Camino Barcelona Blog

Good afternoon everybody!

September is just around the corner and it is still so warm in Barcelona!

Today, Cara, our new intern at Camino Barcelona will give you her first impressions about the city and the school. Enjoy reading it!

Hello everyone!

My name is Cara and I am a new intern here at Camino Barcelona.

I will be spending six months working here as part of my degree in Modern Languages at Newcastle University, in England. As you may have heard before, Newcastle is a lively city, well known for its wild nightlife, but I am originally from a much quieter town (also in the north of England) called York.

As I’m more accustomed to smaller cities, Barcelona has been a big change for me! I particularly wanted to come here for my internship because, after studying a few months of Catalan, I learnt a lot about the vibrant and unique culture of this region. It seems to me that no where else offers such varied and interesting festivals that take place all year round. So whenever you choose to visit there’s always something spectacular to see and I’m really looking forward to getting involved over the next few months.

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Hi folks,

Our new work placement Cara has some nice activities for you during this week:

Hola a todos!

For those of you who have been in Barcelona over the last week, I´m sure you will remember the amazing Fiesta de Gracia, and if you missed out, or if you feel like you want to do it all again then do not worry! You´re in Spain now, and there is always another party just around the corner.

This time, we´re heading over to Sants for the yearly festival that lasts for one whole week from sunday the 21st of August until sunday the 28th. As a celebration of the patron saint, Bartholomew the Apostle, this festival is an absolute must! There are many things to see, but the main feature is fire. The communal bonfires and firework displays are a source of pride for Sants, and despite recent controversy over the government attempting to restict the displays, the week long programme of events remains full to the brim with things to see.

Apart from the fire displays, I am happy to say that the other main components of the festival are food, drink and music, the perfect combination for a good festival! There´s communal paella, sardinadas, butifarradas (catalan sausages to you and me!), and best of all there´s a chocolatada- where everyone drinks and eats chocolate together.

So now the food´s covered, what about the entertainment for the week? It seems to me that there really is everything, from water fights to dances, discos to orquestras, kareoke and even a conffeti fight! The streets are proudly decorated by the locals and all of this is finished off on sunday by the Castellers de Sants. This team famously builds human towers, and these can reach up to 9 levels! You have to see it to believe it, and the atomosphere is incredible as everyone gathers round to support the team as they build higher and higher, with young kids on top!

If you fancy something a little different, there is also an alternative festival which is really popular. This consists of concerts of every type of music, including Ska, Punk, Heavy Metal and Rap….with all this choice all in one place there´s bound to be something you like! So, if you feel like coming along to a great festival, then this one is not to be missed. Join in on wednesday night and come along with us…

See you there!

Cara

Hi folks,

It has been a while since we have updated our blog with the latest cultural activities in Barcelona.

Now in August and until the end of September, different district in Barcelona will have parties and concerts every day as they celebrate the Fiesta Mayor. Aldair has written a blog about the biggest of the Fiestas Mayor in Barcelona, which is the district of Gracia (before it was a village outside Barcelona).

Hey there,

It’s me again, and this time I’m here to talk about this particular event starting the 15th of August: the “Festa Major de Gràcia”!

Every year – it has been going on for more than fifty -, Spanish people, accompanied by people from all over the world just meet up and enjoy this neighbourhood that gets crazy for one whole week.

During this time, you can see (more…)

Hi there!

I hope you are enjoying your holiday as much as you can!! But let’s face it, we all have to go back to work (or school) some day, or at least, prepare ourselves for this eventuality So for the people who like spending “useful” holidays, I have an idea for you:

Next week starts the DELE preparation program in our school, and it lasts from 2 to 4 weeks.

If you pass the DELE exam, as you can see on the following link, you will have in your curriculum vitae the proof you will need to show during a job interview or an application in a Spanish University to prove that you have some good – or even excellent - Spanish knowledge and skills.

As far as I’m concerned, before starting studying Management and Entrepreneurship one year ago back in Paris, I thought that the TOEIC was going to be sufficient for me to have a good CV. And I have to say I was somewhat surprised when I saw that many companies were now asking for an “official” evaluation of my level in Spanish. So this is pretty much why I am doing my internship in Barcelona right now (well, I did also need to see the beach this summer, didn’t I?)!

