When everything fell into place for me to finally go on a study abroad after COVID changed my plans half a dozen times, I was beyond ecstatic. To be honest, when I signed up I kept my expectations low to protect myself from the repetitive disappointment of life during a pandemic. Now that I?m finally here, life seems surreal. The first thing I didn’t expect was all of the pickpocketings here. From keeping my phone in my front pocket to buying a lock for my purse, I have never been so self-conscious of my surroundings. Which I guess is a good thing in general! While I?ve always tried to be careful while traveling I didn?t expect to physically see fights, attempted robberies, or police arresting people in front of us. While that always is in the back of my mind, to see it happen multiple times within days of arrival made everyone in the group think twice about their personal safety.
The next thing that took me by surprise was the heat here in Barcelona! The first day was around 35? which is approximately 95 ? and came with lots of sweat and blisters for everyone. Water isn?t free and ice is a rare commodity around here. So, I was trying to refill my water bottle from a water fountain on Las Ramblas. Turns out hot water on a hot day will make you ill! I guess sometimes you have to figure things out the hard way.
Another thing I didn?t expect to see was the fashion on the streets. While in baggage claim I saw a girl wearing lime green flare pants and once we got on the streets we saw many women wearing long dresses or skirts and the men wearing longer shorts and button-up shirts. Everyone is wearing nice comfortable walking shoes and not many people wear denim in the summer and the clothing is all light-colored or light fabric. I thought it was so interesting how much the climate, religion, and activity rate can change a whole city’s fashion choices. Everyone on the trip wants to blend in as much as we can so we don?t stick out like tourists and many of us have been hitting up local shops so that we can survive the rest of July in Barcelona!
