Focus On… El verano en España
Hola! ¿Puedo ordenar patatas bravas? This was my go to tapas order in Barcelona. An order of potatoes with a spicy aioli sauce.
Stepping off the plane, I walked to baggage claim and then began my ordeal. Not even an hour in Spain and already something went wrong. My luggage had been lost. I practically waited about 30 minutes at the luggage carousel in hopes of seeing my little blue suitcase but alas nothing came.
With my head down, I walked to the lost bag center to file a report. I waited another thirty minutes and was finally seen by an agent. In moments like this, my emotions fluctuate between two extremes. One being that my bag had been stolen by some criminal organization or that it was just a simple mistake and that the bag must have been somewhere else in the airport. Reaching her teller window, I smiled and said hola. She smiled and greeted me back in Spanish. Her smile made me feel less anxiety-filled. Think pouring cold water into a boiling pot. The water becomes lukewarm. We followed standard procedure, handing her my passport and luggage tags. Her search for my bag began. As the computer loaded, she asked me where I was from and how I spoke Spanish. When she learned that I had family from Cuba and was from Miami she smiled. Of course the universe paired me with the agent who was Cuban, and had a family she visited twice a year in Miami. By the time our conversation finished, her system revealed that the bag was never placed on the airplane. My luggage was somewhere in the Parisian airport. Giving her my address for my time in Barcelona, she said it could take some time for the bag to arrive.
Thankfully, I had some essentials on me. All was not lost, I clung to the hope that they’d find my bag. Next up was meeting my study abroad program. Here we go again, name, homeschool, major, etc. As we mingled, I met a girl who said she had lost her bag at her previous program. Her bag finally showed up 21 days after her arrival. Awkwardly, I smiled and threw up a quick prayer that my bag would not take 21 days to find. Our program coordinator decided that enough of us had arrived and they’d take us to orientation.
All I could think about was where the hell my bag was the rest of the day. Time came for us to check-in to our living situation and originally I opted in for a homestay but having heard some of my classmates reviews of the accommodations, I think I lucked out with my shared apartment. I prayed that somehow I could have a room to myself but that didn’t work. I had a roommate once again. I will say I prefer the room set up to what I had in Korea. My roommates became the friends I hung out with the most. Our proximity to each other made it easy to go on trips and eat out together. About 3 days after my arrival, a little blue suitcase arrived in the office. When people saw me rolling my bag, their jaws dropped. Yeah that’s right, I got my bag in less than three weeks.
After getting my bag, I felt… whole again. School started and that was another reminder that I was again “studying” abroad. I came to Barcelona to practice my Spanish, learn more about the region of Catalonia and learn more about Spains’ colonial history. In Barcelona, the languages spoken are Spanish, Catalan and English. There is an interesting dynamic between the region of Catalonia and the rest of Spain. Barcelona held the 1992 Olympics, and from then on became a global city attracting millions of tourists every year. The city is also close to the French border, allowing for ease of access to the rest of Europe.
Dias in Barcelona typically included taking a thirty minute walk to class, enjoying the weather and maybe grabbing some croquetas. I’d arrive at class with just enough time to mentally prepare myself for the material. Classes ran for three hours Monday thru Thursday with a 30 minute break in the middle of class. We’d discuss the intricacies in Barcelona becoming a global destination following the 1992 Olympics. Most importantly the identity that is created through city branding. By the end of the day, I’d be starving. Las Muns was my spot after class. For 9 euros I could grab 3 empanadas and a sparkling water. If I had a sweet tooth I’d swing by Cookona, a local bakery that had a devilishly sweet Oreo cookie.
My first weekend in Barcelona, I checked out Parc Guell. It’s a famous park designed by Gaudí. This is on the Barcelona must see list and rightfully so. Within eye-catching colors and designs, It’s no wonder this park alone sees millions of visitors each year. As fate would have it, I ran into someone wearing a Yonsei hat at the park. If you’ve been following my adventures abroad, then you’ll recall that Yonsei is the university I attended in Seoul. What started off as a comment about his hat, turned into hanging out together for the rest of the day. We can’t forget my Syracuse encounter that same week. I happened to see an older gentleman wearing a shirt with a bright orange “S” on it. Of course I had to say hi to a fellow orangeman.
Our second weekend in Barcelona, took the gang to Santorini. Imagine this, a group of college bros catching a red-eye flight to Santorini. I was torn between Santorini and taking a solo trip to Portugal. Perhaps next time Porto. In my heart, I told myself adventures like this don’t happen often, so why not. Also the flight was super cheap since we’d be leaving at 11pm and landing at 4 in the morning. What was initially an intriguing proposal became the biggest tests of patience I’ve faced in awhile. We landed in Santorini at 4am and were out of the airport by 4:15am. Airbnb check-in was at 3pm. What do you do when you arrive somewhere and the rest of the world is asleep? Well… you wander. We taxied to Oira, a famous spot known for their picturesque views. After sleeping on stone slabs, wandering through eerie alleys, watching the sunrise and the endless ways we tried to kill time, we finally arrived at our airbnb. During our stay we ferried to nearby islands, walked black sand beaches and even got to climb a dormant volcano. Santorini reminded me that it’s okay to continue to embrace this “year of yes”.
For my final weekend, I went to London for a solo trip. On my agenda was seeing the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child play, going to Stonehenge and seeing royal palaces. Arriving in London, my first stop was the “London Eye”. I had to get a view of Big Ben. During my ferris wheel ride, I met a group of exceptional Black folk on vacation. They were on vacation from Dallas. Within ten minutes of meeting me, they were sharing their wisdom and knowledge with me. Connecting with Black people abroad is a different kind of feeling.
Parting ways, I journeyed to the wizarding world. Harry Potter always makes me feel a child-like wonder. A sense of bliss coupled with endless possibilities. Dumbledore said, “There are things death cannot touch”. I interpreted his words in two ways. The unexplainable feelings of love and compassion we have for others can never be destroyed even in death. While Dumbledore is no longer with Harry physically, the love he has for him still exists. On the flip side, I also took it in processing the end of an experience. While my study abroad was coming to an end, the feelings, bonds and memories created can never be destroyed. I took solace that while I’d be headed home soon, in my heart these past six months will live in my heart eternally.
Back in Barcelona, I soaked in the Mediterranean sun. I hit some of my favorite local spots before it was time to go. One more empanada, one more croqueta, one more agua con gas, one more walk to class. On one of the last days I went to Tibidabo, a local amusement park and couldn’t have asked for a better way to finish my summer. We watched the sunset on our experience in Europe and prepared for its rise on the adventures to come.
Gracias Barcelona🇪🇸
