La volta al món (i una mica més) en (uns) 30 dies - Trip around the world (and a bit more) in (some) 30 days - Part III

Està bé acabar el que comences. No és que sigui necessari, però si es pot fer, està bé fer-ho. Així que aquí ho teniu, la darrera entrega d'aquest blog. O això espero perquè no tinc intenció de fer cap altra estada abans d'acabar el doctorat l'any vinent. Per cert, la part II la podeu trobar a lifeonshatsky.blogspot.com.

Hawaii o Hawai'i, però no Hawai. Però no importa gaire com ho escriguis. La paraula, la combinació de sons evoca un munt d'imatges paradísiaques. Abans de començar a despotricar, és interessant mencionar que Hawai'i és a l'hora un arxipèlag (estat dels EEUU) i una de les illes del mateix. Per distingir-ho, l'illa rep el sobrenom de Big Island (òbviament perquè és la més grossa de totes). En tot cas, tot això és força irrellevant perquè jo només vaig ser a Honolulu, la capital de l'estat a l'illa d'Oahu. No vaig visitar una de les bases militars americanes més famoses, per no dir la més famosa, que es troba a l'oest de la ciutat: Pearl Harbor.

Concretament vaig ser al barri de Waikiki, el centre turístic de masses de les illes. En una paraula, és un "centre-comercial-hotel-amb-platja". Bàsicament pots caminar per tota la zona de la costa passant d'hotel a centre comercial i de centre comercial a hotel, alternant de tant en tant amb un supermercat o una botiga de souvenirs. Tot i així també hi ha una zona residencial on viu la gent local que hi treballa, i un parell de carrers on sortir de festa (qualsevol tipus de festa).

Allà vaig estar-me a tres hotels: el primer era de luxe estil modernillo-guai, probablement el més car que he trepitjat mai (van pagar-me'l). Ah! Vaig deixar-me una jaqueta, una braga (buff) i uns auriculars, i ni es van dignar a contestar el meu e-mail preguntant per si ho havien trobat. El segon no era hotel, era un hostal on vaig compartir habitació amb tres o quatre persones més. Després d'aquestes dues primeres nits tan radicalment oposades, vaig estar-me les últimes tres nits en un hotel normalet. Del primer hotel se'n pot destacar la piscina. Del segon la companyia. Del tercer, la piscina també i el servei després.

La piscina tampoc era res de l'altre món i tenint la platja a mig minut no aporta gran cosa. La companyia tampoc no va ser genial: una americà una mica tocat que va tenir el seu moment culminant quan va afirmar que la crisi del seu país era culpa d'Europa i en concret d'Espanya, i un asiàtic que es dedicava al món de la restauració a Nova York, estava de vacances i parlava molt. Va ser curiós tornar a trobar-me'l caminant per la platja quan ja estava al tercer hotel. Amb la de gent que corre per allà, la casualitat és monumental. La piscina del tercer hotel tenia força més sentit perquè l'hotel estava més lluny de la platja, uns 2 minuts, i el servei era amb diferència el més simpàtic i agradable. A més tenien un servei de massatge que va anar de perles després de 23 dies en un vaixell. I vaig poder provar un vàter estil japonés, tecnologia punta.

Remarcable és la facilitat amb la que passen els Mai Tai, la beguda alcohòlica típica de la zona. La ressaca del dia següent també passa força bé, amb el bon temps, el sol i la platja. No tan positiu és l'ambient turístic i social: a part del turisme sexual general, és prou peculiar la presència de salons on es pot pagar per disparar armes de foc. Els grups de turistes majoritaris són americans del nord, japonesos i russos. El nivell de vida del turista mitjà contrasta penosament amb la quantitat de sensesostre que habiten a l'illa. La seva qualitat de vida és evidentment molt millor que la que podrien tenir a qualsevol altre lloc, però això no fa que la situació sigui menys ofensiva.

I amb aquesta píndola de crítica social m'acomiado d'aquest blog... per començar-ne un altre, que precisament anirà d'això, de crítica social.

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It is a good thing to finish what you started. Not that it is necessary, but if you can do it, it is a good. So here it is, the last chapter of this blog. Or so I wish because I don't intend to go on another trip or stay abroad before getting my PhD next year. By the way, part II can be found at lifeonshatsky.blogspot.com.

Hawaii o Hawai'i, but not Hawai. Although it doesn't matter much how you spell it. The word itself, the combination of sounds brings about a whole lot of idyllic images. Before starting with the criticism, it is worth noting that Hawai'i is at the same time an archipelago (US state) and one of the islands in it. To avoid confusion, the island is given the nickname of Big Island (obviously because it is the biggest of them all). Anyway, all this is quite irrelevant because I only visited Honolulu, the capital city of the state, on the Oahu island. I didn't visit one of the most famous military bases, if not the most famous, located west of the city: Pearl Harbor.

In particular I stayed in the area of Waikiki, the mass tourism center of the islands. In one word, it is a mall-hotel-with-beach. Basically, one can walk all the beach area going from hotel to mall, and from mall to hotel, alternating from time to time with a supermarket or a souvenir shop. Even so, there is also a residential area where the local workers live, and a couple streets to go out at night (any kind of night out).

