Catalonia – the embodiment of double culture

“Barcelona es el olor del mar y buena comida en cada rincón. Barcelona es bonita arquitectura donde quiera que caiga la mirada. Es un ruido de voces en todos los idiomas que se pueden imaginar. Barcelona es la diversidad. Es un espíritu rebelde. Es una ciudad donde cada uno puede encontrar lo que quiere."

That was something that was spinning in my head on my last day in Barcelona.

Barcelona became something very special for me, even though I didn’t live in the city itself, but in a village which is situated one hour away by train. Barcelona indeed can offer you many things. Anything that even a seasoned traveler only can wish. It has entertainments, beautiful architecture, interesting acquaintances, the seaside, delicious food, diversity, adventures, history and loads of pleasant pastime. But I was searching for something more authentic, more profound. Not even feeling the city itself, but understanding the mentality and the culture, becoming a part of it. Initially, I just wanted to practice and improve my Spanish, eventually I acquired more than I expected.

The language is the door into the culture

I was always marveled by people who learn rare languages. Somewhere deep down I could understand them, thank to my language passion, but my reason and logic could never conceive it.

I was aware of the fact that in Catalonia there are two official languages and I disregarded it, since I spoke Spanish. I thought it would be enough. And in most of situations it was, unless you want to discover the culture profoundly. And that was exactly what I needed.

Not only signs and menus are in Catalan, but locals can’t help speaking their native language among them, even when there is somebody who doesn’t understand it. And not because they want to conceal something from you, it’s just a strong long-ingrained habit since childhood. To be honest, to my experience it wasn’t the first time I found myself in a similar situation. For example, Italy has enormous number of dialects in every region, and most of them are not even dialects, but unrecognized languages. Likewise, Indians can’t help mixing Hindi while speaking English. On the contrary, dialects have lost their strong impact in Italy last 50-60 years, and nowadays, Italians have no problem speaking standard Italian without switching to their dialect(language), even though they usually still do it with their family.

Culturally and historically Catalan is way more widespread and powerful. First of all, it’s a recognized language, which also studied at school. Secondly, there is Catalan literature and in any library you will find loads of novels in Catalan, whether it’s translated or originally written in Catalan.

Structurally and grammatically Catalan is almost identical with Spanish, but I’ve discovered a lot of similarities with French and Italian.

Do I want to dedicate to Catalan as much time as I did to other languages? No. Do I want to learn conversational Catalan to understand more? Definitely, yes.

And I did. I found myself in a company of people who unconsciously spoke Catalan even when I was around. So after a couple of evening like this I’ve started to learn Catalan, just at least to be more aware of what’s going on around. You have to take into account though that if you don’t know anybody who’s local, you most likely will be surrounded by people from all over the world and might not even meet any local. Barcelona is a very international city. So if you are firmly determined to practice or learn Spanish better choose another city or even region of Spain.

Touristic aspirations

Barcelona has a lot of things to offer – beautiful architecture, rich culture and history, unexpected acquaintances, nightlife, seaside and socializing in all languages of the world. The downside are high prices that correspond though to a high standard of living. So if you came to enjoy the cost, better rent an apartment or find a hotel in a smaller Catalan villages or towns. I personally lived in a small town called Calafell and the seaside there is truly amazing, not crowded and incredibly clean.

Food

As a vegetarian my food choices were a bit restricted, unfortunately. I only consume seafood very rarely due to my personal choices. Spanish and Catalan cuisine is based in many cases on meat, fish and seafood. But I have to tell you that you absolutely have to try paella, pa amb tomàquet(which literally translates as bread and tomato) and allioli(sauce made of garlic).

It might not sound very exiting,but it's simple and delicious, in my opinion it's worth it. Pa amb tomàquet basically reminded me of Italian bruschetta. Apparently Spanish cheeses fully deserve your attention as well. So if you are not vegetarian have fun and just try as many local dishes as you can.

An interesting detail I observed: bread is a very present and respected in Spanish eating culture, everything is eaten with bread! Bread and cheese even can become your dinner.

Culture shock

After getting acquainted closely with a French and Italian culture, I can’t say that there was something that astonished or shocked me particularly. In fact, I was searching for this familiar and charming feeling of the culture that is different, but very similar to everything I value so much ­– the appreciation of good wine and delicious food, being able to stop and enjoy the moment, leaving time and space for your own self, spontaneity and open-mindedness. I think the first impression of the place, country or a culture also depends on the amount of experiences one had. In my case, I couldn’t help building parallels with what I’ve seen in Italy or France before. I was trying to distinguish, to find differences and similarities at the same time.

Up to this very day, as a person who is immensely passionate about languages and cultures, I was stuck the most by this double culture, and double Spanish-Catalan identity that I find so fascinating. When I came back home, I watched a series called "Infidels" in Catalan, and I never watch series! I was just so consumed and moved by the experience I outlived that I “devoured” this series maybe within a week. Even now when I don’t really actively learn Catalan I still watch some videos every now and then and I’m open to any opportunity to talk to people from a Catalan/Valencian speaking community. From my point of view, the knowledge of a language always creates some inscrutable connection between people. Sometimes even more then parties and alcohol as opposed to a common opinion.

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#Food #Languagelearning #Traveling