The Barcelona Experience!!!

The Barcelona Experience…

How should I begin? Ok, let’s start with four words…I LOVE THIS CITY!!! Barcelona is an incredibly vibrant city that offers so much in natural beauty, cultural arts and leisure activities. It has also proven to be fertile ground for the ministry and this has been most rewarding. So, please allow me to bring you up-to-date with the past few months in my ‘adopted’ city. Well… let me just bring you up-to-date because I have not been in the city all that much, you’ll see…read on…

The past summer had been one of discovery and excitement because of my move from Rome to Barcelona and also my travels in August to southern Spain (Andalucia), Morocco, and Germany.

I relocated to Barcelona in early July. You may remember in an earlier blog I told you I was invited to be a delegate at the International Convention in Prague but was unable to attend therefore I returned to Rome in mid-July to attend the convention in English (the English speaking congregations had their convention in June). The ‘Deliverance is Near’ convention was a spiritual booster not only was nourished but I had the added delight of saying a ‘proper good-bye’ to my Italian friends that do not live in Rome but were in the same district as myself.

Upon my return to Barcelona I ‘served’ in my new congregation. Technically, I serve with the English group that meets in the ‘nord’ section of the city, however during the summer months the English congregation which meets in the ‘sud’ section of the city and the English group met together. During the summer months many publishers travel extensively; to their home countries, visit with friends, or travel to foreign lands for leisure, the results is the meeting attendance decreases dramatically, hence the elders arranged for the congregation and the group to meet together. In addition, this past summer saw the departure of many regular pioneers returning home after spending 4-5 years in Barcelona or going off to serve in other foreign lands, i.e Taiwan, Nicaragua, Bolivia.

It was such a pleasure to be in walking distance of the beach! Rome is situated about 50 miles from the coast, but Barcelona is a coastal city and I fortunate to have a beautiful view of the beach, the city and the surrounding mountains from my balcony and bedroom window. Barcelona has nice beaches but the further up the coast towards Girona, the beaches are heart-stopping beautiful. Also, this part of Spain is lush and green similar to the north western part of Spain, known as Galicia. The southern part of Spain is Andalucia which is very, very dry like the southwestern part of the States. It is a beautiful part of the country and in the minds of foreigners the one most associated with Spain. Andalucia is where you can cities like Seville, Cordoba, Malaga, Cadíz, Granada, and the tourist ‘ghettoes’ that call themselves cities.

I love Andalucia because the people are hospitable, the beauty and the history, and the wine and food is de-lllicccious!!! I stayed for a week in a tourist ghetto called Calahonda the traveled to Coin and remained there for two weeks with friends. It was an amazing three weeks I must tell you! The first week I stayed in Calahonda for 48 consecutive hours in a fabulous apartment…but then afterwards I hit the road every day and enjoyed less and less time in that wonderful place but I was able to see some great sights! Of course I went to Malaga, then just take it west from there…don’t know Spain too much huh? Well, let’s see, ummm….it went like this…Malaga, Torremolinos, Benalmadena, Mijas, Fuengirola, Marabella, Estepona, Gibraltar, Algeciras, Tarifa, and Cadiz. It looks like a lot and yes what!? It was a lot of traveling but tons of fun. I would love to do it again. This time I would like to go camping in Tarifa and take a windsurf course while there. It was from Algeciras that I took a ferry to Tanger (Tangier), Morocco but the next time I return to Morocco I’d prefer to go from Tarifa (only 30 minutes)!

