My expectations

Hola!!!

Graham asked us to write something about the expectations we had before we came to BCN. About, the culture, the school, the city etc.
I don´t know if i´m doing this right (via blogger.com, catalan culture, create a post..) but I´ll hear when it´s not.
I´ve been to Bcn one time before in january 2003. During that week I really fell in love with the city. It was beautifull weather (about 18 degrees and everyday sun) and I really loved how the city looked like (with all the old buildings for example from Gaudi, Parc Guell, Sagrada Familia, lots of nice shops, and much more) I was only here for a week so I didn´t really had much contact with the catalan people.
I expected that I would get lots of energy from living in such a nice area for 3 months. The people from our school who went to Barcelona last year told us, that it was a wonderfull experience, that they had a real good time here and they were very sad when they had to go back to Holland. When I spoke with some of them they didn´t quit talking about how nice it was. So my expectations are quite high. But not only because the other people liked it here so very much. Also because I love the spanish culture in general, because the people are very dynamic, expressive (the speak with their whole body), and laid back (that the people lot´s of times are late on appointments). I also like the lenguage a lot and I expected to learn it during my time in Barcelona. And when the sun is shining or when there´s a beach I can go to, I get more energy and it feals like I can handle a lot more than when it´s raining and the beach is like 3 hours driving away. So also because the things I just mentioned my expections where really high. I felt like those 3 months were going to be a hugh vacation with a little bit of studieing.
Before I came here I learned only a little bit about the catalan culture. During my vacation in Spain this summer, I discoverd that Catalan people are very proud to be Catalan and that they speak Catalan instead of Castellano. So I expected that the people might be a little bit arrogant and hard to reach. But now I know that they´re not like that when you respect them and try to speak Catalan a little.
I really had a lot of expectations, that there would be lot´s of festivals and cultural things going on in the city, and that it would be very easy to meet other new people.
And I think, untill now, I discoverd that some expections were right, some not, and some I still have to find out.

Sascha.

ps. Writing in English is sometimes a little difficult, so, sorry if you don´t understand what i´m writing.