Celebrating your 21st birthday in the States is always a big celebration every college student looks forward to. I can now say I celebrated my 21st birthday in Spain, which was a day to remember thanks to the amazing friends I have met here. It’s difficult adjusting at first, at least it was for me, but having made such great friends has made it all so much easier. Looking back, the first month I was questioning why I chose a place so far away and how difficult it was being so far from home. Now starting my third month here in Spain, I wouldn’t have chosen to spend this semester any other way. The experiences you have while traveling are worth more than any semester class can teach you, (well some) haha. I find myself now being able to have full conversations in Spanish and just look back and think, I haven’t been speaking in English this whole time! My host mom also made my birthday so special with hanging a “Feliz Cumpleaños” sign and making my own lactose-free flan!
I started off this month with my first far-away venture in Spain to Barçelona. The city was full of a whole new Spanish flavor, one very much unlike the north. Each region has it’s own traditions, cultures, and in Barçelona’s case, language. They speak Catalan in this region of Catalña and believe they are their own country. The region was much more tropical looking, it was warmer, and much more tourist friendly. The architecture mostly by Gaudi was its own artistic genre. The park he designed, Park Güell, and the Sagrada Familia were almost futuristic looking. Being able to dunk my feet in the Spanish sea for the first time will truly be a moment to remember. Also visited the stadium for F.C. Barçelona, wish I could’ve gone to a game but to experience a part of Spanish fútbol I felt was very important part of Spanish culture.
