Greetings from Barcelona!

I’m sitting here typing this blog in our NEW APARTMENT! I could not be more thankful/relieved to have a place to live, and to be in this amazing city. Two of the girls on my exchange (Sarah and Karlee) came a few days before Ritika and I did, so they were able to meet with a realtor and narrow down some options and we moved in the day after I got to Barcelona. They did a great job, and I am beyond excited to be living here. Our apartment is about five minutes from our school, another five from the beach, and full of sweet older people (who seem to speak way more Spanish than Catalan, the other local language here.) We’re also within walking distance of Plaza Catalonia and La Rambla, which are the more lively districts.

 The view from the terrace of our apartment!

That being said, I still have absolutely no idea where I’m going and at this rate I’m going to need a compass or a walking GPS. The thing is, even when you get lost, you’re constantly running into random castles or cathedrals or monuments of some kind- it’s so surreal that I get to live here for three months. So far we’ve just been exploring and haven’t spent a ton of time going to the famous sites, but we have some things planned for the week and I’m looking forward to it.

                                                 

Using Spanish has been humbling to say the least, but also really exciting. I had heard mixed things about learning it in Barcelona because of the two language thing, but I’ve been able to use it everywhere we’ve gone and had some decent almost-conversations with people, so I think I’m making progress. Disregard the times when I’ve used the wrong word or they’ve replied in English…. Barcelona is such an international city that most people speak at least a tiny bit of English too, but I’ve been trying not to use it. Last night we met people from England, Ireland, The Netherlands, Mexico, China and all of them spoke at least two languages. Talk about motivation. I absolutely love how many different kinds of people there are here though and  have enjoyed being able to talk to them.

A few observations about the Spaniards- first of all, their whole pace of life is at about 50% of what it is in the US. I guess when you live somewhere this beautiful you want to stop to take it all in, because they walk. so. slowly. It sometimes rivals a crawl. They take much more times eating meals, have multiple courses, and start dinner around 10pm. It’s also really rare to see “to go” anything.  They have siestas in the middle of the day when everything closes (I think including school) so that people can rest. In general, people just seem less tense. I have so much respect for how fully present they can be, and that they take time to appreciate and really experience everything. I’m hoping while I’m here I’ll learn to become better at this and am thankful to not be constantly rushing, especially when I’m surrounded by so many incredible things.

I’ve also noticed that they way people present themselves is much more highly valued- you don’t go outside in sweatpants, ever. My wardrobe may need some adjustments from College Station….the style here is really unique and cool, and the shopping is pretty wonderful too. In general, people have been really friendly and eager to help. I really can’t wait to for school to start so we can make actual Spanish friends, and I’m so thankful I have three sweet American girls to hangout, explore, and navigate the city with this semester too. Hopefully I’ll have more insights into the Spanish culture when I’ve been here for more than a few days. I will keep everyone posted!