Although it has only been a little over two weeks, I have found myself saying the phrase, “Let’s go back home” or, in the case of forgetting to bring something on the way to the metro, the phrase “It’s at home”.? I feel as though I have hit the point of being as comfortable as I will be for the rest of the time and that from now until we leave, my nervousness about feeling out of place and reactions to living in Spain will be at a plateau.
My knowledge of the Spanish language, which I studied in high school for 4 years, is suddenly coming back! It took me by surprise because I have not put enough effort into practicing since high school and completely thought I had lost it! For example, at our last excursion to the Moritz Brewery here in Barcelona, the factory was so big and, naturally, I got lost and couldn’t find my friends, so, out of concern of missing the rest of our tour that we were in the middle of, I ran up to a man working there and frantically asked him if he had seen a group of people on a tour (in Spanish). I believe he had understood me enough, and I confirmed it when I heard him asking his coworker about it.
Beyond Barcelona and the wonderful time I’ve had settling here, I actually noticed how comfortable I was in this particular city when we took our trip to Madrid this weekend. Immediately, when we arrived, we all had noticed a change in ambiance. It was no longer ‘avingudas’ with patio restaurants as far as the eye can see. Instead, it was almost like we had arrived in the “Time Square” of Spain, as my roommates and I described it. It was different, but not in a bad way. It was a good thing, at least in my mind, that I had put enough effort into settling in Barcelona that, now, this city, Madrid, felt almost more foreign to me.
With all of the help from my roommates who are always aware of where to go and what to do, there have been multiple times that I have gotten to navigate the city alone but with utmost confidence. Comparing myself to a “local” would be ridiculously out of the question, yet comparing myself to your typical American tourist may be more fitting in this circumstance.