I arrived in Barcelona two years ago on a stormy November evening. Unfortunately, I nearly missed my flight due to a transport  strike and at the gate, I was told that my bag was too heavy! It wasn’t the best start to this new adventure – nevertheless I knew it wouldn’t be forgotten. Although I hadn’t visited this Catalan city before,  many people I had met on my tour around Europe had given it glowing reports so I knew I wouldn’t be dissapointed.

I spent my first day in this unknown city walking around, trying to get my bearings. I ended up on the Ramblas and wondered what the fuss was about. Isn’t it just a long street? I took a relaxed stroll past the port and towards the beach where I sat on the sand and watched the surfers. The beach wasn’t crowded on this winter month, just enough people to create a warm atmosphere.

After getting to grips with my new job and  my new lifestyle, I decided it was time I tackled one of the languages. I enrolled myself on a Spanish language course and bought some grammar books to study. I really enjoyed the course but I found it difficult to juggle both studying and working full time. As the course came to an end, I became more confident and organised a few language exhanges or “intercambios”  to practise speaking. This is a great way to help language learning and meet knew people.

During the summer I spent a few days on a luxury boat and sailed around the Costa Brava. We ended up at a picturesque coastal town called Cadeques with typical white spanish villas. I met two friendly Catalan girls who, unlike most people, didn’t speak a word of English. It was a great chance to practise my Spanish, we chatted for a long time and it made me realise that my studying had paid off. It really improved my confidence.

Learning a language is a fun challenge - persevere and you will get there.