Restraint

The last couple days have been great. I got my schedule figured out, went to an FC Barcelona game last night, and have continued to meet a plethora of new people. Before I get to that I would like to share two interesting experiences with you.

This morning I was sitting in my Spanish class and we were discussing cities; we compared U.S. cities to Spain cities, discussed different problems in cities, etc. Of course, the conversation became political. Most people had the usual, short minded, "we need to throw money at problems" response. Then one girl began ranting, in Spanish, about completely overhauling the American Capitalistic system stating, "I'm not saying we should have communism, but something close." I was slightly appalled and when the teacher asked for responses assumed someone would contradict this girls assertion. To my surprise, everyone, including the teacher, agreed- the conversation quickly became whether or not Obama could carry out his promise and completely change the American system. As I was trying to gather my thoughts and muster some type of response the teacher must have noticed that I was not taking too kindly to the discussion and called on me. Not sure where to start I simply stated that change is more difficult and potentially more costly than people believe. I didn't feel like getting in a political fight in Spanish with the entire class and the teacher.

While this situation was surprising it was nothing close to what I encountered on my cab ride home last night after the FC Barcelona game. Through speaking with the cab driver, a little in English but mostly in Spanish, I learned that he was from Morocco and had studied in Canada for some time. I told him I was studying here for a semester and am originally from Chicago. He was actually familiar with the program I am on. And then, out of nowhere, he asked, "Estais judeos?"
Knowing exactly what he had asked but being completely floored by the question I said, "What?"
He responded in English, "Are you guys Jewish?"
Knowing that he was from Morocco, knowing that Islam is predominant in Morocco, and knowing how Muslims feel about Jews I briefly paused before stammering yes.
Apparently unfazed by my answer he then went on to ask a series of questions. "Do you speak Hebrew, are you Sephardic or Ashkenazi", etc.
After answering a couple of questions I asked him how he knew all of this. He explained that he used to be Jewish but is now Muslim. I was a little confused. I assume that he meant his family used to be Jewish but are now Muslim- that he has Jewish history. And then he asked the question that I knew was coming eventually, "do you support Israel?" to which I replied with an ardent, "of course!"
Considering the general world view of Israel, the pro-Palestinian rallies in Barcelona over the last couple of weeks, and the fact that he was a self-proclaimed Muslim convert, I assumed that he would be a Palestinian sympathizer. His response to my support of Israel completely floored me: "How can you [support Israel], they kill small children."
What a loaded statement in one sentence. In a moment all of my Israeli advocacy seminars flooded my mind along with my trips to Sderot and the West Bank, my meetings with Knesset members and members of the U.S. Congress, along with my discussions with journalists and scholars. There were so many facts, details, and logical claims I craved to scream at him, confident that I would prevail in any civilized debate. My Christian suitemate sitting next to me looked on, awaiting my response. I intelligently considered my surroundings: I was in his cab in a foreign, not-Jewish friendly city late at night. I stammered, "Well, its really not that simple". After a moment of awkward silence we changed topics.

Instances like this show me how important it is to be truly educated in your beliefs and have the ability to support your convictions. It also should provide a wake up call to any apathetic American, Jewish or not- you need to be able to intelligently defend yourself without being overly zealous and bold. (Sorry Dad, but I'm very happy you were not in that cab.)

Anyway, on to more exciting events: FC BARCELONA "FUTBOL MATCH". Wow, quite a setting for my first ever professional soccer game. The stadium was massive: 98,000 capacity. Not 98,000 like a college football stadium- 98,000 real seats. We were about 3 rows from the top- it was very cold and windy, but provided a birds eye view that allowed me to take in the experience a little more easily. (Talk about nose-bleeds though.) At halftime we moved down one deck lower. This wasn't that important of a game (against Atletico Madrid), and the stadium was still about 3/4 full. The fans go crazy about every little thing: steals, passes, dribbling through defenders, fall downs, slide tackles. Sometimes everyone in the stadium would seem to get excited and I wouldn't even know why. The team's star, Lionel Messi, didn't start the came. When he walked on the field in the 75th minute it was like a Deity entered- he should have walked out on a red carpet with a gold cape and a crown.
After being down 1-0 early FC Barcelona came back and won 2-1. They are very, very good this year, which should be exciting. I definitely plan to attend more games.


Now for classes. Here's my schedule:
Advanced Spanish 1 (IES)
Mediterranean History and Heritage (IES)
European Regional Economies (IES)
Strategic Behaviour in Business and Economics (UAB)
Congress Organization (UAB)

IES means the classes are taught by my program- they have all Americans that are on my program.
UAB is Universitat Autonomia de Barcelona. My Econ UAB class is at a small campus and taught in English. My Congress Organization class is at the main campus, about 30 min from me, and taught in Spanish- should be an adventure.

Time to go to my UAB Orientation. Adios.