Submitted by Lindsey Perez-Perez on the 2020 winter session program in Barcelona, Spain sponsored by the College of Education and Human Development…
My first week in Barcelona has finished, and might I say, I love Barcelona! I quickly fell in love with their café con leche (coffee with milk) as it reminded me of my mom’s own version of café con leche back home and now I can’t get enough of it. People in Barcelona are much more relaxed than back home. The pace of life is much less in a hurry. As I am sitting here typing my reflection, it is 10:03 pm and right next to my apartment are a group of young people outside talking and laughing and listening to music. The social aspect is really important to people in Barcelona. They value time with each other. Although I do speak Spanish, here in Barcelona, they speak Catalan which is like a mix of French and Spanish, and at times I can understand what people are saying, but sometimes it takes me a little bit more and hand gestures to try to communicate with others. Because some parts of Barcelona’s streets are narrower than others, most people walk to places, have motorcycles, or use public transportation. I have never seen so many motorcycles on the street before. I am looking forward to talking to more locals, exploring the non-tourist parts of Barcelona and really try to become a local as much as I can.