There I stayed in three hotels: the first one was a luxury, modern-styled hotel, probably the most expensive one I ever step in (someone paid for me). Oh! I forgot a jacket, a neck warmer, and a pair of headphones in my room, and they didn't even deign to answer my e-mail asking about them. The second one was a hostel where I shared the room with three or four other people. After these first two nights so radically opposed, I spent the last three nights at an average hotel. From the first one, I highlight the swimming pool. From the second, the company. From the third, the swimming pool as well, and then the service.

The swimming pool was not exactly of the charts, and with a 30-second walk to the beach, it doesn't make much difference. The company was not exactly great: a wacky American that had his minute of glory when he blamed the crisis in this country on Europe and especially on Spain, and an Asian who was on the catering business in New York, was on holidays and spoke a lot. It was curious meeting him again on the beach when I had already moved to the third hotel. Considering the number of people wandering about, it was quite a chance. The swimming pool in the third hotel made way more sense because the hotel was far from the beach, some 2 minutes, and the service was by far the most pleasant and the nicest. Also they offered a massage service that felt like heaven after 23 days at the sea. And I had the opportunity to try a Japanese toilet, leading technology.

Remarkable is the ease with which one can drink Mai Tais, the local alcoholic beverage. The hangover next morning also went quite easily, with good weather, sun, and beach. Not so positive was the tourist and social atmosphere: apart from the sex tourism in general, it is rather peculiar the existence of shooting saloons where the customer pays to shot fire arms. The main tourist groups are north-Americans, Japanese, and Russian. The life quality of the average tourist shamefully contrasts with the immense quantity of homeless people that live on the island. Their life quality is obviously way better than what the could hope for anywhere else, but that doesn't make the situation any less ofensive.

And with this capsule of social criticism, I say goodbye to this blog... to start another one, precisely devoted to this, to social criticism.

La volta al món (i una mica més) en (uns) 30 dies - Trip around the world (and a bit more) in (some) 30 days - Part I: Guam

Aixecar-se a les 4 de la matinada per agafar un vol a les 7:35 no és una gran experiència. Però quan l'avió és només el primer de tres, és encara més dur. Si un d'ells té gairebé 12 hores de vol, ja estàs avorrit el dia anterior. Però aquest era el començament de la meva volta al món, així que hi havia motiu per estar content i animat. La ruta d'anada: Barcelona - Londres - Tòquio - Guam. Va durar pràcticament un dia en temps real i un dia i mig en temps local. El primer vol era un que ja tenia controlat, només per anar escalfant: 2 hores de vol, ràpid i fàcil. Però llavors, després de 4 hores a l'aeroport de Heathrow, la següent etapa havia de durar mig dia. Se'm presentava com una muntanya, però va ser com deixar-se emportar pel corrent d'un riu. Vaig mirar 3.5 pel·lícules (afortunadament ja havia vist l'última). Totes elles força merdoses, ni tant sols me'n recordo dels títols, però Justin Timberlake i l'actor que fa de Marshall a How I met your mother, sortien a dues d'elles. Vaig jugar a Texas Hold'em NL contra 9 màquines i vaig guanyar. Bon entrenament per quan torni a la meva partida de pòquer mensual. I també vaig dormir a estones. En d'altres el meu cervell estava en un estat de semi-consciència, passant en un instant de pensaments preocupats sobre la feina que havia de fer a l'emoció per l'aventura que estava començant. Finalment, vam aterrar a l'aeroport de Narita a Tòquio. Vaig ser a Japó durant no més d'una hora i la meitat d'aquest temps va ser dins de l'últim avió, però va ser suficient per sentir una atracció molt forta per aquest país; l'hauré de visitar algun dia. I sense més, ja volàvem cap a Guam. Uns quants mesos abans, no n'havia sentit a parlar mai, i no vaig tenir l'ocasió de veure'n gran cosa perquè en un dia i mig, que vaig passar lluitant per superar un jet lag de 8 hores, ja ens dirigíem a la base naval americana on ens esperava el vaixell, Marcus G. Langseth. Simplement dir-vos que Guam és com qualsevol altra illa tropical amb una economia basada en el turisme. Com Hawai'i però menys famosa. I probablement amb més bases militars però també menys famoses que Pearl Harbor.

El viatge continua a lifeonshatsky.blogspot.com. Aquest és el blog de les dues campanyes oceanogràfiques que s'han dut a terme per estudiar el Shatsky Rise en una col·laboració de les universitats de Columbia, Texas A&M i Yale.

