our first taste of tapas and enjoying the fútbol game, we noticed that it was 9:30PM and it was STILL light out. I mean it, like the sun was barely setting and the air was cool so people were walking their dogs, going out for a jog or grabbing dinner outside.

After the next couple of days, I realized in Barcelona, the sun is only gone from 10PM to about 6AM, which was different from back home — but this culture shock and adjustment was just the thing I was looking forward to going abroad.

I’m not sure if any of you had a similar experience, but I had to practically beg and convince my parents to let me go abroad with every good possible reason: the classes count towards my minor, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience, it’s free (thanks to this scholarship!!). I even added the Spanish minor to make the classes count!

But why did I go great lengths to go abroad?

My mom told asked me why I wouldn’t just go backpacking Europe after I graduated from UCLA. My answer was the fact that I wanted to learn what siestas were. I wanted to discover for myself how to adapt to them, and how to live the lifestyle of a local even if it was for a short time. I am so blessed I got this opportunity because I’m not sure when I’ll ever get the chance to temporarily live in another country again and learn to adapt to a culture I am not familiar with. With that, I not only figured out how to keep my sleeping schedule on track, but gained world-experience and became conscious of real-world issues that other countries were facing outside of my home country. It opened my eyes that there is so much more out there than what’s happening in my backyard, and it matters just as much.

Paulina Hernandez studied abroad in Barcelona, Spain in summer 2018: https://ieo.ucla.edu/travelstudy/span-barcelona/