Plus, as Latin America is becoming increasingly important in our world’s structure, I’d say that it is a good preparation for your future, as having passed this exam may make a difference between you and your competitors.
As far as I know, I will be preparing it for October! Unfortunately, I can’t start before…

Anyway, if you need to know more about the DELE exam, do not hesitate to come and visit our school next Friday, 22nd July. You just need to send us an email to: info@caminobarcelona.com and we will confirm you the time of this meeting.

Aldaïr

Hi folks,

Our Spanish teacher Alberto has written a blog about one of the activities we organise here in Camino which is very popular among students.

Hi there!

I’m here to talk to you about a wonderful and really cool-cold experience that you can have in Barcelona. I´m talking about… the ice bar! One bar fully made out of ice. The walls, chairs, tables, and even the glasses are fully frozen.

So, how does it feel to have a drink at 15º below zero ?

Well, first of all you get dressed with a special jacket which will protect you from the extreme temperature inside (more…)

Hi folks,

I hope you are all fine and enjoying the nice weather we are having here in Barcelona. In about some days it’s time to go to the beach and get a suntan.

Our new work placement Aida has been here in Barcelona for one week and would like to share her first impressions of Barcelona with you. It’s your turn Aida!

Hola everybody!!

I’m Aida (23 years old), I`m from France, I’m now doing my internship for three months at Camino Barcelona.

In France I‘m studying foreign languages applied to international trade at my university. Doing my internship in Barcelona is interesting for me because this big city offers lots of different things.

Firstly, it is a multicultural city, with beautiful scenery and lots of (more…)

Hi everybody!!

Have you heard something about ´Sant Jordi’s day in Catalonia??

“Sant Jordi” (Saint George´s day) is on 23rd April, which is the remembrance day in Spain. It is a special day in Catalonia because it is the remembrance of the death of Jorge de Capacodia on the 23rd April.

On the 23rd of April, which is the festival day, you will see all the beautiful colours when you look down the streets, because of all the roses and smalls books, which are put in the centre of Barcelona.

“Sant Jordi” was considered by the east, as the protector of different nations and territories: England, Georgia, Ethiopia, Portugal and Bulgaria. He was also considered as the saint patron of the nations in Aragon and Catalonia. (more…)

Hello everyone!

This time I want to talk to you about the activity that was very successful last week: Barceloneta and the ICEBAR.

On Thursday 7th April we went for a walk through the Barceloneta neighbourhood, an old neighbourhood of fishers, which was La Ribera neighbourhood situated in Cuidadela but which was moved to Barceloneta when Felipe V decided to build the fortress in the form of a star that now accommodates the Ciutadella Park.

Barceloneta is a neighbourhood that has changed a lot and now, enjoys a sea view and the neighbourhood is very modern because we can find lots of other bars and restaurants, for example: The ICEBAR

This bar, which can also be found in other big cities throughout the world, is made completely out of ice. It has a temperature of -10°C, so it is best to come to the bar well prepared, with a coat and thick gloves.

Finaly, once inside the bar, enjoy a cocktail in an ice glass. It is an original experience and fun but above all, remember that the temperature outside of the bar, in Barcelona on that day, was more than 20°C.

Cheers,

Marta

Hi folks,

Becky is here with her tips about Barcelona, to give you some ideas on what to do:

Hello again

So, I have talked to you about what there is to do in Barcelona in general and now, I am going to talk to you about something that is a definite must during you stay in Barcelona. This is of course the famous ´Magic Fountain of Montjuïc´. Before I start telling you why you should go and see it, here is a bit of history.

When work on the Great Universal Exhibition of 1929 was well under way, the organizers felt that (more…)

Hi!

My name is Anita, and as those of you who know me well, know that I am a huge fan of Spanish wines.

This week we are running an interesting activity- An Introduction to Wine Tasting.

So, to get you in the mood, I have decided to start a series of blogs dedicated to wine…

- The first one will be about the different areas and their characteristics;
- The second one will be about Catalan wineries and wines;
- The third about white wines and some recommendations;
- The fourth about red wines and some more recommendations.

So, are you ready?

WINE PRODUCING AREAS IN SPAIN

Spain is the third largest wine producer in the world and places a lot of effort and importance in their export market. Although wine production has been around for thousands of years, within the last few decades wineries have modernized to such a huge extent and the concept of the “wine culture” is becoming more and more commonplace, acquiring followers from all over the world.

Within Spain, wines are separated by (more…)