Returned home after a nice Saturday morning coffee, to a group of people painting on a street corner. The 'Casa de la Barceloneta' or 'CB 1761' as it's also know, was conducting a speed painting competition. When you move to a new neighborhood (Barceloneta) - or country (Spain), it's always nice to know a little bit more about the place. You're likely to find a lot of useful information.
I was once commuting by an auto-rickshaw in my home town, when I noticed a foreigner- by her rucksack, walking past us as we waited at the signal. This was a July afternoon, and if you're from India, you know that the rains haven't arrived yet, and it's sweltering hot. Why on earth would someone chose to walk? And India's relatively cheaper than the West, even if you're the 'hitchhiker' tourist, you can afford a rickshaw fare! So I got talking to the auto-driver. He told me that, it's likely that the woman knew more about this place, than either of us. How so? Because they're the kind of people, who will translate every signboard and talk to every passer-by to understand the place better. Why? Because that's how they are, curious.
Not to be philosophical, but there is definitely some truth to what he said. To know, you have to want to know. And translates to, well, walking around talking to locals. That's how I've kept up in my time here, and I've certainly learned a lot about the city and different processes like registering your residence, and applying for your government identity card. (More about that in another post).
CB1761 is a local community center built to specifically for Barceloneta. These paintings will be up for in exhibition tomorrow onwards, and I'll be going to find out more.
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