21:37 BCN // I am currently sitting outside on my balcony that is connected to my bedroom window really feeling like I'm in a dream. I have just finished eating dinner with my host mom, Anna. She cooked me her favorite food: white rice, a fried egg, with salmon. While she ate cheese, ham, and bread with tomato (the famous appetizer of Catalunya), alongside me. We usually spend around one to two hours just eating and talking about our days. It’s my favorite time of the day.
Dinnertime in Spain is typically around 8-10pm. A shocking 2 to 4 hour difference of the American household across the sea that typically eats between 4-6pm. Dinner is also spent eating at the dinner table with the whole family lasting 2 to 3 hours endlessly talking about different subjects like their day, a new joke, theories, dreams, and goals. I really enjoy how much they value eating and spending time with others. In fact, Spaniards eat 5 times a day: desayuno breakfast, almuerzo light lunch, comida largest meal of the day, merienda late afternoon snack , and la cena dinner. Each time leisurely talking with friends and family while enjoying a beer, cocktail, or the infamous tinto de verano, a popular Sangria in the summer. I do want to clarify that this is more common to see during weekends and holidays because of course people are busy here with their schedules and work hours that only allow a few people to maintain this routine. The main dish you will find here are tapas, which is actually a collection of small portions of food that you share with other people at the table. Las croquetas, patatas bravas, and jamón iberico de botella are my favorite tapas. Usually, when I go out with friends, we fill up the whole table with little platters of food, sharing everything. Another famous dish to share with friends are las paellas, a classic rice dish made with saffron, vegetables, chicken, and seafood cooked and served in one pan. Overall, I love how Spanairds like to share food with each other and most importantly spend their time together as well. It’s a refreshing change from the US where I usually eat one meal a day at times in front of a tv. I definitely intend to change my ways when I get back home. It has been 2 weeks since I arrived in Barcelona, and I really do love it here. Since my last post, I have been enjoying the city as much as I can and exploring it more and more every day. I have been to the beach, swam in the Mediterranean, visited the Sagrada Familia, a large unfinished Roman Catholic minor designed by Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí, celebrated La Merce, a 5 day festival held in honour of Mare de Deu de la Mercè, the Patron Saint of Barcelona, visited Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, and started started school! Most importantly, I have finally caught up on sleep and broken the curse of jetlag. I’m finally adjusting to my new life here and excited for what's to come. // 3:37pm USA
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¡Hola! I am finally in Barcelona! The week leading up to my trip, I had to get ready. Packing was the hardest because I was only allowed one checked bag of 50lbs, a carry on and a personal bag to fit everything I needed for the next 3 months. As a girl, this seemed impossible because I wanted to bring everything with me. I also treated myself to some self care necessities like dying my hair blonder, getting my nails done, and relaxing with friends and family. Saying goodbye to my loved ones was the toughest part of all, ofcourse.
I arrived last week, Wednesday September 15th from an 8 hour flight. This was the longest flight I have ever taken, and I was pretty anxious about it because I thought I’d be fatigued. However, I got very lucky because I had a window seat and the person next to me moved to another seat. Therefore, I was able to stretch out and catch some sleep. I am staying at a homestay and when I had arrived my real host mom was actually in the Dominican Republic. In the meantime, she entrusted her step daughter and her husband to take care of me. They were absolutely amazing! They kept me fed and offered me coffee at all times of the day (Spaniards drink coffee a lot). Dinner time was my favorite because it is so different from back home. The biggest difference being they eat very late at 8:30pm. Usually it’s even later for 9-10pm, but they pushed it earlier for me. They also eat together every night and talk for hours. I end dinner at around 10pm almost every night. This is something I really cherish and wish to take back with me forever, because my family usually eats separately or in front of a TV. Yet, here they value spending time with each other, which is so heartwarming. I think the biggest culture shock was how much time they really spend with one another. When I go out to eat for example, no one is on their phone at all. Overall, I never see people on their phones unless they are taking a picture. They also live a very leisurely lifestyle. Everyone walks at a decent pace and between the hours of 2pm-5pm, everything closes for nap time! During this time, the city really is empty and shops are all closed. This is so pleasant because Americans are always on their phones and living a fast paced life. This past week has been filled with endless activities and excursions provided by the program. The day I arrived I went to eat churros and hot chocolate while walking around Placa Catalunya, the center of Barcelona. That same night, I went out with the group to celebrate my friend, Safa’s, 21st birthday. We went to a nice bar, lounge, and ended the night on the beach! The next day I had orientation for the program and by Friday I was on another flight to Seville, located in the south of Spain. The weekend was filled with tours of the area and we visited many places. We explored the 3rd largest cathedral in the world, Plaza España, Las Setas, Barrio Santa Cruz, took an hour Flamenco dance class, watched a Flamenco show, and toured a palace called the Real Alcázares where part of Game of Thrones was filmed. By the end of Sunday, we made it back to Barcelona and I was completely drained! Seville was absolutely stunning and I met everyone in the program. We all had a great connection and went out every night we were there experiencing the nightlife and the locals, which were super sympathetic. There is a distinction between Americans and Spaniards, partying and drinking worth noting: Americans drink to get drunk and rowdy, which is seen as a good thing, whereas, Spaniards drink to socialize and it is seen as powerful to not lose control and be able to handle their liquor. This was a huge shock to me, because I am usually very loud with friends and like to dance with others. Yet, the stares of concern made it obvious that things were different here. Another difference is that the drinks here are very strong as opposed to the drinks you get in the States that you’d have to request more alcohol for. I guess since the drinking age here is 18, people can handle their liquor better. The biggest difference of all is how cheap all the alcohol is! A shot can be as little as €0.75 and a beer can cost €1 to €2! On Monday, September 20th, I had to attend required cultural orientations to learn more about the local culture and visit my campus of UPF where I will be studying this semester. I learned that Spain has 5 official languages: Castilian (Spanish), Catalan, Galician, Valencian, and Basque. I had no idea there were that many languages throughout the country. On Tuesday, I finally met my host mom, Ana, which I was very excited about and she is everything I hoped for and better. We had an hour long dinner, which was short because she was so tired from her flight, but in just an hour we connected perfectly through our Dominican background. This brings us to today, my first free day in a week! I got the chance to finally catch up on some much needed rest (the jet lag hit me very hard throughout the week). If this was just one week in Spain, I just can’t imagine what else this trip has in store for me during the next 3 months! |
Author"I truly believe that everything happens for a reason. I don’t know if life is already planned out or if the butterfly effect really determines the future, but I am almost certain that the universe works to fulfill a purpose. Part of my purpose is to go to Spain. So many things could have stopped this trip, but yet I'm still here, writing about the trip that the universe could not stop..." Archives
November 2021
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