Excerpts from Barcelona - 01
A weekly glimpse into my Catalan adventures
Today marks one week since landing in Barcelona! It still doesn’t feel quite real, considering I had been planning this trip for well over a year. Some days have passed by incredibly quickly, while others have felt a bit like they’ve been happening in slow motion. I guess that’s what comes with arriving in a new country, settling in with a new family, and trying to integrate within their set routines and habits.
I’ve had only one day of sunshine since arriving, which is a little unfortunate, but it still beats -30C and the meter of snow that I kept having to shovel from the walkway two weeks ago.
Aside from that, my host family have been great so far. They’ve shown me around the neighbourhood, we’ve had family brunch at the apartment, and went out for drinks and tapas at El Bar del Majestic. We eat all of our meals together, which is nice, and I have my mornings and afternoons free after dropping off the little girl at school in the morning, and before picking her up in the evening.
To elaborate on that, let’s dive into why I’m here…
I guess this trip/move is a combination of things. For one, it is, in part, the gap year I never got to experience. Covid lockdown happened right as I received my acceptance letter from my host university and all my plans went down the drain - by the time everything went back to normal, I was ready to graduate. I guess the desire to live abroad never really faded (to be fair, the desire was there long before I planned my student exchange) but it eventually evolved into my wanting a gap year to be able to fulfill this. After my time in Galápagos, and solidifying my desire to learn Spanish for my career goals, it only felt appropriate that I do this by travelling long-term to a Spanish speaking country. This way, I could truly immerse myself in the language (thus far, it’s working, I have only spoken Spanish when out and about.)
I really enjoyed living with my host family in San Cristóbal, and after doing some research, I decided that au pairing would be the way to go. I work about 5 hours per day by helping the little girl do homework, and bringing her and picking her up from school. In exchange, I get a room, a weekly stipend, all meals, and am essentially a part of the family; everything that is done as a family, I join in on, at their expense.
This leaves me with my days and weekends free to explore the city, learn Spanish, and take day trips or weekend trips.
So, here I am.
This week’s highlights
Forn Mistral, Sant Antoni
I passed by the window of this Catalan bakery and couldn’t resist going in after seeing the Ensaïmada de crema in the window display. An ensaïmada is a pastry consisting of dough made with reduced pork lard, or “saïm” in Catalan, which is where the pastry’s name derives from. I got the cream one, which was filled with a delicious egg-based cream. It is at once rich in flavor, yet light and fluffy; the unique, pillowy texture was delicious. I’ll definitely be visiting again to try more of their selection.
Morning run to Carretera de les Aïgues
It’s been raining since I arrived, so I took the first chance that I got to go out for a run in the sun and explore my neighbourhood. I ran up to Carretera de les Aïgues - though, I didn’t use the trail, the run up to the trailhead was really nice. On the way back, I stopped by Casa Vicens Gaudi and admired the architecture of Gràcia and Sarrià-Sant Gervasi.
A glimpse at next week…
Though I haven’t really planned out my week yet, I’m getting more familiar with my neighbourhood, transportation, and how to plan out my days. That said, there are a few things I’d like to do and see in the coming week:
Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya
Join Good Soles Run Club on their Sunday morning run
Explore La Barceloneta
My first week went by quickly, despite some days feeling like they were being dragged out. I’m eager to see how things change once I establish more of a routine, and especially how long it will take for the newness, excitement, and nerves to fade... or if they even will.