Author: Auria Zhang

Hello! My name is Auria Zhang. I'm in the class of 2018 at Westtown School. In my free time, I enjoy reading and learning little snippets of information about the world.

Reflection

On By Auria ZhangIn Spain/Portugal - Auria Zhang, UncategorizedLeave a comment

After two weeks of happily walking around the streets of Spain, I am back in West Chester, PA, grumbling about school.

I have learned an incredible amount of random things during this Senior Project. I know more Spanish than I had at the start of this Project. Postres means desserts, and cerveza means beer. I learned that when you ask for water, you get an entire 1.5L bottle and you have to pay for it. And on the topic of food and drink, the quality of both is infinitely better than that of the United States.

Generally, Spanish people seem to take their time and enjoy the little things in life, like beer. Except for rainy days, in the early afternoon, I would always see cafes open with people sitting at little black tables drinking glasses of beer. Occasionally, there would be a coffee drinker, but coffee seems to be a morning beverage for the Spaniards. If that’s wrong, let me know!

Looking back to the trip specifically, I think I went to churches and cathedrals the most, followed by museums. I visited churches that were more than 300 years old and churches that are still under construction. My favorite is still the Sagrada Familia. The colors from the stained glass differ depending on the time of day. I easily spent about three hours walking around there.

I have learned a bit about traveling in general though. A lot of time was spent waiting in line to purchase tickets. Online ticket-buying is a must. Also, I didn’t allot enough time to simply wander around the city. Much of my time was bogged down in tourist places. While that did allow me to see the more famous side of Spain, I was not able to engage with the local culture.

Even so, I believe this was a very worthwhile trip. This project has encouraged me to go beyond my comfort zone and pursue areas of knowledge that I previously knew little to nothing about.

 

 

The End of the World

On By Auria ZhangIn Spain/Portugal - Auria ZhangLeave a comment

March 25, 2018

First you hear it, then you smell it, then you see it. The fireworks of Las Fallas.

People who follow the festival of Las Fallas know this post is late, the last day having been on the 19th of March.

For those who are less familiar with Las Fallas, it is a festival held annually in Valencia, Spain. It is usually in late March. The intent of the Fallas is to honor Saint Joseph.

I arrived in Valencia, Spain on the night before the last day of the Fallas. The first indicator of the festival was fireworks of green and red in the distance. It was a stark contrast to the black night. As I drove into the city, the sight of the fireworks was replaced with the noise of firecrackers going off in every alleyway and every street. These continued into the early hours of the morning.

The next day, I went to the mascletà at 14:00. This is where I got the inspiration for the title of this post. I managed to be simultaneously amazed and terrified. But that’s just me. Do you like loud sounds that make the ground under you shake (dare I say quake) and excessive amounts of smoke? If so, then you might be amazed and not terrified!

Nonetheless, it is a worthwhile event to attend, unless you have heart issues or get headaches easily. In truth, I went to Las Fallas to see the ninots, which are the enormous statues made by groups of local people for the festival. I was not disappointed. The ninots were breathtaking. They showcased the creativity and work that the artists put into them.

I spent most of my time during the day after the mascletà taking pictures of the ninots.

The main event for the Falles (and the reason it is called so) is La Cremà. This is when all the statues are burned. It takes place at night.

Even though I am usually in bed by 11:00, I was determined to see the burning of the main falla, which was scheduled to be at midnight. So, when the time on my phone changed to 00:10, I was a little annoyed. The people around me were too, whistling and gesturing with their hands. It finally began twenty minutes after midnight, with a slew of fireworks to begin. Immediately after the fireworks, I was able to see the flames beginning to burn the main falla. In a matter of minutes, the entire structure was incinerated. Below is a “before” picture followed by “after” pictures.

As I walked back to my hotel, I saw piles of ash, formerly the huge colorful ninots only an hour before. It was somewhat saddening to know that something so beautiful was destroyed.

I hope you enjoyed reading. I’ll be writing a reflection on my time in Spain in my next post. Thank you!

~ Auria

Museums

On By Auria ZhangIn Spain/Portugal - Auria Zhang, westtown school1 Comment

March 20, 2018

Each museum has a very distinct feel. I only realized this after I visited five museums in five days. The museums I visited include the Museu Picasso, the Dalí Theatre and Museum, the Museo Reina Sofia, the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, and the Museo del Prado. Since this is a number of museums, I will only write about Dalí’s Theatre-Museum and the Museo del Prado in this post.

I took a day trip from Barcelona to Figueres to visit Salvador Dalí’s Theatre-Museum. It was overflowing with evidence of Dalí’s eccentricity, which was evident even from the exterior of the building. Its bright red walls adorned with little gold dots contrasted sharply with the yellow buildings surrounding the museum. To make the comparison even more drastic, a line of life-like eggs were perched at the top of the building. A statue of a woman with large breasts standing atop a black Cadillac greeted me as I walked into the open courtyard of the museum. Behind the statue is a stage with huge glass windows. Going into the inside, there is an abnormally large painting with deep red curtains around it, solidifying the impression of a theater. Even though I would not consider myself a Dalí fan, or even a fan of surrealism in general, I found myself increasingly drawn in by the peculiarities of the art shown. However, every so often, there would be some element that reminded me that, while I was in a museum, I was also in something resembling a theater. For example, there are windows behind the golden statues above the courtyard from which you can look out and view the stage. I moved through the galleries in a state of wonder. After visiting the Theatre-Museum, I can safely say that I am more appreciative of surrealism, contemporary art, and of Salvador Dalí’s genius than I had been before my visit.