You may wonder what was the highlight of my trip…I thought it would have been the Rock of Gibraltar, but it was the beach at Tarifa that left me breathless. I wish I could provide you a picture of that spectacular beach. The beach and the surrounding area are a natural reserve. I remember standing in the parking lot scratching my head wondering, ‘How are those people walking on water?’ ! It was an optical illusion. Yes, it was truly amazing I walked closer to the water to inspect and realized I was walking ankle deep in a large lagoon. The lagoon was ankle deep for many meters and calm with barely a ripple. If you continued walking you would reach a large sandbar. It was the sandbar that I spotted people walking on from the parking lot. When you reach the sandbar it is there the Strait of Gibraltar welcomes you. People mistakenly think that it is the Atlantic Ocean, but Tarifa is on the southern tip of Spain, facing Africa and the Strait of Gibraltar has a powerful current because the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean meet at that point. In the distance rose the looming mountains casting beautiful shadows as the red sun retired from bathing, burning, and scorching bodies and vegetation for the day. The sky was a tapestry of vivid, beautiful colors trying to outdo the other with its majesty and splendor. If you could tear your eyes away from this wondrous scene and turn your back to the ocean for one minute to view the mountains behind you, then your eyes would gaze upon the tall, white ‘windmills’. These structures have a name that I do not know offhand but when you see dozens of these manmade wonders perched on the surrounding mountains whirling from the wind that has just traveled across the Atlantic and getting ‘swept’ up in these whirling contraptions, it is simply magnificent. It was then that I wished I had the power to make time stand still so that I could selfishly enjoy the moment for a few more minutes, no hours, then time realistically permitted.

Another exciting aspect of my trip was my time spent in the fascinating city of Tanger (Tangiers) on the northern tip of Morocco. The city has an interesting history and colorful past. I was so excited to go to Morocco that it wasn’t until I was on the ferry that I realized that all the women had covered legs, arms, and heads. Ahem, but Ms. America here was dressed in a short-sleeved blouse and shorts. Oh my! I couldn’t wait to get off that boat. The good thing was I befriended a nice Moroccan man in that lives in Switzerland but had traveled back to Morocco to visit his family. He was excited to meet an American and converse in English. His English was elementary at best, but we spoke at length about everything from traveling, religion, and the state of the world’s affairs. Although he was Muslim, he listened to the message of the good news. This man was also very helpful at the port of entry. Morocco is a very corrupt country and I suggest that if you visit you go with a guide because if it wasn’t for that man I am sure I would not have entered (or departed) the country so easily. Ok, so that suggestion applies for me too and I did not realize that man was a blessing from Jehovah because Morocco isn’t exactly a ‘lone’ tourist’s paradise. I would like to return to Morocco for a longer period of time, this time with friends who speak Arabic and I would like to visit Casablanca and Marrakech. My roommate, she is French Algerian, and I are planning a trip for next year to see some of her friends in Marrakech, so I will keep you posted.

My road trip ended after one week but my time in southern Spain did not end there because I was fortunate to be a guest of the Short family in Coín. This wonderful family showed hospitability for two weeks. I had the privilege of spending many hours in the ministry with their neighbors, Mario and Carlota, a pioneer couple that moved from their home in the north of Spain to serve where the need is great in the south. Also, I had the privilege of spending time in the ministry with two pioneer sisters in Fuengirola. There are many people from the United Kingdom currently living in southern Spain and so as you can imagine the response we got in the ministry. These people thought when they left England, they left us behind too! They get the biggest wakeup call when English speaking witnesses ring their doorbells in Spain…hehehe.

Mario and Carlota were visited by friends from the north, Danny and Izabel. These two couples were so delightful to be around : ) We had a lot of fun hanging together and going to Cordoba and Seville. Also, I need to give a big shout out to Chris Goodall-Short, an awesome guy! He recently got married to a lovely Spanish sister. I hope they will come up to Barcelona one of these days.

I must say that my trip to the south of Spain was a blast and know I feel supremely guilty for not keeping in contact with these fine folks! I definitely have to do something about that, ASAP!!!

I returned to Barcelona for a day and then was off again to Germany….


