Un Noche con Catalanes...

Leisure Activity

One night, two friends and I decided to head to a bar to hang out, talk, and simply relax after a stressful week. We went into Barrio Gothic, where we knew we would be able to find a quiet, small bar to hang out. We found just that. The bar had wicker chairs around a few tables and even cushions on the ground to sit and relax. The three of us were sitting around a table, just talking (in English) about the upcoming weeks and trips. A group of Spaniards around our age sat at the table nearest to us. After a while they asked us (in Castellano) if we spoke Spanish. All of us were super excited to respond that we in fact did. We exchanged pleasantries and general information about each other as they were very interested to hear our perceptions of Spain from an extranjera point of view, just as we kept asking them about the United States.

We were thrilled to be practicing our Spanish with Spaniards. They did speak a little bit of English, but our Spanish was a lot better than their English, so Spanish was the language of choice. They asked us all about what we thought of Catalans and their ways of life. They were very curious to know what we thought of Spanish culture. We were eager to know more about the culture that we were so rapidly submersed in. It was very interesting to hear what they thought of things like bullfights, siestas, drinking, ect. After we discussed cultural aspects of Spain and the United States, one of the guys wanted to talk politics. He wanted to know all bout Obama and what we thought of him compared to the Spanish president and king. It turns out, he is studying political science and breathes politics. It also came out that another one of the guys was an anarchist, who wanted nothing more but than to have no political system at all. He had some very radical ideas. He was convinced that almost all political issues are a government ploy. He even said that Sep. 11th, 2001 never happened, but rather was digitally created and shown to the American people on television so that going to war was justified. Although we did not agree with him, we did appreciate having a different perspective on political matters that we were familiar with.

We spent pretty much the whole night sitting at the small bar with our new Catalan friends discussing politics. I knew that politics in Spain (especially Catalunya) were very controversial, but I had no idea how interested the youth was in these matters. In the States, usually politics are for older, more sophisticated people to discuss over a fancy dinner. Here, we were talking about complicated issues with countries all over the world in a tiny bar, with cushions on the floors! This was one of my most memorable cultural experiences because I was able to really compare and discuss all aspects of culture with real Spanish people. It gave me a completely new perception of Catalans, politics, and Spanish Catalan culture as a whole.