Good morning – or good evening, depending on where you are. Although “morning” is a bit of a stretch, since it’s 3:45 am right now and still dark out. I woke up at 3 and couldn’t fall back asleep because I was too excited! I love Barcelona and hope to come back someday, but I’m not sad about leaving. I saw lots of places, tried new things, made friends, and used my time well. I’m ready to go home, with lots of good memories and no regrets.
Besides, there’s peanut butter at home.
And I miss my cat.
Before I left, my ideas about Barcelona weren’t inaccurate, but they were incomplete. For example, I knew that Catalan was widely spoken, but I didn’t know how proud many people here are of Catalan and their roots. I’ve learned a lot from living in Spain that I don’t think I could learn from a book.
However, I wish I could have interacted with more Spanish people. I did get to talk to people a little at work, and sometimes I made smalltalk with cashiers and waiters, but I didn’t really get to know anyone who lives here. I didn’t know how to meet people. That is, I didn’t know how to meet people safely. Plenty of people approached me, but they were almost always a) trying to pickpocket, b) asking for directions and possibly also trying to pickpocket, c) creepily hitting on me, or d) trying to sell me stuff.
There are a lot of things I love about Barcelona that I’m going to miss:
The architecture
The ancient buildings in el Gotic, which are older than any buildings in the United States
The Metro! It’s so convenient. I never had to worry about finding a parking space.
The food, the diversity, the history…Barcelona is a beautiful city and I’m glad I got the chance to live here, even if it was only for a month.
– Cicely
A month is a short amount of time, but I am sure that it has been enough to change you for a life time. I am sad because I can see the end of my trip coming of me in only two weeks and I know it will be here sooner then later. Remember how your felt on your trip and take it with you.
Have fun at home and enjoy some peanut butter for all of us who still have to wait a little bit longer to have it.
Chau!
Cain
It seems like you had a great experience in such a short amount of time. I am in Argentina right now and I haven’t meet anyone either. Its hard to know who you can trust, and what their intentions are. Plus just by looking at me they know that I am from the United States, so I am not sure what they think about that. I still have a few weeks left so their is still hope but it almost seems pointless now cause I will be departing soon. Hope you have safe travels.
-Melissa
I’ve very much enjoyed the progression of your posts. You astutely observe that your preconceptions about Barcelona weren’t inaccurate but incomplete. I think that happens with all of us every time we travel somewhere new. We usually have a sense of what the new place will be like, but we have to arrive and actually be immersed before we know where our knowledge is incomplete. Thank you for letting us follow your journey. I can sense a budding world traveler in your, and I hope you’ll be able to incorporate travel into your life. Safe journey. Michele