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Waking up at 4am in the morning to catch a flight at 7:35am is not a nice experience. But when the plane you are taking is only the first of three, it gets even harder. If one of them is almost 12 hours long, you are already bored the day before. But still this was the beginning of my trip around the world so there was reason to be happy and excited. The outbound route: Barcelona – London – Tokyo – Guam. It took almost a day of real time and a day and a half in local time. The first flight was something I had already done, just to warm up: 2 hours flight, quick and easy. But then, after 4 hours at Heathrow airport, the next step was going to last for half a day. It looked like a mountain, but it was just like letting yourself go in a river flow. I watched 3.5 movies (fortunately I had already seen the last one). All of them kind of crappy, I don't even remember the titles, but Justin Timberlake and the actor playing Marshall in How I met your mother, were in two of them. I played Texas Hold'em NL against 9 computer players and won. Good training for when I get back to my regular monthly poker game. And then I also slept at times. At other times my brain was in a state of semi-consciousness, changing from worried thoughts about work I had to do to excitement for the adventure ahead in a split second. Finally, we landed in Tokyo Narita airport. I “was” in Japan for barely an hour and half of it was spent already inside the plane, but it was enough to feel a very strong attraction for this country; I must visit it some day. And we were off to Guam. A few months ago, I had never heard about it, and I really didn't get to see much of it because in one day and a half, that I spent fighting a jet lag of 8 hours, we were heading to the US naval base where the ship, Marcus G. Langseth, was waiting for us. Let me just say that Guam is just like any other tropical island with a tourism-based economy. Say like Hawaii, but less famous. And probably with more military compounds and bases, but also less famous than Pearl Harbor.

The trip continues at lifeonshatsky.blogspot.com. This is the blog for the two oceanographic surveys carried out to study the Shatsky Rise in a collaboration of Columbia, Texas A&M and Yale universities.

Philly

Ens vam agafar 4 dies de vacances per visitar Philadelphia, a Pennsylvania, casa del Príncep de Bel Air, del seu cosí Carlton Banks i de la meva amiga Lia. Dia 1: vam arribar en tren el dissabte al matí. La Lia i en Kyle ens van recollir a l'estació de tren de Media (a les afores de Philadelphia) i ens van portar a casa dels pares d'ella. Com en el cas de la casa del Jun, la casa dels pares de la Lia està pràcticament al mig del bosc, potser no tan aïllada, però envoltada de natura. Allà vam instal·lar-nos i vam fer un breu descans a l'habitació de l'Alex, el germà de la Lia, i vam tornar a agafar el cotxe per anar a fer un "brunch" al centre comercial del poble. Després, la Lia i en Kyle ens van deixar i ens en vam anar altre cop en tren cap a Philadelphia. El transport públic és força car i en el cas dels autobusos una mica deficient. Tot i així, en un parell o tres d'ocasions no vam poder comprar el tiquet perquè només accepten pagament en metàl·lic, però no ens van posar cap problema, segurament per ser estrangers. Vam entrar al Museu d'Art de Philadelphia, no sense abans fer una ullada a l'estàtua d'en Rocky i pujar fent el tonto les mítiques escales de la pel·lícula que estan coronades per una placa al terra amb les seves petjades. Dia 2: vam visitar el port i el monument dedicat als immigrants irlandesos. Després de dinar, vam tornar per caminar al llarg de port i vam veure uns break-dancers. Dia 3: Carlos, el padrastre de la Lia, va ser molt amable amb nosaltres tot el temps que vam estar allà. Entre d'altres, ens va recomanar anar a fer una caminada al parc Fairmount pel costat del riu per veure els clubs de rem i respirar una mica d'aire fresc lluny de la ciutat. Dia 4: Vam apuntar-nos a una de les visites guiades pels murals que s'ofereixen i vam gaudir algunes de les moltes pintures a les parets dels edificis que hi ha escampades per tota Philly. Cap a la meitat de la visita va començar a ploure, primer no gaire, però ràpidament es va transformar en un diluvi que ens va deixar a tots xops. Malgrat les condicions climàtiques adverses, gairebé tothom es va quedar fins a l'últim mural. Després, vam entrar a la primera botiga d'esports que vam trobar i vam comprar roba de recanvi força bonica.

En algun moment durant la nostra estada, penseu que parlo de memòria de fa 2 mesos, també vam visitar el mercat de Reading Terminal i hi vam dinar molt bé, però no vam poder veure els grangers Amish perquè no hi eren aquell dia. També vam veure l'Ajuntament, tot i que no vam poder travessar-lo perquè estava en obres. Normalment es pot travessar l'edifici i admirar-lo des de dins, ja que el creuen dos carrers perpendiculars que es troben al centre de l'edifici en un espai obert. A més, vam veure els vells edificis on els pares fundadors es van reunir per treballar en la independència del seu país.

