Journal 1

I’m sure you have heard the term culture shock before. If you haven’t, you likely have been living under a rock for the better part of eternity. Culture shock certainly runs hand in hand with the adventure that my peers and I have chosen to embark upon. We have been thrown into a new place, with new people, a different language, and just about everything around this is different. However, I can assure you that my experience in Barcelona has been vastly different than the rest of my peers. My hometown encompasses a total population of less than 7,000 individuals. To paint a brief portrait, cows/chickens outnumber the human population and it is not uncommon to see people riding horses around the town. Furthermore, the high school which I attended had a graduating class of sixty-three individuals the year that I graduated. Basically, up until these past few weeks, my world has been relatively small and seemingly uncomplicated.
Therefore, my transition from American to Barcelona has been a bit difficult. Furthermore, I came on this adventure for entirely different reasons than the rest of my peers. It is going to sound a bit “snobby” but I came here for enlightenment. I did not come here to go crazy, get drunk every other night, and to basically have freshman year of university all over again. I came here because I wanted to learn about the new culture, to live amongst the European population, and [more importantly] to challenge everything that I thought about myself. It is indeed true that in times of great peril, when faced with the trials and tribulations of life, you begin to understand “what you are really made of.” That being the case, I came to Barcelona to put myself out there and to challenge who I am as a person.
At this moment in time, it is a bit difficult to focus on “Barcelona” and my particular experience thus far. I know that this is a great city and has a lot to offer. Soon enough, once I take down my “cultural barriers” and all other such limitations, I will begin to realize how special this place truly is and how much I will be able to learn. Even now, I can see the subtle differences between here and America: people whistling as they walk down the street, people walking their dogs without leashes, cafés/bars on every corner…undoubtedly, the lifestyle here is different. However, the primary difference revolves around the notion of “enjoyment of life.” I cannot comment on the rest of Europe but the past couple of weeks have shown me that people from Barcelona tend to appreciate the “little things” much more than people back in the states. This is a token of appreciation which I hope to become wise enough to ascertain while abroad.