The view from the back of the Dalí Musuem (yes, this blog entry was a shameless excuse to show another photo of the greatness of Mr. Dalí)Yes, I knew it was only a matter of time but I met my first New Yorkers here in Spain on Sunday, and to be honest, I enjoyed it a lot more than I would have thought!
Upon getting to the tracks at Sants Estación to wait for the train to take me north to Figueres for the Dalí Museum, I sat next to a family of four that I had seen two other times in the past 40 minutes (one on the Metro getting TO Sants and then in the line next to me to buy the train ticket). I thought they might have been tourists when I saw them on the Metro but didn't really think where they might be from. I noticed on the monitor on the tracks that Track 14 showed a different city than Figueres and I wanted to make sure I wasn't hopping on the incorrect train so I started to ask the mother of the family next to me if she knew if this was the track going to Figueres. Of course, I asked her in Spanish as my English only comes out here when I already KNOW a person speaks English or by mistakes (ie. in a shop I ask something in Spanish but then say "thank you" in English...of course I immediately follow up with "gracias" hoping the shop owner won't notice which of course, they do).
Anyhow, the woman proceeded to stop me, tap one of her daughters on the shoulder and asked her to get the attention of her sister because she knew Spanish. Well, I heard the daughters speak and...alas! They were American! Ah, Americans! And now that I think of it, I don't think I have met any others from the good ole' US of A since I arrived on Spanish soil. Of course the second I found this out the English came pouring out of my mouth as fast as I could get it. Upon talking with the family for a bit before the train arrived and then while on the train (I took a seat near them) I learned they were from none other than New York City and the parents had lived just one block from my old apartment in midtown and the two daughters lived together on the Upper East Side. They were here on a family vacation for a week and were curious as to what I was doing here. I told them the purpose of my trip, how long I had been here so far, how long I was staying, and a recommendation for the BEST gelato in the city.
I love that in my class every week there are new people from different countries and yet I am still the only non-European. I have enjoyed learning a little bit about the geography, the customs, the governments, the educational systems, and the people in general from all different Europeans nations, but I didn't realize how much I had been yearning to talk to Americans.
Upon getting to the tracks at Sants Estación to wait for the train to take me north to Figueres for the Dalí Museum, I sat next to a family of four that I had seen two other times in the past 40 minutes (one on the Metro getting TO Sants and then in the line next to me to buy the train ticket). I thought they might have been tourists when I saw them on the Metro but didn't really think where they might be from. I noticed on the monitor on the tracks that Track 14 showed a different city than Figueres and I wanted to make sure I wasn't hopping on the incorrect train so I started to ask the mother of the family next to me if she knew if this was the track going to Figueres. Of course, I asked her in Spanish as my English only comes out here when I already KNOW a person speaks English or by mistakes (ie. in a shop I ask something in Spanish but then say "thank you" in English...of course I immediately follow up with "gracias" hoping the shop owner won't notice which of course, they do).
Anyhow, the woman proceeded to stop me, tap one of her daughters on the shoulder and asked her to get the attention of her sister because she knew Spanish. Well, I heard the daughters speak and...alas! They were American! Ah, Americans! And now that I think of it, I don't think I have met any others from the good ole' US of A since I arrived on Spanish soil. Of course the second I found this out the English came pouring out of my mouth as fast as I could get it. Upon talking with the family for a bit before the train arrived and then while on the train (I took a seat near them) I learned they were from none other than New York City and the parents had lived just one block from my old apartment in midtown and the two daughters lived together on the Upper East Side. They were here on a family vacation for a week and were curious as to what I was doing here. I told them the purpose of my trip, how long I had been here so far, how long I was staying, and a recommendation for the BEST gelato in the city.
I love that in my class every week there are new people from different countries and yet I am still the only non-European. I have enjoyed learning a little bit about the geography, the customs, the governments, the educational systems, and the people in general from all different Europeans nations, but I didn't realize how much I had been yearning to talk to Americans.
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