El dia de tornada va ser un sprint. Després de la visita dels murals, vam afanyar-nos, canviats de roba, cap a Media per recollir les bosses. Fins que no vam tornar a ser a Philadelphia no vam menjar alguna cosa en 10 minuts abans d'agafar el tren de tornada cap a New Haven. Un cop al tren vam poder descansar i dormir, però encara ens esperava una última anècdota cardíaca: tot just havíem baixat del tren i caminàvem per l'andana quan em vaig adonar de que no portava la meva inseparable ronyonera (amb cartera, mòbil i claus a dins). Llavors tot va anar molt de pressa: vaig començar a furgar dins les diverses bosses que portàvem i ràpidament em vaig adonar que no hi era. Vaig entrar esperitat al tren altre cop, sense tenir temps per pensar què podia passar si tancaven les portes mentre encara era a dins (me n'anava a Boston!). Però els nervis juguen males passades i en aquesta primera entrada no vaig saber ubicar els que havien estat els nostres seients. Amb el cor sortint-me per la boca, vaig tornar a sortir. Buscava un revisor perquè a Estats Units tenen el costum de baixar a l'andana per comprovar que tot està en ordre abans de donar l'ordre d'arrencar al conductor. I efectivament va aparèixer. Amb el millor anglès del que vaig ser capaç, vaig explicar-li la situació. La seva resposta costarà d'oblidar: "Tens un minut!". Vaig tornar a entrar al vagó i aquest cop sí, amb l'ajuda d'un passatger anònim, vaig localitzar els seients i, amagada sota, la ronyonera perduda. La vaig arreplegar d'una revolada i vaig fer una darrera carrera cap a la sortida on per ben poc no vaig topar amb el revisor que anava a entrar. I estava comptant en veu alta! Li vaig dir que ja la tenia i li vaig agrair infinitament la seva col·laboració. Altra vegada les seves frases de comiat no se n'aniran fàcilment: "T'he donat un minut i has trigat 20 segons! Sigues amable amb algú altre!". I amb aquesta anècdota i aquest bon consell m'acomiado de moment. Sigueu bons!

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We took some 4 days off to visit Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, home of the Fresh Prince of Bel Air, his cousin Carlton Banks and of my friend Lia. Day 1: we arrived by train on Saturday morning. Lia and Kyle picked us up at the Media station (outside Philadelphia) and took us to her parents' place. Like Jun's house, this one was also at the forest border, maybe not as isolated, but surrounded by nature. There we settled and had a short rest in Alex's room, Lia's brother, and we took the car again to go have brunch at the mall. Afterwards, Lia and Kyle left us and we took the train again to Philadelphia. Public transportation is quite expensive and in the specific case of buses deficient. However, a couple of time we weren't able to pay the ticket because they only accept cash, but they didn't bother us with any fines, probably because we were foreigners. We entered the Philadelphia Museum of Art, only after having a look at the statue of Rocky and climbing the famous stairs in the movie, which are topped by a plate on the floor with his footsteps. Day 2: we visited the harbor and the monument devoted to the Irish immigrants. After lunch, we went back to walk along the port and saw some break-dancers. Day 3: Carlos, Lia's step-father, was very kind to us all the time we were there. Among others, he recommended going for a walk in the Fairmount park along the river to see the rowing clubs and breath some fresh air away from the city. Day 4: We took one of the mural tours offered and enjoyed some of the many paintings in the walls of buildings that are scattered all over Philly. Towards the middle of the tour it started raining, not much at the beginning, but it quickly turned into a heavy rain that left us all drenched. Despite the awful weather conditions, almost everyone stayed until the last mural. Afterwards, we entered the first sports shop that we found and bought some quite nice clothes to get changed.

At some point during our stay we also visited the Reading Terminal market but couldn't see the Amish farmers because they weren't there that day. We also saw the City Hall, although we weren't able to go through it because of the building work that was going on at the moment. Usually one can go through the building and admire it from the inside, as it is crossed by two perpendicular streets that meet at the center of the building at an opened space. Besides, we saw some of the old buildings where many of the founding fathers met to work on the independence of their country.

The comeback day was a sprint. After the mural tour, we rushed, new clothes on, back to Media to pick up our bags. It wasn't until we were back again in Philadelphia that we had something to eat in 10 minutes before taking the train to New Haven. Once in the train we were able to rest and sleep, but one last cardiac anecdote awaited us: we had just get off the train and walked on the platform when I realised that I wasn't carrying my inseparable money belt (with wallet, cell phone and keys inside it). Then it all happened very quickly: I started digging inside our various bags and backpacks and I soon realised that it wasn't there either. I went back in the train, without time to think what could happen if the doors closed while I was inside (I was going to Boston!). But tension plays bad tricks and in this first time back in the car I couldn't locate our seats. With my heart throbbing on my throat, I went outside again. I was looking for a conductor because in the US they usually get off the train to check that everything is fine before giving the order to go to the driver. And there he was. With the best English of which I was capable, I explained the situation. His answer is hard to forget: "You've got one minute!". I went in the car once more and this time, with the help of an anonymous passenger, I could find our seats and, hidden below, the lost money belt. I quickly picked it up and made a quick dash for the exit where I almost run into the conductor who was going in. And he was counting down aloud! I told him I had found it and I most sincerely thanked him for his collaboration. Again, his last words won't be easily forgotten: " I gave you one minute, and it took you 20 seconds! Be nice to someone else!". And with this anecdote and this good piece of advise, I say goodbye to you for the time being. Be good!

