Learning Curve

Today marks the end of my first few days in Barcelona. It’s been one continuous ride of sensory overload but I’ve loved (almost) every minute of it. Going for a run yesterday without GPS proved that I’m slowly but surely adjusting to life in this hectic, crowded, wonderful city. Needless to say, there have been more than a couple of things that made me stop in my tracks and question what exactly this place and its people are doing. However, as I’ve become more comfortable in my neighborhood and learned to trust my minimal directional abilities, I’ve learned quite a few things:

1. Barcelona’s city planners held a serious grudge against 90° angles; you’ll be hard pressed to find an intersection that contains any right angles. Instead, they come in at diagonals and sometimes, just for fun, a new street seems to intersect out of nowhere.

2. Street signs aren’t posted on stoplights — or anywhere plainly visible for that matter — but instead come in the form of neutral-colored plaques on the corners of similarly colored buildings. It took a little bit of time but I’ve finally got the hang of finding them.

3. Forget East and West; because of the city’s angled coastline, it's easier to give directions based on relation to the sea or the mountain. Meaning that even when surrounded by apartments and skyscrapers you’ve got to have some semblance of direction. I’m working on it, not that I was ever good with cardinal directions either…

4. I know far more about electrical currents than I ever thought I would need to. Shout out to my curling iron for being dual voltage.

5. Greet everyone with a kiss on both cheeks. Think someone is going in for a handshake? Nope. They’re pulling you in for besos. This gringa who values personal space would appreciate it if the tradition could at least take a hiatus during flu season (It’s only a suggestion, but I’m just saying: there’s a reason we all have the same cold right now and there’s not enough hand sanitizer in the world to stop it).

6. Dogs are everywhere; and not just any dogs, well-behaved dogs, some of whom wear sweaters. I’m in heaven.

7. Apartment living + thin walls = unintentionally eaves dropping on your neighbors. To the guy next door: yeah, I hear you rocking out to Natalia Jiménez and I whole-heartedly approve.

8. The little green guy that tells you when to walk across the street is more of a suggestion than an order. I'm picking up when it's okay to throw kindergarten traffic safety to the wind and cross the street despite the red light.

9. The Catalan language is predominantly used on signs, restaurant menus, etc. Good luck figuring out how to pronounce all those Xs, and let me know when you do.

10. Getting lost isn’t the end of the world. Let’s just say that taking wrong turns is one of my greatest talents. My first time exploring solo I set out with my dysfunctional Google Maps in hand and ended up stumbling upon what has become my favorite part of Barcelona: el parc de la Ciutadella.

I'm sure that the city will keep throwing curve balls and that I'll continue to learn new things about how to properly function here, but for right now I couldn't be happier with life in BCN.SaveSaveSave