When I was flying into Barcelona, I was amazed at how much water was surrounding the city. When we finally landed and walked into the airport, I was surprised at the amount of Catalan that was spoken here. From all the signs pointing to the bathroom to the baggage carousel, I was really surprised at how dominant Catalan had become. When the bus took us to our apartments for the first time, I was amazed at how enormous the Sagrada Familia looked. When our tour guide took us around the neighborhood so we could start to familiarize ourselves with our surroundings, I was surprised at how identical all the streets looked like each other. I was also amazed when I realized that public transportation, such as the metro and the bus, is the quickest and most convenient way to get around town. It was amazing to see how many people truly use the metro as their main form of transportation to get to and from wherever they are going. On our first day of class, I was impressed by how the university looked on the inside. Seeing a tiny building, I thought that our classroom was going to be small, but it turned out to be spacious from the inside. Another thing that is amazing is how many people can understand and speak English. In almost all the restaurants that I have visited, we have been greeted and usually, the waiter is able to communicate with us in some sort of English. By the end of this trip, I hope to become more conformable traveling alone. By coming to Spain, I am also looking to improve my Spanish and become more comfortable using it in a professional setting. I hope to one day be able to apply my Spanish skills and my traveling skills and use them for a job one day in the future.