The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island

Visitar aquests dos llocs és complicat. Encara més si no t'estàs a Nova York, sinó que vens d'un altre estat i tens un viatge en tren de dues hores. Primer, més val agafar les entrades aviat i a través d'internet o pots acabar veient l'estàtua des de Manhattan. I millor que ho facis amb antelació, especialment si vols entrar al pedestal o pujar a l'estàtua. Segon, un cop allà, estigues preparat per una cua i un control de seguretat al més pur estil aeroport. Portava el meu portàtil i em van portar a part un cop passat el control per fer alguna cosa amb l'ordinador, probablement prendre nota d'algun codi d'identificació. La única cosa que no era com en un aeroport era el transport. El vaixell és força ràpid i, en la meva opinió, el trajecte fins a Liberty Island ofereix les millors vistes de l'Estàtua de la Llibertat. A Liberty Island, a part de l'estàtua, també es pot gaudir l'impressionant "skyline" de Manhattan, un panorama per recordar. A continuació, el nostre viatge continua cap a Ellis Island que és força més gran. Agafem un altre vaixell que ens porta al cèlebre centre federal d'immigració on tantíssima gent que escapava de la pobresa d'Europa, arribava per veure com el seu somni d'una nova oportunitat es feia realitat o era destruït.

Allà vam fer una visita guiada amb un noi força peculiar, un "ranger", que s'esforçava molt i molt per ser políticament correcte. En conseqüència, el seu discurs resultava infantil i no convencia ni a una part clarament conservadora de l'audiència ni a la resta. Els seus acudits eran especialment dolents. Vam pensar a escapar-nos un parell de vegades però ens vam quedar perquè l'experiència resultava divertida en un sentit "friki". El "ranger" semblava molt interessat a deixar ben clar que la versió oficial era que a ningú li havien canviat els noms durant el procés de registre al centre. De totes maneres, hi havia algunes persones al grup que no hi estaven d'acord i van citar alguns exemples. Però la discussió no es va convertir en un conflicte. Cap al final de la visita, vam haver de decidir per quina banda d'un tram d'escala dividit per dues baranes baixaríem: esquerra, centre o dreta. Vam escollir dreta i ens van dir que de les dues possibilitats per a la gent acceptada, havíem escollit la dels que no es quedaven a Nova York sinó que anaven a alguna altra banda. Exactament com nosaltres.

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Visiting these two sites is complicated. Even more when you are not staying in New York, but coming from another state and the train trip takes almost 2 hours. First, you better get your tickets soon and through the Internet, otherwise you might end up seeing the Statue from Manhattan. And you better do so in advance, especially if you want to go inside the pedestal or up the statue. Second, once you arrive, be prepared for some airport-like queue and security control. I had my laptop with me and they took me aside after the control to do something with my computer, probably note down some identification code on it. The only thing that's not airport-like is the transportation. The boat trip is pretty quick and, in my opinion, the approach to Liberty Island offers the best views of the Statue of Liberty. In Liberty Island, apart from the statue, one can enjoy the impressive skyline of Manhattan, a sight to remember. Then our trip continues to the far bigger Ellis Island. We take another boat that brings us to the famous federal immigration station where so many people escaping poverty in Europe landed to see their dream of a new opportunity fulfilled or crushed.

There we took a free tour with a quite peculiar guy, a ranger, that tried very very hard to be politically correct. This resulted in a kind of childish speech that convinced neither some very obviously Conservative part of the audience nor the rest of it. His jokes where remarkably cheesy too. We thought of sneaking out of the pack but we stayed because we found the experience to be quite fun in a freakish way. The ranger seemed to be very interested in making it clear that the official version was that no one had had his/her names changed during the registration procedure there. However, there were some people in the audience that disagreed and cited some examples. But the discussion didn't turn into an argument. To end the tour we had to decide which way to go down a staircase divided by two handrails: left, center or right. We took right and were told that of the two ways for accepted people that was the one for those who were not staying in New York but going somewhere else. Just like us.

Fotos ben aviat - Pics coming up soon.

BBQ at Jun's place

El meu tutor ens va invitar a la Laura i a mi a una barbacoa a casa seva el dia 4 d'agost. M'havia "insinuat" que li agradava molt el vi i alcohols similars, així que li vaig portar una ampolla de cava (vi català escumós, similar al xampany francès) que vaig aconseguir a "The Wine Thief" a New Haven. En Jun viu fora de la ciutat en un poblet proper. De fet, la seva casa està gairebé al mig del bosc. És un lloc realment bonic. L'única pega seria la gran quantitat de mosquits, però res que no es pugui solucionar amb un bon anti-mosquits. El menjar era molt bo, vedella i conill (o similar) fumats, amanida, blat de moro i pebrots, cogombre, etc. a la brasa. En Jun també havia convidat dos post-docs, el Florian i la Cécilia, i va demanar al primer que ens portés en cotxe. Així doncs, ens vam trobar a les 16:30 davant del laboratori i vam esperar 15 minuts a que la dona d'en Florian arribés amb el cotxe. Pensàvem que arribaríem tard, però tot just vam ser el segon grup en aparèixer. La vetllada va ser divertida. Vaig tenir l'oportunitat de parlar amb en Jun i els altres estudiants sobre idiomes, pel·lícules i campanyes. Vaig descobrir que el japonés no utilitza subjecte i que s'ha d'"endevinar" a qui es refereix el verb pel context. Ja sabia que el Jun i jo tenim un gust similar per alguns tipus de pel·lícules. I per a la meva total sorpresa, el Jun va invitar la Laura a acompanyar-nos a una campanya científica l'any vinent. Tinc mig any per convèncer-la però ho veig complicat. Finalment, després de 3 hores, l'esdeveniment social va donar-se per acabat i vam tornar en cotxe cap a casa.

