We had the most wonderful first day, which was actually about a day and a half because we did not get to sleep that night and arrived bright and early at 9 am in Barcelona. Entering Sant Antoni, the district that our apartment was in, we got a lot of stares walking down the beautiful roads. The first thing we had to do was get lunch and go to the beach. Both of these events were quite refreshing. The walks through the city and cappuccinos before class have been very indulging these last few days. For the first couple of days, I?ve been trying to figure out all the local systems and find a fashion style that is suitable to blend in public. Barcelona draws a very diverse crowd and you can find a little bit of every culture within the city. Sant Antoni specifically seems to be an older, more well-dressed crowd. Closer to the coastline you can find a lot younger, trendy crowd. There is really a place for anything you could want to do here. They seem to have a very relaxed flow of life. It is quite peaceful being able to sit down for an hour or so for every meal that I have. The food is quite amazing from tapas, which are small appetizer size dishes that are easy and cheap, to big lunch meals and a small dinner with some drinks on the beach. I can very easily say that Barcelona is a beautiful place. I would like to quickly expand on the tapas that we have seen in three days’ time. My personal favorite so far has either been the beef tenderloin or the baby squid, but the bread with a tomato spread is quite delightful. Tapas have endless opportunities and every restaurant has something new to try. Many groups go, ?Tapas Hopping,? and in that, you travel from restaurant to restaurant ordering a few tapas for the group. At the end of your tapas adventure, you have had a good meal. The drinks here have been a lot cheaper than in America. The culture drinks casually whereas in America alcohol can be seen as a nightly event. Through all these wonderful stories we have also had some rougher experiences in which it is a stretch to fully get into the culture. The language barrier has been rather difficult if the place of choice does not speak English at all. A lot of hand motions and common Spanish words have been used to try to communicate the current needs. I would say that I am, Mas o Menos, on the Spanish-speaking. All of the guys have been getting our daily Duolingo practice lessons so that we will be more comfortable in the local areas speaking to strangers. Overall the first few days have been an absolute blast and I am very excited to dive into the schoolwork and learn about the history of Barcelona as well as how their current economy functions. I will be doing my best to think like a Catalunyan and stretch my brain for the next five weeks.
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