Hello everyone! My name is Gabriel Cancel, and I’ll be sharing some of my experiences as an ALBA student in Barcelona. I had the privilege to be in Barcelona for six months, which gave me plenty of time to get to know the city, make friends, and adjust to the lifestyle over there.
My first days in Barcelona
ALBA offers some really great housing options. From apartments next to the beach in Barceloneta, to historic zones like Sagrada Familia. However, in contrast to most ALBA students who live in ALBA Shared Apartments, I decided to live in a student residence called “Barcelona Resident” that’s right next to the Museo de Xocolata. There were various reasons as to why I took this decision, but it mostly had to do with choosing something that I was comfortable with. Being able to have my own space without roommates was a big factor (due to some unfortunate roommate experiences from the past). On top of this, I loved the location (El Borne neighborhood), as it was very close to some of the best parts of the city and very close to ALBA and UPF where I would be taking classes. The best part of living here was the sense of community. About half of the residents are from Spain while the rest are usually Americans. This allowed me to have two different friend groups before classes even started. I was able to spend more time with my Spanish group, as we all would have lunch and dinner together almost every day. This welcoming feeling of being at a small residence never wore off, and by the end, we all felt like a big family. I’m lucky to say that by the end, these friendships really facilitated my immersion into Barcelona.
Prior to arriving, I had many premonitions about the next 6 months. It felt pretty ambitious to do multiple terms in an environment that I wasn’t familiar with. I had fears that I wouldn’t be accepted or wouldn’t integrate into the city. However, as time passed, my confidence grew, and I quickly realized that these fears were really untrue. Being able to take the first step forward and accept the risk is all that’s necessary to be able to call a new city your home. An open mind goes a long way, as every time I’ve removed my expectations, I’ve been awarded for it.
My BCN Local’s Perspective project
I’m thrilled to introduce to you all my series of interviews with Barcelona locals. Here I was able to delve into their backgrounds, favorite spots in the city, their perspectives, and much more! I wanted to face the fear of interviewing people in Spanish and be able to have each interview as a documented memory that would be saved forever.
With the unique experience of being a bilingual student staying in Barcelona for two terms (6 months), I wanted to utilize my project as an opportunity to discover the city on a deeper level and get to know locals better.
My journey began with Pau, a receptionist at my residence (Barcelona Resident). Pau was one of my first friends when I arrived. He’d always spark great conversations with me whenever I’d catch him. During our interview, he makes some interesting points about Barcelona being one of the most complete cities due to the versatility of things to do. His experience as someone who lived abroad in England for some time gave unique insights into how a local feels about the city from the outside and, of course, from the inside.
“… in Barcelona you live very well. Weather, food, environment, diversity in terms of things to do. Barcelona is one of the most complete cities and it’s where someone lives happily.”
Tune into more of what he had to say about Barcelona here:
Making new friends
As I began to settle into the city, I made a new focus of trying to make friends from different parts of the world. One of the best ways I was able to do this was attending language exchange events. If you download an app called “Meetup”, you’ll be able to see a stream of events posted every day for all types of activities. Here, I was able to find out about language exchanges. You meet up with people at a bar or restaurant who are trying to learn the language that you’re native in (or vice versa). In my case, it was really easy to connect with people since I already had Spanish and English as my base languages. Meeting people that are in the same boat as you is a welcoming feeling because you don’t feel as alienated during the immersion experience. I was able to meet people from Germany, Turkey, Sweden, China, and much more. The best friendship I made was with someone from Alicante (Spain). Over the winter break, he actually offered to show me his hometown, and I’ll never forget the experience.
Spring calçotada
As spring approached, I was lucky enough to get invited to my very first Calçotada. Calçots are a form of long spring onions that are native to the region of Cataluña. The tradition of grilling the calçots and eating them with romesco sauce is very Catalan, and not too many outsiders get to experience it. For this reason, I was super grateful that my family friend Desireé had invited me. As I arrived, people were already feasting on delicious meats and calçots while enjoying some relaxing live music. The view was spectacular as the hosts held the party in their backyard.