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My supervisor invited Laura and me to a BBQ at his place on August 4th. He had hinted that he loved wine and similar alcohols, so we brought a bottle of cava (Catalan sparkling wine, similar to French champagne) that I got at "The Wine Thief" in New Haven. Jun lives outside the city in a nearby village. Actually, his house is almost in the middle of a forest. It really is a very beautiful site. The only drawback might be the huge amount of mosquitoes, but nothing that can't be solved with an anti-mosquitoes spray. The food was yummy, smoked beef and rabbit (or another similar animal), salad, corn, and grilled peppers, cucumber, etc. Jun had also invited his two post-doc students, Florian and Cécilia, and asked the former to take us all there in his car. So we met at 4:30 pm in front of the laboratory and waited for 15 minutes for Florian's wife to get there with their car. We thought we would arrive late, but we were just the second group to show up. The evening was fun. I had the opportunity to chat with Jun and his other students about languages, movies and cruises. I learnt that Japanese uses no subject and that one has to "guess" who the verb is referring to by the context. I already knew that Jun and I have a similar taste for some kinds of movies. And to my absolute surprise, Jun invited Laura to join us in a scientific cruise next year. I have half a year to convince her, but I think it will be complicated. Finally, after some 3 hours the event was over and we drove back home.

Dinner in Harlem

Fa un parell de setmanes, vam baixar a Nova York. La nostra idea original era passejar al voltant del llac de Central Park, menjar alguna cosa i anar a un club de jazz a Harlem (Uptown Jazz Lounge at Minton's Playhouse). Malhauradament vam arribar tard a Union Station i vam haver d'esperar una hora pel següent tren cap a Nova York. Quan finalment vam arribar, només vam tenir temps de caminar per Central Park i sopar. Tot i així, la nit va ser força divertida. La caminada pel llac va ser molt bonica. Era la primera vegada que passava per aquesta part del parc i també la primera que veia els gratacels de nit. Hi havia molta gent corrent i fins i tot alguna gent sopant en taules de picnic. A continuació, vam encaminar-nos cap al nord, direcció Harlem, i vam rondar cercant un lloc per sopar. La diferència entre Manhattan i Harlem no només és força òbvia si no que a més és abrupta. L'anècdota de la passejada van ser dos nois conduint quads un al costat de l'altre i fent el caballet per Madison Avenue. Vam sopar a Ottomanelli Brothers' Meat Market que està just una illa al nord de la cantonada superior est de Central Park al Latin Harlem. El menjar era bo i abundant. Jo em vaig acabar la meva hamburguesa però vam emportar-nos spaghettis amb mandonguilles de tornada cap a casa. Hi haurà temps de tornar pel jazz.

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A couple of weeks ago, we went down to NYC. Our original intention was to walk around the lake in Central Park, eat something and then go to a jazz club in Harlem (Uptown Jazz Lounge at Minton's Playhouse). Unfortunately we got late to the Union Station and we had to wait for an hour for the next train to New York. So when we finally arrived, we only had time for the walk in Central Park and the dinner. Even so, the night was quite fun. The walk by the lake was beautiful. It was the first time I was in that part of the park and also the first time I saw the skyscrapers at night. There were lots of people running and even some people having dinner on picnic tables. Then we headed north to Harlem and we wandered looking for a place to dine. The difference between Manhattan and Harlem is not only quite obvious but also quite abrupt. The anecdote of the promenade was two guys riding quads side by side and doing a wheelie all along Madison Avenue. We had dinner at Ottomanelli Brothers' Meat Market which is just a block north from the upper eastern corner of Central Park in Latin Harlem. The food was good and abundant. I finished my hamburger but we took some spaghetti with meatballs back home. There will be time to go back for some jazz.

Fotos ben aviat - Pics coming up soon

Empire State Building or there's always a free cab for you in NYC

Fa uns dies vaig visitar l'emblemàtic Empire State Building. Aquí van un seguit de reflexions:
1. Si podeu, no agafeu mai la audioguia en castellà. O potser no, de fet, millor agafeu-la en castellà, pot ser força divertit.
2. Sabeu allò que passa a "totes" les pel·lis i sèries americanes de que el protagonista surt al carrer i justament passa un taxi? Doncs, com a mínim a Nova York, no és que justament passi un taxi, és que no paren de passar taxis constantment. I des de dalt de l'Empire State Building es veu molt bé.
3. Les vistes són espectaculars miris cap on miris. I Central Park és realment gran.
4. La màquina de fer diners americana funciona molt i molt bé: arribes a la illa de cases de l'Empire State i una grup de venedors uniformats et rep per vendre't entrades (si no en tens ja). Entres a l'edifici i és com pujar a una atracció o encara millor anar dins d'una cadena de muntatge. Pugi per les escales automàtiques, ensenyi la motxilla aquí, les entrades allà, faci's una foto (per comprar-la després si vols), agafi l'audioguia, puji a l'ascensor, puji al següent ascensor i ja hi és. Tot això es fa a un ritme frenètic, si tens sort i no hi ha cua evidentment, i en el procés recorres un seguit d'escales, passadissos i ascensors d'una certa elegància i opulència.
5. La botiga de souvenirs és "espectacular" però de friki.

