Catalán

When I told people I was going to study abroad in Barcelona, one of the first things they said to me was, "You know they speak Catalán there, right?"

Yes, I knew, and I had also read in guidebooks that if you approach Barcelonians and start speaking to them in Castellano (Spanish, but they prefer calling it Castellano), they'll give you dirty looks. Thankfully, the latter turned out to be quite false, as most of the people I've talked to have turned out to be very helpful. However, Catalán is very widespread, and it does seem to be the language of choice.

All of the metro signs are in Catalán, as are most of the advertisements and billboards. About half of the classes offered at the Universitat de Barcelona (UB) are in Catalán. It's also very rare for two people who are both from Barcelona (or all of Catalunya, for that matter) to be caught speaking only Spanish to one another. The preferred language of communication is a mix of Spanish and Catalán. And by mix I mean one person will ask a question in Catalán, and the other will respond in Castellano, for example. The languages aren't really meshed together to create a "new" language like "Spanglish" has done by mixing Spanish and English words; and this probably because all Barcelonians grow up bi-lingual, while Spanish-speaking people who come to America, especially older ones, initially have a heard time learning English. So, there was no need to create a new form of communication that brought together Spanish and Catalán.

The omnipresence of Catalán makes things slightly more difficult, especially when it comes to hanging around other Spanish students and trying to understand what they're talking about. Because the two languages are so similar, someone who speaks Spanish will have little difficulty understanding written Catalán - but of course the spoken language is much harder to follow and comprehend.

At my orientation, I was forewarned that some of my professors might randomly start speaking in Catalán during a lecture (even though the class language is stated as Castellano). I'll soon find out if there's any truth to that statement when I start my classes at the UB on Monday.

¿Qué tal América?

So, I've been in Barcelona for about a week and a half, and yes, I'm already missing (some) things from home.

Here are 5, in no particular order (except for maybe the first):

1) Coffee.

Yes, espressos, or cortado as they call it here, are quite tasty and any coffee lover is able to appreciate a drink made of a few millileters of highly condensed coffee..but I still miss walking around with my gigantic cup of american coffee..something frowned upon here. Yes, there's a starbucks, and even a Dunkin'Donuts (except here it's called Dunkin' Coffee), but my fully-integrated study abroad counterparts refuse to go. My host mom (or señora) asked me the first day if I liked to drink tea or coffee; when I replied "coffee" she bought me some instant coffee the next day. Ever since, it's made up an integral part of my diet. Sooner or later though, I'll cave and go to Starbucks. I'll deal with the shame after I've had a couple of tall Americanos.

2) CVS.

For me, CVS equals comfort and efficiency. Need cosmetics? Go to the perfumería. Earplugs? Farmacía. Detergent? Still a mystery. Shampoo? Droguería. The Droguería could be considered as the Spanish equivalent of CVS, but I still haven't been to one, and I doubt you can find cleaning products, drinks, food, shampoo, deodorant, brooms, irons, tape, screwdrivers, etc, that are all sold within a few feet of one another . Sigh.

3) Portions fit for a human being.

Ok, so maybe in the US they go a little overboard with the food portions, as you can usually split a main dish between two people and still feel reasonably full afterwards. Here, the portions are a little bigger than bite-sized, and the prices aren't adjusted to reflect this either. In fact, it seems as though the more you pay, the smaller the portions get.

4) The Dollar.

Over the summer, I visited a friend in Brazil, where I felt like a king every time I withdrew money..I think the exchange rate was almost 2 reais for 1 dollar, not to mention everything was way cheaper than what I was used to in the States. Definitely not the case here. And I'm starting to feel the pain. Add to this the lack of a constant flow of income, and the prospect of becoming one of those human statues you see on the Rambla (Barcelona's most famous street) becomes more appealing each day. I don't think you need a work permit for that.

5) Grid System - with numbers.

The majority of the streets in New York City and DC, the two places I've spent most of my life in, are arranged in a neat grid with numbers and/or letters. Not so in Barca. While the city is made up of a grid, the streets all have names, and they're in no particular order at all. I know this seems like an obvious observation, but it's a little disconcerting to think that I might never be able to leave my house without my map.

Despite these (minor) complaints however, I am loving Barcelona. There's still so many things left on my to-do-list, the most important of which is attending the Universitat de Barcelona, alongside Spanish students. Right now I am taking an intensive Spanish writing and stylistics class alongside other American students in my program, but come February 8th, we'll all be splitting up and getting ready to take classes (in Spanish) in subjects ranging from Spanish literature to statistics.

As Spanish slowly becomes my everyday language, this blog will actually be a good way to practice my English :D

One final note: Of course I forgot to bring my USB cable for my camera, so I won't be able to upload any pictures for a while :-/ I could try looking for one here, but I'm afraid it's going to cost me some ridiculous amount of Euros. I'll take my chances with the Spanish postal system instead.

¡Adiós y hasta luego!