There are several things I have learned from living abroad so far.....
1) Crossing the street involves taking your life into your own hands if you decide to not follow the lights. When it says walk, you walk. When it says don't walk, you really shouldn't even try to cross the street. As is turns out, unlike Canada where someone who almost hits you might feel bad, people in Spain are just angry that you are in the way. Despite the very narrow streets and hectic avenues, the speed limit seems to be rather high! So...Bryndan and I have learned that one must be patient when trying to cross the many streets in Spain, because buses will plow into you.
2) Yes, there is a siesta. I was reluctant to think that people actually took the siesta seriously here but alas, in the afternoon shops close for about 2.5 hours. My question is, where does everyone go? Does everyone sleep? The stores are closed, and the streets are empty. Especially in the non-tourist areas around our house. Nada.
3) The Metro - Getting around Spain is very easy (after initial troubleshooting and error making) and also ridiculously expensive. The city is broken up into zones that require different tickets, therefore mucho Euros. To most popular areas from our house, it costs 2.70 Euros PER JOURNEY. So you have to pay to go and to come back. Throw in the fact that none of the big sites are near our house and our school is in the Barcelona suburbs and you get a tres expensive subway fare total (keep in mind we are here for three months). There are also several lines running through the city- unlike the simple transit system in Calgary. Fortunately we met a couple British folk who were equally as confused trying to get to.....they didn't even know. The other interesting fact about the metro is that there are two systems running in addition to the zones, lines and explosive prices. One is known as the "Funicular" and the other the "Metro". We haven't figured this out yet. It seems that you can access both from all stations, with the exception of the Metro lines that don't run through the center of the city. Talk about confusion! People also play Rondo Alla Turca (on the ACCORDION) on the metro...and no one blinks an eye. Tres bizarre.
4) Currency: Everything seems reasonably priced (minus transportation) until you convert it to CAD and then it really just seems the same. For instance, we got excited that our first grocery bill consisted of items costing all under 2 Euros each. I suppose in a sense it is a little cheaper than home, but deceiving to a foreigner! On the bright side, there are major sales happening until the end of February! Leather also seems to be really reasonable here.
5) There is a lot of Catalan around here, not even Spanish. Signs are posted in two languages. We aren't sure if it is Catalan and Spanish, or Catalan and Castellano. Fortunately, the Metro ticket machines have a English option. Have I mentioned our Spanish knowledge is how you say...nada? We are getting by, but are intimidated to try restaurants. Most store clerks assume we are American. Once we say we are Canadian they get quite excited. Perhaps we are a rarity?
6) Our house is gorgeous with a lovely view of the Sagrada Familia. We have a room/kitchen on the third floor. Our landlady had to buy us a monster heater because we freeze due to lack of heating in the house and poor weather. We have been promised that this is not normal for Barcelona. Both Bryndan and I sure hope this is the case because we brought clothing for nice weather, and it is not doing the trick. Fortunately I brought tea, gloves and a warm-ish coat just in case. It has been needed indeed! The only downside to our chilly house is getting to it after a long day of walking. We have about 100 stairs leading up to the house. After a few hours of walking around today we bought groceries and then attempted to go up the stairs. Not so fun. Apparently one street over there is an escalator...we really should find it for high intensity shopping days.
7) Yes, there are numerous Starbucks in Barcelona. Of course.
More to come!
Ciao!
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