Spain on My Mind

by Wanda Mann, Founder & Editor-in-Chief of The Black Dress Traveler

 As a little girl growing up in New York City I would pretend that I could speak Spanish and spent countless hours prancing around the house like a flamenco dancer. Surely, my Southern born parents must have found my fixation on a language that was not spoken by a single person in my family a bit strange. In elementary and middle school I was able to learn a few words of Spanish from my friends but my daydreams were still filled with visions of Spanish castles and handsome bullfighters set to a score by Andrés Segovia. Corny, perhaps, but the truth.

Finally, the travel gods heard my plea and at 16 I was given the opportunity to spend my junior year of high school in Barcelona. Alas, my dreams had not prepared me for the complete bliss of walking down Paseo de Gracia, getting lost in El Barrio Gόtico, sipping café con leche near Las Ramblas, the sensory overload of Parque Güell and the sublime taste of a perfectly prepared paella. I loved Spain so much that I spent my junior year of college studying near Madrid in Toledo. A relatively small city, I quickly became a part of the social scene in Toledo and I fell in love with this city that is so closely associated with El Greco, swords, and marzipan. Talk about a winning combination.

I’m back in New York now but Spain still remains a big part of my life. Listening to Diego el Cigala, watching a Pedro Almodόvar film, or clumsily preparing a tortilla española make me feel, for a moment, that I am back in the country of my dreams.

Click for more information about AmeriSpan's Barcelona Spanish School

Comments

[Allison]

Hi Wanda,

Your post reminds me of my own experience and history with Spain!Instant connection even before stepping foot in the country... and no family connection to it whatsoever! The first time I spent a summer in Mdadrid (summer before my senior year of high school), I called home and told my mother that I clearly was born in the wrong country and my soul was Spanish!)

Thanks for sharing,
Allison,
Hello Madrid, Hola New York - Blog
http://deexpatriating.wordpress.com

[Study Abroad]

Really you are lucky that you got opportunity to study at Barcelona high school.

[LeeAnn]

Ah, I am dreaming of a trip to Barcelona now!

[Vik Malhotra]

Thanks for sharing this. It took me back to the most amazing week I spent in Barcelona too many years ago. Time to put Espana back on my itinerary.