I have wanted to travel to Barcelona since I was in elementary school, when I chose to research the city for an assignment. Barcelona fascinated me – its unique festivals and traditions, and above all, its architecture. I still remember a lot of the content of that assignment. I wrote about the historic gothic quarter, about the famous Ciutadella Park, and about Gaudi’s masterpieces spread throughout the city, including Casa Batllo and Sagrada Familia. Because of my prior knowledge, I absolutely had some expectations going in, not all of which were accurate. I had built the city up in my head, but knew very little about the actual culture of Barcelona. What I have seen so far is a city exactly like I expected in some ways and vastly different in others.
We are staying outside the city center, to the Northeast of most of the famous landmarks. The area where we are staying is not filled with gothic architecture, but has given me a more realistic view of what life is like for locals. Here, there is a sense of the vibrant, relaxed culture that Spain is known for. Nearly every wall is covered with graffiti and some with murals. On many streets, umbrellas and tables sit out on the sidewalk, occupied by locals smoking and chatting over long dinners.
There is more variation among the city’s locals than I expected. Being a major city, it houses residents of every nationality and race. Additionally, there is some discord in language and culture even among people who have been here their whole lives. In shops and restaurants, staff often speak three languages, representing the divide of Spanish speakers, English-speaking foreigners and people who have held onto the Catalan language that was born in this region. It feels as if there’s some tension in the culture that comes from this divide. There is a Catalan independence movement, which can be seen in flags and graffiti in the city. There is also a growing resentment towards the influx of tourists. Our group heard that earlier this month, some residents took to shooting tourists with water guns.
A part of navigating a new culture has been thinking more about my habits and how they stem from American culture. I’ve picked up on a few things recently that make our group stand out from locals. First, we talk loudly. When I step away from a group of students in a public place, I sometimes realize I can still hear them over everyone else around. Second, navigating streets here sometimes requires a level of awareness that we don’t have. While crossing a street in Texas just requires a pedestrian to look left and right, it’s more involved here. There is an intersection on the way to the metro station where there are 6 different places you need to look to make sure you won’t get hit by a vehicle. The intersection takes you across two one-way streets, two bike lanes and two train tracks. I believe that one valuable part of this experience is that it will help with my awareness of myself and my surroundings. Hopefully, I can do my part to be a good tourist and a good global citizen.
