The term "bubble" is very apt on college campuses. At school in DC everyone but politics majors are likely to forget about the intense political climate surrounding them. As a student studying abroad, that disconnect is heightened by the fact that most news here is in another language. Current events reach the masses through free publications like the "Express" or "Metro" or "Red Eye". One such periodical in Barcelona is called "20 Minutos", claiming triumphantly that anything they have that's worth reading can be absorbed in 20 minutes.
Most of the news from home is negative. Economy. War. Now when Yahoo! news blips inform me of these troubles, it comes as the only connection I have with home. Barcelona is full of other foreigners: Brits, South Americans, North Africans, and a sizeable amount of American college students. We are here as a stop over, four months of our lives. They are here for any amount of time- most for as long as they can make a living here. Do they seek out news from home? Family definately but what connection do they have with their old countries? Do they hold pride for their former countries? Seems so. Here in this cafe there are plenty of Pakistanis, some calling home, some talking to each other in what I suppose is Urdu. For them national news from home probably revolves around war and conflict (I hope not). Maybe thats the only part of their lives western media cares about.
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