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Some days ago I visited the Empire State Building. I leave you with some thoughts:1. If you can, don't choose the Spanish audioguide. On second thought, actually, do take it, it can be fun.
2. Do you know that thing that happens in "every" american movie or series where the main character goes out on the street and he/she always finds a free cab to take? Well, at least in New York City, it's not that a free cab happens to be there by chance, the thing is that there are cabs passing by all the time. And from the top (or close to it) of the Empire State Building you can see that quite well.
3. The views are just amazing no matter where you look. And Central Park really is one big park.
4. The American money making machine works pretty fine: you get to the Empire State Building block and a group of uniformed ticket sellers receives you trying to sell you tickets (in case you don't have them already). You get into the building and it's like getting on a roller coaster or even better like being in a assembly line. Take this escalator, show the bag here, tickets there, take a picture here (to buy it afterwards if you want to), get the audioguide, get on the elevator and on the next elevator, and there you are. Everything at a breathtaking speed, if you are lucky and there is no queue, and in the process you go through a number of stairscases, walk some corridors and take a couple of elevators of a certain elegance and opulence.
5. Gift shop is "espectacular" in a freaky sense.

4th of July: Independence Day

Aquest any la festa nacional dels Estats Units ha caigut en dilluns i vam decidir anar a Nova York. Vam passejar per Central Park, per Broadway fins a Times Square i per la 5a avinguda. L'ambient de 4 de juliol el donaven bàsicament les banderes, una mica més nombroses que habitualment, però tampoc res espectacular. A part d'això, Central Park continuava igual de bonic, els carrers en estiu estaven molt més plens que quan vaig ser-hi la tardor passada, la plaça del Temps farcida de turistes bombardejats pels anuncis en forma de cartell o pantalla de video sempre més enormes i la 5a avinguda plena de botigues de roba, un parell d'elles fins i tot tenien una cua a fora i probablement una festa a dins; era difícil de dir si eren botigues, discoteques o ambdues ("botiteques", perquè clarament no eren "discotigues", oi?).

Se m'havia oblidat parlar-vos dels anys xinesos. Segur que molts ja n'esteu al corrent però cada any va acompanyat d'un dels animals que podeu veure a la foto superior (podeu consultar el vostre). Als del 1984 ens va tocar la rata. La veritat és que hi ha una certa semblança no?

I had forgotten to tell you about the chinese years. Sure many of you already know but every year comes with on of the animals that you can see in the photo above these lines (you can check yours). For those born in 1984 it's the rat. Actually there is some resemblance, right?

Això és Times Square i sembla ser que jo devia estar ON amb la festa nacional a jutjar per la meva cara, el cartell i la bandera. Les aparences enganyen.

This is Times Square and it looks like I was ON with the national holiday if judging by the look on my face, the sign and the flag. Appearances can be deceptive.

A Times Square hi ha lloc per tot, encara que sembli que no pugui ser. A part del muntegar d'anuncis per tot arreu, també hi ha espai per anuncis més modestos com ara els d'aquesta foto: Jesus saves from Hell. També són força curioses les noies amb patins i banderes.

In Times Square there is room for everything, no matter how impossible it seems. Apart from the bunch of ads everywhere, there is also space for more modest ads like the ones in this pictures: Jesus saves from Hell. The ladies in rollers and waving the flags are funny too.

Més tard, ja a New Haven després d'una mica menys de 2 hores de tren, vam poder gaudir d'un segon Sant Joan amb els petards i focs d'artifici que també són típics de la festa del dia de la Independència.

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This year the national holiday fell on a Monday and we decided to go to New York. We walked in Central Park, on Broadway to Times Square and on the 5th avenue. The 4th of July atmosphere was basically created through some more flags than it is usual, but nothing really spectacular. Apart from that, Central Park was as beautiful as always, the streets in summer were much more crowded than when I first was there last fall, Times Square was stuffed with tourists bombarded by bigger and bigger ads in posters or in video screens and the 5th avenue, as expected, was packed with clothes shops, a couple of them even had a queue outside and looked like there was a party inside; it was hard to tell if they were shops, clubs or both ("shubs", because they definitely weren't "clops", right?).

Later, back in New Haven after a little less than 2 hours by train, we enjoyed a second "Sant Joan" with the fireworks that are also typical of the festivities of the Independence Day.

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Vol Part II: El Retorn - Flight Part II: The Return.