After leaving Figueres, I went to Madrid. Due to poor planning, I only managed to spend about an hour and a half in the Museo del Prado before I had to leave for Valencia. However, I was extremely pleased. Unlike Dalí’s Theatre-Museum, the Prado Museum had a more classical structure and collection. There were, as expected, many depictions of Greek and Roman mythology, which, as many friends know, I absolutely love. While walking through the first floor of the Prado, I came across a painting by Paulo Veronese entitled Venus and Adonis. It was the same painting that adorned the cover of my text book for Latin IV last year. I can’t even begin to convey my excitement at seeing the painting. I think I stood there for a good ten minutes or so, the first two just gaping at the work and the rest analyzing minute details. It was remarkable to see a piece of art in person that was first introduced to me in school.

As I continued through the gallery, I found more paintings and statues that depicted scenes from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, the text I studied a year ago. I spent the rest of my time at the Museo del Prado looking at them. Below are some of my favorites.

~ Auria

Intersecting Paths and Gaudí’s Imagination

On By Auria ZhangIn Spain/Portugal - Auria Zhang, Uncategorized1 Comment

March 15, 2018

At the top of the Passion Towers of the Sagrada Família

I began my first day in Spain by simply wandering around the hotel where I was staying. In a span of only a few minutes, I stumbled across the Palau, its full name being the Palau de la Música Catalana. The pillars were decorated with tiles of contrasting colors. Above the entrance was an extremely impressive array of statues and busts of various composers. My curiosity peaked when I saw a baby grand piano in one of the large glass windows, so I walked around the hall to find a way in without having to pay for the guided tour. (I’m cheap, I know.) The side of the building was covered in glass windows and so had a decidedly more modern look than the front. The interior reverted back to the typical style of the bourgeoisie, complete with gilded stairs and high, elegant arches. In the center, however, was a charming little café area with yet another piano. An old man dressed in a rumpled black coat and a large striped scarf was seated at the piano and playing Mozart’s Sonata No. 16 in C Major. The music filled the area, lending a nice juxtaposition to the quiet chatter of people milling around. To my surprise, once he finished performing the composition, he simply collected his keys, which were lying on the stand, and left after acknowledging the scattered applause. After questioning a guard standing nearby, I learned that the piano was there for public use, for any person to come and play if they wanted to. After some seconds of internal debate, I decided to play a piece, despite weeks of avoiding practice.

Once I finished, I was reminded acutely of Westtown’s South Room. Anybody can go in and play, and the main purpose, as I see it, is to find some respite in the middle of a busy day. It is by no means a formal performance, which I tend to strongly dislike. As I walked out of the music hall, I was filled with a similar sense of glee I had felt when I first played in the South Room four years ago. I also felt something new. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow also once said, “Music is the universal language of all mankind.” This was the first time I understood this sentiment. When I had glanced up after performing, there was no sense of awkwardness when I addressed my audience. I felt connected to the people listening.

Recording of my playing in the Palau. Check it out, if you want!

In the afternoon, I began following my itinerary with visiting Casa Milà, or more commonly known as La Pedrera. It is currently in use as both a place of both residency and business. However, it dates back to 1912 when it was designed by Antoni Gaudí for the Milà family. The architecture was different from any other that I had seen before, in that I could not find a single right angle. This characteristic remained constant as I went through my tour of Casa Milà. The courtyard had an ovular shape, with the open sky overhead. Some surfaces were splattered with faint hues of blue and green. Even with this show of eccentricity and my knowledge of the pictures on Google Images, I was not prepared for what waited on the roof. Shapes that resembled bodies and faces lined up one after another in the middle of the curving tiled path. Some had white tiles stuck on them, others were left blank. As cliché as it sounds, if I could not see the city roofs around me, I would have believed I stepped into another world. Continue reading “Intersecting Paths and Gaudí’s Imagination” →

Philly to Europe

On By Auria ZhangIn Spain/Portugal - Auria ZhangLeave a comment

March 9, 2018

Hello. My name is Auria. I will be leaving Philly in two days to go to Spain and Portugal for my Senior Project.

I’ll admit something right now. I have never taken a course in Spanish or Portuguese. I know the basic “hello” and “thank you” for Spanish, but that is the extent of my knowledge in the language. As for Portuguese, I don’t have a clue. I suppose that’s one of the reasons I want to go visit though. I love the warm, fuzzy feeling I get when I try to decipher what a word means. I’ll definitely have a dictionary on hand though.

I spent this past week researching various locations in Spain and Portugal and building a more thorough itinerary. It’s been pretty exacting. Selecting where and what I will visit was fairly easy. However, determining the kind of travel and taking into account the travel time was something else. Making sure everything fits within the budget I set for myself made everything even more difficult. Needless to say, the reviews on TripAdvisor and Google Maps have been my best friends for the past week. I honestly can’t imagine what I would do without them. Thanks, guys.

I’ll first be visiting Barcelona, then Madrid and Seville. After that, I’ll be heading over to Portugal. I plan visit a variety of museums and try new foods. I also wiggled in a few palaces and churches here and there. All in all, I am excited to observe the difference in atmosphere between more modern areas to those with a few hundred more years to them.

Throughout the (coming) series of posts, I’ll sprinkle in a few photos. I hope you will enjoy reading about my travels in Spain and Portugal!

Auria