Wow, it has been a hectic first couple of days. I thought I had a pretty good idea of what I was getting myself into with this trip, but luckily, it was very different from what I imagined. After getting through one of the longest days of my life getting here and staying awake to try and mitigate the jet lag, I woke up and had to do a double-take on where I was. I really am in Barcelona. It is hard to believe that even after a couple of days I feel like I know the place, even with its vast complexity. There is so much more to experience throughout Barcelona and I am so excited to experience more of the city… and more tapas.
Before I got here, I had an idea of the city being a bit more quaint than in reality. This place is expansive, and thank goodness for the metro. I thought that I would be able to walk everywhere I would want to go, but it really is too big to try and walk everywhere you want to go. I also had the idea that the language barrier would not be incredibly difficult but there is a lot less English spoken than I anticipated so it has made it more difficult to communicate. On the other hand, my Spanish has gotten better and better every day since I have arrived which has been a really fun experience for sure. All that I knew about the food before arriving was tapas and paella. I just heard those two words, with absolutely no context, and so I had no idea what to expect and it has been very good.
I think so far, my favorite experiences have been just being with friends outside at restaurants and taking in the city. There is a very contagious sense of urgency in the city, without having a feeling of anxiety, which is a nice change of pace from the United States. There are tons of very interesting people in this city and one of the best ways that I have seen it so far is through watching a soccer game in a bar. I thought that football was big in Texas, but it does not come close to the fandom that you see on the streets and the excitement when a goal is scored. There is no lack of interesting places either, and Sagrada Familia takes the cake on that one. That place was without a doubt the most magnificent structure I have ever seen. The attention to detail there is hard for me to even take in, much less think of a person coming up with the ideas and bringing them to life. Seeing the stories told through the statues on the outside, the fruit on the top of the spires, and every door having its own specific hidden meaning really showed how much of a genius Gaudi really was. I cannot believe that I get to be here for another 4 weeks. It really is the greatest place I have ever been, and I cannot wait for the experiences to come.