It’s been nine months since I quit my 9-5 job and hopped on a plane to Spain. Was it the most financially responsible thing I’ve ever done? Probably not. Has everything gone perfectly to plan and I’m just sipping cervezas on the beach every day? Of course not. Would I do it again in a heartbeat? Absolutely! Nine months in, and it’s time to gear up for the fourth quarter!
School
Spanish classes are wrapping up with only a few more weeks left on my visa card. My visa package includes a bunch of vacation weeks that I can take whenever I want. The flexibility has been awesome for traveling. So, am I fluent in Spanish now or what??? Although I probably wouldn’t use the term “fluent”, the optimistic (and probably truth-stretching) answer is YES. For those that are unfamiliar, there is an internationally recognized proficiency scale for learning a language. It starts with A1 (complete beginner) and concludes with C2 (native speaker). I am currently taking classes at the B2 level, which is considered upper-intermediate. When I return to California in the Fall, I plan to take the DELE Exam (proficiency exam) for B1 or possibly B2. Oh, and find me some Spanish-speaking friends!
Learning a new language is no joke. It’s not like you take a class and become fluent overnight. It takes years of practice and dedication to climb the proficiency scale. And taking a class is just part of the equation; you also have to PRACTICE. Despite the difficulty, learning another language is a super valuable tool in the international world. One of my goals has been to break the stereotype that Americans (and other English-first countries) can only speak one language. So HI-YAH to that stupid (and very true) stereotype!!
Life
As you can imagine, life’s pretty great in Spain. Like any new place, you start to get used to the way of living after a while. My sleep schedule has shifted about two hours later than in the U.S. I go to bed between midnight and 1:00am and get up around 8:00am or 9:00am. Since March, I have been living in an apartment in the heart of the city with one roommate, Merce, who is a local. Although we speak Spanglish, we speak more English than Spanish…mostly because her English is better than my Spanish. But I’m working on changing that! The only problem is that the apartment does not have A/C, and summer weather is in full force! Ugh. Temperatures are only around 30C/80F, but the humidity is ROUGH.
I see why no one in Spain is overweight. I have dropped almost 10 pounds myself by walking everywhere (and because I have the metabolism of a teenager). Unfortunately, the Mediterranean waters haven’t magically healed my back problems, so I am still navigating around those inconveniences. I’ve also inflicted my own pain by getting a few more tattoos added to my back collage.
There is always so much going on in Barcelona that sometimes it causes me FOMO (Grandma, that means “fear of missing out”). One thing I’ve learned on this year of self-discovery is that I am not 25 years old anymore and shouldn’t try to be. Instead, I should be striving to be the best 33-year-old that I can. I’ve also determined age to be an irrelevant factor when making friends. I enjoy hanging out with people from all different backgrounds and ages. Just don’t be an asshole and we can be friends!
Travel
Quarter Three of this adventure has been full of travel. Since the beginning of April, I have visited:
- Mallorca, Spain (read about it here)
- Andalucia, Spain (read about it here)
- Almafi Coast, Italy
- Latvia
- Norway (read about it here)
- Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Brussels, Belgium
- London, England
Since I haven’t written about some of these destinations (yet), here are the quick highlights:
Almafi Coast: Met my hometown friends Matt & Morgan at the Almafi Coast. Driving in Italy is horrifying. The rules are: There are no rules. I got stuck on a one-way inclined road with 10 ft rock walls on each side and scratched my rental car. Ugh, guess there’s a first for everything. Besides that, we stayed at a resort in Vico Equense and took a boat tour around the island of Capri. I ended the trip with one night in the town of Amalfi. Overall, I would say the Almafi Coast is a bit overrated. It’s beautiful from the water, but a tourist-trap nightmare from the coast.
Latvia: I stayed three nights in the beautiful countryside of Latvia with my friend and old colleague Helmuts. He lives on a beautiful ranch house with a lake off the back. It was a perfect getaway from the “big” Barcelona city. Helmuts, you are a fantastic and generous host!
Amsterdam, Netherlands: This city is super cool. Canals, bikes, museums, and the Red Light District are the big highlights. My friend Nassim showed me around the city, and we took a boat tour through the canals.
Brussels, Belgium: I spent one quick night in Brussels. On the train ride to Brussels, I made friends with Connor, an Arizona graduate that was solo-tripping before his first big boy job. We ended up drinking Belgium beers and watching soccer at a local pub. He then followed me to London and the bromance continued. Brussels was great for one night, but no more was needed.
London, England: Biggest highlight was spending two days at Wimbeldon! This was a huge bucket-list item of mine and SO worth it. I started queuing at 6:00am each day with hometown friends Rylee and Claire, as well as 10,000 others. We entered the gates around 10:30-11:00am each day and court-hopped until 8:00pm each day. The whole thing was an experience. Beyond Wimbeldon, I checked out Buckingham palace, toured the Tower of London, visited the Queen’s House, and took an Uber boat up and down the Thames river. I also met up with my friend Ana who showed me around a bit.
Quarter Four
What’s in store for Q4? Well, I have to do some unexpected traveling which will dictate my schedule for the next three months. I am hoping to visit the north of Spain, as well as one more trip to Italy. The remaining time will rightfully be spent living it up in Barcelona!
Enjoyed your latest adventures, sounds so wonderful.
Heard from your parents that you are headed to Las Vagus tomorrow for a interview/tryout game or reality show. Keep us posted on what’s happening. Much love.
Living the dream my guy! But it’s time to come home and meet Ky! <3