Being a Tourist vs. a Resident in Barcelona

The month of September was filled with memorable times with visitors.  My sister and her partner John spent a week in Barcelona.  I had my good friend Carol who this year stayed in Barcelona for a month, renting an apartment nearby and had her husband and friends visit with her here.  I also had a long-time friend who visited me here and who I hadn't seen for 24 years.  These visits plus my own trip this month to Berlin caused me to reflect on the differences between being in another country as a tourist versus living as a resident.  But before I begin to philosophize (I really need a glass of Catalan red wine to accompany me for that!), let me give you some highlights of the month, which includes a funny story about my sister's stay here.

Bernadette, John and I waiting for our paella

With my sister Bernadette and John, the plan was for them to stay with me and together visit the tourist sights of the city.  We went to Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell, went up to Montjuic, felt the spray of the magic fountain, saw a concert at La Palau de la Musica Catalana, spent the day at Montserrat, ascended to Tibidabo to see the breadth of the city, had a tour of the Gothic Quarter, walked down La Rambla and visited La Boqueria market.  We also ate very well and I hosted a gathering with my friends at a local wine bar/bodega to meet my sister.  It was very special for me to have my first family member visit me here in Barcelona.

As I said, the plan was for them to stay with me the entire week.  But after three days, John's allergies with my cat Sunset caused us to consider having them move to a hotel for the last three days.  Of course we wanted the hotel to be close but my first choice, a hotel just a block away, was already filled.  The next closest hotel was three blocks away.  It is a brand new upscale hotel, Axel II, which caters to mostly the gay community but is hetero-friendly.  My sister and John were nonplussed about that and had three enjoyable nights in a cat-free environment.

Carol with Jordi and his brother
Roberto

Carol was close by in a very nice and spacious apartment.  She had various visitors, and at its height, had four other people staying with her.  We met up a few times, but they were pretty busy with sight-seeing, cooking classes, the beach and day-trips.  She got to spend four days at my place with Sunset while I was in Amsterdam at the beginning of her stay here.  It seems that she got plenty of opportunities to speak Spanish and yet spent a lot of time in English with her husband and friends.  My friends are very fond of Carol and were also very welcoming of Carol's entourage when we had a few dinners together.

Projection on
Casa Batllo

An old friend Joe, who I knew when I was in the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington DC, was visiting.  He had moved to Denver 24 years ago and we hadn't seen each other since.  He was going to be here with his partner and his sister.  We got to meet one evening for tapas and to visit one of the many spectacles of the city, the projections on the Gaudi house Casa Batllo, during the festivities of La Mercé.  I combined that with local friends, so they got to meet some of them as well.

Also, this month, I went to Berlin for the first time.  Shambhala had a leadership conference for two days there and so I stretched that to 4 nights and got just a glimpse of the city.  Not knowing German, I was in full tourist mode, trying to

At the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin

make my way around this expansive and energetic city in the few days I had there.  I only had one full day to see Berlin, so I ran around using the public transportation system, which I felt comfortable with by the end of my stay.  Chris and I hope to visit the city soon together, since it's a good halfway point for the both of us.

It's been a long time since I was a tourist in Barcelona.  It's not for the faint of heart!!  Barcelona is the fourth European city with the most tourists, surpassing 7.5 million visitors in 2013.  They are not everywhere in the city, but they concentrate in the tourist areas (duh!) and as such can be a battle making your way in these areas.  As much as I enjoyed my time with my sister, it was exhausting being a tourist again!  In my time in Berlin I found much more energy touring that city, since it was my first time there.

I find that the goals and aspirations of being a tourist are very different than being a foreign resident.  The typical tourist is in a city to visit the tourist sights and may be less interested in touching base with the language and culture of the city.  Of course, language can be a major barrier to connecting with the people who actually live there, as well as time.  It was interesting to introduce my friends to visitors and the varying degrees of interest that they had in getting to know them.

As a foreign resident, it has always been my goal to integrate myself as much as possible with the culture of the city that I live in.  Being a part of the hiking group, cultivating a group of local friends,  being involved in the local Shambhala group, improving my Spanish and now beginning to learn the basics of Catalan are all ways for me to be more connected.  I find that this connection revitalizes my spirit and renews my energy.

End of Summer - More Travel in Store

The rest of my time in Kiev with Chris was great.  I got to relax with no real agenda except to be together and explore more of Kiev.  Since then, with Chris starting work, getting to know his fellow-teachers and meeting other new people in his new city, he has discovered many other urban gems that I am looking forward to getting to know the next time I'm back.

We did have one rude awakening after I returned to Barcelona.  The very next weekend was a 3 day weekend for Chris and we planned to meet up in Amsterdam.  Unfortunately, it was not clearly explained to Chris that he cannot leave the country under any circumstances until his work visa

With Arie & Kevin in Amsterdam

papers are fully processed, which takes about 45 days.  I was bummed out, but luckily Chris got a refund on his airline tickets.  I did go to Amsterdam and met up with some long-time friends that I knew in Washington DC, all who were associated with the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington when I was in that group.  It was great to spend time with Arie and Kevin, & Andy and his husband Sjef.  It was also a magnificent weekend in Amsterdam weather-wise.  I pretty much stayed outdoors most of the time as a result and didn't get to any museums, except for the Heineken "Experience", which was a tour and high-tech interactive museum in what was before the original brewery.

Learning Catalan

It's interesting that my general plans for the first two years in Spain are coming to fruition, at least up to now.  I figured that the first half year would be devoted to finding and buying my flat, furnishing it and settling in.  After that I wanted to improve my Spanish and devote myself to refining my language skills, which I did by attending the city-sponsored language school and completing the last two levels that they offer, levels 4 & 5.  But I also thought that after that it would be good for me to begin to learn Catalan.  As many of you know, most Barcelonians are bi-lingual and speak both Spanish and Catalan.  Depending on the person and his/her background, some of them express themselves better in Catalan than in Spanish or it may be just their preference.  I find at times in a middle of a conversation within a group, some individuals will switch to Catalan.  Also, my Friday night Shambhala meditation group, in group meetings, prefers to converse in Catalan.


For these and other reasons, I will start taking Catalan classes this September.  It's a first level course that the city offers for free, which consists of two classes per week, 3 hours per class, for 9 weeks.  I just got my book and have started to review the first few pages and take notes.  This experience will also help me to better understand and appreciate Chris' early language learning process in Spanish, which I went through myself, but over 35 years ago.

Upcoming Trips

Shambhala Europe is having a leadership conference in mid-September in Berlin.  I've never been and I felt that I should be there.  I'm getting there a couple of days early so I can get to see some highlights and a sense of the city before the conference begins.   Of course at a later time I would like to spend more time in this very fascinating city with Chris.

In mid-October Chris and I will finally be back together again, meeting up in Prague.  We are renting a very nice apartment in the center of the city.  We will be there for 7 days, so we are sure to not only get to know this city, but to also explore other cities nearby in the Czech Republic.

Oh, BTW, my other general plan was that starting in Year 2 of living in Europe, I would begin to travel and take advantage of my proximity to many amazing and beautiful cities.  This also is starting to unfold this year.