After struggling at the beginning and being scared of getting my hands and clothes dirty, I let go of all my fears and got the hang of it. I couldn’t believe how welcoming and exciting everyone was! From the people handing out the fresh meat to the musicians playing live music, everyone was able to escape from their ordinary lives and enjoy great food on this February afternoon. This experience finally immersed me in the lives of true Catalan locals. Later that night, I was able to catch up with Desireé and ask her about her experience moving to the city and some of her favorite celebrations in Barcelona. She mentioned how:
My experience has been that once you meet someone from here, you have them for life.
Check out why she chose Calçotadas as her favorite celebration here:
Using Spanish to connect with people
One of the best feelings of being in Barcelona has been the feeling of being recognized. In my hometown of Portland, Oregon, being bilingual and Puerto Rican doesn’t feel as special. There aren’t as many scenarios where I get to use my Spanish skills, or where my heritage stands out. As soon as I arrived in Barcelona, I felt embraced by these things. It’s been incredibly useful to know both languages, as I feel like I can make friends with pretty much anyone. I feel more seen and celebrated for who I am, which is something that makes me feel immersed and right at home.
One of the experiences that made me feel like this was when I went to get my first haircut. I had seen there was a barber shop close to my residence, so I decided to give it a try. The owners happened to be Dominicans, and after introducing myself and waiting for my turn, my barber was excited to get started. He told me stories of his past, how he got here, and lots of valuable advice. What I didn’t expect was what occurred after the haircut. First, they refused to let me pay! No matter how hard I tried, they wouldn’t take my money. Then, they asked me about my dancing skills. After they told me my bachata skills weren’t up to par, I quickly started getting lessons from the rest of the people in the shop. I found it hilarious how an hour prior, I was a complete stranger to them. Now, I felt like part of a whole new family.
After some struggles to learn new dance moves, one of my new friends offered to give me a tour of the neighborhood we were in (El Borne). He showed me his favorite restaurants, cafes, places to study, landmarks, and more. We ended up getting a bite to eat at a Dominican restaurant called “Elegancia Bar Vicmo”.
They had some amazing prices for dishes that reminded me of my mother’s cooking back home (especially their fried plantains). By the time we got back to the barbershop, a whole six hours had passed! Time really flies when you’re having fun. It felt amazing to know that I had a whole new group of friends now. Every time I would pass by their shop, I’d say hi to the owners. On top of all this, they connected me with some other friends to play basketball weekly in Barceloneta. I’ll never forget how much of a welcoming experience it felt to go get a haircut and end up with so many new connections. I was learning that becoming a local was actually easier than I thought. They also gave me the impression that pretty much everything in Barcelona is within walking distance. A big part of immersing myself was accepting that being from the US, I was so used to getting in a car to do the simplest task. Now, I had learned the power of being able to walk anywhere to get to where I needed to go. My interview with Maria Jose covers this when she says:
Barcelona has something really great which is that it’s not large. On top of it being an important and cosmopolitan city, it’s a city where the center is actually quite small and worth walking.”
Tune into what she had to say here:
Thoughts about my immersion here in Barcelona
Overall, my biggest misconception was that studying abroad and becoming a local are two separate experiences. Since the start, I’ve fallen in love with Barcelona multiple times. I really made friendships that I’ll cherish for life. There’s something special about meeting people at this stage in life. We’re all growing and learning from each other. Although we might not know what the future holds, there’s a certain companionship about going through it all together. Finally, I feel satisfied that I broke out of the bubble of living in the United States. Sure, you miss your friends and family back home, but you never know a whole other world exists until you take the risk and go for it. The memories I’ve made here will stay close to my heart forever. I’m proud to say I was able to balance my responsibilities with my adventures because it’s given me a glimpse of my next stage in life. Adulthood doesn’t seem so black-and-white anymore. It’s been crucial for me to learn that there’s also something beyond, and that part of being alive is striving for more. Why should I stay within my comfort zone, knowing others have had such positive experiences by choosing to step outside of theirs? I can confidently say that this journey has been all about that lesson. I’m grateful to have been given the opportunity to express all of this and to give hope to others thinking about embarking on this journey too. Ultimately, I have to thank everyone I’ve met for teaching me so much, and I have to thank myself for making this decision. Accepting this major change and immersing myself in this unfamiliar culture has made me feel prepared for what’s next. If you’re thinking about taking this leap and trying a different country, just know that it could very well be one of the best choices you could ever make. Thank yourself for taking a chance on yourself and having faith that if others do it, you can too.
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