Spanish Memories - #1

#1 - The Spanish People

I have never been much of a tourist, and while I love food and sports (as my countdown can prove), I use both as ways to foster social gatherings.  Fortunately for me during my six months here in Spain, I met an incredible group of people at work to learn and enjoy the Catalan culture with.  It is great to tour around Barcelona and to try new and exciting food, but the core of living (for me) is about relationships and interactions, and the people I met helped to fill (as much as possible) the large void of being away from Jessica, Berkley, family, and friends.

Starting on my first day of work, each and every person I met at the office made a point to say hello each day, to help me wherever they could, and to make me feel as much at home as possible away from North Carolina.  As the days and weeks passed, I became friends with the other engineers, joining them for beers after work on Fridays, nights out on the weekend, and even a few rounds of pitch-and-putt golf.  In the second half of my stay here, everything became less about me being an American and instead about just being co-workers and friends.  Emails with photoshopped pictures were passed around, inside jokes started, and everything evolved into what I'd consider "normal" friendships.

Now that it's time for me to return to North Carolina, I realize how much I'll miss seeing everyone each day in the office.  I feel like the bond I've formed here at work is different than the ones at past jobs because I had to rely on these people for EVERYTHING, and they always helped.  I am hopeful that some will visit our North Carolina site and I'll be able to show them around and be their help just the way they were for me, because I don't know how else to show my appreciation.

At the start of this assignment, I really had no idea what to expect.  Jessica and I worked very hard to get through the tough time apart, and we're just a few days away!  I knew there would be great food and an exciting city, but I didn't think much about my daily life here.  Now that I am packing to come back home, I realize that the experience here for me was mostly about meeting new people and understanding their culture, both in and out of the workplace.  I'll take back a million memories from my time in Spain, but the ones I'll remember most, and hope to keep creating, are the relationships I made and good times I had with my friends here.  Tourists can experience numbers 2-20 on my list, but not #1.

#2 - Mas Albereda
#3 - El Clasico
#4 - Espai Sucre
#5 - Nose-to-Tail Eating

#6 - Costa Brava

#7 - Spanish Ham

#8 - Cerveceria Catalana

#9 - La Sagrada Familia

#10 - Hilton Barcelona

#11 - Bocadillos

#12 - Octopus with Paprika

#13 - MariscCo

#14 - Bar Londen

#15 - Duck Confit is Everywhere

#16 - McDonalds

#17 - American Fox Television

#18 - The Granollers Bowling Alley

#19 - Scobie's Irish Pub

#20 - Prices Include Tax in Spain