Frankfurt….in August…FREEZING COLD! Ugh!!!Yeah, that’s right…I went there dressed like a tourist on holiday in Mallorca and didn’t realize I needed to bring a jacket…IN AUGUST! Oh my, I really wanted to get back on that plane and return home. To make matters worse, it rained every day. Ok, with that said, ummm…well, Frankfurt isn’t exactly a hot ‘tourist’ spot. It’s a financial centre without much to see so if you ever decide to go there, it’s best to go there to see the people and I must admit I had great company. Let me see, there was Felicity, Giang, Pam, and Sandra…they were a lot of fun! I stayed at Bethel in Neiderselters on Monday night and attended the Watchtower Study (in German!). Thanks Uli! After a few days, in Frankfurt…I headed to Berlin…

Berlin…there was so much to see; Brandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie, Tiergarten Park, Pergamon Museum, the Berlin Wall. I stayed with a lovely couple, Geert and Myrtie…big shoutout to Gee and Myrtie!!! Berlin in the northeastern part of Germany but it was actually warmer than Frankfurt! I am at a loss for words on that one. Anyway, I love history and that city is chock full of history. I felt as if I stepped back into time when I visited the Berlin Wall Museum and Checkpoint Charlie. It was is the ‘Cold War’ was still raging on although the Wall fell in 1989, its legacy resonates throughout the city, it has left its scars on its city and on the hearts and minds of the generations that had to endure its existence. The Wall was erected in 1961 and according to the statistics provided by the Berlin Wall Museum there were 5,075 successful escape attempts (some brilliantly planned and executed) and 178 victims. Checkpoint Charlie was the most well known border crossing between East and West, in October 1961 American and Russian tanks faced each other there at that point until the United States intervened to defend the fundamental rights of Berlin’s special status. It became the geographical focal point of the Cold War where two super powers met and two worlds split apart and joined again.

The Pergamon Museum (see g/76 2/8)

It is in the heart of Berlin you can find the Pergamon Altar, please look at Revelation 2:12-17. Yes, the same place where Jesus said, ‘the throne of Satan is.’ The archaeologists that discovered the altar cannot determine if the throne was dedicated to Zeus or Athena, or possibly both gods because the inscription is largely fragmented causing difficulty for the archaeologists to accurately decipher.

The Museum also has a reconstruction of the Ishtar Gate. This gate was part of the famous impenetrable Babylonian walls constructed by King Nebuchadnezzar. Undoubtedly, this gate was the one that Daniel and his companions entered when they came to Babylonian as captives, why? because the Ishtar Gate was the end of Babylon’s Procession Street. A cobblestone taken from it bears the inscription: “Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, Son of Nabopolassar, King of Babylon am I. The Babel street I have paved for the procession of the great Lord Marduk with Shadu-cobblestones.”

The Charlottenburg district was splendid with its magnificent palaces and lovely gardens. I enjoyed a fine afternoon of reading and wandering aimlessly thorough the gardens. Unfortunately, I did not take an opportunity to take a boat ride on the river or visit the Filmmusem Berlin, I am keen to know more of the German cinema. My knowledge is limited to Marlene Dietrich, unfortunately I do not know anything about German filmmakers nor of its famed actors.

My German holiday soon came to an end and I had to return to Spain. I didn’t much mind, at least it was warm in Spain. I couldn’t wait to shed all those sweaters and jackets off when I landed in Barcelona! Ahhhhh….sun, sun, sun…prickling my sun-starved skin as I left the airport and searched impatiently for the airport-BCN centre bus to arrive. The air-conditioning on the bus was wheezing out air like an asthmatic without an inhaler but I since I was in the process of defrosting from a deep German freeze, I was not complaining! Ohhh…it was good to see palm trees, feel the ocean breeze, and wear scandals again…hurray!



Back to reality…so September begins that means…work, a new service year…and umm, more beach…hehehe. Yeah, basically it means summer is over, time to start the J-O-B. I am an English teacher, more specifically I am A TEFL teacher that means I teach English as a foreign language. I enjoy teaching and better yet, I can work parttime and earn a living allowing me to regular pioneer. Ok, so I won’t be able to afford the luxuries in life but hey, I didn’t come here for that. I could have stayed in New York and had ‘luxury’, but I wouldn’t trade this for the world (ha! Literally!).

Life here is Barcelona has been truly good and I am so thankful to my Father for this blessing. I wish you all well and may you have Jah’s blessings.