On Tuesday I put on yet another new hat. "Deborah the Picasso Expert and Museum Guide". What a trip. I went to Barcelona with fifty sixth graders and their teachers to visit the Picasso Museum. We split the group in two, and with twenty-five kids in tow, I marched them through the museum, pausing at about twelve different paintings to draw their attention to Picasso's ever-changing artistic styles and evolution as an artist. Of course, their English is basic and they are eleven-year-olds, so I had to be careful with my words and ask them questions like, "what colors did Picasso use in this painting?" "Are the people in the paintings happy or sad?". The funny part was that this was of course not a private visit, so the museum was full of other people. After the second or third explanation in front of a painting, I began to notice that some of my audience members were much taller than when I began. Barcelona is a city full of tourists, so there were plenty of people who understood English, mistook me for an official museum guide, and tagged along through my presentation. A few even came up to me at the end to ask some questions about Picasso, or to thank me for the tour. Then I did it all over again with the second group. Highly amusing!
After the tour, we spent an hour or so in an enormous park to have lunch and let the kids burn off some steam before getting on the bus back to Solsona. The Catalonian Parliament building resides in this park, as well as a science museum and a statue of a mammoth. There was also this incredible fountain in the center of the park, with a golden chariot at the top and mermaid sculptures. Have I mentioned that I love my job?
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