Fins al moment tot havia anat com una seda. A l'aeroport de Barcelona tot bé. Tot i les 8 hores, el vol també gràcies a que viatjo acompanyat (la Laura), a la lectura (The Godfather), una pel·lí (Appaloosa) i alguns jocs d'ordinador a la pantalla del seient (Trivial i Reversi aka Othello). Però arribats a l'aeroport de Nova York (JFK) la cosa es complica. Els aplaudiments que alguns viatgers dirigeixen als pilots després de l'aterratge són el preludi alegre contraposat a l'hora i mitja que haurem d'esperar abans de poder sortir de l'aeroport. Abans de poder sortir de l'avió, el pilot va haver de demanar dues vegades a la gent que tornés a seure perquè encara no havia acabat la maniobra d'aparcament. Després d'aquest incident "graciós", comença el camí per etapes fins a sortir de l'aeroport. La primera etapa succeeix en un túnel on ens amunteguem amb gent d'altres vols esperant que ens deixin sortir cap al control d'immigració. Allà passem un quart d'hora (i vam tenir sort perquè vam poder sortir aviat de l'avió). Però aquest quart d'hora no és res en comparació amb els tres quarts que hem d'estar-nos dempeus i amb ganes d'anar al lavabo a la cua d'immigració. Arribat el moment, preguntes, empremtes, fotografia i llestos. I a buscar les maletes que fa com a mínim mitja hora que s'esperen ja fora de la cinta a que algú (afortundament nosaltres) les reculli. Fet això, toca passar un control d'equipatges i com que m'ha vingut de gust arriscar-me a respondre "Sí" a la pregunta de si porto algun tipus de fruita, llegums, etc., em fan deixar un parell de guacamaios (a la seva salut, estaven força madurs així que devien estar ben bons).

Un cop fora, lliures per anar on vulguem, és hora de buscar al noi que ens relloga el seu estudi. Si és que després de més d'una hora encara hi és. Però ens ha de donar les claus, així que el pobre no ha tingut més remei que esperar-nos. En Chris, que així es diu, es mostra molt amable i fins i tot ens ajuda a orientar-nos per trobar el teléfon amb el qual truco per demanar pel transport que ens ha de portar fins a New Haven. Ens acomiadem i al cap d'uns 20 minuts ja estem instal·lats a dins de la furgoneta. El conductor, en saber que som de Barcelona, diu "Catalans, huh?" i fa un comentari sobre la quantitat d'èxits del Barça últimament. Recollim unes quantes persones més i fins que no deixem a la primera al cap d'una hora, anem apretats, 4 persones al seient del darrere. La radio parla dels conflictes a Líbia, a Síria i a Grècia. Diguem que la seva visió no és gaire propera a la meva. Finalment, després d'unes 2 hores i mitja de viatge, arribem a la que serà la nostra casa durant els propers 2 mesos.

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Until that moment, everything had gone smoothly. At the Barcelona airport everything OK. In spite of the 8 hours, the flight as well thanks to the good company (Laura), reading (The Godfather), a movie (Appaloosa) and some video games on the screen of the seat in front (Trivial and Reversi aka Othello). But once in JFK airport everything starts to go wrong. The applause from some passengers to the pilots after the landing are a cheerful prelude contrasting with the hour and a half that we will have to wait before being able to leave the airport. Even before being able to get off the plane, twice the pilot had to ask some people that had stood up too quickly to regain their sits until he had finished the parking maneuver. After this "funny" incident, our way out of the airport by steps starts. The first stage is occurs in a tunnel were we are crowded together with people from other flights waiting to be sent to the immigration control. We spend 15 minutes there (and we were lucky because we were among the first passengers to leave the plane). But those 15 minutes were nothing compared to the 45 minutes we had to stand, eager to go to the restroom, at the immigration queue. When the moment came, questions, fingerprints, pictures and we are set. Now go get the baggage that has been waiting by the carousel to be picked up (fortunately by us). Once that done, it is time for yet another baggage control and as I've taken the risk to answer "Yes" to the question whether I carry any kind of fruits, legumes, etc., I have to leave a couple of guacamaios (good health, they were quite ripe so they probably were tasty).

Once outside, free to go where we please, it's time to look for the guy that is subletting us his studio. If he is still there after more than an hour. But he had to give us the keys, so the poor guy had no choice. Chris, that's his name, is a very nice guy and he even helps us find our way to the phone to call the shuttle that has to take us to New Haven. We say goodbye and 20 minutes later we are sitting in the van. The driver, discovering that we are from Barcelona, says "Catalans, huh?" and makes some comment about the many successes that Barça has had lately. We pick up some more people and we travel pretty cramped on the rear seat until we leave the first passenger an hour later. On the radio they speak about Libia, Siria and Greece. Let's just say that their vision is not very close to mine. Finally, after 2 hores and a half of travelling, we get to what will be our home for the next 2 months.

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Post exclusivament a base de SPAM - Post made exclusively of SPAM

Per començar una mica de SPAM. L'autèntic, l'original, el clàssic. Un bon moment per recordar el famós gag dels Monty Python. I ara, quelcom completament diferent, una mica de música!

For starters, a little bit of SPAM. The authentic, the original, the classic. A good opportunity to remember the famous sketch by Monty Python. And now for something completely different, some music!

Didn't you like it? It wasn't enough? Have some more SPAM!

                                                  SPAM!

Video by Laura.