With this being my first trip to Barcelona, Spain being my first time in Europe, I was not entirely sure what to expect. I anticipated I would see many different cultures and hear lots of different languages being spoken, but that the majority of the locals I came across would speak a decent amount of English. The biggest surprise so far has been how many people do not speak English. There have been many instances of me asking ?habla ingles?? at a coffee shop or restaurant, and upon hearing no, being forced to stumble through my minimal knowledge of Spanish to get my point across. It?s a good thing all cultures seem to use the same body language to communicate!? Another thing that threw me off at first is how small most shops and businesses are. The ground floor of almost every single building is filled with little shops and restaurants that would be considered tiny in America, especially in Texas. I have seen this structure in other large metropolitan areas like Dallas and New York City, but not to the extent I am seeing here in Barcelona. I am enjoying how close each business is to each other because it seems like there is a restaurant from every country and culture within walking distance from my apartment, allowing me to experience lots of the world here in Barcelona.
