This is the 5th part of the Workation Diary series. In this series, I write about my 3-month experience living and working in Barcelona. In the first blog, I addressed the preparation, the second post was about the incredible architecture and art, which characterize the city to this day. The third post summarizes public work places (cafés) that offers a good environment for work with a laptop and the 4th post was about the Spanish language course and new friends, I made here.
Be Abroad for a Longer Time
I am now for more than 5 weeks abroad – the longest “stay away” from home I ever did. And also the most different one, since I am not only here for vacation. I have “responsibilities” which you do not have if you would do a regular vacation. Planing for long term – for instance for things like household purchasing for the everyday life – is the simplest example I can give here. But further, having a gym membership or being enrolled into the language course is also kind of “responsibility”.
I do not know whether “responsibility” is the right term but what I basically want to say is: there is “your life” which makes 90% of the year and there is the “escape” from it. Usually going on vacation, seeing other cities, lying on the beach, etc. Usually, when being escaped, you do not do stuff you do in “your life”. On the contrary! You do the exact opposite since you do not want to make much effort. Or you want to treat yourself to something for once. That is why you do not do what you would normally do. This is what I mean by “responsibility”.
Another experience with being so long abroad I comprehend is: I experienced what it means to migrate. Sure, my situation is not comparable with others as I am in a very comfortable situation where I can have some of the habits I had in my origin place. But still, the new spatial location feels like being a fish pulled out of the water.
Having an Everyday Life in Barcelona
Have you ever wondered why people find your home town so attractive and you do not? This is what I felt here in Barcelona. Many places advertise with “Frankfurt Sausages” where I was confused when I saw this the first time: sausages from Frankfurt? I mean, they are being prepared differently, sure, but this is a thing in Barcelona?
The same experience I do from the other perspective: I get used to the city of Barcelona. For instance, when I was here the first time, I was so impressed by the buildings and balconys. Look into my post #1 – you will see many photos of the alleys and lanes of Barrio Gotico. But now – I do not give much attention to it. I am a bit lost in my everyday life consisting of work, language course, sometimes the gym and having a walk in the city or at the beach. I wonder whether I will regret this once I am back in Germany…
Conclusion
In my last blog, I said I am happy about finding a course for Spanish. Today, I feel a bit overwhelmed since it seems to be a bit too much. Being in a vicious circle of work, language course and what remains from that is hard to manage, but not impossible. In the upcoming days and weeks I want to change this. Let’s see how, I will report 🙂