Relocating to Barcelona has been quite the hassle, but it was well worth it! Because Barcelona is such a popular city, especially in the summer, trying to find an apartment for the month of July is a tough task. Fortunately I was able to find one located in the heart of the city.
I share my new apartment with two other young adults from Italy, in Barcelona for their new jobs. One works with artificial intelligence while the other works in Human Resources. I mention this because it goes to show how popular Barcelona is, not only as a vacation destination, but also as a hub for those upcoming in the workforce.
Coming from Zaragoza, adapting to the social aspect of Barcelona is thankful painless. Although the main language here is Catalan, one that I am unfamiliar with, the use of Spanish is present enough to where I can communicate without any problems. One of the most noticeable differences between Barcelona and Zaragoza (and anywhere for that matter) is the cultural presence and beauty the city has to offer. It’s hard to not want to take a picture of every building, every church, every courtyard or every statue. The architecture of the city is extremely well preserved even though the city has an up-tempo, urban feel.
Because Barcelona is such a popular tourist attraction, you can commonly see workers at restaurants, stores, etc. that speak English as well. Because of this, I do not feel the same degree of immersion (regarding to Spanish language) as I did when in Zaragoza, but I nonetheless am still able to practice. I am extremely excited about the improvement I have been noticing about my Spanish skills. Although my speaking ability could still use improvement, I am now at a point where, when listening, I no longer have to mentally translate from Spanish to English. Instead, when spoken to in Spanish, I naturally process what is being said to me. In contrary, when it comes to speaking, I am still at a point where I think about what I want to say in English and then translate it to Spanish, and then say verbally produce it in Spanish. Nonetheless with the time I have left here and with constant practice I believe I will see great improvement.
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