When we arrived in Barcelona, the bus took us to our apartments. This is the alley where our apartments were located. Our neighborhood was extremely safe, in fact there was an elementary school around the corner.
The people of Spain have an unusual but exciting way of living their lives. Well, unusual coming from a girl from a small town in Nebraska. They are always out and about on the streets and it seems to me like they never sleep. Just like NYC, the people of Barcelona stay up till the crack of dawn. Some of the clubs here don't even open till 1 a.m. I love the atmosphere and I have never felt uncomfortable or scared. I want to stay here forever!!!!
My roommates and I decided to take a walk to the market and take pictures of all of the food and the fruit! Out of luck, we met some European men celebrating a bachelor party. We got even more lucky when we learned that they spoke English. This moment has been the highlight of my trip thus far. They were dancing to jazz music in the market and singing to the top of their lungs. My roommates and I got to experience the culture and met some wonderful people.
Tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. we take a plane to Malaga to experience a different part of Spain. It makes me sad that I have to say goodbye to Barcelona because I have learned so much about the people and the culture. If I could stay here forever, I probably would (sorry mom). All of my photographs have memories behind them, and I will cherish them forever!
Barcelona
Words
cannot express how much I have learned in the past four days staying in
Barcelona. The plane ride to Barcelona
was rough, but it was worth every hour it took to get here. When we got off the plane and got on the bus,
I had no idea what to expect. I have
never been out of the country before and it was overwhelming mixture of
feelings. Part of me was scared because
of all the horror stories people tell about young girls getting taken and never
returning. The other part of me was screaming with excitement and joy about the
learning experience I was about to endure.
My mom was scared letting me go, but she knew that I would have a
wonderful experience.
When
researching topics for our in depth story, I originally looked up buildings,
architecture, museums etc. After
experiencing Spain the past four days, I changed my mind about my story idea. I loved visiting all of the historical places
I mentioned, but the people and the culture of Spain is what I find amusing.
When
we got to the apartments we stayed at, we talked to a man named Guillem. He was very passionate about Spain and knew a
lot about Barcelona, Catalonia. He
warned us that Barcelona was a very tourist city and to be careful with our bags,
even though crime in Barcelona was minimal and we need not to worry. I was amazed by every detail Gil was telling
us and it made me anxious to meet more people just like him. I was interested in what he had to say about Catalonian
vs. Spain in terms of culture and languages. I always heard about the riots in Spain, but I
never knew what they were about. He also
mentioned that most of Barcelona’s income comes from the tourists. One tip he gave us was to never go to a
restaurant where they try and pull you in.
My roommates and I learned this the hard way when we went to a small
Italian restaurant. I noticed that the
waiters/waitress’s in Spain are completely different then the United States. In
the United States, they bring everyone’s food at the same time, but in Spain
they bring it when it’s ready. Also they
don't worry about coming back to the table and asking if you want anything
else. Whenever we wanted our check or
another drink, we would have to reach out to them.
Three
of my roommates wanted to do a story on Las Rambles, and I went with them to
observe the people for my story. Las
Rambles was packed full of people and it reminded me of a larger version of the
Farmers Market in Lincoln. I noticed
that there were a lot of families and kids running around. People would set up stands with flowers,
fruit, t-shirts and gelato. It would get annoying when the people would come up
and try to sell things to us. I hate
saying no and being rude, but you have to be rude if you want them to go away.
After
walking and taking in the culture of Las Rambles, we ventured to the
market. We ordered a fresh smoothie and
looked at all of the disgusting meat they were trying to sell. Looking at cow tongue and eyeballs, made me
want to become a vegetarian.
As
we were walking through the market, we met a group of people celebrating a
bachelor party. They hollered for us to
come join them in their fiesta. We had a couple of beers and asked them all
about their culture and where they were from.
One of the guys told us he was from the Basque area of Spain and that he
lived in Madrid. My roommates and I
asked him about what his views were about the Catalonian independence. He didn't agree with what was happening
because he was from the Basque area. It
was interesting hearing both sides of the story and it started making more
sense about the controversy of the languages.
After
awhile of talking and asking them questions, they started singing and playing
the saxophone in the middle of the market.
They told us that this saxophonist was the best in Spain. Everyone in the market gathered around us to
hear the men sing and watch them dance.
Meeting
all these people is an example of why textbooks and lectures don't do justice
to actually immersing yourself in the culture. I will never forget the people I
met in Barcelona. The people in
Barcelona make the city so magical and exciting. I will cherish these moments forever and I’m
happy I have a blog and pictures to remind myself of the trip.
