The Most Foreign Day of my Life – Day 1 Barcelona: Everyone – including the cat – speaks Spanish!
I arrived off the Redeye from Atlanta this morning with the ignorant assumption that everyone would just speak English.
After retrieving my suitcase, I got in a cab and the driver and I could barely communicate. He was a lovely guy and eventually got me to my cousin’s apartment, but Holy…. Barcelona is FOREIGN.
First of all, I’ve never been to “real Europe” – minus a short trip to Paris when I was 3- so coming to a world with the traditional European architecture and Spanish language was a totally new thing for me. Though I have travelled and lived in various places, I’ve never had to immerse myself in a brand new language and culture as much as I did today.
After a power nap and a bowl of Cornflakes (my go-to food when I travel solo), I decided to embark on my journey around 3pm in search of the famous La Rambla street.
My cousin John told me about “Here Maps” and to download the app. But him being a tech-savy man did not set up his blonde bimbo cousin enough to use the app to it’s full potential; so I began my journey rambling and saying “Dondes estas La Rambla” por favour” or “Do you speak English” and proceeding to ask for directions.
When I got to a busy place which I thought may be La Rambla, I saw this guy fumbling around at a payphone looking to make a call. I thought, oh wow, if Adam Levine was here… You get it. “I’m at a payphone trying to go home…”. I didn’t know these things still existed but I guess they do in Spain. He was tall, blonde and blue-eyed, so I asked if he spoke English. Turns out he was from London, UK. I asked if he wanted to use my phone to make a call. He looked like he was on a mission so I gave him my business card and said to catch up later.
About 5 min later while I was Instagraming about this experience, Sam appeared and asked if I wanted to go with him.
“Yeah! Well where are we going?”. Ofcourse I had no set plan other than to be back at John’s flat by 7pm. Spending the day with another English Speaker seemed a good option.
Sam and I wandered the streets of Barcelona. He spoke Spanish to the locals and we had a couple drinks at a bar. Like me, Sam was an ambitious adventurer and we both agreed life is too short to settle so young when the world has so much to offer.
About 5:30 Sam and I had to part ways because he has some work stuff to attend to, and so I proceeded to attempt to Google Map myself back to John’s place.
FAIL. These street signs aren’t clearly marked, everything looks similar. Eventually I made my way back after a half hour, and found a Supermarket to buy some Cornflakes and milk. I practiced my Spanish and asked for what I needed.
When I got back to John’s apartment it took me 15 min to get in as I couldn’t manage this foreign Spanish lock system…. When I Facebooked him to ask, I managed to get it open.
I walked in and saw Selva, John’s cat, and that’s when I realised even Selva did not speak English as her cat food bowl turned on and John’s Spanish-sounding voice came on telling her to eat. I’m in Barcelona. EVEN THE CAT SPEAKS SPANISH. Time to pull out the phrasebook my sister gave me and learn a bit of Spanish.
Love from Lala.
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