Within my first week in Spain I have made many interesting discoveries and observations about the country. Before being in Barcelona, I had preconceived expectations about the locals’ characters. I expected most of the locals to be rude because I had seen online that there had been protests about the mass amount of tourists who come here. However, I was surprised to find that this was not true. All locals have been very friendly and helpful when I needed assistance on navigating the big city. Another expectation I had before coming to Barcelona was that everything ran very late. For example, most coffee shops I have noticed don’t open until around 10am whereas in the U.S. coffee shops open much earlier. I think our Aggie community has done a terrific job as we have begun to build in Barcelona. For example, our group has made many attempts to be involved with local customs and traditions such as celebrating the Spanish soccer team’s win, attending Spanish churches, as well as eating tapas for a meal rather than a multiple course meal.
